pining for the Fnord's? or should that be Albert Pine whoever he is?

yeah well.....

"this" time of year, memories...you know the thing.

If you had any kind of childhood, you may have special memories of this time, be it presents parties or snowy pavements.

Your first bike! That chemistry set you always wanted! David Cassidy's greatest hits! Another chance to see the Two Ronnies Christmas Special!

Today a memory popped into my head.....randomly generated after reading a friends FB status and having an image of a snowy pine tree in my head. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, no less...

"Trail of the Lonesome Pine" was a song performed by Laurel & Hardy in the 1937 film 'Way Out West".

A sample of the chorus

In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia,
On the trail of the lonesome pine—
In the pale moonshine our hearts entwine,
Where she carved her name and I carved mine;
Oh, June, like the mountains I'm blue—
Like the pine I am lonesome for you,
In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia,
On the trail of the lonesome pine.

If you have never seen any Laurel & Hardy before, at least check this out. As a grown up (?) adult person now, it makes me smile but way back when it would have me rolling in stitches (likewise the piano mover sketch in 'The Magic Box'...but I digress....)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Fc681ZiNc will take you to the clip on youtube....which helped it to get to number 2 in the charts back in 1975.

The song is older than even Laurel & Hardy's film, however. Written in 1913, you can hear the original via the link below at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project website....



http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/mp3s/0000/0717/cusb-cyl0717d.mp3

...also covered by the musical originator Link Wray as you can see in this youtube clip 'Link Wray On "The Jack Spector Show", Channel 12 WPRO-TV, Providence, RI, March 1960 '.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsEOz3gfOTU

amazing what you can find on the interweb, eh? :D

(oh, and Albert Pine? Who is he? No information I can find except he is the source of the quotation :

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal."

which has a simple positive message that tickles me.

and what provoked the urge to document this in a blog today? Just that the last year for Denise and I has been one of so many mixed memories, good, bad, sad, painful, and uplifting too. Life, Death and all the flavours inbetween. If I were a poet, I'd probably be on my fifth volume of "eulogies of a bad day", by now.

so today I decided to take a memory that made me smile, and thought I'll do a web search and dig out some links and whatnot.

Listen to the song, play the clip and I hope it makes you smile too!

(...oh and the Fnords? I'll leave you to check that out for yourself....)

Transgender Day of Remembrance

**
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgendered — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgendered people.

We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgendered people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgendered people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.

** from the Facebook group: Transgender Day of Remembrance



International Transgender of Remembrance website



An article in todays Pink News on the Transgender day of Remembrance



A statement from Gordon Brown on TDOR



An article by a London trans activist in the Pink Paper from the 16th of November


The London event...

*From 2.15pm on Saturday 21st November at the 52 Club, Gower Street, London, trans people, their friends and allies will be remembering those who have died during the last year through violence or suicide because they were trans. If you can’t make it on the day, it would be lovely if you can take time out from whatever you are doing at the time and spare a minute or two thinking about those trans people who have died. If you encounter a transphobic incident, please take time to address it, whether it be reporting it to the police, writing in to a paper and making a complaint, signing a petition or just taking time out to learn more about the issues which trans people face. All challenges against transphobia will help, in the long run, towards reducing the harassment, discrimination and deaths of trans people.

Streetmap link for the 52 Club

* borrowed from the Pink News article above

Home Office Bars US Artist From Arts Festival in East London

Cristina Winsor, a US citizen and talented artist from the downtown East Village New York scene innocently arrived in London on Sunday 6 September to visit friends and take part in a free five day art festival in the respected east London venue The Foundry only to be detained for 9 hours in a detention centre at Heathrow airport and escorted on an outbound plane back to New York by armed security guards. Her crime? Carrying 2 small paintings under her arm, which she wished to exhibit at the festival and with a bit of luck, sell for a few hundred dollars.

Statement from Cristina Winsor. "The immigration officials told me that selling my work was illegal without a business visa, and took me to the detention centre for further questioning. I told them I wouldn't sell my paintings if it was against the law, and even offered to leave them at the airport so that I could at least stay in the country and see my friends, and pick them up on my way out. They said they couldn't trust me to have changed my mind so fast, and that they couldn't show me favouritism by holding my paintings until my return flight four days later. I then sat in the immigration detention centre for 9 hours and was escorted to an outbound NYC flight by security. They only gave me back my passport once I disembarked in JFK airport in NY. I opened my passport to see a little 'barred entry' symbol."

Michael Bucknell, curator of the five day international arts festival, The Meaning of Art said: “we are shocked that someone should be refused entry to the UK because of our festival. It is particularly ironic that the meaning of art should turn out to be 9 hours detention, and a flight back to the USA.”

Cristina Winsor is the latest victim of the new immigration regulations which took full effect in November last year, wreaking havoc on international arts events across the UK, preventing artists, poets and musicians from taking part in numerous festivals and other arts projects. Invited artists from the non-EU area are now required to be “sponsored” by a UK organisation at considerable cost under the new points-based system. Copies of official documents, such as passport and biometric identification are required to be kept by the host, and should the invited artist’s whereabouts become unknown, the host is legally obliged to inform the UK Borders Agency. Phil Woolas, Minister for Borders and Immigration introduced the ludicrous new Business visitors rules on 16 October 2008, stating that with the introduction of “an Australian-style points based system for selective migration, it makes sense to tighten visit visas at the same time.”

Manick Govinda, artist producer at Artsadmin and campaigner for the civil liberties group, The Manifesto Club who set up a petition against the Home Offices restrictions on non-EU artists said: “In the past, artists had no problems entering the UK for short visits to participate in arts events. Yet again, these draconian immigration rules criminalize invited artists who pose no security threat and are not robbing British artists of work, yet these are the reasons that the Home Office have given for imposing these jackboot style laws – to prevent terrorism and safeguard British jobs. Phil Woolas and the UK Borders Agency have lost all sense of reason.”

Art luminaries, writers and theatre directors such as Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread, Jeremy Deller, Benjamin Zephaniah, Blake Morrison and Nicholas Hytner have signed the petition. “We’re on course to reaching our target of 10,000 signatures – nearly 8,000 people have already signed up,” said Manick Govinda. “When we have the 10,000 we will send a delegation to Downing Street to submit the petition. (Sign it here, if you haven't already)

The Home Office needs to seriously reconsider these pernicious rules, which are seriously stifling international cultural exchange.”

Notes to editors

Cristina Winsor is a 32 year old artist living in the East Village, New York, who has exhibited her work across theUSA, most recently at the New York Studio School in April, and Patton and Boggs, NYC in June.

The Meaning of Art is an international, interdisciplinary five day, free art festival. Artists from all five continents band together to dissect and reframe ‘The Meaning of Art’ through art objects, seminar discussion, video and sound art, drama workshops, music, poetry and performance. It opened on 9 September at The Foundry, 84-86 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HY and continues until Sunday 13 September. Curated by Michael Bucknell and Annouchka Bailey: <http://www.luxurygoodslondon.com/>

The Manifesto Club launched the petition against the Home Office’s restrictions on non-EU artists and academics with a letter to the Observer on 22 February and a news story: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/22/immigration-arts-gormley> The campaign launched a report: UK ARTS AND CULTURE - CANCELLED, BY ORDER OF THE HOME OFFICE documenting 100’s of incidents where the new immigration rules have devastated arts events <http://www.manifestoclub.com/files/UKArtsCancelled.pdf>. The report was launched in a major news story in June 2009 in The Times: <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6418997.ece>

Phil Woolas MP made a public response to protests against the regulations in The Guardian’s Comment is Free:
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/14/phil-woolas-border-controls>

Further information and images contact: Manick Govinda, Artsadmin: 020 7247 5102 or 0790 535 7213,

Facebook group here

...you had to be there....

...from a song...



Investigate the meaning of your sentence

What is it telling you ?

Where does it begin and where does it end ?

Question the nature of your orders

Question the nature of your orders

Question the nature of your orders

What do they want from you ?

A rendezvous upon the sound

The cars rev up the word goes round

The words are weapons of their will

Their words can hurt

Their words can kill

A burning phrase can burn a town

A syllable can bring you down

Their languages are coded

Your image is eroded

Listen to the sound you heard

Learn to fight against their word

Vocabularies of death

Destruction in their breath

They use the lie

They use the myth

Seek only to confuse

And liberty abuse

The lies they tell are pretty

And blow up another city

They steal away your freedom

And your love

Their sentimental calling signs

Are calculatingly designed

To rob you of your mind and time

And still you listen to

The lulling drone of reassuring voices

Tunes to take away your choices

Make you slaves to fancy words and phrases

Until you're pushing up the daisies

They steal away your freedom

and your love

¿amor y cólera? ¿dolor y placer? ¿cuál es su odio?

Theres a difference I feel these days. It ebbs and flows, often stronger when I'm tired at the end of the day.

I've taken a pause, sat and waited, watched and remembered.

The insight I've had as I have remembered long forgotton events and people has shook me. Illusions and denial that last that long have a habit of doing that.

Why on earth did I think that? Why did that person allow my ignorance to continue? Did he seriously think I wouldn't one day remember? Did she think I was the buffoon, the fool, the retard for real?

Someone I know has recently had it confirmed that they are Aspergers. What they re thinking now, must be like shaking the snow globe and seeing it still with the room instead full of flakes. Past experiences, encounters revisited, perhaps re evaluated. Life begins again, possibly with knowledge but a differed view of the past.

I could be completely wrong, as who knows what goes on in a mind not their own, but I mention it because it is certainly akin to how I feel at times now.

I could get all metaphorical about broken spectacles and seeing clear, but as my current pair are held together with duper glue new improved formula and whatever else comes to hand I'll avoid the bad line, I'm wearing my purple/red shaded specs....a touch of style by accident maybe....

gut feeling
know your own self
trust what you know

folly becomes stupid second time around

to think that people that long ago abandoned friendship, who double talked and lied and turned their back on me....why the fuck would they be a true friend after all this time albeit folly facebull friends......strike me senseless with an old Night Train bottle if I didn't waste my time there.

Almost certainly I'm not alone, illusion is very familiar with time and the energy it takes to keep goin.

time to write some letters
forget texts
dig out some addresses from scraps of buried paper, it'll be pen n ink.

lick some stamps
practise my handwriting
and remember some more.


oh and support your post workers on strike!

When the church is empty and the graveyard full

what a difference a day makes?


upsdownstubulurswingleftturnrightand stop

breathe

and continue

lets make it more interesting now....what saves you is now the problem

the medicine becomes the disease pain becomes more than a feeling in senses and a ghost to believe in or not

is there another way to turn? cancerdiabetesdvtstrokes just casual conversation

talking of getting back, recovering, feeling as the few left after a violent storm, shaking the leaves from our hair looking round at the new light

it is always there just as it has to be...lets talk of entropy and push it away in safe distance, not flesh and bone but errosion of some distant shore

face it
breath it in
smile back and kick it in the nuts

is that all you can do? I've dreamt of you since before I could remember, you hold little but a weary feeling of deja vu now

no more of this
plain boring
im coming back and im choosing the game im putting on the records i want to hear and singing the words out loud enough of this waiting till tomorrow we all live and die in the same moment jump through the mirror see the wizard steal his clothes and crank it up to 11

fuck em if they can't take a joke

sometimes its all in a song.....

PRAY TO THE JUNKIEMAKER - Fishbone


Pray to the Junkiemaker through all types of weather
You will be a slave to the Junkiemaker forever
Fiend 4 the means while it taxes your mind...
You're on the road to the "Tombstone Commode"

Fiend like a hype as you suck the glass pipe
Your soul is cast into a Hellish hole
And as you're on your knees tryin to feed your disease
The Monkey's on your back got you "beggin' please"

Pray to the Junkiemaker
Take a hit wit yer lips
Pray to the Junkiemaker...WHOA !

You're jaded the light you no longer see
Burned out, broke down in your misery
Drop to less, you'll soon confess and "assume the position"
"Constipated asphyxiated concludes in Purgatory as stated !"

Pray to the Junkiemaker
Pray to the Junkiemaker
It's the death ticket, "Can I get a witness !"
Pray to the Junkiemaker
"Take a hit, Wit yer lips !"
Pray to the Junkiemaker
"OOOOOOOOOH, WHOAH !"
Pray to the Junkiemaker
"Take a hit, sit and piss !"
Pray to the Junkiemaker
WHOAH !

I ain't talkin' 'bout a physical addiction but a mental spell
It's a moral to this story so listen well
I relate the life I live in full of shit and sometimes Hell

And you will C that the pipe is your reality

Pray to the Junkiemaker !
Mental shitty, Ho !
Mental shitty in the city YEH !
Pray to the Junkiemaker !

And you will find you'll be a junkie with a zombie mind
Suck the pipe, take your life and you will die
All because you wanted to get high !!!!!!

YEH !
In a cold sweat you will
In a deep need you will
In the rock house you will
With a dick in your mouth you will
In a mental rage you will
When your body craves you will
Demonic let's make a deal
In the hospital you will
P.M.R.C. you must be
In the business office you will
In the limousine you will
In the White House in a !
In the school house you will
In the church house you will Yes !
In the police station they do
Shippin' to the ghetto you Devils
As long as you're married you will
Rocked up in the kitchen you're trippin'
Sellin' your child for the rock pile
In a straight jacket in a !!!
Forced for a divorce of course
In the jail house you will
Way black in the plantation
Trippin' in the bum bus station
Mental m-m-masturbation
50 Skylab Station
And the astronauts got to cop
Killin' off the brothers and sistahs
Twitchin' down six feet under
Crack gettin' under my dunder
Mr. Lucifer him chuckle
Mankind under his buckle

...aint that the truth.....

no cataclysm

its the little things that can make that difference .....a minute can dictate a day or more

Yesterday, on good faith I ventured out of my way only to find I was being taken for a ride, someone playing the fool at my expense only I didn't feel like being a fool, so I smiled and laughed about it instead....or maybe that was the point ?

today, with a workload that's like juggling lots of slippery and annoyed fish whilst not being any good at juggling at all, I somehow managed to arrive at an equilibrium and well.....get it sorted to my own satisfaction ...as well as managing to fit in a plate of chips and beans as well :D


...and now tonight, following my gut instinct on something I renew contact with another person who made me smile then, and it has made me smile all the more now....kinda vague all this, eh? :)

still

I had a tough decision to make, followed my own feelings and struck home, hit paydirt, landed on my feet and all those other spot on, right on target etc ways of saying ...Y.E.S! ..cue punching air with fist and grinning bit

which brings me to the idea I was thinking of...yesterday was about buddhism....literally, as I was going to find out more about it....and well, maybe I already have, at least it sounds like the idea ive heard friends speaking of....

now karma, not so sure bout that yet but well, we will see. For now, I'm happy to be be 'at one with my self' at least when it comes to trusting my head and heart...

there you go, no cataclysm just my thoughts....

:D

..do i have to spell it out for you?

....there seems to be something missing.....

you can't have escaped it.....

its in the news....

Visteon workers occupying their factory to get their justice

Vestas where the occupants are being starved out, because they refuse to be swept aside, whilst government give the company 6 million of our money...

or maybe you have seen the news on the police....they killed a man, remember the protests...where is it now? ....kettling they call it, like keeping a lid on something?

talk about greedy politicians with their expense accounts, like thats something new?

A clown for a mayor who quietly cuts funding to community groups, closing down long fought for resources....and we worry about bendy buses?

we need a reality check

it wont go away

the television is filled with programs about valiant cops battling the rising tide of alcohol fuelled violence in city centres....as if that was more important than the quiet slow insideous violence of daily life....no money for food, if you want to keep warm this winter is the stark truth for many older folks in this country.....doctors surgeries being closed down for poly clinics run by private money for private motives....slow death

tighten your belts because of their credit squeeze ....and cheap alcohol is cheaper still...

we are at war apparently, if you don't think so, count the body bags coming home

we need a reality check

what will you wait for? what do they need to take from you before you see?

...and we have it easy, because our death squads are invisible, made up of many anonymous drones in offices, ticking boxes so another person has no money, or no job, or doesn't get the medicine they need....

life is being squeezed out, love is a luxury, dont trust anyone ....are they muslim? maybe a terrorist....an old man living alone? maybe a paedo......hide from your neighbours, ignore the screams, turn up the telly, take another sip or a toke ....

refuse this empty fake life...come alive.....forget their fear, for they are afraid of love, of friendship, of community, of trust....that is what they are afraid of.

don't wait, be alive now, find love, smile, share and push aside the illusion you are given, trust your own feelings, listen to your own voice

what are you waiting for? christmas?

.....you never know....

my last post was a touch different....in one it was a flash of prose, my very own haiku but ignoring the rules .....it was from the heart and written in one tappity tap of the keyboard without editing, polish, refinement or spell grammar correctness checking.....

i am not even sure that anyone reads these, and as I wanted to find out what others thought of it, i posted it out to a group of people on my facebook list.....people that knew me a little or a lot, or who had been around in the time ......i didn't get many replies, but facebook is like that, transitory, slim of mind, short on body with most enjoying the friviality and daftness of the apps....give your friend a pie a drink a flower find out what kind of fish dog pirate you are.....like a colourful musical with 30 second songs or a book of gary larson cartoons or anyones really...dip in..dip out....wave hello *smiley* and tell us all what you're having for dinner......

...the replies i did get made me think smile and think some more....told me something of the person who wrote back, and made me happy that I know such diverse minds amongst the people on my list of facebook friends....

im no philosopher, had no years in the wilderness up a tree, tucked away in a monastery or even attended classes ....."How do you know who you are? Or why you are? For millennia, philosophy has explored these issues to provide real answers that work today.....Our course of ten evening (or Saturday morning) sessions over ten weeks in timeless, practical philosophy provides...."

from a northern line platform poster near you

but i do think as most folks do i believe....not too deep, or you can fall in and find it hard to get out, nor too shallow unless its with a drink a smoke and all that ....jazz

A few weeks ago I went to see my doctor. She's great, honestly listens and tries to help as best she can. I had something bothering me, a blemish an ulcer or some sore point on my tongue and this was no 'aggh bit me tongue and i've got a lump' but scary looking...and scarr-y too, ringed in white, deep deep red within like a giant polo mint on a sunburnt arm. 'tut tut' she says, take this prescription, but buy it cos its cheaper, cream a couple of times a day be right as rain....if not ...come back and see me'

a week and a half later

On my second tube of this gunk, though it says use for no more than 5 days and no change, if anything its got more rigid, more scarr-y ....back to the docs.....reassuring but just incase, rush appointment for an oral surgeon in UCH.

Now, I didn't know of this but your GP can rush an appointment within 10 days to a week for seriously urgent stuff....and my GP was thinking ....just in case, as I said.

Of course, what we're talking about here is cancer, the magic C...and I tell you, NHS direct are good at giving you a scare, google and you'll find lots of excellent images...hmm, does it look like that? Mines bigger smaller a lighter shade of red....but worry warts from the net is one thing, when your doc is 'hmm...yes, just in case...im sure its nothing'.....strewth

My appointment even got moved up a day, and so its just a few weeks I have thinking....shall I worry? I mean, put my 'affairs in order' .....I felt like a bad sitcom character whose overheard the doctor talking about putting down the 'old fella' ...the old fella being a charming ancient sheepdog or collie.....

I'll admit it, I was actually scared at times, almost trying to psych myself up....I've had health scares before but nothing so 'real' 3D pixar animated as this one....Denise was also worried, of course and I found that hard as well, hating to see her distressed, so often made light of the whole thing....'lordy, how embarrassed am I going to be when he finds its just a touch of ....' etc....

So, to my last blog post, this may give you some background to the brief simple picture what was going on in my head, though I've actually been thinking of this since my brother died - which also resulted in one of my most personal and serious posts ever...seriously....look it up, its there somewhere in the list on the right....

lifes too short....how many times do you hear it? its great! shake you up, get on with living, loving cos you can't waste a day minute hour....better get to living before you get to dying if I can vaguely paraphrase someone .....dolly parton I think.

Ive had my 1st appointment, saw the head/neck/face doc (he really was called that) and the official opinion is that its probably nothing to really worry about but theres the matter of this broken tooth just there, which is preventing the tongue thing to heal up and go away.....

within the hour
Eastmans Dental Hospital
all arranged over the phone 'just tell them your name, they are expecting you'

in half an hour im sitting in the chair and tug! one less tooth in my mouth....heck of a lot of injections to stop any pain as well....

and now its a waiting game....is the giant polo going to go on its way? am i harbouring an evil brood just waiting to burst into life out of my gob ...think "aliens"....well, time and all that will let me know in due course....erk....not so scared now, but im not forgetting, this time a molar, next time it could be something serious....fingers crossed its not that now already

im typing this as i smell the food denise is cooking....and im thinking 'just pop round to the offie for some cans'

a nice cold beer
some lovely grub


first i'll finish this blog though

one thing i do know more.....i don't give a damn so much
and i know what i believe in and its too bad its not normal or all in good moderation
who else can i be?

Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est.

I remember a day back in 86 when it suddenly hit home....so close, last tick of the nuclear clock, so close it made a sunny day cold, US bombs over Libya, never felt that again, until a bus blew apart on the way to work WC1 a day in July.....now that clock's ticking away inside me, and its not a foreign country, or a stranger on the tube, as close as it can get, its me.....

Save Vestas

"Please send this on to as many people and organisations as you can. Apologies for any cross posting.

SAVE VESTAS

As you probably know, the Vestas corporation is planning to close the only factory making wind turbines in Britain, on the Isle of Wight. There is now a campaign among local people on the island and Vestas workers to save the Vestas plant. This will save 600 jobs. More than that, it matters to them because it matters to the planet.

They have asked for emails from individuals and organisations expressing support. The address is savevestas@gmail.com. PLEASE DO THIS as soon as you can. Just tell them briefly who you are and what you feel. It will be important in giving them confidence and courage. Please do it now and ask your friends and colleagues to do it too.

We will never halt climate change without wind power. We need dozens of wind turbine plants, not none.

John Sinha"

more info at:

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/vestas_petition_20414.html

http://vestasjobs.net/

and

Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55989366737

..bubble bubble toil and trouble....

eh!




tis S.C.O.R.C.H.I.O!

Bleeding heck, more sunshine than you can shake a stick at......

Just off work for this week, a stay at home summer holiday, though I am already missing the the AC at work. Best in the bulding, guaranteed 18 degrees, send shivers down your spine :D

......stepping back for a while, concentrating on me and mine with a bit of rest and recuperation....

o Mikey mansions is going green these days, with a host of new house plants.....a money plant, peace lily and something else I'm not sure what but its a climber so should be good....

Being at home this week, I'll be doing some cooking and baking to follow on from the runaway success of the blueberry and pineapple pie I made the other week. Even had enough left of the fruit to make a delicious compote thing for putting on ice cream, blueberry heaven in a jar :D




And it was Pride today in London, though I didn't make an appearance. Denise was down at the Broken Rainbow stall in Trafalgar Square and came back hot and tired. Central London in this heat is not to be recommended, still a successful day even if they ran out of promotional material after an hour. Pride is so big these days, and its pushed as a party so straights and tourists and even straight tourists love to join in the fun. Still......40 years now.....no time to be complacent!







I well remember 2007, with the first appearance of Spectrum (Haringey as it was known then) and the rain and smiles and mad vibe of it all. It would have been something to go this year, catch up with some folks and make new friends but for me, I just felt like peace and quiet, just me and the squirrels, blue tits, pigeons and the occasional confused bumblebee buzzing on through....working on something special as well.....

This is no pipes and slippers blog though! I'm recharging these old batteries and girding my loins anew for the year ahead (whatever loins are....).

This year I will

bake a fabulous cake for all my friends to enjoy
get something special off the ground (wait and see....more will be revealed soon, I hope)
leave this city for a real break, possibly using me passport this time....
learn to write letters again.....who needs email ?

not generally the time of year for resolutions, only these are more the good stuff and aiming higher than just planning on getting my weight down, giving up smoking or learning a new language (mind you, they're not bad ideas either :D )

RMT Strike - Bob Crow explains who is responsible for it going ahead

Strike is solid; please send messages of support; picket; message from Bob Crow

Click to join the Facebook group at Support the Tube strike!

The strike is pretty solid, with massive disruption on most lines. Info from the London Underground strike committee:

1. Please send messages of solidarity
http://www.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk/supportus

Please also look out for opportunities to call into radio phone ins, text in to vox pops, take part in polls supporting the strike etc...

2. If you can help at one of these picket lines early tomorrow morning, it would be much appreciated.

Loughton - thurs after 1pm
Stratford Jubilee - thurs 5:30am
West Ruislip - thur 4.30am
Golders Green - thurs 4:30am
to support fleet
Stonebridge Park - tonight from 5:30pm or thurs at 5:30am
Neasden, Upminster and Ealing Common all @10pm tonight and 4:30am thurs

3. Below is a copy of Bob Crow's take on talks with LU management and how this all could have been avoided at 6:30pm on tuesday.

**

June 10, 2009
Personal Letter to LUL Members

Dear colleague,

A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL SECRETARY
THE TRUTH (AND IF NOT SUE US FOR LIBEL)

This is my 31st year as a member of this Union and a worker on London Underground and in all that time I have never experienced such dishonesty from any management that I have dealt with. Let me explain to you what really happened at the talks.

The Facts

Pay.

Management made a revised offer on a two year deal or four year deal. We said we would go away, speak to our members and representatives and come back to them. We said this did not have to be resolved immediately and hence we could suspend the action.

Breaches of Agreements.

It is an out and out lie that we were only interested in the two sacked drivers. There were another five specific cases where management had abused the disciplinary procedures. It was agreed that ACAS would look at all seven cases and we said that we would be able to suspend the action to allow this to go ahead.

On the application of the sickness procedures, management were abusing it by making unannounced visits to members without a Trade Union representative being present. They were also issuing 52 week warnings as opposed to the maximum allowed which is 26 weeks. We reached agreement that the 26 weeks maximum would be adhered to and that a Trade Union representative would be in attendance at the interviews.

Redundancies.

In 2001 after campaigning that the privatisation of the infrastructure would be a disaster LUL members were transferred to Metronet. We reached an agreement with LUL and Metronet that there would be no compulsory redundancies and that staff would be offered alternative employment in the event of their job going. This was enshrined in members' contracts. As we predicted Metronet went bust with massive debts. We asked that all Metronet members that came back to LUL, and all other LUL members, should have the same agreement of no compulsory redundancies.

At 6 o'clock, and hour before the strike was to begin, agreement was reached with the Acting Managing Director, Richard Parry. In fact I signed a document to this effect and this was to go back in front of your General Grades Committee immediately so that we could suspend the strike.

At 6.35 p.m. whilst awaiting the final typed agreement we were told by management that they had made a phone call and that they could no longer abide by the agreement - they reneged before the ink was even dry. We were stunned that management could be so dishonest.
I have no doubt that the phone call made was to the Transport Commission or City Hall and they instructed the negotiators to pull the agreed deal. It became quite clear that the Transport Commission or City Hall were using stalling tactics to try and extend the talks to 7 p.m. in the hope that staff would believe agreement had been reached and turn up for work and members were also getting anonymous texts telling them the action was being called off.

It is an absolute disgrace that these bodies should interfere in the negotiations taking place between your Union and the LUL management. We negotiate in good faith and expect the same from the other side. It is the management side that have forced this strike to go ahead and now they will have to find a way to deal with the outstanding issues all over again.

The RMT want a negotiated settlement without interference from the Politicians. Agreement can be reached if management sit down and negotiate honestly.

Thank you for your support - the strike is solid and it is a tremendous effort by all of you. I will write to you with developments

.

Best wishes

Bob Crow
General Secretary

Egg attack on BNP leader Griffin

Taken from the BBC News website...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8091605.stm

There's some excellent footage both of the egg attack, and an interview with Griffin after...

Here are two links on youtube as well.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO-7gnh1PFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrA1WRczkis

BNP leader Nick Griffin has been pelted with eggs and forced to abandon a press conference outside Parliament.

Dozens of protesters disrupted the event, which follows the British National Party winning its first two seats in the European Parliament.

Chanting anti-Nazi slogans and holding placards they surrounded Mr Griffin as he was bundled into a car.

Mr Griffin was elected for the North West region - a result condemned by parties across the political spectrum.

Mr Griffin and Andrew Brons, who was elected in the Yorkshire and Humber region, staged a press conference on College Green, opposite the Houses of Parliament.

The BNP leader began the event by holding up copies of national newspapers and talking about what he said were media lies about him and his party.

Scuffle

He denied he had past links with Oswald Mosley, as the former fascist leader "was very hostile to the National Front from which I am from".

He had been speaking for about two minutes when about 50 to 100 protesters marched towards him chanting slogans and throwing eggs.

Nick Griffin was forced to retreat from college green

There was a brief scuffle as Mr Griffin was jostled by protesters - and a scrum of cameramen - before the BNP leader was bundled into the back seat of a waiting car by his security men.

A tourist who was caught up in the melee was treated in an ambulance, after suffering an injured leg.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We are aware of the incident and will pursue charges if a complaint is made."

'Low turnout'

Members of Unite Against Fascism, a new group supported by trade unions and MPs from all parties, including Tory leader David Cameron, and veteran left wing campaigner Tony Benn, said they wanted to "defend democracy" against what they regard as the "fascist" and "racist" policies of the BNP.

One told the crowd his message for Mr Griffin was: "Wherever you go in this country we will make sure you are welcomed by demonstrations."

The demonstrators kicked and hit the BNP leader's car with their placards before cheering as he drove off.

Protest organiser Weyman Bennett, national secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said he believed it was important to stand up to the BNP.

"The majority of people did not vote for the BNP, they did not vote at all. The BNP was able to dupe them into saying that they had an answer to people's problems.

Nick Griffin calls the protest 'an absolute outrage'

"They presented themselves as a mainstream party. The reality was because the turnout was so low, they actually got elected."

Speaking to BBC News afterwards, Mr Griffin alleged that the three main political parties were trying to prevent the BNP getting its message across by colluding with protesters who he said were mainly left-wing students.

"It's a very, very sad day for British democracy," he said.

"People should be entitled to hear what we have to say and to hear journalists question us robustly."

He described protesters as an "organised mob that's backed by all three main parties to stop us getting our message across to the public" and added: "It does not represent ordinary people."

He said he suffered only a "glancing splattering" with egg but a television cameraman was hit full in the face.

'Terrible thing'

He says the BNP is not racist and says it won votes because it "spoke openly about the problem of immigration".

And he argued that the "political elite" were responsible for making "the indigenous British majority... second class citizens in every possible sphere".

Mr Griffin said the BNP plans to hold a press conference in Manchester tomorrow and he hopes that the police will take action against any violent protests.

On Monday Tory leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said they were "sickened" by the BNP's win and Labour deputy Harriet Harman said it was "a terrible thing".

The number of people voting BNP across the UK as a whole went up slightly, from 808,201 to 943,598 in the European elections, but went down slightly in the two regions where it gained MEPs, with the party benefitting from a collapse in the Labour vote.

They won 6.2% of votes, compared with 8.6% for the Green Party, 13.7% for the Lib Dems, 15.7% for Labour, 16.5% for the UK Independence Party and 27.7% for the Conservatives.

Cookery for today:

Eggs, an excellent accompaniament to the every day table.

First, get your eggs....the older the better for that 'vintage' texture...

Hold aloft, check for a head wind.....when you are ready, get your fascist...any will do, bonehead, racist thug, though for that extra 'something', try the Nick Griffin variety as they go down so well, and with a vigorous hurling action, aim and throw. Best done in groups so you get full coverage.....can be addictive but don't worry, its all good clean fun :D

RMT Strike 9th June 2009

The RMT have called for a 2 day strike from 7pm tonight (Tuesday 9th June). I, as much as anyone else are not looking forward to the inevitable chaos this will cause in travelling home, and back to work during the dispute. I decided to find out why the strike has been called. The television and print news have given mostly one side of the story, and I wanted to find a more balanced view.

Here is information about why the strike has been called. It has been taken from the RMT website. This tells a different story to that being shown in the media. It outlines the issues, as well as the voting figures ( a more full version can be found at:

http://www.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk/sites/default/files/ltrc%20may09%20strike.pdf )

"The Issues: Jobs

London Underground is cutting 1,000 jobs and TfL may cut 3,000 more. Neither will rule out compulsory
redundancies. LUL says that these are ‘only’ admin jobs. But transport needs administrators as well as frontline staff.
Unlike your employer, RMT values all our members’ jobs. LUL/TfL are pushing through an ‘Organisational Change Process’ which allows for compulsory redundancies, in breach of an agreement it signed with RMT (and ASLEF) in 2001. If LUL gets away with tearing it up, then no job is safe – including engineering and operational grades.

The Issues: Pay

RMT asked for a one-year deal, a substantial pay rise, a £26k minimum, and improvements to conditions. LUL offers a five-year deal: 1% for 2009 and RPI+0.5% for the next four years. With CPI (the government’s preferred inflation measure) at 3.2% in February, this is a year-on-year pay cut in real terms. The five-year timespan takes us past 2012. LUL wants to stop us demanding a decent reward for working
during the Olympics. TfL has not even made an offer! Both employers have refused to even consider our other claims, on issues such as medical redeployment, shorter working hours and family-friendly policies.

The Issues: Justice

LUL is clamping down on attendance and discipline, leading to rampant mistreatment of staff - over-the-top punishments; sick pay stopped; pay docked for emergency domestic leave; endless contact when you are sick; warnings given with no discretion; managers spotting fictitious ‘patterns’ of non-attendance; union representation denied; sickness treated like a crime. Many actions by managers are aggressive and punitive, and many are outside the company’s policies and agreements. Management have created a regime of fear, where people even come to work when they are ill. We have all suffered under this harsh regime ourselves or know a workmate who has. This has to stop."

Details of the voting:

Q1 Are you prepared to take strike action?

LUL: Yes 2,810 No 488 Majority = 85.2%, or 6:1

TfL: Yes 60 No 15 Majority = 80%, or 4:1

Q2 Are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike?

LUL: Yes 2,927 No 362 Majority = 89%, or 8:1

TfL: Yes 67 No 8 Majority = 89.3%, or 8:1


This shows the issues from the RMT point of view, as their view is not being publicised in the media. Please read and make up your own mind.

If you feel that you want to lend your support to the RMT workers, you can leave a message of support at :

http://www.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk/supportus

Haringey Independence Day 2009

Yesterday, Denise and I were at the Haringey Independence Day event. We ran a stall for Spectrum London. This is the 2nd year we have attended, and we learnt our lessons well. Last year, we brought heaps of literature for the stall. It was an achievement for any one to see behind the teetering piles of paper :P This year, it was a lot less, and less to carry home too.

http://www.haringey.org.uk/independenceday/

You can get an idea of what it was all about there, though It probably won't give you the feeling of the event. One of the most constructive, inclusive and friendly events I've been to in a long time. The sun was out, and it was a lovely day. I got a new friend who is called jeffrey. It is a Peace Lily, which is one of my favourites. Now I have one plant, I expect it won't be long before Mikey Mansions becomes home to more flora in the near future.

Lots of workshops and films, which we both missed as we stayed on the stall for the most part. We had a few interested folks taking literature and met some great people. Most folks looked, and moved on. A few raised their eyebrows but nothing negative. We were well placed, by the food area which was very convenient. We snacked away with organic lemonade, scrumptious salads and carrot cake. Denise made some good contacts with some folks involved in Domestic Abuse issues in local london boroughs. We had copies of the press release for the Trans Domestic Abuse online survey which launches Monday, and this was very well received. It was nice to get some honest views from some folks, thanking Spectrum for the work that we do. I think I blushed a few times :=]

I managed to get a couple of the Visteon t'shirts (in XL, which was a blessing as it only just fit me!)

Last year, Reel News ( http://www.reelnews.co.uk/ ) filmed, and as they had a stall there I tried to get a copy of the issue with a report on last years HID. It was the one edition they hadn't brought with them, still we have a copy on its way through the post to us. They were also interested in the short film that Spectrum London produced for this years LGBT History Month, and we may have it included in a later edition (once we have sorted out copyright clearance issues).

I met a few old friends from the past which was great. One of them was there with the food stall, which did an amazing job feeding all the hungry attendees. If you are looking for a vegan caterer for your event, then check them out. They are non profit making, concentrating on producing gorgeous vegan grub. I watched as the cake stall was replenished periodically with fresh out of the oven slices of wonderfulness :D Their website is http://www.vegancampaigns.org.uk/ or you can write to :

Vegan Campaigns
BM 2300
London
WC1N 3XX


Email via info@vegancampaigns.org.uk

At the end of the day, we joined the final workshop session where in the far to short amount of time left, we discussed ways forward from the event. Some excellent ideas, with folks committing themselves to work together bringing them to fruition.

We missed the after party as I wasn't feeling too good, with what felt like a horrible head cold coming on, though it could be related to finally kicking the smoking habit.

I can't wait for next year, so much to do but all good stuff!

Haringey Independence Day: Community DIY for the Credit Crunch

This event is on tomorrow. Last years event was an excellent day, and Spectrum ran a stall there, and will be again this year. Lots to see and do, including kids with a free creche, face painting and entertainment.

More information at http://www.haringey.org.uk/independenceday/

Haringey Independence Day: Community DIY for the Credit Crunch

Saturday 30th May, 12 noon to 6pm (with kids activities from 10.15am)

West Green Learning Centre, West Green Road, N15

The recession might be making life more difficult for many of us, but campaign and community groups in Haringey are looking at alternative ways of organising and making real changes to improve our lives.

Haringey Independence Day brings these groups together for a day of discussions, workshops, stalls and films. It's a day of independence from party politics (not an expense claim in sight), religion and government, where individuals and groups in Haringey can exchange ideas, get inspired and make our own plans for a summer of radical recession-busting and resistance. A wide variety of groups will be participating, including Haringey Solidarity Group, Sustainable Haringey, Naturewise, Haringey Federation of Residents’ Associations, Haringey Cycling Campaign and Haringey Independent Cinema.

From growing your own food and cycling, to looking at radical solutions to redundancies and repossessions, the day includes a whole range of activities for all ages. There’s a Dr Bike session and a ‘Give or Take’ community recycling event. Film showings throughout the day include Post Code Wars followed by a discussion by the pupils from Park View Academy who made it, and there’s a special guest performance from poet and songwriter John Hegley, organised by the Kids Collective Arts group.

Local resident Marlene Barrett, one of the people involved in organising the day, said: "Last year’s Haringey Independence Day was a huge success, with over 250 people taking part, and we hope this year’s will be even bigger and better. There’s something for everyone - an opportunity to share news, views, ideas and experiences, to find out what’s going on, to get inspired, to get involved or maybe to start something new."

Another local resident and organiser, Tony Wood, said: “We want to find ways to support each other, without relying on banks and other institutions who just prey on us for profit.”

NOTES:

1. Full details of workshops and stalls at http://www.haringey.org.uk/independenceday

2. This free event is organised by individuals and supported by Haringey Independent Cinema, Radical History Network, Haringey Solidarity Group and Haringey Justice for Palestinians.

3. The venue is West Green Learning Centre, Park View Academy, West Green Road, N15 3RB. The building is fully wheelchair accessible.

4. Kids are welcome (with children's films from 10.15am to noon) and there’s a free crèche.

squirrels, pigeons, blue tits and foxes....

its been a quiet bank holiday weekend, no great adventures -unless you count going out into the street in my bare feet to chase a cat away that was lying in wait for squirrels.

We get a number of visitors, looking for a nibble, and this weekend its been hectic. Another bunch of squirrels, taking turns to scrap on the window sill, whilst grabbing nuts from the bowl. It occasionally gets hairy when one of them comes into the living room window, and realises 'shit! I'm in a house!' We then get panic scrabbling letmeoutletmeoutnow sorta stuff, before she finally manages to flee the way she came in.

...and what is so nice to see, is that the local bird life have cottoned on to the bowls of nuts we put out, and have been having their own peanut picnic on the window sill.

...for some reason I have been waking at about 5 am every morning this week. Shame about the loss of snooze time, but it is compensated by the birdy chorus.

I tend to open the window to allow the birds and squirrels to reach the bowls of nuts, and the other morning I was pleasantly surprised to find a fox waiting for me under the window. She didn't seem freaked, just curious, and having a good time helping herself to the odd pile of nuts that had been overlooked by the rest of the hungry neighbours.

We haven't seen any sign of the mice since we removed the one we caught the other month. Denise took it out to the woods near here, which is probably a good thing as we would probably run out of nuts with so many nibblers visiting!

It is one of my most favourite things, experiencing the day so early on. 5 am and you get the birdy choral performance, the occasional squabble between squirrels and the odd wood pigeon, blue tit or jackdaw hoovering up any nuts on the grass out front. I don't think I could put a price on it, y'know? Our rent isn't that cheap here, but the bonus of the peace and quiet, the local wildlife, woods for walking and so on makes it less of a burden, and just a slight annoyance...well, ish :=]

so thats my Bill Oddie bit for the week done, I'd like to say....always make time to stop and smell the flowers... after all, we all get there in the end, so lets enjoy the journey :D