I returned to these shores from Japan on the 2nd of January, and at once the
big freeze started, though I suppose it is better than the flood that preceeded
it.
It was a strange Yule. For the first time in my 57 years I was away from my family on Christmas Eve. I flew out to Japan on the 22nd; got stuck in Amsterdam for 24 hours because of fog, and spent the next week taking a young woman out of a massive depression.
Kiyoko arrived on the 27th, so we celebrated New Year together at her uncle and aunt's house, which helped a little bit. At midnight we walked to Eimeji Temple under a starry sky, sounded the big bell, and payed our respect to the Buddha.
If at first you don't succeed, maybe skydiving is not for you.
The New Year's message from the Dear Leader this year was stark; in a nutshell:
We Are Doomed.
War is looming; terrorists are sure to blow us to Kingdom Come; the whole country is gridlocked; the economy is collapsing (not because of failed politics of the People's Party, mind you. It's all the fault of those dirty foreigners unable to manage how to run things. Of course, Tony, of course)
How is it that the Government was able to move quickly and effectivly in suspending our civil rights after 9.11, but seems unable to do anything to protect us in case of any terrorist attack.
We're fighting a losing battle against the inefficiency of the East Yorkshire Council. Ten months ago our local Residents' Association signed a lease on an empty shop unit to use as a drop-in centre for the estate. The local coppers are keen to use it as a cop shop, a mutual society wants a corner for office space; we are all rearing to go. The Council, however, is still trying to decide whether we need extra parking frames for bicycles outside the premises before they can pass the planning permission. One would think ten months would be sufficient time to mull things over, but evidently these are weighty matters that can't be rushed through. Though in fairness, the same Council did manage to pass the planning permission for the new Tesco supermarket that no-one in Beverley wanted in less than a month, so they can move quickly when they have to. Dark mutterings among the population about Tesco paying ten times the market value for a property jointly belonging to the Chief Executive and the Conservative top dog on the said Council is of course seen as just sour grapes.
Sin City
The Vatican has emerged as the most crime-ridden country in the world. Last
year 608 offences were committed, which might not sound too bad, but as there
are only 455 residents this makes it the place with most crimes per inhabitant.
Cheers.
Romanian soccer club Steaua Nicolae Balcescu, being plagued with pitch invasions, is seeking planning permission to install a moat round the pitch and fill it with live crocodiles.
Another traditional shop here in Beverley threw in the towel just before Christmas, unable to compete with Tesco supermarket. Fletcher's, which for more than a 100 years had been famous for it's pork pies, is no more. Marks and Spencer will now take over the premises for a new food shop. It looks like there soon will be only multiples and charity shops left in town.
For more than a week now the roads and sidewalks in the East Riding has been like skating rinks. The other day we had a pile-up of more than 20 cars on our little part of the M62, and the local hospitals are treating a record number of people who has taken a tumble. It's been bad in other parts of the country, too, but as they actually grit the roads, the situation has not been quite so dire. Talking to our local Councillor I was informed that this year's budget had no provision for gritting as last year was so mild that there was money left over. Fair enough, I suppose, except they can't carry over the money from one year to the next. One should think that some-one would have thought of that, but, then again, we are dealing with politicians.
The Swinemoor Estate Residents Association then offered to grit the local sidewalks at our own expence, but were told that was inadvisable, as we would then be legally responsible if some-one took a tumble. So we now have the curious situation in this country that a Council has no legal obligation to grit the roads and sidewalks, but you can be sued if you do.
However, we are not the only ones being affected. For days now the national newspapers and the telly have been preoccupied with the astonishing fact that it snowed. In January. In London. We had pages and pages of tales about intrepid commuters battling through drifts of up to - ooh almost 2 inches - to get to work. One wonders how the poor dears were able to cope.
The Government is completely out of control. The other day they sent the Storm Troopers in, and confiscated hundreds of replica guns from a chain of shops called "Licenced to Thrill". The haul was paraded on the telly and the usual bunch of commentators explained how they were finally getting on top of the gun culture. What was never mentioned is that Parliament has never passed any law banning the sale or ownership of replica guns. So a perfectly legal business was victimized in order for the authorities to be seen doing something after four teen-age girls were caught in a gunbattle between two gangs on New Year's Eve. The law of the land is now seen as just an inconvienience by Tony and his cronies.
My police sources also tell me that they have been told by Westminster that they are no longer allowed to waste resources on investigating crime. Only murder and child abuse should be looked into without specific clearance from Central. It seems the Dear Leader has been deeply worried by the recent find of terrorists producing Ricin, so all available police are being used to guard the policial elite. And anyway the prisons are overflowing, so there is no room to house your common burglar and what have you.
Some-one in the UK is suffering from paranoia, and I'm not sure if it is me or the powers that be, but the country is looking more and more like something out of a Kafka novel. You can now be arrested without being informed about what law you have run afoul of, but if you don't confess, it can be held against you. You can also be arrested and sent to prison, not because you have done anything illegal, but because you might in a given situation break the law. The onus is now on you to prove your innocence, not on the authorities to prove any guilt. You no longer have any right to privacy; your telephone can be tapped, your E-mail monitored, all your movements followed on cameras. You are not allowed to defend yourself, your family or your property, even if the authorities have no obligation to do so. Your property can be confiscated without due process of law. Welcome to the 21st Century Britain of Tony Blair. And still most people seems to either not have noticed or they don't care.
Last year a big cinema multiplex opened in Hull just across the county border, and now we are being told the Beverley Picture Playhouse, the oldest cinema theatre in Britain, will close, as they can't get copies of popular films until they have finished showing at the multiplex.
Tony Martin, who got 5 years for shooting a burglar in his home some years ago, was yesterday denied parole after being branded "a danger to burglars". He was deemed unfit for release by the Parole Board "as he is not living in the 21st Century", after stating that "things were better 40 years ago" Under these criteria I suspect around 98 per cent of the population should be locked up.
The news are also in that a Premiumship soccer player is now under police investigation for "threatening behaviour likely to make someone fear for his life" after apprehending a burglar in his living room.
Update on last item.
The police have decided not to take action on the assault charge as no weapon
was used. Occasionally sanity prevails, though the fact that the footballer
could afford top legal advice might have something to do with it.
Some bright spark has finally figured out why the trains are never on time; there are simply too many of them for the lines to cope. So now there will be a lot fewer trains running in the hope that those remaining might make it on schedule.
It never rains but it pours. We've had a rather hectic week. First my sister-in-law called from Norway to tell me that my mother was in hospital with breathing difficulties. Then our next-door neighbour returned early from a skiing trip in Austria also suffering from the same thing. He dropped dead next day with a massive heart attack. Then a big hole opened up in the garden of another neighbour as the sewer drain collapsed; they've been pumping out raw sewage all week, and the whole neigbourhood stinks to high heaven. The same day we got a phone call from Japan that the priest of Kiyoko's family had died. At 92 it wasn't all that unespected, but still. Next day we had to call the ambulance for Kiyoko's father when he collapsed in the staircase. They are doing a lot of tests on him to try to figure out what's wrong, and as he doesn't speak a word of English I am spending most of my time at the hospital. And to cap it all, Bronwen collapsed again when chasing a rat. The vet have now told us to retire her, as her lungs are shot.
Those who say it can't be done, shouldn't get in the way of the ones doing it.
The British National Party has just won a seat on Halifax City Council, a fact that has upset New Labour no end. The spin machine has been churning all week about how they will deal with the Neo-Nazis. Today the Dear Leader has revealed how they will do it; the Peoples Party are going to adopt the BNP's politics. That should teach the buggers.
New Labour's dumbing down of higher education continues. Universities will now charge tuition fees of £3,500 a year (but if you vote Labour you don't have to pay) Whether the Unis will see any of that money is a moot point. If the soon to be apointed "Access Regulator" decides that the wrong kind of people gain places the money will go directly into the coffers of the Chancellor. And as the right kind of people often have difficulties spelling their own name the Universities will have to adjust. Degrees in Turfgrass Science, Surf Management and Government Bumlicking are in the cards.
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is providing calculators free of charge for barstaff and off-licence employees as many of them are unable to figure out a persons age from their date of birth on an ID Card. Is there any hope left?
I don't often bother to watch the news on the telly these days, but yesterday I switched on to the BBC and I have to admit it scared the living daylight out of me. The top news item of the day, live direct from Beverley:
The East Yorkshire Council Is Gritting The Roads.
The blizzard started a few hours later. I have just been clearing snow and a large conifer that toppled over, off the drive here at Heimbu.
As Tony Blair is flying out to Washington today is there any hope that President Bush can calm him down? Last Prime Minister's Question Time in the Commons was remarkable. Not only was he gung-ho on attacking Iraq, but he also told the House that North Korea was next on his list. Being asked if that would be the end of it he gave a clear indication that this was just the beginning; any country that he felt threatening British security would be obliterated.