This week Hurricane Katrina exposed the obvious shortfalls in American society, demonstrating in the most dramatic manner how rampant capitalism stumbles so easily into an apocalyptic despair, and how like anywhere else in the world it’s the poor that suffer most. I’m amazed to see those people who even before the hurricane had nothing, pulling… Continue reading Hurricane Katrina
Category: Society
Best and Worst Places to Live in the UK
I managed two minutes of Channel 4s Best and Worst Places to Live in the UK before switching to the refuge of the Champions League. Middle class murmurings of chav culture have been gathering pace and acceptability over the past year. This program marks a point at which the prejudice seems to break free from… Continue reading Best and Worst Places to Live in the UK
Blazers, medals and maroon berets
At 6:30 pm two men at London’s Victoria station were wearing blazers, medals and maroon berets. The Parachute Regiment, WW2. They had been manning their little stand collecting money since before 9:30 when I passed them on they way to work. Behind them are photos of men at war, smiling, exhausted and bloody. They are… Continue reading Blazers, medals and maroon berets
The NHS and negative nationalism
I have fractured my ankle, not seriously but enough for it to be in a cast for the next four weeks. And a great cast it is too, bright orange plastic set off with a smart little black bootie. Nice. The handiwork was carried out by a nurse at Kings College Hospital in Denmark Hill,… Continue reading The NHS and negative nationalism
Your annual dose of royal greed
Today the BBC reported on figures published concerning royal spending, which sounds like a damn good opportunity for a rant. It shows that the royal family cost us 36 Million pounds last year, this in itself makes it sound like something that we are privileged to invest in. In actual fact this money was spent… Continue reading Your annual dose of royal greed
45 Seconds of Holiday Swap
We thought we’d watch a bit of TV whilst having dinner. It was Holiday Swap that lasted about 45 seconds before I had to turn it off in complete disgust. The family are in a people carrier driving through a Tenerife resort, on their way to meet their host family. The Mum smiles and shakes… Continue reading 45 Seconds of Holiday Swap
Jemma, Natasha and Jade
I spotted The Sun this morning at the station and was curious to see what three nice looking young girls where doing on the front cover clutching their offspring. It didn’t take long to realise they where today’s scapegoat, the latest figures of hate for ‘The currant bun’ to point and sneer at on behalf… Continue reading Jemma, Natasha and Jade
Question time my arse
I knew that Question time was going to wind me up last night but I had to watch it anyway. For some reason I thought that the party leaders facing questions from the public might be interesting – and how wrong I was! The three leaders did what they do with a fair amount of… Continue reading Question time my arse
I like Cherie Blair
If there’s one thing that has always amazed me in politics – it’s the good Tory wife. There was that period in the 80s and 90s when the news was filled with stories of Tory MPs cheating on their wives with an array of sexy young things. More often than not the week would end… Continue reading I like Cherie Blair
Why is Chav an acceptable prejudice?
You know that when parents start using a slang word that it’s not them just trying to be cool, but also the arrival of that expression into the vocabulary of plain English. In this context I’m talking about the word Chav, which I believe means Council House And Violence, an expression that generalises those members… Continue reading Why is Chav an acceptable prejudice?