Monday, 10 June 2013
Iain Banks
The terribly sad news of the death of Iain Banks, following his recent cancer diagnosis, is a dreadful loss for Scotland and for book lovers all over the world.
Iain’s first novel – The Wasp Factory – once read, never forgotten. Its horrifying conclusion about the identity of the main protagonist, is one of the most memorable in 20th Century Scottish writing. If that was some ending then, “It was the day my Grandmother exploded” was some beginning. A memorable first line to “The Crow Road”, sitting alongside Complicity, The Bridge and many others as amongst the most engaging, humourous and thoughtful novels of the time. And while Iain was clearly, undeniably, unashamedly and proudly Scottish, his novels, though often set in his homeland, had international appeal.
As a book lover from Scotland, Iain was definitely Iain, never Banks. His friendly, avuncular, chummy nature could set an audience at ease, whether at a book festival or in a pub. He was in many ways the man next door, but he had a talent which set him apart, even from fellow writers.
It seems sad to consider that his forthcoming novel ‘The Quarry’ will not be followed by any others. His vivid imagination was undoubtedly already working away on new plots and we have been cheated of the product of his remarkable, fertile mind. At the age of only 59, in a profession from which few retire, Iain could easily have produced a further dozen to twenty novels, especially if he had kept up his incredibly book a year productivity.
If you do one thing this year, read or re-read at least one of Iain’s novels. You won’t regret it.
Monday, 14 November 2011
The new European Revolutions
Europe is in the midst of a revolution. Democratically elected governments have been quickly and silently removed and replaced with government by technocrats.
The new Italian government is being led by a man recently ennobled as a “senator for life”, a position which last appeared in the public eye when enjoyed by General Augusto Pinochet.
Who has caused these coup d’etats? Not the armies, nor even the people of these countries, but “the markets”, whose confidence is desperately sought after the installation of these unelected technocrats.
In this they have been supported by the EU. The newly installed Italian government have received a vote of confidence from the unelected “President” of the EU, Barosso and his European Parliamentary henchman, Hermann van Rompuy. At the head of this new enforcement agency lies a duopoly of Sarkozy and Merkel. Both at least have some democratic legitimacy as leaders of France and Germany, but none in Italy or Greece.
Italy’s borrowing crisis reached a peak last week when an organization called LCH. Clearnet increased the costs associated with purchase of Italian government bonds. Not, apparently, because of concerns about the countries ability to repay its debt but out of concern about the sluggish rate of growth of the Italian economy. None of the features of the so called austerity package seem calculated to encourage growth. Their point rather more bluntly appears to be insure against the countries ability to repay debt.
Greece has many endemic problems, not least of which is its Olympian standards of tax avoidance. Papandreou was elected on a platform of economic growth and has ultimately fallen on his sword because of his unpreparedness to tackle tax evasion and his inability to deliver economic growth. If inability to deliver economic growth had been the key factor in late twentieth century elections, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan would not have been re-elected at the first time of asking.
The new leaders of Greece and Italy are, respectively, a former central banker and an economics professor. Both appear to be gentlemen of unalloyed integrity and fundamental decency. Both appear to be acknowledged experts in their fields, though those fields have not been entirely innocent in the recent economic disaster. Both, whilst having the qualified support of their parliaments, have no democratic mandate.
How far does democracy go before technocrats have to step in and over-rule? What are the challenges facing those who believe in democracy in this situation? When push comes to shove, who decides?
What does the crisis also mean for Capitalism? Is Capitalism ultimately sustainable? Why do economies – corporate and national – always have to grow? Indeedn do they always have to grow? Why? What does untramelled growth in the west mean for the rest of the world? Is such growth environmentally sustainable? What does it ultimately mean for peace and security?
The new Italian government is being led by a man recently ennobled as a “senator for life”, a position which last appeared in the public eye when enjoyed by General Augusto Pinochet.
Who has caused these coup d’etats? Not the armies, nor even the people of these countries, but “the markets”, whose confidence is desperately sought after the installation of these unelected technocrats.
In this they have been supported by the EU. The newly installed Italian government have received a vote of confidence from the unelected “President” of the EU, Barosso and his European Parliamentary henchman, Hermann van Rompuy. At the head of this new enforcement agency lies a duopoly of Sarkozy and Merkel. Both at least have some democratic legitimacy as leaders of France and Germany, but none in Italy or Greece.
Italy’s borrowing crisis reached a peak last week when an organization called LCH. Clearnet increased the costs associated with purchase of Italian government bonds. Not, apparently, because of concerns about the countries ability to repay its debt but out of concern about the sluggish rate of growth of the Italian economy. None of the features of the so called austerity package seem calculated to encourage growth. Their point rather more bluntly appears to be insure against the countries ability to repay debt.
Greece has many endemic problems, not least of which is its Olympian standards of tax avoidance. Papandreou was elected on a platform of economic growth and has ultimately fallen on his sword because of his unpreparedness to tackle tax evasion and his inability to deliver economic growth. If inability to deliver economic growth had been the key factor in late twentieth century elections, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan would not have been re-elected at the first time of asking.
The new leaders of Greece and Italy are, respectively, a former central banker and an economics professor. Both appear to be gentlemen of unalloyed integrity and fundamental decency. Both appear to be acknowledged experts in their fields, though those fields have not been entirely innocent in the recent economic disaster. Both, whilst having the qualified support of their parliaments, have no democratic mandate.
How far does democracy go before technocrats have to step in and over-rule? What are the challenges facing those who believe in democracy in this situation? When push comes to shove, who decides?
What does the crisis also mean for Capitalism? Is Capitalism ultimately sustainable? Why do economies – corporate and national – always have to grow? Indeedn do they always have to grow? Why? What does untramelled growth in the west mean for the rest of the world? Is such growth environmentally sustainable? What does it ultimately mean for peace and security?
Monday, 24 October 2011
My bucket list
Inspired by someone I follow on Twitter, @bookshop_girl, this is my bucket list. A bucket list is like a To Do list of things that you have always wanted to do. I've kept mine deliberately short. For career reasons I haven't published a few things but amongst the other things I would like to do with my life are:-
1) Teach people things
2) Write a book
3) Go on a long trip round Europe seeing the places I've read and learned about
4) Ride a stage of the Tour de France
5) Cycle from Lands End to John O Groats
6) Live and/or work abroad for a period
7) Complete a PhD
That should do to be getting on with. Now lets hear yours.
1) Teach people things
2) Write a book
3) Go on a long trip round Europe seeing the places I've read and learned about
4) Ride a stage of the Tour de France
5) Cycle from Lands End to John O Groats
6) Live and/or work abroad for a period
7) Complete a PhD
That should do to be getting on with. Now lets hear yours.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Radix Malorum est Cupiditas
...is frequently mistranslated as "money is the root of all evil" which is wrong as it actually means "The love of money is the root of all evil". It's the love bit that makes the crucial difference and it also goes some way to explain the miserable condition of our national finances today.
Of course, the banks have a substantial - a very substantial - responsibility. And don't get me started on how bankers can earn bonuses when their firms are majority owned by the tax payer and they are still making losses. (I'm still considering a 100% tax on bank bonuses to be a good idea.)
But the fundamental reason we got it into such a mess is greed, pure and simple greed. Which is, oddly enough, one of the original translations of the Latin maxim. But it's something for which we all bear responsibility. We've all been responsible: spending irresponsibly beyond our earnings, buying houses at ridiculous salary multiples and for what? Has it made us any happier? It is therefore no surprise that clever financiers seeking more complex and remunerative products saw a market for bundling debt and then re-selling it on the international financial markets and it is therefore something for which we are all responsible.
All of which partially explains why I am in favour of today's increase in VAT to 20%.
It is a tax on discretionary spending with the most important essentials excluded :food, children's clothing and (most importantly) books. It therefore largely applies to items that we do not necessarily need to buy and should therefore reconsider. A trip to the Perth recycling centre is instructive in this regard. Look at the electronics recycling section and count how many modern functioning TVs have been discarded. Multiplied across the country and it shows just how much money is unnecessarily being spent replacing perfectly serviceable electrical goods.
With house prices being the main reason for the current recession, it makes me wonder why VAT shouldn't also apply to house prices. It would discourage spending, irresponsible mortgage lending and encourage people to settle in their existing homes. Spending on home improvements could be excused from VAT to maintain employment in the building trade and to encourage people to adapt their existing home to suit their purposes rather than move every three or five years.
I think the bottom line is that I would argue that a large, modern home and a flat screen TV is not a recipe for happiness. It brings with it additional pressure and worry and the potential for a greater fall if things go wrong. Nor is my suggestion meant to inhibit ambition. In fact I am extremely ambitious but my ultimate ambition is for contentment and that wont be affected by the rise in VAT, a bigger house or a flat screen TV.
Of course, the banks have a substantial - a very substantial - responsibility. And don't get me started on how bankers can earn bonuses when their firms are majority owned by the tax payer and they are still making losses. (I'm still considering a 100% tax on bank bonuses to be a good idea.)
But the fundamental reason we got it into such a mess is greed, pure and simple greed. Which is, oddly enough, one of the original translations of the Latin maxim. But it's something for which we all bear responsibility. We've all been responsible: spending irresponsibly beyond our earnings, buying houses at ridiculous salary multiples and for what? Has it made us any happier? It is therefore no surprise that clever financiers seeking more complex and remunerative products saw a market for bundling debt and then re-selling it on the international financial markets and it is therefore something for which we are all responsible.
All of which partially explains why I am in favour of today's increase in VAT to 20%.
It is a tax on discretionary spending with the most important essentials excluded :food, children's clothing and (most importantly) books. It therefore largely applies to items that we do not necessarily need to buy and should therefore reconsider. A trip to the Perth recycling centre is instructive in this regard. Look at the electronics recycling section and count how many modern functioning TVs have been discarded. Multiplied across the country and it shows just how much money is unnecessarily being spent replacing perfectly serviceable electrical goods.
With house prices being the main reason for the current recession, it makes me wonder why VAT shouldn't also apply to house prices. It would discourage spending, irresponsible mortgage lending and encourage people to settle in their existing homes. Spending on home improvements could be excused from VAT to maintain employment in the building trade and to encourage people to adapt their existing home to suit their purposes rather than move every three or five years.
I think the bottom line is that I would argue that a large, modern home and a flat screen TV is not a recipe for happiness. It brings with it additional pressure and worry and the potential for a greater fall if things go wrong. Nor is my suggestion meant to inhibit ambition. In fact I am extremely ambitious but my ultimate ambition is for contentment and that wont be affected by the rise in VAT, a bigger house or a flat screen TV.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Tom Harris
Tom Harris used to be my M.P. , not that I ever had occasion to meet him. So I know him more through his entertaining and informative blog "...and another thing". I was therefore sad to see that he has decided to stop blogging because he felt it was taking over his personal and family life. As you can see from how prolifically I blog, I can understand what he means.
No, the reason I'm sorry to see Tom's blog disappear is that his blogs, and his website in general, showed his humanity. It made him seem somewhat normal which, many will be surprised to find out, most politicians are.
I have had the pleasure - admittedly sometimes a dubious one - of meeting many politicians and what has always struck me os how few self-serving rogues I have met. Indeed, I've met more of these characters in my own game.
I'm sorry that Tom has stopped his blog but I wish him well in his career.
No, the reason I'm sorry to see Tom's blog disappear is that his blogs, and his website in general, showed his humanity. It made him seem somewhat normal which, many will be surprised to find out, most politicians are.
I have had the pleasure - admittedly sometimes a dubious one - of meeting many politicians and what has always struck me os how few self-serving rogues I have met. Indeed, I've met more of these characters in my own game.
I'm sorry that Tom has stopped his blog but I wish him well in his career.
Monday, 5 October 2009
More redundancy news
So I got a new job and it was a nightmare!
Three months in my new boss called me into his office and told me that things weren't working out and they were letting me go with seven days notice.
It was all I could manage to feign some indignation and leave in high dudgeon pretending to be upset. In truth I was far from upset and I found it difficult to disagree with the statement that things weren't working out because they sure as heck weren't working out from my point of view.
Things started badly and got worse. I've had a few new jobs over the years but I have never, ever sat in a coffee shop across the road before going in on day one thinking, "I wish I wasn't going in here. I'm making the biggest mistake of my life."
Of course, I shouldn't have taken the job in the first place. In the first instance they tried to screw me on salary by offering me £2,000 less than they had originally indicated at the outset of the recruitment process. They then proceeded to screw me out of a bank holiday and refuse to pay me for working it or give me a day in lieu, despite my contract saying I was entitled to it. When I left their attitude was basically, 'Go ahead and sue us'. Of course they knew I wouldn't bother for a couple of hundred quid. The couple of hundred quid would be nice of course but I'm more upset about the day of my life that I won't get back. Finally they started screwing me on expenses by which time I'd just about had enough and my CV was on the market.
So since leaving things have well and truly improved. My health has improved. I have begun cycling again and lost just over half a stone in the process. I have been eating better and sleeping better. My mental health is fantastic and I have a really positive outlook for the future.
So, if you're in the insurance industry and a particular broker in Stirling wants to employ you, do yourself a favour and give it a miss.
Three months in my new boss called me into his office and told me that things weren't working out and they were letting me go with seven days notice.
It was all I could manage to feign some indignation and leave in high dudgeon pretending to be upset. In truth I was far from upset and I found it difficult to disagree with the statement that things weren't working out because they sure as heck weren't working out from my point of view.
Things started badly and got worse. I've had a few new jobs over the years but I have never, ever sat in a coffee shop across the road before going in on day one thinking, "I wish I wasn't going in here. I'm making the biggest mistake of my life."
Of course, I shouldn't have taken the job in the first place. In the first instance they tried to screw me on salary by offering me £2,000 less than they had originally indicated at the outset of the recruitment process. They then proceeded to screw me out of a bank holiday and refuse to pay me for working it or give me a day in lieu, despite my contract saying I was entitled to it. When I left their attitude was basically, 'Go ahead and sue us'. Of course they knew I wouldn't bother for a couple of hundred quid. The couple of hundred quid would be nice of course but I'm more upset about the day of my life that I won't get back. Finally they started screwing me on expenses by which time I'd just about had enough and my CV was on the market.
So since leaving things have well and truly improved. My health has improved. I have begun cycling again and lost just over half a stone in the process. I have been eating better and sleeping better. My mental health is fantastic and I have a really positive outlook for the future.
So, if you're in the insurance industry and a particular broker in Stirling wants to employ you, do yourself a favour and give it a miss.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
For Harry Patch and his friends
The Old Soldier
The string of history snaps with a heartbeat
casting the mud and grime of your sacrifice
away to join that of generations before.
Although you were a survivor, an old man
at the end, your kindly eyes still show that you
too sacrificed much. Too much.
Not dulled with the misty passing of time
but blazing with the fierce, sharp, sad memories
of friends torn apart, poisoned and broken,
The stench of the rat-scurried trench, the cries
of the wounded, the grey bird-less sky
and everywhere mud... mud...mud.
Your memories seeped back through the
mud and the blood of Passchendaele, and your eyes
told us more than any Owen poem or history book.
Through them your pain and humanity blazed
like the guns on the Western front. Through them
you remembered friend and foe as we now remember you.
Copyright D. Findlay 2009
The string of history snaps with a heartbeat
casting the mud and grime of your sacrifice
away to join that of generations before.
Although you were a survivor, an old man
at the end, your kindly eyes still show that you
too sacrificed much. Too much.
Not dulled with the misty passing of time
but blazing with the fierce, sharp, sad memories
of friends torn apart, poisoned and broken,
The stench of the rat-scurried trench, the cries
of the wounded, the grey bird-less sky
and everywhere mud... mud...mud.
Your memories seeped back through the
mud and the blood of Passchendaele, and your eyes
told us more than any Owen poem or history book.
Through them your pain and humanity blazed
like the guns on the Western front. Through them
you remembered friend and foe as we now remember you.
Copyright D. Findlay 2009
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Dr Nicholas Hughes
The tragic, premature death of Nicholas Hughes has been reported rather predictably by the media. Instead of simply reporting the event as the untimely passing of someone whose family was in the public eye, many articles simply reprise the sad, and equally untimely, deaths of his mother, Sylvia Plath, Assia and Shura Wevill.
A number of column inches have also been given over to the anti-Ted Hughes reaction instigated by some more hysterical elements.
All of which may be true but, rather sadly, they diminish the tragedy of this young mans death by reducing him to a bit part player in his families wider tragedy.
Here is a tragedy in its own right. Reading Ted Hughes' letters to his son and looking at the photographs in the recently published volume of Hughes' letters, one gets the impression of a normal, well adjusted young man, totally at ease with the world of nature and in particular with fishing, a past time he truly loved and which eventually provided him with a livelihood.
I am deeply saddened by his passing and want to express my deepest sympathies to his sister, Freida, and other members of his extended family.
This article in the Alaskan press gives a true appreciation of the man and his work. http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/mar/23/nicholas-hughes-son-major-poets-emerged-prominent-/
RIP.
A number of column inches have also been given over to the anti-Ted Hughes reaction instigated by some more hysterical elements.
All of which may be true but, rather sadly, they diminish the tragedy of this young mans death by reducing him to a bit part player in his families wider tragedy.
Here is a tragedy in its own right. Reading Ted Hughes' letters to his son and looking at the photographs in the recently published volume of Hughes' letters, one gets the impression of a normal, well adjusted young man, totally at ease with the world of nature and in particular with fishing, a past time he truly loved and which eventually provided him with a livelihood.
I am deeply saddened by his passing and want to express my deepest sympathies to his sister, Freida, and other members of his extended family.
This article in the Alaskan press gives a true appreciation of the man and his work. http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/mar/23/nicholas-hughes-son-major-poets-emerged-prominent-/
RIP.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Hector's balls
Hector's balls are there no more,
He left them on the veterinary floor,
To procreate he is unable,
They cut them off on the surgery table
He left them on the veterinary floor,
To procreate he is unable,
They cut them off on the surgery table
Monday, 9 February 2009
Thoughts on redundancy
I'm sufficiently reassured by the apparent fact that nobody reads this blog to continue posting my nonsense.
What, I hear nobody cry, were your thoughts and feelings on being told that you might be getting made redundant?
Firstly, nobody has told me yet that I am being made redundant. My position is being made redundant on the 30th April and I am now in what is euphemistically known as "consultation". I'm intrigued to find out what this "consultation" actually involves. In the six working days since I found out this news there has been little, if any, consultation. My boss phoned once to find out how I was. I was fine. The only other consultation as such was a five minute telephone call from an outplacement consultant - there's a potential growth industry - who asked me to send him my CV. He would call me back tomorrow. I'm still waiting.
The company has undertaken to try and find me another post and I am also expected to look for positions on the company intranet. There are some interesting jobs there but unfortunately they are all in the snowy wastes and I haven't had my jags to live there.
Now, I wouldn't want anybody to think I'm doing nothing. My agents have been appointed and are all beavering away to find me new opportunities. I have also started to use my network of friends and ex-colleagues and opportunities are pending. It's just that most of the opportunities are not ones I particularly like.
Insurance Brokers like to appoint people who can basically steal business from their previous employer. I mean that quite literally. If you can bring a book of business with you most firms will give you a position tomorrow. Let me be more precise. Most people will have something called a restrictive covenant in their contracts. It forbids them from canvassing any of their previous clients during a period, usually the first twelve months, of their new contract. It is frequently ignored, usually on the grounds that it is held to be a restrictive practice or a constraint of trade. I personally have taken business with me before and I regretted it and felt somewhat shabby, and that was without a restrictive covenant. Notwithstanding the legalities I take the position that I signed the contract, accepted the covenant and, in so doing, gave my word that I would honour it. This is something that may make me appear to be a fool to some but, if so, I'm happy to be that fool.
I actually, through a takeover, once ended up working for a firm which was actively involved in inciting its new employees to steal business from their previous employer whilst issuing dire legal threats of retribution to any of its ex-employees who had moved on. Such bare-faced hypocrisy is perhaps an extreme example of a practice which many others quietly condone.
I must admit that my initial feeling on being given on this news was a excitement. My previous position was becoming dull and stale. I would probably have looked to move on in around a year or so, so the only inconvenience was having to move at a time not of my choosing. But that can't be helped, the company have their requirements so move I must. I'm generally positive and excited that the next few months will be hard work, tiring and invigorating. They will result in a new challenge and in meeting new people. It's something I enjoy and am looking forward to.
What, I hear nobody cry, were your thoughts and feelings on being told that you might be getting made redundant?
Firstly, nobody has told me yet that I am being made redundant. My position is being made redundant on the 30th April and I am now in what is euphemistically known as "consultation". I'm intrigued to find out what this "consultation" actually involves. In the six working days since I found out this news there has been little, if any, consultation. My boss phoned once to find out how I was. I was fine. The only other consultation as such was a five minute telephone call from an outplacement consultant - there's a potential growth industry - who asked me to send him my CV. He would call me back tomorrow. I'm still waiting.
The company has undertaken to try and find me another post and I am also expected to look for positions on the company intranet. There are some interesting jobs there but unfortunately they are all in the snowy wastes and I haven't had my jags to live there.
Now, I wouldn't want anybody to think I'm doing nothing. My agents have been appointed and are all beavering away to find me new opportunities. I have also started to use my network of friends and ex-colleagues and opportunities are pending. It's just that most of the opportunities are not ones I particularly like.
Insurance Brokers like to appoint people who can basically steal business from their previous employer. I mean that quite literally. If you can bring a book of business with you most firms will give you a position tomorrow. Let me be more precise. Most people will have something called a restrictive covenant in their contracts. It forbids them from canvassing any of their previous clients during a period, usually the first twelve months, of their new contract. It is frequently ignored, usually on the grounds that it is held to be a restrictive practice or a constraint of trade. I personally have taken business with me before and I regretted it and felt somewhat shabby, and that was without a restrictive covenant. Notwithstanding the legalities I take the position that I signed the contract, accepted the covenant and, in so doing, gave my word that I would honour it. This is something that may make me appear to be a fool to some but, if so, I'm happy to be that fool.
I actually, through a takeover, once ended up working for a firm which was actively involved in inciting its new employees to steal business from their previous employer whilst issuing dire legal threats of retribution to any of its ex-employees who had moved on. Such bare-faced hypocrisy is perhaps an extreme example of a practice which many others quietly condone.
I must admit that my initial feeling on being given on this news was a excitement. My previous position was becoming dull and stale. I would probably have looked to move on in around a year or so, so the only inconvenience was having to move at a time not of my choosing. But that can't be helped, the company have their requirements so move I must. I'm generally positive and excited that the next few months will be hard work, tiring and invigorating. They will result in a new challenge and in meeting new people. It's something I enjoy and am looking forward to.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Redundancy
So, at great expense, I flew down to Leicester attanded my interview and flew home.
The following week, at even greater expense, I flew down again, stayed overnight and attended a meeting where I was told that my position was provisionally being made redundant, I had been unsuccessful in obtaining the new replacement post and would probably be leaving on 30th April.
I have to admit that I wasn't devastated. I was genuinely pleased for my colleague who got the job. He genuinely wanted it and went the extra mile to get the job.
So, now I'm faced with a job search and it's something I'm genuinely positive about. I have been in my industry for more than 20 years, but with a newly minted degree I'm quite anxious to see if there is anything else I can do with my life. I've been looking in my current industry and have arranged two interviews but it's proving a little more challenging to find something new and exciting. It's also really quite scary putting your head above the parapet and stepping out of your comfort zone - that's enough cliche's for one sentence!
The following week, at even greater expense, I flew down again, stayed overnight and attended a meeting where I was told that my position was provisionally being made redundant, I had been unsuccessful in obtaining the new replacement post and would probably be leaving on 30th April.
I have to admit that I wasn't devastated. I was genuinely pleased for my colleague who got the job. He genuinely wanted it and went the extra mile to get the job.
So, now I'm faced with a job search and it's something I'm genuinely positive about. I have been in my industry for more than 20 years, but with a newly minted degree I'm quite anxious to see if there is anything else I can do with my life. I've been looking in my current industry and have arranged two interviews but it's proving a little more challenging to find something new and exciting. It's also really quite scary putting your head above the parapet and stepping out of your comfort zone - that's enough cliche's for one sentence!
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Breaking news...
...on the redundancy front. Now won't be finding out on Friday but will be getting interviewed for a new role which nobody understands instead.
National Insurance - a Ponzi scheme
Charles Ponzi is one of the most notorious fraudsters in history. Promising investors spectacular returns, he attracted investments in his scheme using new investors to pay off the earlier ones.
He has been back in the news recently following the allegations made against Bernard Madoff who has allegedly made off (geddit?) with millions of dollars prior to the collapse of his own business and his own apparent admission that his fund was a Ponzi.
Here in Britain, we have a scheme, apparently to pay for our pensions and the NHS called National Insurance. YOu put something aside each month - I think it's about 10% of your salary - and it goes towards your pension and healthcare. The only thing is that it doesn't. It actually goes towards the cost of paying for todays pensioners as their NI contributions have already been spent.
So, my conclusion is that either National Insurance is just another tax or it's all a great big Ponzi. What do you think?
He has been back in the news recently following the allegations made against Bernard Madoff who has allegedly made off (geddit?) with millions of dollars prior to the collapse of his own business and his own apparent admission that his fund was a Ponzi.
Here in Britain, we have a scheme, apparently to pay for our pensions and the NHS called National Insurance. YOu put something aside each month - I think it's about 10% of your salary - and it goes towards your pension and healthcare. The only thing is that it doesn't. It actually goes towards the cost of paying for todays pensioners as their NI contributions have already been spent.
So, my conclusion is that either National Insurance is just another tax or it's all a great big Ponzi. What do you think?
Poetry
I was pleased to see that poetry enjoyed a central role in the presidential inauguration today.
Firstly, the new President was as eloquent and poetic as ever. He has such a rich mellow baritone that he could read a restaurant menu and get applauded for it.
But I was even more impressed with the fact that the Presidential address was followed by the reading of a poem by Elizabeth Alexander.
And, following that, I was even more deeply impressed by the poetic benediction delivered with power, grace and humour by The Reverend Dr Joseph E Lowery.
Americans can be proud that poetry plays such a central part in their public discourse.
Firstly, the new President was as eloquent and poetic as ever. He has such a rich mellow baritone that he could read a restaurant menu and get applauded for it.
But I was even more impressed with the fact that the Presidential address was followed by the reading of a poem by Elizabeth Alexander.
And, following that, I was even more deeply impressed by the poetic benediction delivered with power, grace and humour by The Reverend Dr Joseph E Lowery.
Americans can be proud that poetry plays such a central part in their public discourse.
Monday, 19 January 2009
Redundancy
The spectre of redundancy looms large.
I am currently a member of a pool of five people all competing for one new job. We'll find out the result on Friday.
The interesting thing is that the new job will more than likely involve more travel and more responsibility, but - guess what - there's no extra salary available.
A number of other colleagues are being asked to take on substantial extra responsibilities for - guess what - no extra salary.
All of this would be fair enough were the company strapped for cash and heading for administration. But it isn't. It's a large, profitable international corporation. Somewhat perversely the industry I work in tends to be counter cyclical and rates are going to start to rise. We're going to get busier. The division I work for showed strong growth last year. The final figures aren't out yet, but it looks like something in the region of 10% revenue growth. People are therefore somewhat peeved at this.
Obviously I don't want to lose my job but, if I do, I'll try and look on it as a positive opportunity to do something new and different. Hopefully having a freshly minted university degree will be helpful.
I'll blog more on this subject as things progress but my main thought at the moment is that we delivered strong growth last year, arguably against unrealistic targets which weren't amended as the credit crunch bit, so are the wrong people leaving the business?
I am currently a member of a pool of five people all competing for one new job. We'll find out the result on Friday.
The interesting thing is that the new job will more than likely involve more travel and more responsibility, but - guess what - there's no extra salary available.
A number of other colleagues are being asked to take on substantial extra responsibilities for - guess what - no extra salary.
All of this would be fair enough were the company strapped for cash and heading for administration. But it isn't. It's a large, profitable international corporation. Somewhat perversely the industry I work in tends to be counter cyclical and rates are going to start to rise. We're going to get busier. The division I work for showed strong growth last year. The final figures aren't out yet, but it looks like something in the region of 10% revenue growth. People are therefore somewhat peeved at this.
Obviously I don't want to lose my job but, if I do, I'll try and look on it as a positive opportunity to do something new and different. Hopefully having a freshly minted university degree will be helpful.
I'll blog more on this subject as things progress but my main thought at the moment is that we delivered strong growth last year, arguably against unrealistic targets which weren't amended as the credit crunch bit, so are the wrong people leaving the business?
Robert Burns and Homecoming
I am a big fan of history and literature but I'm afraid I'm rather disenchanted by the fare on offer to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns.
Firstly, Burns is without doubt one of the most significant poets in any language. Along with Shakespeare he is definitely one of the top two poets ever to have written in English - well, in my humble opinion at least.
His humanity and his lyricism are celebrated throughout the world with events in places as diverse as Moscow and Los Angeles. So you would think that this anniversary would be the opportunity for Scotland to mount a major celebration of the man and his work.
So what do we do?
We lump him in with other themes like whisky, the Enlightenment, golf and something rather nebulous called ancestry. I think it is rather sad that the anniversary of the birth of this great poet does not merit a celebration in his own right and he has to take his place along with other features in an extended tourist advert.
However, it's not too late and I have suggestions for celebrating the birthday this weekend.
Firstly, the BBC should carry a live outside broadcast from my late Aunt Annie's cottage at Holmston, near Ayr, where some old worthies will gather round the fire and re-enact the scenes from 'A Cotter's Saturday Night'.
This will be followed by a further event where twa dugs, preferably re-named Caesar and Luath for the day, will sit on a hill and discuss the credit crunch.
On Sunday evening Scottish Television will bring Jack McLaughlan out of retirement and have a special 250th anniversary Burns Night 'Thingumyjig' special.
That's what I call a celebration fit for the national bard. Have a good one Rabbie.
Firstly, Burns is without doubt one of the most significant poets in any language. Along with Shakespeare he is definitely one of the top two poets ever to have written in English - well, in my humble opinion at least.
His humanity and his lyricism are celebrated throughout the world with events in places as diverse as Moscow and Los Angeles. So you would think that this anniversary would be the opportunity for Scotland to mount a major celebration of the man and his work.
So what do we do?
We lump him in with other themes like whisky, the Enlightenment, golf and something rather nebulous called ancestry. I think it is rather sad that the anniversary of the birth of this great poet does not merit a celebration in his own right and he has to take his place along with other features in an extended tourist advert.
However, it's not too late and I have suggestions for celebrating the birthday this weekend.
Firstly, the BBC should carry a live outside broadcast from my late Aunt Annie's cottage at Holmston, near Ayr, where some old worthies will gather round the fire and re-enact the scenes from 'A Cotter's Saturday Night'.
This will be followed by a further event where twa dugs, preferably re-named Caesar and Luath for the day, will sit on a hill and discuss the credit crunch.
On Sunday evening Scottish Television will bring Jack McLaughlan out of retirement and have a special 250th anniversary Burns Night 'Thingumyjig' special.
That's what I call a celebration fit for the national bard. Have a good one Rabbie.
Friday, 16 January 2009
Progress on New Year resolutions
How, I hear no-one cry, are you getting along with those admirable New Year resolutions?.
Not very well is the resounding response.
Writing more is an admirable aim, but this is the first thing I have written this year. OK, so I've been busy, but still not much progress to report.
Getting more exercise is an even more admirable aim. Again, little progress to report. I've done far less than my target of half an hours brisk walking a day. I've probably done about that...in total.
The fastidiousness is another pain. My desk is slightly tidier - I can see the 'wood' veneer - but my bookcase remains a joyful clutter. I've decided I like it that way so perhaps this resolution should bite the dust.
As should taking my time. It's just not me. Being contemplative and careful just doesn't suit me. It's more fun to be impulsive, to shoot from the hip. I'm trying to type a little slower and read more carefully but, other than these two, I think the rest of this resolution should die as well
One thing is going awfully well and that is turning my job into a career. This week the possibility of redundancy from my current position reared its head and its given me a real boost to get out and do something altogether more satisfying. Work in progress so watch this space. I'm intending to blog more about this issue over the weeks and months ahead in a desperate attempt to catch the credit crunch zeitgeist.
I am also enjoying my studies. I've completed by Bachelors degree and am about to start on a Masters. There's a big scary pile of Greek and Roman history on the corner of my desk just waiting for me to get stuck in.
Not very well is the resounding response.
Writing more is an admirable aim, but this is the first thing I have written this year. OK, so I've been busy, but still not much progress to report.
Getting more exercise is an even more admirable aim. Again, little progress to report. I've done far less than my target of half an hours brisk walking a day. I've probably done about that...in total.
The fastidiousness is another pain. My desk is slightly tidier - I can see the 'wood' veneer - but my bookcase remains a joyful clutter. I've decided I like it that way so perhaps this resolution should bite the dust.
As should taking my time. It's just not me. Being contemplative and careful just doesn't suit me. It's more fun to be impulsive, to shoot from the hip. I'm trying to type a little slower and read more carefully but, other than these two, I think the rest of this resolution should die as well
One thing is going awfully well and that is turning my job into a career. This week the possibility of redundancy from my current position reared its head and its given me a real boost to get out and do something altogether more satisfying. Work in progress so watch this space. I'm intending to blog more about this issue over the weeks and months ahead in a desperate attempt to catch the credit crunch zeitgeist.
I am also enjoying my studies. I've completed by Bachelors degree and am about to start on a Masters. There's a big scary pile of Greek and Roman history on the corner of my desk just waiting for me to get stuck in.
Monday, 29 December 2008
New Years resolutions
1. Write more. Ideally every day and perhaps even post some stuff here.
2. Get more exercise. Minimum half hour brisk walking every day.
3. Be more fastidious and tidy.
4. Take my time.
5. Get a career not just a job.
6. Continue to enjoy my studies.
2. Get more exercise. Minimum half hour brisk walking every day.
3. Be more fastidious and tidy.
4. Take my time.
5. Get a career not just a job.
6. Continue to enjoy my studies.
Monday, 17 November 2008
A History of Scotland
I really wanted to like BBC Scotland’s new programme about the history of Scotland but, ultimately, I just couldn’t.
It was nothing to do with the content of the programme. I know a little about the wars of independence and I couldn’t take issue with anything that was actually said. I also learned some new things. I never knew, for instance, that Alexander II had led a Scottish army as far south as Dover and I wasn’t entirely aware of just how much of Scotland wasn’t actually part of Scotland in the 13th Century.
So it wasn’t the history that grated, but the way the programme was made. On the face of it Neil Oliver seemed like a good choice of presenter. Young, Scottish, knowledgeable and an experienced media professional he may be but he is no historian. Still, he’s an archaeologist, so perhaps I’m splitting hairs and he’s also really good at presenting ‘Coast’, so I can only assume that it’s the Director who is asking him to do things which are so irritating.
Firstly, can the man not stand still? Last nights episode featured numerous shots of Neil striding grimly through various medieval castles and abbeys. This added nothing to the narrative other than to see a modern, gloomy, hirsute Scot looking mean and moody. He also frequently displayed that well-known media trick of walking and talking at the same time. Perhaps this was intended to achieve the additional effect of letting the wind ripple through his more than adequate mane.
When he did stand still the camera appeared to be positioned at the end of his nose. In fact, it was so close at one stage that I could count the spots on his chin. Boy does he need a new moisturising regime. This trick, of hirsute Scots looking meanly and moodily at the camera, was repeated throughout the programme in the historical ‘re-enactments’. Except, they weren’t really re-enactments. They were beardies in old fashioned dress, standing in a tent doing nothing. Nothing, that is, except staring meanly and moodily at the camera. At least they were standing still.
Clearly, the Director wanted to get his moneys worth out of hiring a helicopter. Admittedly this was perhaps the most visually engaging part of the programme and it did certainly link Scotland’s history with its landscape. However, I’m not entirely convinced that this was what the Director intended and it did rather look as if shots of windswept moors were simply being used to pad out some of the narrative.
And what a narrative. Never, in the field of Scottish history, has so much narrative been delivered with such drama queen delivery. At times I wanted to scream “Speak normally” at the screen. The dramatic rise in tone toward the end of every cliché, and there were quite a few, belonged in something like Batman and not ‘A History of Scotland’.
As well as the verbal cliché’s there were more than a few visual ones: the tumbling clouds across maps, the crashing together of communion cups and if I see any more dripping blood then I fear I may have to open my own veins to be spared further punishment.
I could go on. In fact, I will. Last nights episode said that when the Earls of Caithness killed one of Alexander’s bishops he repaid them “in spades”. But they never actually said what he did! This was the scene where the falling cups were shown. What did he do? Did he spill his sherry? If you are going to tell a story then please tell the story.
Overall, if more effort had been made in telling the story rather than trying to cut a visual dash then so much more detail could have been incorporated. It’s the type of thing a professional historian Simon Schama did so much better. He delivered his script with grace and elegance, features notably absent from this jarring production.
If BBC Scotland really did spend £2m on this they really shouldn’t be trusted with licence payers money in future.
It was nothing to do with the content of the programme. I know a little about the wars of independence and I couldn’t take issue with anything that was actually said. I also learned some new things. I never knew, for instance, that Alexander II had led a Scottish army as far south as Dover and I wasn’t entirely aware of just how much of Scotland wasn’t actually part of Scotland in the 13th Century.
So it wasn’t the history that grated, but the way the programme was made. On the face of it Neil Oliver seemed like a good choice of presenter. Young, Scottish, knowledgeable and an experienced media professional he may be but he is no historian. Still, he’s an archaeologist, so perhaps I’m splitting hairs and he’s also really good at presenting ‘Coast’, so I can only assume that it’s the Director who is asking him to do things which are so irritating.
Firstly, can the man not stand still? Last nights episode featured numerous shots of Neil striding grimly through various medieval castles and abbeys. This added nothing to the narrative other than to see a modern, gloomy, hirsute Scot looking mean and moody. He also frequently displayed that well-known media trick of walking and talking at the same time. Perhaps this was intended to achieve the additional effect of letting the wind ripple through his more than adequate mane.
When he did stand still the camera appeared to be positioned at the end of his nose. In fact, it was so close at one stage that I could count the spots on his chin. Boy does he need a new moisturising regime. This trick, of hirsute Scots looking meanly and moodily at the camera, was repeated throughout the programme in the historical ‘re-enactments’. Except, they weren’t really re-enactments. They were beardies in old fashioned dress, standing in a tent doing nothing. Nothing, that is, except staring meanly and moodily at the camera. At least they were standing still.
Clearly, the Director wanted to get his moneys worth out of hiring a helicopter. Admittedly this was perhaps the most visually engaging part of the programme and it did certainly link Scotland’s history with its landscape. However, I’m not entirely convinced that this was what the Director intended and it did rather look as if shots of windswept moors were simply being used to pad out some of the narrative.
And what a narrative. Never, in the field of Scottish history, has so much narrative been delivered with such drama queen delivery. At times I wanted to scream “Speak normally” at the screen. The dramatic rise in tone toward the end of every cliché, and there were quite a few, belonged in something like Batman and not ‘A History of Scotland’.
As well as the verbal cliché’s there were more than a few visual ones: the tumbling clouds across maps, the crashing together of communion cups and if I see any more dripping blood then I fear I may have to open my own veins to be spared further punishment.
I could go on. In fact, I will. Last nights episode said that when the Earls of Caithness killed one of Alexander’s bishops he repaid them “in spades”. But they never actually said what he did! This was the scene where the falling cups were shown. What did he do? Did he spill his sherry? If you are going to tell a story then please tell the story.
Overall, if more effort had been made in telling the story rather than trying to cut a visual dash then so much more detail could have been incorporated. It’s the type of thing a professional historian Simon Schama did so much better. He delivered his script with grace and elegance, features notably absent from this jarring production.
If BBC Scotland really did spend £2m on this they really shouldn’t be trusted with licence payers money in future.
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Glasgow Airport security shambles
Further to my recent post, see below, I finally received an email from Glasgow Airport explaining why I was not asked to provide any photo id before boarding a BA flight to Shetland.
Apparently, it is the responsibility of the airline to decide whether or not photo id is required. I find this surprising given that onw would assume that hijackers are not particularly choosy about which airline they use.
It is apparently not the policy of the Department for Transport, who ultimately oversee airline and airport security, to stipulate that photo id be provided before getting on a flight.
It should be!
Apparently, it is the responsibility of the airline to decide whether or not photo id is required. I find this surprising given that onw would assume that hijackers are not particularly choosy about which airline they use.
It is apparently not the policy of the Department for Transport, who ultimately oversee airline and airport security, to stipulate that photo id be provided before getting on a flight.
It should be!
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