tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61538456284697769092024-03-13T05:12:06.800+00:00The Plashing VoleY traethodyddThe Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comBlogger5376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-38628548372789618932022-07-07T11:29:00.002+01:002022-07-07T11:29:30.193+01:00Dear Vice-Chancellor…<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There's a lot to talk about isn't there? However, life is way too busy and grim for blogging at the moment. In the interim, here's the letter I sent the VC after his scripted, 13-minute address announcing mass redundancies at my university. I'm aware it's deeply pompous but that's because I'm an institutionalised husk of a human being at this point and the alternative was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/dec/09/broadcasting.frontpagenews">the notorious Sharon Osbourne method</a>. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwjxnjFpypjudZ_RJ5HQLobJpSB-D0-meL4pEiZm5hFpyiT3ngzVH_ww4skIB9b2tDCvfObD1M1LnCVnuKPdeEL1O_67lc7qWosu-v5_DVO-0c8WhgTkypjc3xRNmUUOjgUl4LVhsDryqVd7chnegbtKbc42thcCz1-tDTQDtpKIkNHy-_PWkstrs/s1072/FBE1CEA4-8CB6-417E-AD28-79006C40EC14_1_201_a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1072" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwjxnjFpypjudZ_RJ5HQLobJpSB-D0-meL4pEiZm5hFpyiT3ngzVH_ww4skIB9b2tDCvfObD1M1LnCVnuKPdeEL1O_67lc7qWosu-v5_DVO-0c8WhgTkypjc3xRNmUUOjgUl4LVhsDryqVd7chnegbtKbc42thcCz1-tDTQDtpKIkNHy-_PWkstrs/w400-h316/FBE1CEA4-8CB6-417E-AD28-79006C40EC14_1_201_a.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Dear interim Vice-Chancellor (cc’d to the Chair of Governors),</span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I am sorry to have to write to you in this fashion, and colleagues have warned me that putting my head above the parapet on my own will lead to some form of revenge, but I feel that your behaviour and that of the University Executive Board has departed so far from the civilised norms of higher education that I could not allow your behaviour to go unchallenged. Plenty of my colleagues are in early career positions or insecure employment and will be reluctant to express their views even given the opportunity so I feel it’s my duty to represent them. </span></div></blockquote><div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Yesterday’s Teams event announcing a huge swathe of redundancies and course closures was unfortunately not the first time I have witnessed a Vice-Chancellor announce a redundancy exercise. Several years ago, Professor XXXXX instituted a programme of cuts following management’s failure to accurately report student numbers to HEFCE. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In contrast to yesterday’s event, Professor XXXXX made the announcement in person and remained in the room to take questions and respond to colleagues’ views, many of whom urged her to resign. It was a deeply uncomfortable meeting for all concerned but at least she had enough respect for colleagues to stay and listen. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">You will no doubt hear from me and many other colleagues about the substance of the current situation should the opportunity arise, but I wanted to put on record my absolute horror specifically at the way you communicated to staff yesterday. Your framing of the situation was evasive and selective to the point of dishonesty. Your decision to read from a script and then depart after 13 minutes without allowing colleagues to post views in the chat or to ask you questions conveys total contempt both for employees and for the longstanding academic tradition of critical enquiry, and came across quite frankly as cowardice. Rather than engage with people about to lose their livelihoods, you opted to mimic the widely condemned tactics of P&O’s chairman Peter Hebblethwaite, who also fired his employees via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u2Gc1041Z4">a video message</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In your initial message to staff you told us you were a ‘people person’. Blatantly refusing colleagues the opportunity to express their views implies a very different definition of the phrase to mine and breaches the democratic traditions of this institution and I invite you to reflect on your conduct as we negotiate the coming months. Having served on the Board of Governors for several years I am aware that hard decisions affecting peoples’ lives have to be made. Refusing to listen to a single word from those people or to explain yourself is simply disgraceful. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">This institution is packed with experts in relevant fields from finance to corporate governance to communications: refusing to engage with them as they face the loss of their livelihoods indicates a very unhealthy attitude unconducive to the restoration of the institution to which we at least have devoted our working lives. I may be old-fashioned, but I cling to the idea that Vice-Chancellors are not corporate CEOs at the top of a pyramid, but colleagues with particular but not more important duties to lecturers, administrators and manual workers in a collegiate enterprise serving our students and the pursuit of knowledge. Your behaviour yesterday was far from collegiate and I urge you to reflect on whether it will help or hinder the institution and its people. </span></div></blockquote><div></div></div><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-8660910950930740722022-05-09T15:32:00.005+01:002022-05-09T15:32:47.976+01:00Prevent: a student's guide<p> One of the mandatory e-learning modules staff have to undergo at my place, alongside 'fire safety' and 'bribery' (how not to, at my level) is Prevent, the government's statutory system for making university staff spy on their students. </p><p>As a service to all but particularly my students and their families, here are screen shots of the course.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoyhs_fmSFohpVtQvMglQYIzPshC9CKmg0kREyMinGp5TvcnZhYq82Am3ZX27sMNR4XUG3teNJKGpS73v89ei5rDkRuTfw4gKxsA-OjaCENAyP-68VseMyeYf_iy40Of7rmNEvzbxS5u7Ujdx9p8MVfXwTCcChjcjux4A2l4lcJ812vMZGs0NZNbA/s2250/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.32.39%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2250" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoyhs_fmSFohpVtQvMglQYIzPshC9CKmg0kREyMinGp5TvcnZhYq82Am3ZX27sMNR4XUG3teNJKGpS73v89ei5rDkRuTfw4gKxsA-OjaCENAyP-68VseMyeYf_iy40Of7rmNEvzbxS5u7Ujdx9p8MVfXwTCcChjcjux4A2l4lcJ812vMZGs0NZNbA/w400-h216/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.32.39%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You bet they're watching. Doing the course is compulsory - failure to engage results in a discussion at appraisal then further action. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuqdEkETE79AnIOboF92M6UW1X2yjlr0qUpXDeUQOY6yjDuheKhKt6wEFdkK4PuBtdRDczwiNuvn7qPus4bjqWBsIF-PplVoi3qafyrwcomZGqU2bwhkQPn2064B22z1reBl9G3YeUXRCKHJyDXC8jT_mCBF-Nz3Zk16kwrLWKx37DzM4423XBlu-/s1562/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.33.55%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="1562" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuqdEkETE79AnIOboF92M6UW1X2yjlr0qUpXDeUQOY6yjDuheKhKt6wEFdkK4PuBtdRDczwiNuvn7qPus4bjqWBsIF-PplVoi3qafyrwcomZGqU2bwhkQPn2064B22z1reBl9G3YeUXRCKHJyDXC8jT_mCBF-Nz3Zk16kwrLWKx37DzM4423XBlu-/w400-h106/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.33.55%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I forgot to screenshot the question this answers, but it asked whether the legislation was a response to the Omaha bombing, 9/11, or the 7/7 bombings. An odd mix of defensiveness and 'saying the quiet bit out loud': invoking the three main UK political parties to claim broad agreement, despite the fact that New Labour kicked all this off by invading Iraq and Afghanistan, while the coalition was deeply authoritarian on civil rights. Here's a tip lads: if you're going to claim that Prevent isn't targeted at Muslims, don't highlight that this kind of legislation wasn't thought necessary when white people were setting off bombs.I kind of feel this one is personally targeted because my institution had more graduates go on to postgrad work in Guantanamo Bay than any other in the UK - all were exonerated. I somehow doubt, whatever the protestations, that Prevent is applied equally. <div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2OxrAgcMhWByDXrC7DZQNU6q_qAt4BMB9SrFcMpRxt6QEBPW0j0QkIpqVLv75bIVmt3KSOyOOAFGYWl5GLMnDF59-7ToA_FOCZDbGZlWw3MKSpv4ghG_Ixnh-vxIJbNBzPMWZ5Ydie-YUfLjNlJugta1j0uc_RMqVk7Rx6ym-Cv_3VzYTKZScRCh/s800/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.34.11%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="800" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2OxrAgcMhWByDXrC7DZQNU6q_qAt4BMB9SrFcMpRxt6QEBPW0j0QkIpqVLv75bIVmt3KSOyOOAFGYWl5GLMnDF59-7ToA_FOCZDbGZlWw3MKSpv4ghG_Ixnh-vxIJbNBzPMWZ5Ydie-YUfLjNlJugta1j0uc_RMqVk7Rx6ym-Cv_3VzYTKZScRCh/w400-h119/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.34.11%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /> If there's a strong link between reporting my students for things they say and the 'causes' of radicalisation, it's not obvious from this course. As we'll discover, the evil genius of Prevent is that it's marinated in the language of therapy, and thus denies any link between 'terrorism', 'radicalisation' (whatever that means) and actual reality. My grand-uncle Thomas cycled across Ireland with a bundle of dynamite in 1916, joining in the Easter Rising at the GPO. While I never had the chance to meet him, I struggle to imagine that he was radicalised by some sense of personal inadequacy, depression or hidden persuaders. I suspect it was the Famine, the banning of the Irish language, poverty and the continuing disenfranchisement of the Irish people within the UK that did it. When did he stop being a terrorist? When his side won and redefined his actions as a revolutionary. But according to Prevent, there are no external, structural reasons to be 'radicalised' (which I think means having strong views outwith the acceptable range - I don't suppose anyone's reporting Young Conservatives for wanting to abolish the minimum wage or ban abortion). Big Brother loves his students and just wants them to be happy. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for the 'ideological challenge of terrorism', this is a big red flag. Terrorism isn't the problem, <i>per se</i>: carpet-bombing civilians (Dresden), rounding up peasants (Kenya) or giving your successors a list of people to be executed while running a pro-execution PR offensive (Malaya) are all terrorist acts, but they don't count because they were committed by a government (guess which). Finally: surely the way to respond to the 'ideological challenge' is to have these arguments in public, not secretly report individuals to the state under the guise of supporting them. One of the Soviet methods of dealing with dissidents was to declare them mad and send them to psychiatric hospitals - Prevent seems to operate on very similar lines. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqXepHoucXntKsnHkH5Btf5iuYXjBIlq265Pm_fOc8OHpnra3ImmjEhX-TDxd-9H3-oxOTlreL3ctYWjVrt4S40nN1Y8gMy3CpPQtcrQM1RinX1n6Wp1SZTXHW7rh5yrGAaZ3v-St-WrjKwjs03zUov_AeX76NQIsVscXp70WR78-b3Wagy70WWrI/s1974/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.34.35%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="1974" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqXepHoucXntKsnHkH5Btf5iuYXjBIlq265Pm_fOc8OHpnra3ImmjEhX-TDxd-9H3-oxOTlreL3ctYWjVrt4S40nN1Y8gMy3CpPQtcrQM1RinX1n6Wp1SZTXHW7rh5yrGAaZ3v-St-WrjKwjs03zUov_AeX76NQIsVscXp70WR78-b3Wagy70WWrI/w400-h275/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.34.35%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3TFxxMxNo51O0vYnP0fNhkEhiArqa8Le_8kFlfYPLylUHW_4EDiGrbHrQZBVBpY5lKctmSnYrMDHZvClQL9XIcWf0tTOJEd83TTt1tnyb3YWIE8AQzJlNLuzadUukaDqFVFcxPLs7t8KdXPOsXNcsCSL0oikLP9db8KZogGRvLIT6daJ9BE3rykG/s1612/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.35.31%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1612" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3TFxxMxNo51O0vYnP0fNhkEhiArqa8Le_8kFlfYPLylUHW_4EDiGrbHrQZBVBpY5lKctmSnYrMDHZvClQL9XIcWf0tTOJEd83TTt1tnyb3YWIE8AQzJlNLuzadUukaDqFVFcxPLs7t8KdXPOsXNcsCSL0oikLP9db8KZogGRvLIT6daJ9BE3rykG/w400-h248/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.35.31%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Have a set of red herrings. The 'correct' answer is of course 'Prevent is only about identifying potentially vulnerable individuals and offering support'. What could be more conducive to promoting freedom of expression than the knowledge that everyone you meet on campus, from cleaners to counsellors, is legally obliged to report anything you say that they think is a bit dodgy, so that a committee can decide whether you're mad and need reporting to shady external bodies? Consultation is a joke: the legislation is in place, the statutory duties are there, and – as all modern university executives know – most students' unions are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the marketing department. The 'ideal approach' is pure hypocrisy: the Prevent structure <i>is </i>secretive (my students aren't briefed about its existence at all) and opposition is meaningless because there's no meaningful way to alter the legal requirements. <div><br /></div><div>Moving on, let's talk about what terrorism is<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfu-mUE_sPF0vzztJ20vBvSjakv_MtqPwb9nbd8j4m_zyHFPVMTNIcWidS7EN_Grn7hnjetKf68tC-lBq4OrF2JSHn-DtZV4Dr0ZzcH8SaHBee9J2keVe1rnq3Keuh6vqcUrOWJIvAQN0Ay-Nck7HeNcGA5X53xfMrShalvIXGsIaW9QPx81BwmVX/s1912/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.36.12%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="1912" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfu-mUE_sPF0vzztJ20vBvSjakv_MtqPwb9nbd8j4m_zyHFPVMTNIcWidS7EN_Grn7hnjetKf68tC-lBq4OrF2JSHn-DtZV4Dr0ZzcH8SaHBee9J2keVe1rnq3Keuh6vqcUrOWJIvAQN0Ay-Nck7HeNcGA5X53xfMrShalvIXGsIaW9QPx81BwmVX/w400-h134/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.36.12%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I didn't realise a building could be terrorised. I threatened my stuck front door this morning, and should report myself immediately. More seriously: the unspoken aspect is that one of the definitions of government is that it has the sole right to use force or coercion against its citizens (and others). Given that the current government has now given the police the right to close down 'noisy' protests, it's not hard to imagine the definition of terrorism to be applied to people who block roads, chant loudly or demonstrate against hunting parties. Secondly, terrorism however defined, is a minority pursuit. Almost nobody does it. Seriously - a tiny, tiny, proportion of people. Requiring literally millions of people across a range of jobs to spend their time reporting young people is hugely inefficient, a mechanism for (ironically) terrorising people into keeping their mouths shut thus internalising a regime of ideological silence, and an excuse to build up a massive database on the population, no doubt to be processed by deeply worrying government departments and their outsourcing friends like Palantir. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-w6MjwSBx3lgubbur_kJ_uZiM06vDYJQHpUyvf8PDVrMa4muhCLTRjt3QvvhXJz3UmQ56vOCAvQpo0icdbPvzjVbAB_J4mSsDk9gdfw1smeibMWY4RaLl3ayrIDJFU67OhIDmGhkVwYM9lxM39XYIzXriQspY38iTcczO5qNcNV_zFfux7hqYYDe/s1956/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.36.29%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1956" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-w6MjwSBx3lgubbur_kJ_uZiM06vDYJQHpUyvf8PDVrMa4muhCLTRjt3QvvhXJz3UmQ56vOCAvQpo0icdbPvzjVbAB_J4mSsDk9gdfw1smeibMWY4RaLl3ayrIDJFU67OhIDmGhkVwYM9lxM39XYIzXriQspY38iTcczO5qNcNV_zFfux7hqYYDe/w400-h203/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.36.29%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSymyC1r9bLW6tbuxPMEkSOEsUsV_kQB5As3s5-Hcz7w-3ouKNyuj2PnmNbqSQvEmj_yP2HMV9Z6Gr_db1YQvipmNFoEeQyDiaPuEQhs2lGb8zlHHhfEYDV8goeFY_bnMGu-c6H3GrW_FgxoefO7NmMJ_IVqAS9K-l6ynELJZ_aFkQWuedcwBvXQQ/s1582/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.37.07%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1582" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSymyC1r9bLW6tbuxPMEkSOEsUsV_kQB5As3s5-Hcz7w-3ouKNyuj2PnmNbqSQvEmj_yP2HMV9Z6Gr_db1YQvipmNFoEeQyDiaPuEQhs2lGb8zlHHhfEYDV8goeFY_bnMGu-c6H3GrW_FgxoefO7NmMJ_IVqAS9K-l6ynELJZ_aFkQWuedcwBvXQQ/w400-h228/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.37.07%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I had to fill in a risk assessment for a 40-minute solo railway journey recently, and it was sent back three times for not being detailed enough - I'd failed to explain what would happen if the train was late, or if I lost my mobile phone. At the same time, I and everyone else in HE is being asked to take it on themselves to decide whether a student's behaviour might make them potential terrorists. I once got a reference request from the Navy asking me to assess whether a media studies student would make a good Royal Marine. I didn't feel equipped to answer that question (he'd skipped the exam on Advanced Garotting) and I don't feel equipped now to decide on someone's potential for violence. I've certainly challenged students, including one whose term for anything he thought was rubbish - in this case Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' was 'Zionist') but there are way too many subjective aspects to this procedure to be safe for anyone. There are loudmouthed bigots on my campus espousing horrible views rooted in right and leftwing politics, all the major religions and a range of other perspectives. We could spend our entire working days reporting each other because there's no clear line in Prevent between 'is publicly horrible' and 'is vulnerable to becoming a terrorist' (which by the way removes all agency from the individual: I'm pretty sure grand-uncle Thomas know exactly what he was doing). Can anyone truly believe that referring a student to a system which makes reference to carefully unnamed 'external partners' for something they've said (not <i>done</i>)<i> </i>is somehow therapeutic or 'safeguarding'? The language around consent is utterly meaningless: 'good practice' is the barn door through which the cart will be driven on a regular basis. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdgGC2GGBwQSUyJMKsJheysB4W7KBqISUnG-wCodiCNyPIGl3xgzBIei66wpnwfZ2GxtXlATfxG9ddQGRb11ZMO9Z3HV2WpOBnwle7fuE0CXVNzJg8UvP7N1jA9yevh1Mbgc9B2EYncHrwAeJ4qX08isbvfAKG39wxYbpHRcXyIM-DS9UPTdBljP2/s2174/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.37.21%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="2174" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdgGC2GGBwQSUyJMKsJheysB4W7KBqISUnG-wCodiCNyPIGl3xgzBIei66wpnwfZ2GxtXlATfxG9ddQGRb11ZMO9Z3HV2WpOBnwle7fuE0CXVNzJg8UvP7N1jA9yevh1Mbgc9B2EYncHrwAeJ4qX08isbvfAKG39wxYbpHRcXyIM-DS9UPTdBljP2/w400-h129/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.37.21%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A fine example of boiler-plate arse-covering. Do make sure that the secret surveillance system we require you to use isn't perceived as racist! Even though we just said it wasn't brought in during the 100 years of white Irish violence! Ignore the majority of photos in this training course depicting brown people! Coincidence! Don't pay any attention to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jun/17/birmingham-stops-spy-cameras-project">the secret counter-terrorism scheme that saw Muslim areas of Birmingham ringed with CCTV cameras</a>! </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaY-noti0CgC8LEpgRv4r0hQ8NwWS1NmQDW1J9bpM3McRKypbbWqUgtK6B1DzbG72vNockiWBbQMi0gk_8rNZ4Mo-hyGvBcqmkRUr7j31TcO3-Xoct66VPCuQ4853zbTJdEHoOhmCXKMrk6cep42j5rzJfjG542rjVUdKQBxlk9RqESeRf5Cae-yw/s2068/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.37.31%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="2068" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaY-noti0CgC8LEpgRv4r0hQ8NwWS1NmQDW1J9bpM3McRKypbbWqUgtK6B1DzbG72vNockiWBbQMi0gk_8rNZ4Mo-hyGvBcqmkRUr7j31TcO3-Xoct66VPCuQ4853zbTJdEHoOhmCXKMrk6cep42j5rzJfjG542rjVUdKQBxlk9RqESeRf5Cae-yw/w400-h119/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.37.31%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Just because the course almost exclusively depicts brown people and uses religion as a proxy for ethnicity doesn't mean Prevent is all about Muslims! Look, we've scattered a couple of white people and references to other stuff in a not-at-all-tokenistic fashion! Pop quiz: what might 'a particular source' be? I'd love to know how many of the police officers recently revealed to be violently sexist and racist were reported to Prevent by their colleagues. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC7dJn_29guupqqkCj6XDMaHW91C-RTd3ifqa5Zaxm6eUSWwd6NnmGx_YcFrxrSx4OTmBeeD3euYwjpO720xe_aAaf-B_U-LBe4bwiI65VACge9hSl-0NO0F_ipOzk-frqrLi4W6-da_avhlhB24rsyMu5fhliAOlR91paBuhx4zoe5n1w5F7aAg5/s1952/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.38.00%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="1952" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC7dJn_29guupqqkCj6XDMaHW91C-RTd3ifqa5Zaxm6eUSWwd6NnmGx_YcFrxrSx4OTmBeeD3euYwjpO720xe_aAaf-B_U-LBe4bwiI65VACge9hSl-0NO0F_ipOzk-frqrLi4W6-da_avhlhB24rsyMu5fhliAOlR91paBuhx4zoe5n1w5F7aAg5/w400-h285/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.38.00%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjG8ZiNf0QUcLd74uClLr2xzmKGtYR-Wh_AcAgJqxkbpkNcKQ4cQsra_Ql1dpPxjylxZkefPmQiDV6eigLWRHy06Y75aifWjjAksqFniPUdZBu1irZhUz4pFfCuXw1xdpSEJXCDtZO16XCNTONOHjNq_G5tJvtNw0XB5jHl-EFI0nmy5xZi54pbp4/s1956/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.38.09%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="1956" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjG8ZiNf0QUcLd74uClLr2xzmKGtYR-Wh_AcAgJqxkbpkNcKQ4cQsra_Ql1dpPxjylxZkefPmQiDV6eigLWRHy06Y75aifWjjAksqFniPUdZBu1irZhUz4pFfCuXw1xdpSEJXCDtZO16XCNTONOHjNq_G5tJvtNw0XB5jHl-EFI0nmy5xZi54pbp4/w400-h76/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.38.09%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There you go! A whole list of potential threats that we're definitely treating equally. Sorry there's no space for statistics on referrals and outcomes for each category Very unfortunate! What? There's a qualitative difference between 'Extreme Right Wing' and 'Left Wing Extremism'? Really? No no. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DmEgB2hEzxOIARkVTUH_j4bndJ4QmWOo-spwQipjj9nfAPxTOQ-H0GdFtAt7MCw3QdJhCeStDyJqiYEo4JurVZzifBVfH8KdvGh8kGZ-muVnTSERmwvpdq70iFjqw6v-xAoPrDCvuoqTVCN2qnokcP6yQc37xrkkcMnIWAseL49BVITs1JM4ACFo/s1600/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.38.53%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1256" data-original-width="1600" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DmEgB2hEzxOIARkVTUH_j4bndJ4QmWOo-spwQipjj9nfAPxTOQ-H0GdFtAt7MCw3QdJhCeStDyJqiYEo4JurVZzifBVfH8KdvGh8kGZ-muVnTSERmwvpdq70iFjqw6v-xAoPrDCvuoqTVCN2qnokcP6yQc37xrkkcMnIWAseL49BVITs1JM4ACFo/w400-h314/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.38.53%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hmm. Tell us you only really care about brown terrorism without telling us you only care about brown terrorism. Talking of which: have another picture of a brown person to reinforce our totally non-discriminatory approach to surveilling everyone. Hopefully that will distract you while we elide the difference between terrorism and very strong views while pretending that you're free to think whatever you like (as long as you don't mind untrained people reporting you on a whim). Honestly, this is so dishonest. How does one define an atmosphere 'conducive to terrorism'? The whole population of 1770s Boston would be in trouble, as would Carson, Ho Chi Minh and every roads protestor (which is the point as you can see from the next slide). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXyvSk65C6yIEuP0bwCw46B7PSKQwOLi7Dfb6bPnNrucFHOGZbvT3gdz19tk7g79CjZorsAVFEGDzjP7Z-TmOO87lPUaviiz7DlpGFPkK0_vcacb9g65HyhpCIDitVuNLO3YmAUFlR6TDiAWsg8_OZWtW3T2OhcVyYdzA9pTmtDOheKwReQmOIc62/s2130/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.39.13%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="2130" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXyvSk65C6yIEuP0bwCw46B7PSKQwOLi7Dfb6bPnNrucFHOGZbvT3gdz19tk7g79CjZorsAVFEGDzjP7Z-TmOO87lPUaviiz7DlpGFPkK0_vcacb9g65HyhpCIDitVuNLO3YmAUFlR6TDiAWsg8_OZWtW3T2OhcVyYdzA9pTmtDOheKwReQmOIc62/w400-h210/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.39.13%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDFsMTtVmJxedFf6JUpWpucbGv8ojLyE-aztq-ie-K4He5YGqdeZ1t6-78tjxiWPOB8Ycse7IGVVsJmdwXzqattGoujYLuyeGeZy3LfwTeUUHFymU8VIqM9mjqpcIoO7P0gwqRJ5CPNDE2f1jhLkzjjQ6SW6vF4WUug3UoIgJGWTUAh6ehM7zVzbM/s2028/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.39.31%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="2028" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDFsMTtVmJxedFf6JUpWpucbGv8ojLyE-aztq-ie-K4He5YGqdeZ1t6-78tjxiWPOB8Ycse7IGVVsJmdwXzqattGoujYLuyeGeZy3LfwTeUUHFymU8VIqM9mjqpcIoO7P0gwqRJ5CPNDE2f1jhLkzjjQ6SW6vF4WUug3UoIgJGWTUAh6ehM7zVzbM/w400-h138/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.39.31%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div>Got a tattoo? Find yourself kettled at a protest against tuition fees, or for reproductive rights? You're clearly nearly a terrorist. Seriously, how mealy-mouthed is 'influences exerted' to 'cause a person to become vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism'? I'm about to launch a module on literary representations of the environment. Given what we're currently doing to the environment, a lot of the texts are likely to have Views, possibly Radical Views. Should I self-report?<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPvnZI-AUwqjEbckPvaCy_vaeCSxqNT-mTV4y-TH9YC_oGk_AnIfTHuLwaF3UvryWzrr2vbPkIflznP1ZIw2BshM0UpZ0iC1beql125oOSvc2Zx1yXdPzjGNQQLzjE6RwLmBbQqTiMMAPuqowQ24mSzZLiX73MvcqR4cIV1NsKzmv_--H9yG5ee4g/s2188/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.39.44%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="2188" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPvnZI-AUwqjEbckPvaCy_vaeCSxqNT-mTV4y-TH9YC_oGk_AnIfTHuLwaF3UvryWzrr2vbPkIflznP1ZIw2BshM0UpZ0iC1beql125oOSvc2Zx1yXdPzjGNQQLzjE6RwLmBbQqTiMMAPuqowQ24mSzZLiX73MvcqR4cIV1NsKzmv_--H9yG5ee4g/w400-h118/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.39.44%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Just look at the sneakiness of this evil. Let's be clear: having radical views (whatever that means) isn't illegal but I have a legal duty to stop you from 'being radicalised' by reporting you to a range of state organisations without any right to see what's being said and shared about you or by whom. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because if I don't, there's only one way this can end up. We've got to institutionalise your instinct for justice as a mental illness that leads to you donning a suicide vest because that's the only potential outcome. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqd_SG4jE_RACCX6OOY8h8Pk12Ckc_0arzytelTd9SyVn6yODVcgkTs_8Z2WCPatnFuIi3sQlayg8D8Rzec2lyK4APFJTTzX3QN6Uo-YmbXr8sDBEPjcXGPTotZVKW-rzR8YAGEgRN4yDENvMC0cWgipVe8EmteaFwGvskMp4Vj_GkMwNVrce7tdD/s2060/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.02%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="2060" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqd_SG4jE_RACCX6OOY8h8Pk12Ckc_0arzytelTd9SyVn6yODVcgkTs_8Z2WCPatnFuIi3sQlayg8D8Rzec2lyK4APFJTTzX3QN6Uo-YmbXr8sDBEPjcXGPTotZVKW-rzR8YAGEgRN4yDENvMC0cWgipVe8EmteaFwGvskMp4Vj_GkMwNVrce7tdD/w400-h269/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.02%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdA_oALwUspbA7XGZQDUwSTjneZsyzOmORp4fHMv0xUE6ea_BjRfiGTxGQFHuFIHfn1eMol9DP9D4E2BJl4eB-29ZPpH4mmb9H9MXXU03Uf4xDuXIKNEOvwUkbkeiYN3kh7AueN6HGuYG3MJd52DPd8vazkz681KP2-vAWk8DCmPszsDLT1pyn3wvN/s1186/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.31%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="1186" height="32" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdA_oALwUspbA7XGZQDUwSTjneZsyzOmORp4fHMv0xUE6ea_BjRfiGTxGQFHuFIHfn1eMol9DP9D4E2BJl4eB-29ZPpH4mmb9H9MXXU03Uf4xDuXIKNEOvwUkbkeiYN3kh7AueN6HGuYG3MJd52DPd8vazkz681KP2-vAWk8DCmPszsDLT1pyn3wvN/w400-h32/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.31%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe we should talk about the individual's complaint. Perhaps consider whether it's not an individual thing? Possibly even decide collectively whether it's reasonable? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No! Don't be a numpty. These mad people find other mad people and act collectively. <strike>Like the WI or anti-EU campaigners</strike>. No, definitely not like them. I have a Radio 4 historical documentary on the Maastricht Treaty on and an anti-Treaty Tory just said 'if these people won't listen to us we'll have to find ways to make them' but Prevent wouldn't be interested in this kind of thing at all. The worrying people are different in ways we definitely can't enunciate out loud. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroZXNzNJUhBsESORAiaxGVgd519bx0N37gKXDgaJNtNyxs_P3ue8oc96KqcvbfPQnOym5ZlGnAUD72Lgc99JDJTTBbpTwVmDdyuL50Iw8j9H1YQyv5o_JdS4Tmh_ccp0ko-ieYhLhGG6F9FBWYsxuPDOQl-HFqvkVumM2MMUy2r30vKwDPJ9dxm0-/s1590/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.22%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="1590" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroZXNzNJUhBsESORAiaxGVgd519bx0N37gKXDgaJNtNyxs_P3ue8oc96KqcvbfPQnOym5ZlGnAUD72Lgc99JDJTTBbpTwVmDdyuL50Iw8j9H1YQyv5o_JdS4Tmh_ccp0ko-ieYhLhGG6F9FBWYsxuPDOQl-HFqvkVumM2MMUy2r30vKwDPJ9dxm0-/s320/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.22%20am.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCUTCVxwV9XjZdg2TY_HsLnRJ7RbE9fjsfxKG2_uhdHqgqAge-4PwLFCZeUicb4l0F-gCHUfNGEfr49m0H2kZxUVzM7GezjncFNgN1wNhWvBYWXR6rNnDGbMKAwMnNQJPndMDM_Yr3M0KfjAR-orPWhCWxp7gubIvh-bf7hosI2cQvCrCMG2k4Flo/s1448/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.39%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="1448" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCUTCVxwV9XjZdg2TY_HsLnRJ7RbE9fjsfxKG2_uhdHqgqAge-4PwLFCZeUicb4l0F-gCHUfNGEfr49m0H2kZxUVzM7GezjncFNgN1wNhWvBYWXR6rNnDGbMKAwMnNQJPndMDM_Yr3M0KfjAR-orPWhCWxp7gubIvh-bf7hosI2cQvCrCMG2k4Flo/w400-h129/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.39%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Bingo! Just like that. They all egg each other on you know. </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's move on to some case studies. How early should you report someone for being a bit dodgy? Here are a couple of case studies - one of them not even a brown person - which prove that it's never too early to report someone even though there's absolutely no evidence that Prevent could have, er, prevented what they did/ </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7QcDzjpM5JLjlgtdy6wcx9n6QmvMqLQPboV3PSiCl1gyUAH21yjfCviQKdX7cr3hShs4bQEZsdTZQZ-orYc2H_TmtK4UQVmZzf9LuyjcYAYDAO9kpy3-CjexcJ2wxZGX-CJiLDQvDBGlEAnO4lzJPxbq-gv4E-zsTLXWYWNlNLakj5tGpJOlp4v2/s2244/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.59%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="2244" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7QcDzjpM5JLjlgtdy6wcx9n6QmvMqLQPboV3PSiCl1gyUAH21yjfCviQKdX7cr3hShs4bQEZsdTZQZ-orYc2H_TmtK4UQVmZzf9LuyjcYAYDAO9kpy3-CjexcJ2wxZGX-CJiLDQvDBGlEAnO4lzJPxbq-gv4E-zsTLXWYWNlNLakj5tGpJOlp4v2/w400-h195/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.40.59%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJzNf-D5Lv6l-Kh08VloYkuvdsuysIGVEBph-yacktdMwNUnQJ-KEoeRYqLykdkCZcXjfHF6eKMYsHhxHuQPB_wc33xeOa-MOL-9nj8yIPEemvZbDccJ_-v0951aF3s_3iIwrwNO0hsQprif9kY0wrbKEyndMBnPHs7U9Iwi9xNtnuMb_qYTvf0Nm/s1870/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.41.23%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1870" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJzNf-D5Lv6l-Kh08VloYkuvdsuysIGVEBph-yacktdMwNUnQJ-KEoeRYqLykdkCZcXjfHF6eKMYsHhxHuQPB_wc33xeOa-MOL-9nj8yIPEemvZbDccJ_-v0951aF3s_3iIwrwNO0hsQprif9kY0wrbKEyndMBnPHs7U9Iwi9xNtnuMb_qYTvf0Nm/w400-h216/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.41.23%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebqgnYXN8jRqgZh0f9aYO0I0xKhrOf_8BQtvIIWGGdTBgcj2MTFzYdu9AF7yIssKwX64Tp4swdZnnPlv8ttYyd9QHuu0LXRoT_KSTiiONmsbGxs_ax3hJAh36wx6aDuyYqUCYXtM9pMFDp2x5F5UG3uCtBK3XwZmNYSZvPd_5taeTZ_O2INayRVId/s1920/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.41.35%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1348" data-original-width="1920" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebqgnYXN8jRqgZh0f9aYO0I0xKhrOf_8BQtvIIWGGdTBgcj2MTFzYdu9AF7yIssKwX64Tp4swdZnnPlv8ttYyd9QHuu0LXRoT_KSTiiONmsbGxs_ax3hJAh36wx6aDuyYqUCYXtM9pMFDp2x5F5UG3uCtBK3XwZmNYSZvPd_5taeTZ_O2INayRVId/w400-h281/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.41.35%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oppose counter-radicalisation strategies? You're a terrorist. Stay in your room amidst domestic violence? Terrorist. No nuance required. Here's another brown person with another attempt to claim that Prevent is basically a big hug from 'agencies'. Don't read today's story that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/09/mi5-asked-police-to-spy-on-political-activities-of-children-inquiry-hears">MI5 and the police spied on children</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); color: #121212; font-family: GuardianTextEgyptian, "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); color: #121212; font-family: GuardianTextEgyptian, "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif;">An undercover police unit regularly stored files recording the political beliefs of schoolchildren, along with photographs of them. These included reports on a 17-year-old who was said to </span><a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UCPI0000013607.pdf" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c70000; font-family: GuardianTextEgyptian, "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">spend “a lot of his spare time”</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); color: #121212; font-family: GuardianTextEgyptian, "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif;"> at his girlfriend’s home, and two schoolboys, then 14 and 16, who were described by the covert officers </span><a data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/UCPI0000021267.pdf" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c70000; font-family: GuardianTextEgyptian, "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">as “effeminate”</a>…<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(18, 18, 18); color: #121212; font-family: GuardianTextEgyptian, "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif;">one young man was monitored “because of some badges he was wearing when he passed through Dover which indicated that he was opposed to racism”</span></blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All in the past. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGa0U8_6GBodYCqNgaxHqbA69NKHe8EMtGyngJw_EeQPxWWv9kRgJEvDzxkJ-39l5vXy5BPeV632USHt-nTEDFpwFyViIzuhixSG4YGocD4gSOyDCiO3mNH3eiLdzQW8YxF7bRO42QL3Rf4xy9_H3t1SqicNcvKSq6kyF5yrRPWkq147ilT4CKu82H/s2042/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.41.52%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="2042" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGa0U8_6GBodYCqNgaxHqbA69NKHe8EMtGyngJw_EeQPxWWv9kRgJEvDzxkJ-39l5vXy5BPeV632USHt-nTEDFpwFyViIzuhixSG4YGocD4gSOyDCiO3mNH3eiLdzQW8YxF7bRO42QL3Rf4xy9_H3t1SqicNcvKSq6kyF5yrRPWkq147ilT4CKu82H/w400-h228/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.41.52%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJzD-MtLQk11MCk3s58Fq-H7tv_C2Rc-GDexozScfzAtwzQl675ZIywdkia3C6tJpHzRHTby5vk-RJG9JtHL9upj7oqoHJNipJsRl67ZqOlGQbhm3RttY0p9xgC8HISBYufemmWQ_wZo3hpqJvubv12f1FLXQPcC5pNJ4hWjo80MMTd9RDxnk62uE/s1990/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.00%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1990" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJzD-MtLQk11MCk3s58Fq-H7tv_C2Rc-GDexozScfzAtwzQl675ZIywdkia3C6tJpHzRHTby5vk-RJG9JtHL9upj7oqoHJNipJsRl67ZqOlGQbhm3RttY0p9xgC8HISBYufemmWQ_wZo3hpqJvubv12f1FLXQPcC5pNJ4hWjo80MMTd9RDxnk62uE/w400-h126/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.00%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Onwards to Identifying Terrorists On Campus. Simples! Big beard? Definitely a terrorist. Check out their tats too - almost all terrorists ink 'Death to the West' or swastikas on their foreheads. People never behave per formatively or provocatively, and there has never been a case in which an organisation has endorsed as a resistance group then declared terrorist and back again. It's not as if the Ukrainian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion">Azov battalion</a> wasn't a bunch of actual fascists not very long ago. We're all friends now. Just make sure you keep up with Nadine Dorries' Big List of Bad People (I think the Channel 4 logo is now on the banned list: report any student expressing an interest in nationally-owned media). </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkiCoq8WztdMIMxuqq-zHoqkbSDCDM3Pe3lhqmWAD--FEOSpwZSt_EEcIEdrr1a7Gu2pZm0CkJq_wFFm6ZKN2iJvg9a0b7ZBWjPKnAc7Vljv1H-sfbdTW5Jy9NBlKF0oXw138g2_EhhSTwzkLtq_wmTyIHqMv66Y_PBDwqxKH2KjOUs1fOaFrt7eq/s2006/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.07%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="2006" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkiCoq8WztdMIMxuqq-zHoqkbSDCDM3Pe3lhqmWAD--FEOSpwZSt_EEcIEdrr1a7Gu2pZm0CkJq_wFFm6ZKN2iJvg9a0b7ZBWjPKnAc7Vljv1H-sfbdTW5Jy9NBlKF0oXw138g2_EhhSTwzkLtq_wmTyIHqMv66Y_PBDwqxKH2KjOUs1fOaFrt7eq/w400-h101/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.07%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And remember: it's the ones who don't behave suspiciously you should be most suspicious of (oh, and anyone who uses a laptop in low light conditions). </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNztnY0x2RljcgivPDVu3c1LRkbrMZYowWIXsqoPyINORxsye19oY1yJPvCff4kyu9hl1uYyPILuP80h4T9bAwgoCSaBCA9GoafneWsiK574ROY8-zRIXk94-T77uQWe27x-rwcLe4ahW3DHTlhbIaFwuupXO-3pmCSOsoyVJsIVeEM4ygTkPHUcc6/s2040/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.24%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="2040" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNztnY0x2RljcgivPDVu3c1LRkbrMZYowWIXsqoPyINORxsye19oY1yJPvCff4kyu9hl1uYyPILuP80h4T9bAwgoCSaBCA9GoafneWsiK574ROY8-zRIXk94-T77uQWe27x-rwcLe4ahW3DHTlhbIaFwuupXO-3pmCSOsoyVJsIVeEM4ygTkPHUcc6/w400-h200/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.24%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So in case my students are interesting in how the system works once I've reported their tattoos and preference for mood lighting, here's what happens. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pXRceKlNpYAMZtzDhhDW3zCWh7coxpAj93kN6POcJiRAQhc2a7RCQ3Ufmhq3Y80wVFmgJ3v6m1VeItmVK9V6FZyheqFTEDgwuLpUw-JCztpqjkl4V7l0ALQN1QGd8DtgAJcfk6tWJTkwBk--GxoYqR9NWHXpPu5A_lRI-st0FzuljWMlKX0WjhOm/s1982/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.49%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="1982" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pXRceKlNpYAMZtzDhhDW3zCWh7coxpAj93kN6POcJiRAQhc2a7RCQ3Ufmhq3Y80wVFmgJ3v6m1VeItmVK9V6FZyheqFTEDgwuLpUw-JCztpqjkl4V7l0ALQN1QGd8DtgAJcfk6tWJTkwBk--GxoYqR9NWHXpPu5A_lRI-st0FzuljWMlKX0WjhOm/w400-h115/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.42.49%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The bonus class in the posh offices persuade the government that they Really Mean It. Then they talk to 'groups and partners' - i.e. coffee with Special Branch and the local MI5 team. It doesn't take a human geographer to work out that there are likely to be more of these types in, to take a completely random example, the West Midlands than (again at random) St. Andrews or Cambridge. Rich posh people don't start wars (except for the Founding Fathers, obviously). </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cEqNrwkEW20pGtFiLjbQtnvQYfrB1nU7Lfoijp435fUG_XdVNetPJh7y4fz23cTDCJy4FQ145yk3VcUvyTOm9cSJrKbkfiOgEhoaqe4SXuL0ZIlqqn2x0usdW0ltrzFAw5Q-XxxWSR9dHp3c4dDNwzwmiQORBukmeXsiFW_DDYrmjQGFvspGnM-M/s1956/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.02%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="1956" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cEqNrwkEW20pGtFiLjbQtnvQYfrB1nU7Lfoijp435fUG_XdVNetPJh7y4fz23cTDCJy4FQ145yk3VcUvyTOm9cSJrKbkfiOgEhoaqe4SXuL0ZIlqqn2x0usdW0ltrzFAw5Q-XxxWSR9dHp3c4dDNwzwmiQORBukmeXsiFW_DDYrmjQGFvspGnM-M/w400-h126/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.02%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Q1: Do you admit Muslims? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(I'm being satirical, obviously). </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmR9TIs62dH8gsC54kHnFrKEmlns-Ee2WAzPUS3LvvrAP7DcmhF5URBYvTHYiC0fiGHkpEy2A80MuUVkmbXEORUqIn-lW-bK73HVgSAu6a6FVhn54JkgR6rWbiYbp3o4PrOe8Fsu9FXXS3X7NCqKTITFz7Emtj1GnPrQTv67FlNK-V_CGopBew82s/s2018/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.10%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="2018" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmR9TIs62dH8gsC54kHnFrKEmlns-Ee2WAzPUS3LvvrAP7DcmhF5URBYvTHYiC0fiGHkpEy2A80MuUVkmbXEORUqIn-lW-bK73HVgSAu6a6FVhn54JkgR6rWbiYbp3o4PrOe8Fsu9FXXS3X7NCqKTITFz7Emtj1GnPrQTv67FlNK-V_CGopBew82s/w400-h79/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.10%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-MvRiuLbLLlmkIn--BY0KOT9839tlm0d01-by_pO_xLy0W67p8mrH_J3NjuBTYlo-ZemaZbTn-lQF2aWxjbg-Q5oE4Lnwu9OdbKWjTDrh0QsyV-FQ_do_LQwi0EZV77zZrn4At9XEhkmqEip_rOKFekpkH14iG2Y70vX3-MUGC25Oxhry7g5rRjx/s1958/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.18%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="1958" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-MvRiuLbLLlmkIn--BY0KOT9839tlm0d01-by_pO_xLy0W67p8mrH_J3NjuBTYlo-ZemaZbTn-lQF2aWxjbg-Q5oE4Lnwu9OdbKWjTDrh0QsyV-FQ_do_LQwi0EZV77zZrn4At9XEhkmqEip_rOKFekpkH14iG2Y70vX3-MUGC25Oxhry7g5rRjx/w400-h74/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.18%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Or they may not. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlm1axN5BYiaQ1RlTDfbahMrLh-G-v7igZmQ-fXGU9O3CjUBcUEldb8eOVYs3lNKVrqKNtzewNW9LD5C9ih90zPNGSKcH0pjn87TU4jNS1_mCkxKihaPEQWP_XicwoU7T8iwHkeMl2wMZyNMBC7rngiSue27SAGXuWzZzLdH8xc9Yw5bh9iC7I0WX/s1942/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.27%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="1942" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlm1axN5BYiaQ1RlTDfbahMrLh-G-v7igZmQ-fXGU9O3CjUBcUEldb8eOVYs3lNKVrqKNtzewNW9LD5C9ih90zPNGSKcH0pjn87TU4jNS1_mCkxKihaPEQWP_XicwoU7T8iwHkeMl2wMZyNMBC7rngiSue27SAGXuWzZzLdH8xc9Yw5bh9iC7I0WX/w400-h96/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.27%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Silence definitely equals consent, and threats are an acceptable means of persuasion.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoOAK2HUnJWovrITFSNkQ8N9iSD6TOW74o4dufNGt9whP_kKIsUDa2qJ-OpcOu12l0oqJMcBRptTN6Aat5EbI9r0NM6gtYc0QNkJDS4IsseXxzOdcYqNiSxZKmbHRQSB8lXGe7dyLkNMFnAiPtJxIDEDRvqHOBBQY0HCuEBgbTzsJ4zx8djRa-B48/s1988/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.40%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1988" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoOAK2HUnJWovrITFSNkQ8N9iSD6TOW74o4dufNGt9whP_kKIsUDa2qJ-OpcOu12l0oqJMcBRptTN6Aat5EbI9r0NM6gtYc0QNkJDS4IsseXxzOdcYqNiSxZKmbHRQSB8lXGe7dyLkNMFnAiPtJxIDEDRvqHOBBQY0HCuEBgbTzsJ4zx8djRa-B48/w400-h164/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.40%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Feel free to monitor students' and colleagues' social media while talking about freedom of speech. 'Agreements…need to be agreed' definitely means something, we're just not sure what. And there definitely won't be any reluctance on students' parts to talk about 'sensitive' topics if they know they might be reported for feeling strongly about anything. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM3JBMTSm7p2y_4_nx5PHMXq9uyB1AEIDdPEkw9P3pbhnIwjjjvqlVk3laHunOcSacQcyHAfpR6FTBMCL4aZMamVORX1DX9QsEyO80b8Iv1uZxyL6JpWXiC5wKBlQdRGtVXuoIVBQzRdLCb28hppkc6gNa8P5T-zM0heItk2aQh4Lxye_hVdqhEe83/s2020/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.47%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="2020" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM3JBMTSm7p2y_4_nx5PHMXq9uyB1AEIDdPEkw9P3pbhnIwjjjvqlVk3laHunOcSacQcyHAfpR6FTBMCL4aZMamVORX1DX9QsEyO80b8Iv1uZxyL6JpWXiC5wKBlQdRGtVXuoIVBQzRdLCb28hppkc6gNa8P5T-zM0heItk2aQh4Lxye_hVdqhEe83/w400-h93/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.43.47%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Will we enforce this? Don't be silly. A tame SU officer present during a 3 minute discussion with no vote at the end of a four-hour meeting fully satisfies the requirement for consultation. No need to bother the student body's pretty little heads. They're very busy. Being terrorists, probably.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So don't worry about consent: compliance is all, and OfS will be round to check: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzeypIB5c3H__H0WdjurWKcKepLZWXCPzXmDkW2eKkXC2Xq-MmGPaLkmSmJ_R1OorMB1vX1nTV6Z-QDW0G9EWOvxnK9M3ih33vgQoyF7KlGJYBCseEn5EJe2swjWr-dMYSAvEfaW_skxdqdy4jKhWCHxZaai17mrdRIjIfw1STW0nV_9-ntGHoZ1n/s1046/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.10%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1046" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzeypIB5c3H__H0WdjurWKcKepLZWXCPzXmDkW2eKkXC2Xq-MmGPaLkmSmJ_R1OorMB1vX1nTV6Z-QDW0G9EWOvxnK9M3ih33vgQoyF7KlGJYBCseEn5EJe2swjWr-dMYSAvEfaW_skxdqdy4jKhWCHxZaai17mrdRIjIfw1STW0nV_9-ntGHoZ1n/s320/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.10%20am.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyone objecting to OfS being a wholly politicised tool of the culture war will be reported to Prevent. Obviously. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Risk assessments are easy. Start with the league tables. Then ask yourself: is your university in the North, or an unfashionable inner-city area? We definitely don't racially profile your students, we just profile them. 'No provider is risk-free', but some only admit nice people and some…don't. If in doubt, quietly mention a few names to the local rozzers and see what they say. If all else fails, there's always what we call the Family Guy test, which is completely unrelated to the photo we chose for this slide. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJJPs0_HeaT9Q4VO1SXvfz91JSHmOt1YV1n1NIOx38O2-wA6mNyYF3-LS6DY5aV2Kjg2M-3V_i8doihCa1eZ7iETyI4k346k7gHNjhz-GrNE7K6c0-i9fW5WAhf0yD_OagUyQ7ao3LB4CbyX8F-2dYnvCjQGH7ciWs9_PsN-gJJgBPM3Co097VVDV/s2016/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.20%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="2016" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJJPs0_HeaT9Q4VO1SXvfz91JSHmOt1YV1n1NIOx38O2-wA6mNyYF3-LS6DY5aV2Kjg2M-3V_i8doihCa1eZ7iETyI4k346k7gHNjhz-GrNE7K6c0-i9fW5WAhf0yD_OagUyQ7ao3LB4CbyX8F-2dYnvCjQGH7ciWs9_PsN-gJJgBPM3Co097VVDV/w400-h124/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.20%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygOUVvpg2OMwIPoh6r14kSAx5ib_FOPWhApptDIUTw5Vdbs6OP2qzwXrQWOumsTGwb8CZbvzrQvg_2fBelLBluzFHuD9MRiSjaMHj0SXb4yeQPn1-g_KBBpI62TrHsVt691WvFTG_T1Bt4vus6ngL8DADVJpjsWBfbVivXi0VRL2sXZUV0dETrSYJ/s1060/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%202.48.17%20pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1060" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygOUVvpg2OMwIPoh6r14kSAx5ib_FOPWhApptDIUTw5Vdbs6OP2qzwXrQWOumsTGwb8CZbvzrQvg_2fBelLBluzFHuD9MRiSjaMHj0SXb4yeQPn1-g_KBBpI62TrHsVt691WvFTG_T1Bt4vus6ngL8DADVJpjsWBfbVivXi0VRL2sXZUV0dETrSYJ/w400-h226/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%202.48.17%20pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Don't worry. Everyone's done their Unconscious Bias online training so there's absolutely no way you or anyone else will respond differently to anger or passion in say, a brown working-class man than to a middle-class white woman. That never happens. It's so unlikely that we won't be doing any equality impact assessments or reporting on the profile of those reported to Prevent. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4z9nB4p-p-KCDai8jz-H0SStd71QCamFKMwmniEQwYqNOMAvP-mDPPUIj5XcgFCiwDAe6vg8qcgmAFpRQxAWa7_HflgNEr7qfr2-O_84PTG6PhRodq-8nGDrndC699OWC6r0tMoWJPttHFVmZL971x-c-iw8AnEKCiX4rXuTbxrYv5pofhrjgX3f5/s2046/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.29%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="2046" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4z9nB4p-p-KCDai8jz-H0SStd71QCamFKMwmniEQwYqNOMAvP-mDPPUIj5XcgFCiwDAe6vg8qcgmAFpRQxAWa7_HflgNEr7qfr2-O_84PTG6PhRodq-8nGDrndC699OWC6r0tMoWJPttHFVmZL971x-c-iw8AnEKCiX4rXuTbxrYv5pofhrjgX3f5/w400-h83/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.29%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, let's move on. This government is firmly committed to freedom of speech. Except for statue-opponents, refugee-cheerleaders, environmentalists, retainers and a few other marginal troublemakers. We're absolutely certain that making it a legal duty for everyone you meet on campus to report you for being 'radical' or 'vulnerable' whatever that means will be highly conducive to the vigorous exploration of complex ideas. No-one's going to self-censor, especially not people from ethnic or cultural minorities. If they object to you <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/09/students-quit-free-speech-campaign-over-role-of-toby-young-founded-group">inviting Toby Young as the surprise guest at a Christmas dinner they paid for</a>: report them to Prevent! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzaEA1JTue_4pUI4EpHUp5A9Z2NzNbTJtloy82UrN2qx4fDxoZ76mPhEp007lWiBpmHqv83P4ELZ-q568zIIK_Z2fEdxN_BsfOHG1iKtY0lW4ExSwxKduy9430xUIDQBz2LL6k7Z57rmP_zpEMwqOhdUzGzqYzuanPNQ2D03bc9bfpb-7pvFq0FmX/s1824/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.43%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1824" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzaEA1JTue_4pUI4EpHUp5A9Z2NzNbTJtloy82UrN2qx4fDxoZ76mPhEp007lWiBpmHqv83P4ELZ-q568zIIK_Z2fEdxN_BsfOHG1iKtY0lW4ExSwxKduy9430xUIDQBz2LL6k7Z57rmP_zpEMwqOhdUzGzqYzuanPNQ2D03bc9bfpb-7pvFq0FmX/w400-h226/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.43%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPnZgM25RBujLEzzPZTppE9cLwdohdrEoHLKOD-Ow-m6zl0br5VGfF0_083cW1nFX7l4ISx-LJcoDkI8EC69lUFNiQ3zG3_VFy59KPYEvGBloxl3N8sUClgoqvblQ6S8Z4xCWQH99Pl4Tbu3q7Rg4Ig-aT8tR8F02Dajva6OBZnjfFW9eIicPZFiB/s1844/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.54%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1844" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPnZgM25RBujLEzzPZTppE9cLwdohdrEoHLKOD-Ow-m6zl0br5VGfF0_083cW1nFX7l4ISx-LJcoDkI8EC69lUFNiQ3zG3_VFy59KPYEvGBloxl3N8sUClgoqvblQ6S8Z4xCWQH99Pl4Tbu3q7Rg4Ig-aT8tR8F02Dajva6OBZnjfFW9eIicPZFiB/w400-h215/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.44.54%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*anyone suggesting that rationality is a socially-constructed concept which enabled - in some arguments - genocide, eugenics and the Holocaust will obviously earn a referral. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjwh-TmIAk9HOVTvsHx9B80_SJn-SsZToJCBDqQxSck4zS_esQ5WdcUjcwFdH-tt205pTo1o-08D4H58E2s-JJQ3a-tHYVFhJlxGQlvvFm4Bpr7_hnEcNISd9Mm5M2a5C6rOUD6STZS795PzGuxC_TTvzAgK1nCKzGeVRYzrvDKGte9GfcJzyGGb8/s2020/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.45.01%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="2020" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjwh-TmIAk9HOVTvsHx9B80_SJn-SsZToJCBDqQxSck4zS_esQ5WdcUjcwFdH-tt205pTo1o-08D4H58E2s-JJQ3a-tHYVFhJlxGQlvvFm4Bpr7_hnEcNISd9Mm5M2a5C6rOUD6STZS795PzGuxC_TTvzAgK1nCKzGeVRYzrvDKGte9GfcJzyGGb8/w400-h91/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.45.01%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">These gender-fluid remainer kids. Avo-on-toast is a gateway to Trans activists bombing playgrounds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedPhfcImZtqFnu0Teto8J7jlCQAtt-Dj1yxyOwxCA9LJXM_ueuc3VR1iGoet_r1knp6aSwyWqxolRdu1kVUGeK24KIXuA7xzi-cozH5hdo4LKOppVROQ3iBc4501xUy59z-oDY4YhbZQQBRj3kRJRu58ah3RMzY4T0FJq1vv90eggAPQ_SxAM-pXB/s2020/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.45.17%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="2020" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedPhfcImZtqFnu0Teto8J7jlCQAtt-Dj1yxyOwxCA9LJXM_ueuc3VR1iGoet_r1knp6aSwyWqxolRdu1kVUGeK24KIXuA7xzi-cozH5hdo4LKOppVROQ3iBc4501xUy59z-oDY4YhbZQQBRj3kRJRu58ah3RMzY4T0FJq1vv90eggAPQ_SxAM-pXB/w400-h214/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.45.17%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4znk43ecElyM9mMIIqoYsxL8EiQ4D-3YlQ5-IVgFbsIKaLBWLIBlgVfx97Yb25fvTszzY76pfdcyd46NqwE0rOAhgNRvyDNBblAsN4zzx1_cbUKBYWNMbVhcIrmf2KJRYRoj0vExFPzCO_rQGitniyB2axAogmgEEU5jk0VvXCLygX3ITY17o0ySC/s1592/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.45.48%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1592" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4znk43ecElyM9mMIIqoYsxL8EiQ4D-3YlQ5-IVgFbsIKaLBWLIBlgVfx97Yb25fvTszzY76pfdcyd46NqwE0rOAhgNRvyDNBblAsN4zzx1_cbUKBYWNMbVhcIrmf2KJRYRoj0vExFPzCO_rQGitniyB2axAogmgEEU5jk0VvXCLygX3ITY17o0ySC/w400-h285/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.45.48%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div>Be sure to check the Home Office FB page for today's list of terrorists and which words count as 'inviting support'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7kkr-UQ6DiuShK068OBDbRoR7_Vn5BmqJdklgQwpGJC4J1W5GmvK4m6SdVSkqCv1PgydtILeweqW00PUlE_cLeLK9qw8FnWbZZ9cSdMoqSP_xZh66lAF5fycanjEZ_YohQO-iqZwYloC5_Vn5JFvQ1pZmH5hsoRy7z4RxDAmqsVC4_5QLKKh8XXk/s1892/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.46.33%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1892" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7kkr-UQ6DiuShK068OBDbRoR7_Vn5BmqJdklgQwpGJC4J1W5GmvK4m6SdVSkqCv1PgydtILeweqW00PUlE_cLeLK9qw8FnWbZZ9cSdMoqSP_xZh66lAF5fycanjEZ_YohQO-iqZwYloC5_Vn5JFvQ1pZmH5hsoRy7z4RxDAmqsVC4_5QLKKh8XXk/w400-h169/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.46.33%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Terrorism can have many causes - it's just a coincidence that we're talking about religion a lot. And there aren't many Anglican terrorists are there. It's those foreign religions that are the problem. It used to be the Catholics talking in Latin. Now…?</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQJ7Lmrvyw2hKRtIx1Q3nFZ4uX1EBMDeZ79o2MnXN02_NcO-eN_aYanKaPAk-IDzglYL8b2NcGaPWIRs_oU6AZnHxgV9Mxsbjk4ZUliNzDxCwL9pgxMRklsnLOvy-xz0OWXivCa9G7mRMFIIfeVOtol9cpnV3lyXYx8BJUaCBeD7S1nM1kjw76GtY/s1978/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.47.10%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1978" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQJ7Lmrvyw2hKRtIx1Q3nFZ4uX1EBMDeZ79o2MnXN02_NcO-eN_aYanKaPAk-IDzglYL8b2NcGaPWIRs_oU6AZnHxgV9Mxsbjk4ZUliNzDxCwL9pgxMRklsnLOvy-xz0OWXivCa9G7mRMFIIfeVOtol9cpnV3lyXYx8BJUaCBeD7S1nM1kjw76GtY/w400-h136/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.47.10%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF-4lr99vCKselVUKCCkE3Jc4AYMTV1U1-hgdhX4jK8uYBz8rdTQQRQ2ORKK0WB9pfxlNX47uvYuHnmYAQgt0hSIvLtDve3nv0Pw5X1Ea-PM5D8IrUp6ATd1iQAHJKczn-GnWumICSJz-I1no7jlk2MtW4nmAX6ka3-Wn3v1TbYo8RlegR2MsHplh/s1954/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.47.19%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="1954" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHF-4lr99vCKselVUKCCkE3Jc4AYMTV1U1-hgdhX4jK8uYBz8rdTQQRQ2ORKK0WB9pfxlNX47uvYuHnmYAQgt0hSIvLtDve3nv0Pw5X1Ea-PM5D8IrUp6ATd1iQAHJKczn-GnWumICSJz-I1no7jlk2MtW4nmAX6ka3-Wn3v1TbYo8RlegR2MsHplh/w400-h91/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.47.19%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's an example completely at random. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27TbhqsFNRjins69owfqd38Y5PYt-oMSOyDb1IEnmg6GBXRDfjfsm3J5S9REosnOM-UN3avZqI9RkPglYIL3GF-F7XQsmNFlf5O94o6vKpAJxFC_mle9YrrVQKC4rP4cYFhM2H4E_W4UUiaHjvoWu4FXs-Fp2s2zMcrQs9mK94cPkJv-6xe0cyzdt/s1972/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.47.45%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="1972" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27TbhqsFNRjins69owfqd38Y5PYt-oMSOyDb1IEnmg6GBXRDfjfsm3J5S9REosnOM-UN3avZqI9RkPglYIL3GF-F7XQsmNFlf5O94o6vKpAJxFC_mle9YrrVQKC4rP4cYFhM2H4E_W4UUiaHjvoWu4FXs-Fp2s2zMcrQs9mK94cPkJv-6xe0cyzdt/w400-h254/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.47.45%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4mXrcAtCbpxIekDkJoNDHN5_orX9_Jvz3y3vYuz0PyL-47kAhBnK_PIjUyyItTICdpHOlEcFtqt7u51N8IOMMlR7S_JI8aXSL0_apHxXvEv7wgXGeTik5M0hF6iVslMnJOPCpor-Ql0QCy9WxGdjv7KBSlrL1LiSkvntL9d45mTw-sBBTx_WA6Hy/s1952/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.48.01%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1952" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4mXrcAtCbpxIekDkJoNDHN5_orX9_Jvz3y3vYuz0PyL-47kAhBnK_PIjUyyItTICdpHOlEcFtqt7u51N8IOMMlR7S_JI8aXSL0_apHxXvEv7wgXGeTik5M0hF6iVslMnJOPCpor-Ql0QCy9WxGdjv7KBSlrL1LiSkvntL9d45mTw-sBBTx_WA6Hy/w400-h199/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.48.01%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFsKXTlV849JFZgXwDZhyJojJKL3eTs7bbI0qN_z8tTIj5t10subhls1ERsZwyQWJQbcVHmFxWhOZg86rtsnVTAu4XM7qRyDgTeRrlOuXLSGRS8PPHy45rnRzRuOceqQ2sj_IEmiAhNrybU3qkSedpCQvPS5UV7EDK7mwBCCpMIrRquMLYDO78WAo/s1610/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.48.18%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="1610" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFsKXTlV849JFZgXwDZhyJojJKL3eTs7bbI0qN_z8tTIj5t10subhls1ERsZwyQWJQbcVHmFxWhOZg86rtsnVTAu4XM7qRyDgTeRrlOuXLSGRS8PPHy45rnRzRuOceqQ2sj_IEmiAhNrybU3qkSedpCQvPS5UV7EDK7mwBCCpMIrRquMLYDO78WAo/w400-h111/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.48.18%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Don't worry kids: only half the people around you would have reported you for becoming a Muslim!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkbcYLfmR1ptmaP2fcf6G8Pwm5_QkHWh3Al5MYqh5PRXTTt2BaMO3Suhfbzg9_0brl5savpG0Zi7urFOYCjRst57yTKx6ZUPdr1K3T8DhjetkZWYtYRxj0OwllVF2jaGPWaZenfBC07kB2lwei-Hyu05-glD8vvY7PaRBxhgxHpSN1a16jriUjpxG/s2028/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.48.37%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="2028" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkbcYLfmR1ptmaP2fcf6G8Pwm5_QkHWh3Al5MYqh5PRXTTt2BaMO3Suhfbzg9_0brl5savpG0Zi7urFOYCjRst57yTKx6ZUPdr1K3T8DhjetkZWYtYRxj0OwllVF2jaGPWaZenfBC07kB2lwei-Hyu05-glD8vvY7PaRBxhgxHpSN1a16jriUjpxG/w400-h263/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.48.37%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then there's a break to consider chemical-biological warfare. I would worry if a student asked me this, mostly about our admissions standards. You'd think a terrorist would be a little more secretive, somehow. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ64mCgBry3Gj95VX1huS87CKz3yugEHclfW6etKpcvPd48iZOJvSaTsUrWq4qDaKHKPtCH0GN-rmM3OeKvMmR9p2dKBXFeEDC_6zU1wgOmB_hdwmwWVP-5-y7u4CIdQSWa0PjmG1jcbVuXMJRf2D5LeMILO5F34OkzrcDPYXjWHqI4zi-e3poisRk/s1952/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.01%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1952" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ64mCgBry3Gj95VX1huS87CKz3yugEHclfW6etKpcvPd48iZOJvSaTsUrWq4qDaKHKPtCH0GN-rmM3OeKvMmR9p2dKBXFeEDC_6zU1wgOmB_hdwmwWVP-5-y7u4CIdQSWa0PjmG1jcbVuXMJRf2D5LeMILO5F34OkzrcDPYXjWHqI4zi-e3poisRk/w400-h248/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.01%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKKoyCrt8wrWi7rrgXxP2k5_rK9xtog-EYWEhUWrsLy_MmZ5BeTBb1YoGTY0Je21v_eP-XTb8F03ITm1dYoQZWHbtcpqSFocNe_dYekG78LxEPiJyFSpnf0btPPxrw2zWoNkgKo_snrGwr2qMf8J7UeHBPBM_TPOJDyKdwjRt5RUa-AETYDScsmOc/s1598/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.20%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="1598" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKKoyCrt8wrWi7rrgXxP2k5_rK9xtog-EYWEhUWrsLy_MmZ5BeTBb1YoGTY0Je21v_eP-XTb8F03ITm1dYoQZWHbtcpqSFocNe_dYekG78LxEPiJyFSpnf0btPPxrw2zWoNkgKo_snrGwr2qMf8J7UeHBPBM_TPOJDyKdwjRt5RUa-AETYDScsmOc/w400-h79/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.20%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o52uUaD8PdmkVdCw87H1myuJB3yYgReRq4HiPpayVeg6u4ly1XKbNqESSmp4Cso1sy3meLlueloCRYROUjIY9hUH_5jJhIWJA3zXy-6T8yQjKsBx7qwoJNN6gSKa7VnUuXNoB5KqwQ0xoI6PPMGsmjcmDl4F0RdKZrnhN9MJtAi8SN-4ktWrKUov/s1264/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.35%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="1264" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o52uUaD8PdmkVdCw87H1myuJB3yYgReRq4HiPpayVeg6u4ly1XKbNqESSmp4Cso1sy3meLlueloCRYROUjIY9hUH_5jJhIWJA3zXy-6T8yQjKsBx7qwoJNN6gSKa7VnUuXNoB5KqwQ0xoI6PPMGsmjcmDl4F0RdKZrnhN9MJtAi8SN-4ktWrKUov/w400-h350/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.35%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Worry not though: we're back to religion which isn't at all a cover for particular beliefs and peoples. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PeEYjUtsxU4w_W8P8nV-XGLGuFj_HHHHR120FQdgza0btEwP0tzJ7ExyOL43irCg3vEubt3xIXQDNeHYJ_2D6QXVIPw0lY5lbNhREnv8xJdOKHwEF2KGsrSndWqjJx7IRnZArzgR3cGNaYY4QuHw2FRr13pqwuyWukiEyJ08revNcFBJZ4Ku9QTT/s2000/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.48%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="2000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PeEYjUtsxU4w_W8P8nV-XGLGuFj_HHHHR120FQdgza0btEwP0tzJ7ExyOL43irCg3vEubt3xIXQDNeHYJ_2D6QXVIPw0lY5lbNhREnv8xJdOKHwEF2KGsrSndWqjJx7IRnZArzgR3cGNaYY4QuHw2FRr13pqwuyWukiEyJ08revNcFBJZ4Ku9QTT/w400-h239/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.49.48%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjySqS8Qri0_TKqsg-DAbVS7Z36PWjvWPengcBJ2xvkBo_NryhHZMOTp6RCS6hQoYk0aeUBmbuurd-bkOTluBtmFaLFXivBrtrimLP27yiztr8s__zuQT_Oh9wu2aY_JZ2-ZORjKAwXNUBGaa1e4az1UHz9TGLaz0gb9_RAo1dp55289KvOKRj8mcwx/s1612/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.50.14%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="1612" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjySqS8Qri0_TKqsg-DAbVS7Z36PWjvWPengcBJ2xvkBo_NryhHZMOTp6RCS6hQoYk0aeUBmbuurd-bkOTluBtmFaLFXivBrtrimLP27yiztr8s__zuQT_Oh9wu2aY_JZ2-ZORjKAwXNUBGaa1e4az1UHz9TGLaz0gb9_RAo1dp55289KvOKRj8mcwx/w400-h140/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.50.14%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgrzAzK90q53e59ph8WLB3jDHKO1DWOhdLByJOW91b2-HamDnI-D_ZAR7RU-xEHd-uP1nITtBlxLT47SyeAqM1Ww98nO2OiIcLntCl9igoV1h72odbuGPD7-r7-Nkze-u9KHx9ClP33JtlhqyBXd8GAuBcrtkZMLr-AvwazafW-d9U-qsH3akgyAs/s1152/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.50.30%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1100" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgrzAzK90q53e59ph8WLB3jDHKO1DWOhdLByJOW91b2-HamDnI-D_ZAR7RU-xEHd-uP1nITtBlxLT47SyeAqM1Ww98nO2OiIcLntCl9igoV1h72odbuGPD7-r7-Nkze-u9KHx9ClP33JtlhqyBXd8GAuBcrtkZMLr-AvwazafW-d9U-qsH3akgyAs/w383-h400/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.50.30%20am.png" width="383" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">This bit is fine, though I worry about how many people want to call the cops. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uHObnFKsnl_7vw3UVmcXAQCZ0oaFUj8c8SqxJlq2-eSHW823yfujFiV08jg4Y9Tj9zjIINpiq9olMEchKzFB7eRwS2gzUEoy2fZSst-KsVDIfHCm0I4mstIgYa-SPapsjRo9pLSbPx66Oq4ASHPPHhJGQDgFLN0_mCyJYpuC3LDgO9mbZCa3YmLc/s1988/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.50.49%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1988" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uHObnFKsnl_7vw3UVmcXAQCZ0oaFUj8c8SqxJlq2-eSHW823yfujFiV08jg4Y9Tj9zjIINpiq9olMEchKzFB7eRwS2gzUEoy2fZSst-KsVDIfHCm0I4mstIgYa-SPapsjRo9pLSbPx66Oq4ASHPPHhJGQDgFLN0_mCyJYpuC3LDgO9mbZCa3YmLc/w400-h190/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.50.49%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKM0umXM-QrTzsrlo05h7USSyENBJHrVciS-8fVlAXtvL4sNBmWEzCxjRXW06E8sCfEHdJP6bSrjM7CJWVaRLmKVXYgIAITVxrg_Kp3spZmAqvRgi6GIt-aHyxbqnFy3YFor_BSZvI0h0zAA__TUtStSj9GxJ_D9FZPVzJLykLop5GzmfRPI3C8hR6/s1576/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.51.13%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="1576" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKM0umXM-QrTzsrlo05h7USSyENBJHrVciS-8fVlAXtvL4sNBmWEzCxjRXW06E8sCfEHdJP6bSrjM7CJWVaRLmKVXYgIAITVxrg_Kp3spZmAqvRgi6GIt-aHyxbqnFy3YFor_BSZvI0h0zAA__TUtStSj9GxJ_D9FZPVzJLykLop5GzmfRPI3C8hR6/w400-h70/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.51.13%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Nu0ShpioUObCr1YIeuKBtfPdSKVpatC7Ee4jISoQdzOJXaNGtpvpyK5B9Wjr7sv7ZdzC31RpO19fOfHYyJOWUkTKb7rMtjZTQG_cTpXz-6xaXSFomtnUaUn4rMrW2stEv_biFzA_sQQ1SsKUEwzL9K8yJCoTiSnxKgJ1WWiSGJRsL1z_Q0lpUYYx/s992/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.51.25%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="992" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Nu0ShpioUObCr1YIeuKBtfPdSKVpatC7Ee4jISoQdzOJXaNGtpvpyK5B9Wjr7sv7ZdzC31RpO19fOfHYyJOWUkTKb7rMtjZTQG_cTpXz-6xaXSFomtnUaUn4rMrW2stEv_biFzA_sQQ1SsKUEwzL9K8yJCoTiSnxKgJ1WWiSGJRsL1z_Q0lpUYYx/w400-h358/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.51.25%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuoP5fwKcdJ-YNt-VlHgCvWnFDWLfPgoYdXPBwFMTQ8uA6eae1TrvRbwhDnN8dSzrojir_i9ki4X-aOM8NydEizBXXh27d0EdAnHZeCyy4EN4vgBfoITUnNCg1wZG0AwNJ4tWzDLN1lGvMubAyJArpbr2ewpNWGYOWDxLoPye_Gt11jnLgjQn5FNv/s1938/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.51.51%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="1938" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuoP5fwKcdJ-YNt-VlHgCvWnFDWLfPgoYdXPBwFMTQ8uA6eae1TrvRbwhDnN8dSzrojir_i9ki4X-aOM8NydEizBXXh27d0EdAnHZeCyy4EN4vgBfoITUnNCg1wZG0AwNJ4tWzDLN1lGvMubAyJArpbr2ewpNWGYOWDxLoPye_Gt11jnLgjQn5FNv/w400-h251/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.51.51%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVu_3hxCMEblz3bSB5QpMHDNHzvnr4o_R9SPvQOB0bzVLAOq7lEJfjno0Tf-nZFa6gafslxKyMJGYcuPXqb8dFb381HxrTtuSRVlftzRSiVkYRlJa_spNEBynU_6y1FD8LHmhfx01PgbeDtkwkgsbemAQUtsQeAqOvZVhi4Jd3NvlYvqjo6bfyYe6O/s1598/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.52.25%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="1598" height="69" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVu_3hxCMEblz3bSB5QpMHDNHzvnr4o_R9SPvQOB0bzVLAOq7lEJfjno0Tf-nZFa6gafslxKyMJGYcuPXqb8dFb381HxrTtuSRVlftzRSiVkYRlJa_spNEBynU_6y1FD8LHmhfx01PgbeDtkwkgsbemAQUtsQeAqOvZVhi4Jd3NvlYvqjo6bfyYe6O/w400-h69/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.52.25%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdJ6HwOkP93-W75eemaf993km4lWb-nWtTuZ-54GRChQg0gdP6-T8XOXZpuW0vOdeslTDi7xLmecd2iKdj0pDTGFJVsoNNsyC2u3UqRc7pdHT0HzLDkZ27bxtF47qrAS-Lz3x_Y-UdB7QVGqLQnudJA8x729K7QONRUq11VOanXKEMdUQjC0kVENW/s1094/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.52.40%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1094" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdJ6HwOkP93-W75eemaf993km4lWb-nWtTuZ-54GRChQg0gdP6-T8XOXZpuW0vOdeslTDi7xLmecd2iKdj0pDTGFJVsoNNsyC2u3UqRc7pdHT0HzLDkZ27bxtF47qrAS-Lz3x_Y-UdB7QVGqLQnudJA8x729K7QONRUq11VOanXKEMdUQjC0kVENW/w400-h399/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.52.40%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you reported this student: congratulations, you can spot a terrorist. If you didn't, you have blood on your hands because guess what:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Sp2wy19G3itbBoFaLBpC4AbqYLxoUtSblWfL4OLUqT6Yqr61775ide3Kfmk2acdTHeZ37Xm2XldQrtqsUsJXmcHuEuBBZlCB8-CDglRVtod7Qzva7MTiU7Vl64W_8f__hqsRlVCHxxPBjBqGldCs4Mq0ceo6JTs_c4bWYKoAgWFj7o6KlM1jvpVb/s2120/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.52.57%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="2120" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Sp2wy19G3itbBoFaLBpC4AbqYLxoUtSblWfL4OLUqT6Yqr61775ide3Kfmk2acdTHeZ37Xm2XldQrtqsUsJXmcHuEuBBZlCB8-CDglRVtod7Qzva7MTiU7Vl64W_8f__hqsRlVCHxxPBjBqGldCs4Mq0ceo6JTs_c4bWYKoAgWFj7o6KlM1jvpVb/w400-h231/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.52.57%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If all else fails, there's Channel. Channel is the programme that takes vulnerable people you think are open to being brainwashed and…brainwashes them. Yes, there's a policeman involved but there's very little chance it will be one of the ones who shares racists jokes, stops and searches mostly brown people, murders women or shares sexist memes via WhatsApp. Anyone referred definitely won't go on a list forever. Perish the thought!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hw2RdLaRAj8mJy_pPM9U0FSrDV_uRtMX8sKppZaDKkm0_oP3smUAoADnaDhdWdNnuWb6smpHs61VeYnkBslInLCqnw6eA1AaEzdxOnSkRyb_agsOyrAqUI5EmX_NzNNaB5Meg7x2UWo9dY7P9fF4OjQXtuM0hD8nIYM7eSDaq7DhEXA-u7uFP4_J/s1870/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.53.59%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="1870" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hw2RdLaRAj8mJy_pPM9U0FSrDV_uRtMX8sKppZaDKkm0_oP3smUAoADnaDhdWdNnuWb6smpHs61VeYnkBslInLCqnw6eA1AaEzdxOnSkRyb_agsOyrAqUI5EmX_NzNNaB5Meg7x2UWo9dY7P9fF4OjQXtuM0hD8nIYM7eSDaq7DhEXA-u7uFP4_J/w400-h301/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.53.59%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdkgIghxumrJbrbjphTjF9GW5Hhwnbw1ELs8Tf-hITV3WtPNKUDsYSI4j75YkoXsvJNb9uh4GfKjwB8Ae8Gvyd8FpQU-f_UIVMBd2itHvIfoIBmtCjRS8iJM-d12SApt2PqgAvT4Lgb3n3ALFUHfe2ZNFJAee8zrSJY6Hud5CDwmcM4frY-5hG3AI/s2052/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.54.22%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="2052" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdkgIghxumrJbrbjphTjF9GW5Hhwnbw1ELs8Tf-hITV3WtPNKUDsYSI4j75YkoXsvJNb9uh4GfKjwB8Ae8Gvyd8FpQU-f_UIVMBd2itHvIfoIBmtCjRS8iJM-d12SApt2PqgAvT4Lgb3n3ALFUHfe2ZNFJAee8zrSJY6Hud5CDwmcM4frY-5hG3AI/w400-h134/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.54.22%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWb6fiy5ZFrf1JoUJ4nJZHbsGa6Z2msUDiejutqpzrN03mG6pjdABDRXjpBkGI5jLKXitGeaqxyTFpfM2jtcso6RFUzncWdJaF64FAD29w7mavFXuJtqIcRgk81mvPMa2jiwzC3R6H8wHhoREWiwnkf530N-yyec7gsI_z3Ha7-gm1voIv4nW9ZR1P/s2032/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.54.37%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="2032" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWb6fiy5ZFrf1JoUJ4nJZHbsGa6Z2msUDiejutqpzrN03mG6pjdABDRXjpBkGI5jLKXitGeaqxyTFpfM2jtcso6RFUzncWdJaF64FAD29w7mavFXuJtqIcRgk81mvPMa2jiwzC3R6H8wHhoREWiwnkf530N-yyec7gsI_z3Ha7-gm1voIv4nW9ZR1P/w400-h98/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.54.37%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Careful though - the lying press are desperate to make this look a bit racist and sinister! Which it definitely isn't. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TdZg5Xe-lUoC2lCwiv6I3wRrMbuoQisJN-s6akKOrftbBv_-Q-Z1dVB_LJAN1guQtvFT9Zh8W9QjtL1gqr8k3sBUL4oFGPlwl3wXHQSekqC-SE-fRM96MFwwHiYEBQ-cMNjwPwx7MJ_gPr3wwAYTp5Gw6g5RVHK0VHg67xS6Rg0pT3T8ZP4rnf4c/s1994/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.55.06%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="1994" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TdZg5Xe-lUoC2lCwiv6I3wRrMbuoQisJN-s6akKOrftbBv_-Q-Z1dVB_LJAN1guQtvFT9Zh8W9QjtL1gqr8k3sBUL4oFGPlwl3wXHQSekqC-SE-fRM96MFwwHiYEBQ-cMNjwPwx7MJ_gPr3wwAYTp5Gw6g5RVHK0VHg67xS6Rg0pT3T8ZP4rnf4c/w400-h120/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.55.06%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Don't worry about this bit. There's no way identifying someone as a potential terrorist might count as an 'exceptional circumstance' in and of itself for the purpose of reporting someone. Don't give it a moment's thought. Just ask your friendly local MI5 agent. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUrS-HmudqhG-8tVOxmHQYGKQ1BDyWiK-DHUZgTsJJ9o2hE46cxGILntU_foGyU_QN1G1-toEJT2046R9jAwXyuz-pO0KPm4THq45Ca50ha9rV4Ib0wvmsurnoIaowi6mlqKNKSgdJ9DQseCccDd88gVnltYVhNU6aPaAW15Fno8rKGbIc2CM6vlE/s1948/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.55.23%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1948" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUrS-HmudqhG-8tVOxmHQYGKQ1BDyWiK-DHUZgTsJJ9o2hE46cxGILntU_foGyU_QN1G1-toEJT2046R9jAwXyuz-pO0KPm4THq45Ca50ha9rV4Ib0wvmsurnoIaowi6mlqKNKSgdJ9DQseCccDd88gVnltYVhNU6aPaAW15Fno8rKGbIc2CM6vlE/w400-h114/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.55.23%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKEEL8QpPBhrRzaoA6Y8eoBpPTMZ8MAUebOQJmibIYl8x_KDoUse8RFXAmdkHcgcagUPYjoRFy3hBMRVRKju_X_Njq2e5zVc2RX8v58-m5MCRT2B5smrXvfphg_lQfCKrYYRe_bHTeG1hMEzjgemOMgcH8seI1KuULQC7oqGLSshyVzJLpLUQvL3G/s1912/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.55.47%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1912" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKEEL8QpPBhrRzaoA6Y8eoBpPTMZ8MAUebOQJmibIYl8x_KDoUse8RFXAmdkHcgcagUPYjoRFy3hBMRVRKju_X_Njq2e5zVc2RX8v58-m5MCRT2B5smrXvfphg_lQfCKrYYRe_bHTeG1hMEzjgemOMgcH8seI1KuULQC7oqGLSshyVzJLpLUQvL3G/w400-h151/Screenshot%202022-05-09%20at%2011.55.47%20am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So there we have it. Nothing to worry about. If YOU get invited to a Prevent meeting, see it as an act of love. Bask in the knowledge that it's included in your fees and enjoy the fact that in the midst of an enormous, impersonal institution, some of the people at the top know your name (location, search history, library use). Feel the warmth!<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div></div><br /></div>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-9967701117809924732022-03-18T11:24:00.001+00:002022-03-18T11:24:48.504+00:00Pooter's week<p>Nearly a month since I last posted here. There seems to be such a torrent of commentary on all channels that I'm losing my enthusiasm for adding to it. That, and the fact that life is so irredeemably awful at the moment. My friends all have coronavirus, the world's on fire, there's a war on, my university - and sole chance of meaningful employment - is collapsing and I'll probably (hopefully) be on strike next month. I'm technically on research leave but the sheer volume of union casework coming through means that I'm spending every day trying to help deeply distressed colleagues. But apart from that…</p><p>Any bright spots? Well, the Ukrainians are doing better than I expected even if we discount the thrilling but probably not representative videos of farmers nicking tanks and so on. The Russians may have overwhelming numbers but they also seem to be quite incompetent. I also enjoyed the Irish government's <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/government-releases-st-patrick-s-day-video-to-mark-solidarity-with-ukraine-1.4829507">glossy St. Patrick's Day video</a>, which combined a rather classier dig at a certain large and aggressive next-door neighbour's past behaviour with several pointed references to the joys of European membership than I managed last time. </p><p>What else? Well, I helped organise and run our regional fencing championships last week and it all went very well except for my performance. I joked on Twitter about aiming for that coveted 13th spot, secretly hoping for last 8 or even last 4, having once won all three weapons. Turns out that 13th was way too ambitious. I blame a combination of despicable youth, a concentration of left-handers for which only witchcraft can be blamed, the late entry of lots of actually good people, and exhaustion. I'd definitely have won the foil if I hadn't laid down the pistes and refereed the epee. No, really, I would…</p><p>I've also read some books, partly for work, partly for pleasure. Amongst the definitely-not-for-pleasure pile was the 1000 page volume 2 of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Channon">Chips Channon</a>'s diaries - the 1930s/40s Tory MP, sometime novelist, gadabout, fascist and social climber. It's now 1939-42 and Chips is consumed by rage against all women; convinced that Britain is on the wrong side of WW2; feeling betrayed by his wife even though he's sleeping with his brother-in-law and every titled man (and occasional woman) he can get his hands on; determined to overthrow Winston Churchill; subsisting on a diet of anti-semitism, oysters and champagne; down to the last 12 servants because they keep getting called for military service which infuriates him. Now and then his father-in-law Lord Iveagh pops round to give him 30,000 Guinness shares or a few thousand quid to spare him the shame of ever having to get a job. At one point, jaded by city life, he checks in to a monastery for a week's retreat and meditation, but admits after a couple of days that he's only there because he hears the monks whip themselves. He manages to spy on them, but fails to persuade the abbot to administer what he wants and leaves. </p><p>More happily, I spotted <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Llywelyn">Robin Llewelyn</a>'s <i>White Star</i> in a charity shop: I didn't know his stunning, magical-realist novel <i><a href="https://www.gwales.com/goto/biblio/en/9780863839856/">Seren Wen Ar Gefndir Gwyn</a> (</i>White Star on a White Background) had been translated. It's a weird and wonderful mix of Beckett, Jeff Noon, Dario Fo and mythological quest narrative. Highly recommended. In the same charity shop I found Margaret Elphinstone's 1980s feminist SF novel <i><a href="https://www.margaretelphinstone.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/0994?opendocument&part=7">The Incomer</a> </i>and - ideal for my project on canons and literary quality - a collection of parodies of the 'greats', <i>How To Become Ridiculously Well-Read On One Evening</i>, including entries from some quite well-known poets like Wendy Cope - I think my favourite is NJ Warburton's <i>Wind in the Willows </i>in which Mole has taken on the persona of another character of the same name, Adrian ('Ratty took me to see his friend Toad …Came away feeling tainted by bourgeois values…Some more spots have appeared'). </p><p>In terms of music, I'm thrilled that Troubled Liverpool Genius (TM) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Head_(musician)">Michael Head</a> has actually released a song with a whole album apparently due - I think a record shop still owes me for the preorder of the last three cancelled albums. If you don't know his stuff, start with the wonderful but fated (deaths, studio fires, lost tapes etc. etc) Pale Fountains, then Shack, then the Michael Head and the Strands albums. Lovelorn strings, jangly guitars, scouse wit - perfect. I also liked the new RLPO recording of Vaughan Williams' disturbing Sixth Symphony, Spoon's new album <i>Lucifer on the Sofa</i>, and most of all, Daniel Elms' contemporary classical album <i>Islandia</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I4Sm8l61dAk" width="320" youtube-src-id="I4Sm8l61dAk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HuAfL_6vIj4" width="320" youtube-src-id="HuAfL_6vIj4"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZL-wZ0Hga2Y" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZL-wZ0Hga2Y"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IP3otRggKFM" width="320" youtube-src-id="IP3otRggKFM"></iframe></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-88472858708061193742022-02-25T00:25:00.002+00:002022-02-25T08:50:29.674+00:00Crimea River<p>What can one possibly say in the face of this latest war that isn't impossibly trite or obvious? 'A plague on all your houses' is tempting, as is the old joke 'I wouldn't have started from here', because yesterday's attack on Ukraine is the result of miscalculation and cowardice on all sides for decades. </p><p>There's a lot of chatter on the usual social media sites about useful idiots and infantile leftists, largely thanks to the Stop The War Coalition's preference for critiquing NATO rather than Russia, and the right's predilection for wilfully dumbing-down any criticism of Western governments and shouting treason. Some people are claiming that the attack on Ukraine is proof that Putin wants to re-establish the Soviet Union, which I think (channelling <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00018657" target="_blank">Zhou Enlai's apocryphal view of the French Revolution</a>) is a misreading caused by a limited historical perspective. Instead, being a non-Stalinist old left-winger, I see the USSR as Tsarist Russia in modernised garb. The faces at the top changed, a few non-Russians were integrated into the leadership, but it was essentially the Russian-dominated empire under new management. While Putin is happy to appeal to the understandable <i>ostalgie </i>of citizens who remember not starving under the communists by downplaying the worst crimes of the Soviet regime, he's pretty consistently invoked the worldview of the Czars in all its autocratic pomp, particularly when it comes to how they viewed the near abroad (i.e. theirs). Putin isn't the General Secretary <i>de nos jours</i>; he's the Czar. </p><p>While I'm embarrassed by the crudeness of the Stop the War & Cos. position, I do feel that the war, and Putin, are the creation and fault of the supposed democratic states. We've had 30-odd years of claiming that the West and democracy (not the same thing) won the cold war, but it's howlingly obvious to me at least that wasn't democracy that triumphed, it was capitalism. Other than the special case of Germany, the West made no effort to instil democracy in the former USSR. It imposed the most brutal forms of capitalism and made a tacit deal with the gangsters who emerged that the needs of their populations would come a very distant second to the energy and financial needs of the markets. The Chechens, the Georgians and a host of other democratically-inclined nations were abandoned; Russian people were left to destitution, drink and nostalgic fantasies, but oil and looted cash flowed out of Russia and into London, Frankfurt, Cyprus, the Virgin Islands, Switzerland and every other shady haven, no questions asked. No effort was made to establish states run by and for their populations. Every hungry oligarch and dictator was feted and fed to ensure that they didn't impede the flow of loot into Western banks, political parties, law firms, private schools and football clubs until one of them had the bad manners to get impatient. Doesn't Putin understand that economic violence is much more effective than the stuff with guns? Why invade a country when you can buy it piece by piece? It's embarrassing. Makes the global order look bad. </p><p>No wonder the West's response is so compromised, embarrassing and evasive. The virtue signalling from all sides is unbearable. Here's what Steve Reed, the Labour MP posted on Twitter:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image" class="css-9pa8cd" draggable="true" height="390" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMYscWFWYAA7Fq5?format=jpg&name=medium" width="400" /></p><p style="text-align: left;">This, kids, is what we call <i>bathos</i>. The Kremlin's tacticians aren't recreating that scene in <i>Downfall </i>as news that Croydon stands with Ukraine filters through. Does Croydon really stand with Ukraine? What does that mean in practice? Still, at least Steve is just a backbench opposition MP who needs to sound tough. What of the actual British Prime Minister? Well, I took some time off work to watch his solemn address to the nation and came away pretty depressed. 7 minutes of utter vacuity no more meaningful than Steve's tweet. Nothing more than 'thoughts and prayers' - tough words without a single meaningful action attached. Cynical, in fact: rhetoric designed to persuade the voters that the UK government is actually doing something while very carefully not committing to doing anything at all. Johnson keeps saying that the UK will act in concert with other nations - perhaps being in some kind of supra-national union might have helped? What he actually means is that there's no way the other big nations will do anything so Britain won't have to either. It's not a promise, it's a loophole. Brexit has been a bonanza for the oligarchs and criminals the world over: Britain has become Europe's Macao, a lovely place with all the trappings of civilisation but without any of that pesky rule-of-law stuff, a safe haven for looted billions with no questions ever asked, thanks to state capture by a crowd of politicians who are far more interested in finance than democracy and rather envy the crude macho bluster of Trump, Putin and co. and are quite bored having to operate within the minimal guide rails of liberal democracy. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The reason is obvious: Ukraine has no chance of winning this war without military help from outside and no country is going to provide it. I would have a lot more respect for the UK government if they honestly explained that Ukraine isn't important enough to go to war with Russia over - it's the double-talk that I can't stand. There's no meaningful action that the West can take that will change the course of events other than war, and that's not going to happen. Admitting this isn't an option so instead you get Johnson and his crew of compromised statesman cos-players throwing Churchillian shapes while wondering how this will affect the upcoming local election results. Ukrainians and Russian conscripts will die while we ponder confiscating the odd under-achieving football club and a couple of yachts (BP's Russian holdings will remain untouched) and our leaders will hope for a swift Russian victory they can present as an unfortunate <i>fait accompli</i>. The Ukrainians can appeal to us via heart-rending social media - the new asymmetric warfare - but they're collateral damage that the powerful countries can easily live with. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The last British adventure in Ukraine resulted in the Charge of the Light Brigade (spoiler: massive away loss, a mediocre poem and an <a href="https://bleedingcool.com/tv/ten-thoughts-about-doctor-who-war-of-the-sontarans/" target="_blank">iffy <i>Doctor Who </i>episode</a>); Johnson, Truss, Tugendhat and the rest of this ghastly crew is more the Charge of the Shite Brigade. Lightweight, tactical, cynical and pointless. Being a product of empire myself I've never put the slightest faith in the much vaunted idea of Britain being a credible force for good in the world (where might Putin have got the idea for 'protecting' an embattled minority against anti-imperialist splitters, in the centenary year of the foundation of Northern Ireland?), but the obvious post-Brexit marginalisation of the UK would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Anyway, enough of My Two Cents. While all this has been going on I've read some books, between to a funeral, bought more books, done a lot of marking, watched this government legislate to abolish universities like mine and fumed that not enough of my colleagues voted to strike alongside our counterparts in 68 other universities, and went to an online dramatisation of the life of novelist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Dillwyn">Amy Dillwyn</a>, the Welsh Ann Lister. </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-83448061056852145862022-02-11T11:34:00.002+00:002022-02-11T11:34:33.828+00:00Après-moi, le deluge<p>I'm going to resist the temptation to comment on the benighted and depressing farce that constitutes British politics/economics/public life - you can follow me on Twitter for that. </p><p>The big news is that I've finished my marking! In reality, this means that I still have to negotiate the complexities of our newly-secure and thus unusable VLE and inevitably discover a load of hidden essays at the last minute, but I'm going to enjoy a day or two of denial. It helps that the standard has been really high: the kids emerged from lockdown with amazing enthusiasm and have produced hugely impressive work. I've also done a couple of events for the city's literature festival - a conversation with Paul Mason on his new book <i>How To Stop Fascism</i> and a conversation between four crime writers (Holly Seddon, Mark Edwards, Sharon Dempsey and Brian McGilloway) on genre, craft and literary snobbery). All good fun, but between those and the thrill of the Six Nations, I was too exhausted to attend anything for fun, which was a shame. </p><p>I did manage to sneak in a bit of reading. Top of the list was the English translation/adaptation of Manon Steffan Ros's hit post-apocalypse YA novel <i><a href="https://www.ylolfa.com/cynnyrch/9781784616496/llyfr-glas-nebo" target="_blank">Llyfr Glas Nebo</a> </i>which follows in the tradition of Meg Rosoff's <i>How We Live Now</i>. The original book is beautiful, written in an idiosyncratic version of the North Welsh dialect, swapping voices between the Welsh of a mother whose Welsh was always present but tentative, and a boy whose Welsh is largely learned from books in the absence of any kind of community. Even for a learner like me it was hugely effective. One aspect that really worked was the novel's concern with other literature (much like Alison Bechdel's <i>Fun Home</i>): the isolated family learn their world through looted books. Rowenna largely sticks to middlebrow English literature and Welsh novels for teenagers and learners, while her son races through the Bible and a huge number of Welsh-language novels and poetry collections. The English translation, <i><a href="https://fireflypress.co.uk/books/blue-book-of-nebo/" target="_blank">The Blue Book of Nebo</a> </i> (by the author) is moving and hugely successful but the literary landscape is different: the reader can't be expected to pick up on the significance of the Welsh texts referred to (even starting with the book's title. Some of the names have been changed too, perhaps to make reading easier for people unfamiliar with Welsh names, therefore substituting one set of cultural echoes for another. The boy, Siôn, becomes Dylan while his short-lived sister Dwynwen is now Mona, for example.</p><p>Anyway, read it: it's short because it doesn't need to be long; it's an intense exploration of mother-child relationships, and it's beautifully written in either language. </p><p>Unlike, I'm sad to say, the <i>other </i>collapse novel I read this week: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson">Kim Stanley Robinson</a>'s cli-fi doorstop <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future">The Ministry for the Future</a></i> whose cover blazons the claim 'Obama's Favourite Book of 2021'. I am a KSR fan, having enjoyed many of his previous novels and sharing his clear and heartfelt fear that nationalism and capitalism are determined to resist doing the necessary to avoid environmental disaster. This novel just didn't work for me. It alternates between following the Irish head of the UN environmental body of the title as she tries to avert disaster, the voices of multiple protagonists (farmers, victims of climate change, eco-terrorists etc.) and mini-chapters taking different discursive forms explaining the science, economics politics and so on. It puts the case for optimism without convincingly justifying it (though I liked the idea of home-made Semtex-bearing drones being employed to make private jet use suicidal), and the wide sweep made it hard to sustain the traditional person-centred novel form. It's a (much-needed) novel of ideas really, like Cory Doctorow's badly-written but fascinating work. KSR is a much better writer than Doctorow, but this novel just felt too clunky despite its good intentions and scientific accuracy. Still worth reading, but a bit of an effort. </p><p>I'm off to my godmother's funeral early next week and have some external examine work to do, so research and reading might take a bit of a back seat, but no doubt more marking will rise from the depths like a misanthropic shark…</p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-57469269557080917802022-02-01T14:59:00.002+00:002022-02-01T15:16:16.037+00:00Some recent reading<p>The more work I have, the more books I read for pleasure. This doesn't alleviate any stress or help me sleep any better, but I'm not particularly inclined to do anything about it. What I <i>must </i>do is shelve the recently-read pile as it's currently a health-and-safety issue. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKc5wJwOk3o14XZSM9cgiu-akkZs9qnRO50AjghIroROU_Mg2KYsBvETXmFDXXBjm3SFltxZzujGQEgKYmouats3AjKn_vbd4jBhzxAkHyW-tSV5rRcooREDGZDlbQFEQhxlsP1gsb08yzHK1t8Jx6uBKu0nM_omUkw5qxoWb4iRdgU24l2Ke5PdBh=s3948" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3948" data-original-width="1967" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKc5wJwOk3o14XZSM9cgiu-akkZs9qnRO50AjghIroROU_Mg2KYsBvETXmFDXXBjm3SFltxZzujGQEgKYmouats3AjKn_vbd4jBhzxAkHyW-tSV5rRcooREDGZDlbQFEQhxlsP1gsb08yzHK1t8Jx6uBKu0nM_omUkw5qxoWb4iRdgU24l2Ke5PdBh=w199-h400" width="199" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I've mentioned the ones down in the lower strata already, but in case you're thinking of getting any of those at the top, a quick summary (click on the picture to enlarge it). <p></p><p>Patricia Lockwood, <i>Nobody Is Talking About This</i>. I like her poetry, <a href="https://twitter.com/tricialockwood/status/1108102037072433153?lang=en-GB">her cat tweets</a>, and found her memoir <i>Priestdaddy </i>compelling, hilarious and horrifying. I struggled with <i>Nobody </i>a little though, despite being nearly as 'extremely online' as she is. At heart it's quite an old-fashioned moral tale (not that there's anything wrong with this). The protagonist, whose life closely shadows the author's, finds that being extremely online is exciting, confusing, shallow, overly-judgmental, random and disorienting, damaging her ability to establish stable or deep relationships with people IRL. Then the birth and death of her disabled niece teaches her that genuine and altruistic emotional connections are still available, and the child's brief existence gives her a sense of perspective with regards to the Twittersphere (sorry, 'the portal'). Some of it is really funny, some is moving, but I couldn't decide whether the tone was deliberately shallow and mawkish to represent the supposed discursive effect of being always online, or whether it's sincerely artless. I'm also torn between reading this as an autobiographical work and therefore respecting the author's grief and loss, and reading it as fiction in which case it's another dead-baby-for-instant-pathos piece. I know this makes me sound very callous indeed but didn't we agree after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fault_in_Our_Stars">John Green</a> that children+terminal disease = sales/awards is a cynical ploy (see also <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-if-anything-did-Oscar-Wilde-actually-say-about-the-death-of-Little-Nell" target="_blank">Wilde's response to the death of Little Nell</a>, who despite being fictional is <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/shropshire/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8468000/8468580.stm" target="_blank">buried not far from here</a>)? If we're meant to read <i>Nobody</i> as a work of fiction, the 'message' is that a child's death proves that social media are ephemeral in comparison. Well, a) we should be able to work that out anyway and b) while social media posts may individually be insubstantial, the collective whole has had a profound effect on emotion, human interaction, politics, violence and any number of areas of human behaviour. Finally: what about those of us who don't have even healthy children available to remind us of what's valuable? Are we condemned to a life of sterile frivolity? Seems a bit essentialist…</p><p>Next book down is Connie Willis's <i>Crosstalk</i>, a romantic speculative fiction comedy which also expresses concern with the emotional impact of excessive social media. Our heroine works in a Silicon Valley phone company which is developing the future of communication: emotional and eventually conversational telepathy. The point of the novel is that our thoughts and feelings are much less coherent and pleasant than what we choose to convey, and that unfiltered access even to one's lovers' thoughts might be a Bad Idea. Absolutely fine, totally agree. But. But but but but but. The mechanism by which we arrive at this revelation is that genuine telepathy is a gift retained only by the pure Irish: those who haven't interbred with all and sundry. Obviously the idea of unadulterated peoples is historical and scientific nonsense that shouldn't be entertained even in a light-hearted rom-com. Then there's the literary effect: terrible. Our heroine is Bridget because of course it is (today is Lá Fhéile Bride btw) and of course she has red hair. She is Irish-American and her entire family are garrulous, Catholic, interfering, speak in the worst cod-Irish nonsense ('ould sod, 'children'), eat soda bread and potatoes all day and Bridget is constantly called Briddey which <i>never happens</i>. Bridey maybe, Bríd definitely but not Briddey. I think most of Connie Willis's novels are absolutely wonderful but this one just didn't work. Maybe, as an African-American author, her dreadful version of Irishness is a satirical comment on white authors' embarrassing representations of African-Americans, but maybe it's just bad, bad writing. </p><p>Underneath <i>Crosstalk </i>is volume 2 of Ngaio Marsh's 1930s-40s Inspector Alleyn novels - I'm buying one volume every few months until I've worked my way through them. Alleyn himself, sidekick Sergeant Fox and Watson journalist Nigel Bathgate aren't that interesting - identikit gentleman policeman, working-class subordinate and slumming hack, but the plots are compelling and darker than many of her peers. Marsh also has a gift for brief, piercing description and metaphor which makes me pause and admire. The settings may sometimes be the country house but even when it is, she does something different with it, and she ranges further and wider than most, though theatres seem to be her favourite venue for murder. There's also a sense that she moves with the times more readily than some of the more formulaic detective writers: her crimes emerge from the depths of damaged groups and societies responding to war, hardship or simply change. </p><p>I'm sure I've mentioned the other books in the pile before, so I won't bore you further other than to list them, and to mention Lindsay Clarke's <i>The Chemical Wedding</i> which I borrowed - I'd never heard of him or this 1987 Whitbread Prize-winning novel, but it's a fascinating cocktail of Cold War fear, <i>Possession</i>-style switching between present-day characters and mystical ancestors with a dash of magical realism. Absolutely entrancing. </p><p>Mary Gentle, <i>Ash</i>: magnificent feminist medieval fantasy with echoes of Byatt's <i>Possession</i>. Maybe 300 pages too long. </p><p>Tove Jansson's Art and Pictures: obviously wonderful. </p><p>Martin Pugh, <i>Hurrah for the Blackshirts</i> - good history of British fascism, the treason of the Nazi-loving aristocracy and of course the <i>Daily Mail</i>'s role in promoting fascism, which it hasn't yet given up on. </p><p>Simon Ings, <i>The Smoke</i> - well-written SF with some pointed political ideas. </p><p>G Compton, <i>Farewell Earth's Bliss</i>: good old-fashioned SF. </p><p>Aphra Behn, <i>Oroonoko </i>and other works: one of the earliest novels, by a woman and addressing the slave trade. Pioneering and troubling. </p><p>Nina Allan, <i>The Race</i>: enjoyable speculative fiction set in a degraded, declining Britain. So not very speculative really. </p><p>Jo Walton, <i>Lent</i>: I'm a huge fan of Walton's work: she's interested in philosophy, knows her history and writes beautifully across a range of genres. This one shares territory with Adam Roberts' recent literary explorations of philosophical positions with monsters, though his thing is Kant and her's is neo-Platonism.</p><p>Michael Arlen, <i>These Charming People</i>: a collection of 1930s short stories by a nearly-forgotten author. The best ones remind me of Katherine Mansfield in tone and quality, but too many of them are slight or rely on a single point or gag. </p><p>Anita Brookner, <i>Providence</i>: reminded me why even though she writes pretty much the same novel every time, they're all worth reading. A single sentence of Brookner is worth a whole novel of other authors. </p><p>Anthony Buckeridge, <i>Jennings at Large</i>: a curiosity, a real time warp of a comic boarding-school novel, but charming throughout. </p><p>Ariosto, <i>Orlando Furioso</i>: utterly bonkers 16th-century epic but also thrilling and wonderful, even in prose translation. My favourite bit was when St John takes one of our heroes to the moon to retrieve Orlando's brain from the pile stored up there. </p><p>Thurber and White, <i>Is Sex Necessary?</i>: some good though dated gags but ultimately a little wearing. I don't think it will stand up to much re-reading. </p><p>Mantel, <i>The Mirror and the Light</i>: admirable for the scale, which gives her the space for the minutest subtle characterisation and implication. We all know what's going to happen - the art is in the way she depicts the sudden reversals experienced by and the self-deception practised by pretty much every character. </p><p>More, Bacon, Neville, <i>Three Early Modern Utopias</i>: Thomas More's is the most substantial and well-known, but Bacon and Neville's are fascinating too, though lacking More's mordant humour. </p><p>Lethem, <i>The Arrest</i>: post-modern SF humour. Good fun but I wondered in the end what it was for. </p><p>Tom Gauld, <i>The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess</i>: aimed at 5 year-olds so the plot is simple and affecting, and the illustration is as always beautiful. </p><p>Sally Vickers, <i>Miss Garnet's Angel</i> - a fine addition to the English-in-Venice and emotional-scales-falling-away-late-in-life subgenres</p><p>Chips Channon's diaries vol. 1: a monster. All-too-familiar tale in his own unapologetic, unreflective words of the dark heart of the ruling classes. </p><p>Ben Aaronovitch's <i>False Value </i>is the latest in his weird-police series, which I enjoy enormously though it's showing signs of wear. The same goes for Jasper Fforde's latest (not pictured), <i>The Constant Rabbit</i> - highly enjoyable and politically urgent, but it feels like the last gasp of the comic novel. </p><p>I reviewed Stevie Davies' <i>The Party Wall </i>and Angela Graham's <i>A City Burning </i>in <i>Planet </i>a few months ago. I liked Graham's book immediately but felt that Davies - one of my absolute favourite authors - had come a cropper trying genre fiction with <i>The Party Wall</i>. I feel the need to revise that somewhat: months later I'm still thinking about her central protagonist, the ultimate in toxic masculinity. I'm still not convinced by the plotting, but her description of banal male evil is genuinely haunting. </p><p><i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i>, Djuna Barnes' <i>Nightwood, Dorian Grey</i> and <i>Moll Flanders</i> were on a module I taught recently - all worth revisiting, obviously. </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-40859532085915711182022-01-31T20:22:00.005+00:002022-01-31T20:22:46.045+00:00Drinka pinta milka…week?<p>I was staring at the denuded milk shelves the other day, and found myself if this is how it felt to be Romano-British in the 400s. One day the flour wasn't on the shelves. The next olives were in short supply. Perhaps the price of garum had risen, or dormice weren't to be had without a trip into Camulodunum or Dorchester. A few odd things not being available now and then, or price rises in the basics turned into permanent absences; roads started to deteriorate; Saturnalia cards turned up late, then not at all. Those nice Gallic carpenters weren't to be found. The filthy habit of drinking beer returned as the locals couldn't get hold of good Roman wine and reverted to their great-grandparents' ways. All of a sudden, perhaps when you were stripping the roof off the forum to repair your villa, you realised you hadn't heard from your cousins in Hispanic for a while, or had a tax bill. And then it hit you: you weren't Roman any more, and life was going to get a lot harder. </p><p>Not that life - now and then - wasn't already hard for many (slaves, the unemployed, the low-paid). But it's funny and depressing to notice how quickly the inmates of Brexit Island have adjusted to and found excuses for the slow degradation of our way of life (and not just standards in public life). Random shortages in the shops, the poor state of the roads (very noticeable to a cyclist like me), rapidly rising prices, dirty air and water, fewer, more expensive trains and buses, rationed healthcare and a plan to educate fewer people …all being blamed on coronavirus or dismissed for now, but all clearly the products of a society that's failed to plan, that has Whiggishly assumed that Progress means permanent improvement, and that believes Alone is somehow Better. </p><p>I don't really know what it felt like to become a post-Roman (<a href="https://edgyhistorian.blogspot.com">though I know someone who does</a>) but I'm reminded of Hemingway on how you go bankrupt 'two ways: gradually then suddenly'. This place has cut itself off from a major trading and diplomatic bloc; the young workers who funded the old are leaving; the poor are being made poorer; a government with neither competence nor honour is retreating into nationalistic cliché while the serious money is hidden offshore. I dimly remember Gibbon noting in <i>The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire </i>that while (out of both altruism and self-preservation) the rich initially provided bread and circuses, whereas at the end they built higher walls and hired more security guards to protect their plutocratic luxuries - the Roman version of the Panama Papers, offshore shell companies and mega-mansions with underground swimming pools co-existing with full-time care staff going to food banks. I can't help thinking of Rishi Sunak, who proceeded from an expensive private school to Oxford and thence to hedge fund trading and marriage to a billionaire, before entering politics to spend the taxes he dedicated his life to avoiding, on behalf of people whose lives he has never encountered and couldn't imagine. </p><p>I suspect neither you nor I will experience the extremes of poverty or plutocracy, and the effects of - for instance - deliberately restricting university education to fewer people (what nation has ever conceived of a less-educated populace as the answer to anything?) but it's hard not to miss the everyday signs of decay, from potholes to missing pints of milk. The question is whether we're experiencing temporary spasms or the start of a long, slow decline. </p><p>As any casual glance at recent history tells you, the popular response is rarely progressive: if the rot really has set in, expect an extension of the cynical, cheap politics we're currently experiencing and outbreaks of bitter, violent paranoia. </p><p>I'll stop there. I've depressed myself. Again. </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-29887294895909303732022-01-20T23:38:00.005+00:002022-01-20T23:40:06.401+00:00Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun To Be With<p> I'm not sure which act of the Shakespearean - or Websterian - tragedy my institution is now at. There's definitely been a murder, but the corpse is still twitching and there are plenty of suspects. The murderers have departed the scene, but there are a couple of new guys around, professing friendship ('I'm all about people…I can't rule out compulsory redundancies') but insisting that we go hiking in the woods where - completely coincidentally - some of their former colleagues went missing. Let's call them Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. </p><p>But of course those of you who work in HE know how this one ends. Tolstoy was wrong when he said that 'happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way'. More fool him for writing in a period before liquid modernity and liquid capitalism. Contemporary higher education management is - if you can bear an overused metaphor - infectious and therefore unhappy in just the same way, even if panelling, finials and wince cellars disguise, for example, the vicious pension reductions in <a href="https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/17700">more favoured institutions</a>. Its agents latch onto a host, suck it dry, then move on to the next victim, overwhelming its exhausted phages with a disarming smile and some slick words. Guildenstern lasted just two years in charge of a similar institution; Rosencrantz made Goldsmiths <a href="https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/11947/Goldsmiths-hit-with-international-boycott" target="_blank">what it is today</a>.</p><p>In the midst of all this, one little detail caught my eye at the end of the cheery email that announced we'd gone from having no debt and healthy reserves to a £20m deficit (can't think <i>why </i>the previous VC brought his departure forward a few months): the bit no-one really reads about an Employee Assistance Programme. Has anyone ever tried it? I imagine the conversation goes a little like this: </p><p>Voice: 'Hello and Don't Panic. Megadodo Employee Assistance Programme. How can I help you?'</p><p>Employee: 'Hello. I'm Marvin. I'm not really sure how this works. I'm not actually an employee of yours'. </p><p>Voice: 'That's alright sir/madam. Nor am I: we're all sub-contractors. We're here because your employer realised that institutions literally can't care about their employees and some managers couldn't handle brutalising people whose children's names they know. Also, helping people being happy and fulfilled doesn't really show up on an outputs spreadsheet. Meanwhile my company realised that while it too literally can't care either, it can make money paying less money to people like me who can pretend to care.* We <i>can </i>do care metrics: the more of you I talk to, the more I can bill your employer. Talking of which, could we hurry this up a bit?' </p><p>Marvin: 'Wouldn't it be cheaper just to care about your colleagues enough to not make them need to beg for help in the first place? Capitalist managerialism is making me want to end it all'. </p><p>Voice: 'Oh no'. </p><p>Marvin: 'yes, it's terrible'. </p><p>Voice: 'I know. If we don't keep under three deaths per month I lose my commission and the contract gets reviewed'. </p><p>Marvin: 'That must be very stressful'. </p><p>Voice: 'yes, but luckily my company has an Employee Assistance Programme with the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation'. </p><p>Marvin: 'I know. That's who I work for'. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CAA67a2-Klk" width="445" youtube-src-id="CAA67a2-Klk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wf8Kbzg9Lrk" width="453" youtube-src-id="Wf8Kbzg9Lrk"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to the <i>Guide</i>, the inventors of outsourcing are 'a bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes'. <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222;">Fortunately, a copy of the </span><i>Encyclopædia Galactica</i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222;"> from a thousand years in the future fell through a time warp in which it describes the outsourcing division as 'a bunch of mindless jerks who were the first up against the wall when the revolution came'.</span></span><br /><p><br /></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-37562610409079604642022-01-13T16:09:00.001+00:002022-01-13T16:09:38.536+00:00For Whom The Bell Tolls<p>Well this has been a marvellous new year. Christmas was relatively good: a few days off and catching up with siblings and their children I hadn't seen for over two years, and none of us caught the 'Rona. </p><p>Normal service then resumed: the death of my godmother and the funeral of former boss, Paul. The latter was a complex man. He'd attended Cambridge with a bunch of the Cameronite generation of Tories, and was a confirmed Labour supporter because of it. He gave up a PhD when he realised that he'd been spending more time on his <i>Mastermind</i> appearances (making the semi-finals). A career in BBC local radio presenting followed, then he made the move to academia, teaching radio production and broadcast journalism while writing books on news values and 19th-century government media management. He was a <i>terrible</i> manager mostly because the important bits bored him and the majority of the job aroused his keen sense of the absurd. He was a brilliant teacher and highly amusing colleague. He had a voracious and catholic appetite for reading and a photographic memory. He had a penchant for first ladies' autobiographies and celebrity memoirs: I remember the day he read Chantelle's supposed autobiography one evening and next day recounting entire chapters of it verbatim in an uncanny imitation of her voice and style. I was even amused by his habit of intercepting my post, taking the book parcels home, reading them overnight then sneaking them back into my pigeonhole. Less amusing was the enjoyment he took in finding rare books I collected that he didn't, buying them for himself then sending me pictures of them. </p><p>Paul had a massive stroke at the age of 56, the same age his father died instantly of the same thing. He remained in hospital for over 6 years, occasionally appearing to recover a little, but he died just before Christmas, having seen hardly anyone except the excellent nurses for the entire lockdown period, his mother having died a couple of years previously. </p><p>My godmother was an old friend of my mother. I hadn't seen her for several years but I was looking forward to visiting her, especially as she'd recently been widowed after a short, late-life marriage. She never offered me any spiritual guidance but I admired her an awful lot. Her Catholicism led her to a quiet but firm adherence to a number of principles I came to share from a socialist perspective - a commitment to social justice, a horror of nuclear weapons and support for the campaign against the arms trade. </p><p>The good news just keeps coming. Following the departure of an awful lot of senior management rats in precipitate haste, our interim VC has announced a 'full review' of all university activities, courses and departments to cover the £20m hole in the accounts that are absolutely and solely the result of coronavirus and certainly not any of the farcical and incompetent schemes hatched recently. We all know how this ends: administrative and academic jobs lost, courses closed, students denied access to the education and opportunities they want, while the consequences for the architects of our downfall will be invisible to the naked eye.</p><p>Happy new year! </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-89036835315562828182021-12-16T18:36:00.004+00:002021-12-16T18:36:55.673+00:00We Who Are About To Die Salute YouIt's one thing to know that your entire existence and purpose means nothing to those in charge: it's another to hear it articulated explicitly by your employer as though this was entirely natural, a fact of life to which the only possible response is rueful acceptance. <div><br /></div><div>I went along to the faculty online staff meeting today. It was - as usual - mostly bad news, but the big item was the university's response to the government directive that schools, colleges and universities must carry on doing face-to-face teaching this week. The guidance was posted on-screen, and some nugatory advice around mask-wearing was added. This was a continuation of a pattern: management points at what the government says, explains with a shrug that we're not allowed to do anything more than that, and leaves students and staff to their fates. All very regrettable. </div><div><br /></div><div>The difference this time is that several universities have ignored the government, including (as the Dean pointed out), Manchester University. So universities <i>do </i>have a degree of autonomy remaining. It's just that some institutions are more autonomous than others. I don't want to put words in the mouth of my Dean: he's a humane, reflective and enormously intelligent individual, but the clear implication is that only the prestigious universities can afford to do the right thing by their students and staff. He's right. This government doesn't like intellectuals anywhere, but it does like the idea of the institutions its members attended. It is seeking multiple ways to shut down places like mine: unfashionable, architecturally unappealing and stuffed with poor, black and mature students and staffed with, they think, bearded Corbynite subversives - the latest wheeze is to deny fee loans to entrants with lower previous educational achievements, while shutting courses attended by people who then enter low-paid jobs of no obvious benefit to society (nursing, teaching, social work, anything in a depressed post-industrial area like mine) rather than joining one of those industries which genuinely adds to the public good and is famously open to all-comers (hedge-fund trading, journalism, mergers and acquisitions law). There are multiple motivations for this kind of vandalism. Some of it is self-preservation: they've noticed that increased educational attainment leads to voting for liberal or leftwing parties, so suppressing critical thinking maintains their supremacy. Then there's the economic model they favour: having become the party of international capital rather than business - you all remember what Boris wants to do to that - or, heaven forfend, <i>actual people</i>, it's in their interest to stoke their donors' share prices by screwing down wages, exporting jobs and keeping the majority of the population poor and needy. They're much better behaved that way. Keep blaming boat people and the turkeys will continue voting for Christmas. </div><div><br /></div><div>All this is so familiar, so predictable. What was shocking, today, was to hear highly intelligent and caring people openly accept that the threats to universities are so real and so irresistible that we just have to accept it: that there will be collateral damage in terms of lives and social/cultural damage. That some of our colleagues and students will die or get sick because they're at the wrong institution. I don't blame my managers for one moment. We boycotted the league tables for years because they were distorted and damaging: not a single other university joined us and so we eventually fell back into line. Coronavirus is the same. Manchester, Imperial and the others can afford to ignore government guidance because they have money, prestige and influence. Places like mine - places that specialise in welcoming the marginalised and dispossessed while being judged on the same criteria ruthlessly selective and moneyed HEIs are assessed on - have to rely on crossed fingers. Should the worst happen, neither the government nor other universities will lift a finger to help: the universities minister spends her time encouraging students to sue for breaches of the consumer marketing act while inventing fantasies about woke mobs; other HEIs' marketing teams will behave like sharks scenting blood. Solidarity never existed, while university autonomy is one of those comforting myths that vanishes into the air the moment it's tested. </div><div><br /></div><div>The immediate situation doesn't affect me: I taught face-to-face on Monday and all day Tuesday, but remaining classes were already scheduled to be online. As a union rep though, I'm getting calls from colleagues with health issues and caring responsibilities who feel abandoned by a management that has given up doing anything more than pointing at the Office for Students guidance and shrugging 'not me guv'. The government hates us; recruitment has collapsed; why stick our heads in the wasp's nest for the sake of a few points on the infection scale? This is where a culture of fear leads to: a senior management that has internalised the market logic and culture war rhetoric, is understandably very tired physically and spiritually, and lacks the self-confidence to individually or collectively do the right thing: their only response is to get out and they're doing that in droves to the extent that the <i>Marie Celeste </i>would seem livelier than the executive suite. We've got a new interim VC whose former field was spinal injuries and sport. Let's see if he can restore some backbone.</div><div><br /></div><div>You may be unsurprised to learn that my morning alarm features a range of songs that Eyeore might consider a little on the gloomy side: Bonnie Prince Billy's 'Another Day of Dread', Smog's 'No Dancing', Lambchop's 'The Man Who Loved Beer' and Mazzy Star's 'Into Dust'. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mGV2rWP8nhY" width="320" youtube-src-id="mGV2rWP8nhY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7sZ1Zv4M5Rs" width="320" youtube-src-id="7sZ1Zv4M5Rs"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RsESk0GESxk" width="320" youtube-src-id="RsESk0GESxk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jN9qK7u_kck" width="320" youtube-src-id="jN9qK7u_kck"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Weirdly though, if I ignore all the above and the relentless misery of this dreadful country, I'm having a great time. Teaching has been absolutely fantastic this year. I'm teaching first and second year modules and in every class there's a critical mass of intellectuals who've stretched me more than usual, a return of mature students who always add something special, a smattering of ever-welcome European students, and even more likeable, interested, talkative and funny people than usual, plus my wonderful colleagues. Despite the presence of the grim reaper at one of the desks towards the back, I've looked forward to every session. It feels a bit weird with the second-years though: I taught them online throughout their first year, only met them this semester, and because of the way my teaching load has worked out, I'll never see them again other than the few whose dissertation I'll supervise. It's a shame that their younger siblings and children won't have the chances they've taken such enthusiastic advantage of. Still, I'm sure delivering burgers on a gig-economy non-contract will feel just as liberating and fulfilling. </div><div><br /></div><div>Happy Christmas!</div>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-39310175747592774162021-11-15T19:14:00.002+00:002021-11-15T19:14:31.517+00:00Droning on again…<p>Maybe I am dead after all. I certainly haven't been blogging at all: too busy teaching (every day) and preparing classes in multiple formats. I'm only typing this because I'm in the office resolutely not marking. Not that I resent the teaching schedule too much - the students are a joy at the moment: present, engaged and enthusiastic. Even the online classes which were a chore for all concerned last year are going well. No doubt the atmosphere will change next week when the first essays are returned - there's always a notable <i>froideur</i> in the room when my misanthropic bile manifests itself in stark percentages (as an aside, I hate percentage marking: there's no meaningful way to differentiate between a 63% understanding of a sonnet and a 64% - it's misleading pseudoscience). Until then though, cheeriness abounds, with only the awareness of research undone nagging at the edge of my consciousness. </p><p>Other than that, I've been to Exeter with colleagues to do a Being Human festival gig as part of our Novel Perceptions project: please please please please <a href="https://bigbookreview.co.uk" target="_blank">take our survey</a> and make the data significant. We're interested in a refreshed canon, peoples' memories and emotional responses to texts, their ideas of what constitutes literary quality and the qualities of books people rate highly (which our colleagues at the University of Amsterdam are analysing computationally. One of the interesting aspects is identifying regional preferences: Exonians rate Stella Gibbons' gleeful parody of pastoralism <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Comfort_Farm">Cold Comfort Farm</a></i>, <i>Pride and Prejudice </i>and Patrick O'Brian's <i>Master and Commander </i>more highly than readers in other areas. Some of this is regional loyalty of course, but I think there are probably other reasons: appreciation of the harshness of rural life in Gibbons' satire, and also echoes of the long-gone period when cities like Exeter were centres of real political and cultural power. Before mass communications and mass transport the south coast was where Austen's characters went for a bit of sun, sea and sin (Torquay and Lyme Regis as the Magaluf of their day) and abroad started just outside the harbour when naval, slaving, trading and emigration ships departed from ports all round the country rather than everyone heading off to Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted (though Caergybi/Holyhead has always been my only port of departure). One of the high points of the day was sharing a panel with two fascinating artists: established novelist Virginia Baily and emerging poet <a href="https://zakiyamckenzie.com">Zakiya McKenzie</a>, whose work on place, culture and environment in the English south-west and Jamaica really bowled me over. </p><p>I'm back fencing after breaking a rib or two in late summer - perfectly timed to be regularly humiliated by visiting international fencers at the club, though I was delighted to get a few points off an Italian women's foil squad member - it's the equivalent of San Marino at least forcing a save during a match against France or Germany. Reading has mostly been course texts (Moore and Gibbons' <i>Watchmen</i>, Dahl's <i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i> and Alison Bechdel's <i>Fun Home</i> this week), but I've also got through <a href="http://www.simonings.net">Simon Ings</a>' interesting <i>The Smoke</i>, some of Josephine Tey's golden age detective novels and Martin Pugh's <i>Hurrah for the Blackshirts </i>recently. The latter is a comprehensive history of British fascism from the Edwardian period into WW2. The <i>Daily Mail</i>'s enthusiastic support for anyone with an extermination plan and a uniform isn't exactly news to me, but the sheer volume – and familiar arguments – are shocking. It really hasn't changed at all. </p><p>Musically, I'm enjoying Metallica's <i>Metallica </i>(great for marking to), the new album by Low, <i>Hey What</i>, the latest one by <i>The War On Drugs</i> - the only bit of 80s revivalism I can bear. I'm teaching <i>American Psycho </i>next week, and realise that because the students are all fully into the rehabilitation of one of civilisation's worst decades, they just won't get why sociopathic murdered Patrick Bateman is so obsessed with Phil Collins. Trust me kids: Uncle Phil is the child-catcher of yacht-rock. Just say no. Other than that I've been listening to some contemporary choral releases fairly obsessively. I bought Pembroke College choir's collection of work by women composers <i>All Things Are Quite Silent</i> and Ars Nova Copenhagen's collection <i>…And</i> at the same time. Both of them include composer and Kanye West collaborator <a href="https://carolineshaw.com" target="_blank">Caroline Shaw's</a> '…and the swallow', which I love, plus the latter includes badass post-minimalist <a href="https://juliawolfemusic.com/about/">Julia Wolfe</a>'s 'Guard My Tongue'. Much as I love authentic ancient polyphony, I'm really enjoying these composers' use of familiar sounds and modern techniques to unsettle expectations. Here are the two Shaw recordings I have, and a different one of the Wolfe. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZXrGHKQBOXE" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZXrGHKQBOXE"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6mA8UHWFg-M" width="320" youtube-src-id="6mA8UHWFg-M"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a5bUt5PhEPg" width="320" youtube-src-id="a5bUt5PhEPg"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Coincidentally, I also bought a Caroline Shaw EP, <i>Roomful of Teeth</i> - it's a bit 70s tape experimentalism, a bit <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImatMDcsNL4" target="_blank">Boo Radley's <i>Giant Steps</i></a>, a bit <i>Tubular Bells, </i>a bit <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkfpi2H8tOE">Laurie Anderson</a> and all wonderful. It also reminds me of the stunningly repetitive, meditational <a href="https://phillniblock.com" target="_blank">Phil Niblock</a> piece 'AYU' that kept me from going on a murder spree during yesterday's interminably-delayed train trip. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NDVMtnaB28E" width="320" youtube-src-id="NDVMtnaB28E"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s75Q9xMmABA" width="320" youtube-src-id="s75Q9xMmABA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you really hate all that, here's a palate cleanser: 'Enter Sandman'. Don't have nightmares…</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CD-E-LDc384" width="320" youtube-src-id="CD-E-LDc384"></iframe></div><p></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-86773184944198151832021-10-15T13:15:00.001+01:002021-10-15T13:15:39.439+01:00I Aten't Dead<p> 'I Aten't Dead' is the sign the ultimate brommager <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Weatherwax">Granny Weatherwax</a> leaves next to her body while she hitches a ride in animals' consciousnesses in Terry Pratchett's novels. Whether we're all consciousnesses hitching a ride in our personal meat-vehicles is a questions I'll leave to the philosophers, but it's how I've been feeling for the past couple of weeks. </p><p>Not in a bad way (for a change): we're getting to the end of the third week of teaching, a blend of face-to-face and online. I'm teaching every day, which is exciting but leaves little time for preparation or research activities. The drawback of in-class teaching is the lack of a mute function, but on the whole it's been a joy despite my reservations about the way the government and the university has abandoned all health precautions. Both the new and returning cohorts of students are much more engaged and talkative than I remember in the before-times: the majority are reading the texts and bringing informed opinions. I've more male and more mature students than in recent years, so there's a wider range of opinions and experiences. It's just such a pleasure to sit down and talk to interested people about interesting texts: this week has included Aphra Behn's <i><a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/aphra-behns-oroonoko-1688">Oroonoko</a></i>, the influence of James Baldwin on <i>The Fresh Prince of Bel Air</i>, <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>, Valerie Solanas's <i>The SCUM Manifesto</i> (<a href="http://kunsthallezurich.ch/sites/default/files/scum_manifesto.pdf">full text</a>) and Atwood's <i>The Handmaid's Tale. </i>It's been quite a while since a student offered a detailed analysis of Friedan's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feminine_Mystique">The Feminine Mystique</a> </i>unprompted - being stretched intellectually in class is one of the best things about being an academic. Hopefully there will be much more to come. </p><p>The other academic pleasure of the month was taking part in the launch of <a href="https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/representing-the-male/">this excellent book</a> on Welsh Valleys' masculinities in literature by John Jenkins - I was his external PhD examiner, then read the book manuscript once it had been de-doctored, and there are even a couple of references to my dreadful PhD in it. We had an online launch with questions for John from Prof Jane Aaron and myself, then a q+a session which brought up some interesting new thoughts. While I have reservations about online teaching, being able to attend events normally out of reach has been a real high point of the last couple of years. The other massive pleasure of the past few weeks is examining a PhD on identity politics in nerd culture for an Australian university. They don't do vivas, which is really disappointing: while I have no interest in flying across the globe, an online one would have been fascinating because the dissertation is <i>so </i>good and I just want to hear more from its author. The topic is contemporary, the theory (a mix of feminist and classic Cultural Studies work alongside some ethnography and auto-ethnography) handled well and the writing is beautiful - clear and charismatic. </p><p>Weirdly, despite reading all these texts and writing lectures on them plus all the other stuff, it feels like I haven't had much time for other reading, but I randomly plucked Mary Gentle's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash:_A_Secret_History">Ash: A Secret History</a></i> from the Room of Unread Books. I don't know anything about her and had no memory of buying this book, but it really justified its 1000+ pages. Taking as its starting point the almost overnight disappearance of Burgundy, a rich and powerful state, in the 15th-century, Gentle constructs a quite brutally visceral alternative history, following the fortunes of a female mercenary leader into a plot that weaves an astonishingly detailed history (from the top and from below) with subtly handled fantasy elements. Definite shades of Byatt's <i>Possession</i> alongside familiar fantasy authors, and beautifully handled. </p><p>Right, back to the lectures, the late chapter abstract and the late manuscript review…</p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-82674293199023074282021-09-24T12:24:00.001+01:002021-09-24T12:24:04.088+01:00The Beeb Bites Back!<p> A couple of days ago I posted<a href="https://plashingvole.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-right-to-know.html"> a quick piece</a> on my disquiet about the BBC offering members of parliament anonymity to discuss government policy. </p><p>Today I got a reply, and I have to say that both the speed and the content are unsatisfactory: I don't think that a serious issue of policy and journalistic ethics can be discussed and decided within such a short time. Even more annoying is the use of a no-reply email address - the issue is clearly closed as far as the BBC is concerned, and dialogue is not invited. </p><p>This is what the BBC had to say:</p><div style="font-family: "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"></span></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;">Thank you for contacting us regarding Radio 4’s ‘The World at One’ which was broadcast on 15 September.<br /><br />We note your unhappiness that the item on the cut to Universal Credit featured a contribution from a Conservative MP who agreed to speak to the programme off the record.<br /><br />Choosing the individuals to interview for the reports on the programme is a subjective matter and one which we know not every member of our audience will feel we get right every time.<br /><br />Sarah Montague did make clear to listeners that the team at ‘The World at One’ had attempted to contact both the minister and several backbench Conservatives before one MP had agreed to speak anonymously.<br /><br />In an ideal world, politicians or their representatives might only speak on the record; however, in politics as in life, people are often more candid in private.<br /><br />While our journalists always prefer on the record quotes, it is important to talk to unnamed sources to get a greater sense of what is going on in Westminster, which can then be relayed back to our audiences.<br /><br />Without doing this, there is a risk that information coming out of Parliament would be restricted, which could impact our journalism and ability to hold politicians to account.<br /><br />Nevertheless, we do value your feedback about this. All complaints are sent to senior management and we have included your points in our overnight report.<br /><br />These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the company and ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly. This helps inform their decisions about current and future content.<br /><br />Thank you once again for getting in touch.<br /><br />Kind regards<br /><br />Terry Hughes </span></div><div style="font-family: "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span class="TextRun SCXW52378719 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">BBC Complaints Team</span></span><span class="LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre !important;"> </span></span><br class="SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre !important;" /><a href="https://url6.mailanyone.net/v1/?m=1mTXl2-0003oU-4a&i=57e1b682&c=zBzTDAjYzQfg828F9Y4efWg7EMvL4TBKNajhiE5kJW2l_aGsr-b8dLYR5NNZesHMSLrIFKqMsXZeVqjwQas91OgTI41uaZVbwcLhzCIMJP45XaReq9Kp0MwkQ4cd7pLgsBbqdYPaQY2vUIpV_vBxxpXv0gObo5cyGNJ1HoXFSmjWeDeBitsTHbHZyQ89T5kIbp2p1yoqF6WzCLxT9Q3aqZAShSs9pKuZa4LxSGTTqwKw_FDfVWRb1RZ6mV0KMqEZ" id="1link">www.bbc.co.uk/complaints </a><br /><a class="Hyperlink SCXW52378719 BCX0" href="https://url6.mailanyone.net/v1/?m=1mTXl2-0003oU-4a&i=57e1b682&c=zBzTDAjYzQfg828F9Y4efWg7EMvL4TBKNajhiE5kJW2l_aGsr-b8dLYR5NNZesHMSLrIFKqMsXZeVqjwQas91OgTI41uaZVbwcLhzCIMJP45XaReq9Kp0MwkQ4cd7pLgsBbqdYPaQY2vUIpV_vBxxpXv0gObo5cyGNJ1HoXFSmjWeDeBitsTHbHZyQ89T5kIbp2p1yoqF6WzCLxT9Q3aqZAShSs9pKuZa4LxSGTTqwKw_FDfVWRb1RZ6mV0KMqEZ" rel="noreferrer" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span class="LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre !important;"> </span></span></a><br class="SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre !important;" /><span class="TextRun SCXW52378719 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Please note: this email is sent from an unmonitored address so please don’t reply. If necessary please contact us through our webform (please include your case reference number).</span></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span class="TextRun SCXW52378719 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW52378719 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span></span></div><p>I don't think this is satisfactory. The core issue is that the source was not providing any kind of insight beyond what had already been reported: he or she was simply stating support for his or her party's decision without risking any electoral unpopularity. </p><p>Terry's summary of my complaint is a little slippery: WATO didn't 'speak to' a politician 'off the record': it accepted a statement, anonymised it then read it out without any opportunity to challenge its basis. The statement was not 'candid': it consisted of a Conservative Member of Parliament repeating the government's view that the benefit uplift is no longer affordable. Nothing more. </p><p>It seems ironic that the BBC feels that anonymity allows it to 'hold politicians to account' when providing secrecy to an elected representative prevents the electorate from holding it to account, while simply reading a statement rather than interviewing the MP concerned means that there's no possibility of the BBC doing so either. </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-14720172757987957782021-09-22T23:13:00.005+01:002021-09-22T23:13:44.157+01:00The Right to Know?<p>Amidst everything going on at the moment - graduations, preparing for a whole new semester of in-person teaching, examining a PhD, writing a chapter, reviewing a book and being part of an AHRC project, I found time to write a complaining letter to the BBC about its news coverage. I know, I felt my own heart sinking as I realised I've become <i>that</i> kind of pompous bore-cum-conspiracist. </p><p>In my defence, I did write to <i>The World At One</i> first hoping to discuss the issue with them rather than make a formal complaint, but there was no reply, so off I went to the dispute service. What was I complaining about? Well, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zmkz">on this show</a>, the presenters discussed the upcoming withdrawal of the emergency £20 per week benefit uplift, which is raising widespread concern on both sides of the political divide. <i>WATO</i> tried to get some Conservative MPs to comment on air, but none would - draw your own conclusions. </p><p>If the piece had ended there, I'd have been satisfied. But WATO found a Conservative MP to give them a statement in support of the government's policy, on condition that he remain anonymous - they went so far as to have it read out by a member of the production team. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anonymous Hackers Fight ISIS but Reactions Are Mixed - The New York Times" class="n3VNCb" data-noaft="1" jsaction="load:XAeZkd;" jsname="HiaYvf" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/11/20/business/20anonymous/20anonymous-superJumbo.jpg" style="height: 374.7610350076103px; margin: 0px auto; width: 602px;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Conservative MP, yesterday</td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><p>Now there's definitely a place for anonymity in news broadcasts: if the BBC were talking to an Afghan in Kabul who'd worked for UK forces, someone in hiding from an abusive partner, or a whistleblower, I think we'd all agree that anonymity was essential for their personal safety. The BBC has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/vulnerable-contributors">rules</a> about protecting contributors:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote>We should consider whether a contributor/contestant might be regarded as being at risk of significant harm as a result of taking part in BBC content. We should conduct a “contributor due care” risk assessment to identify any risk of significant harm to the contributor, unless it is justified in the public interest not to do so. </blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote>This guidance does not apply to individuals who appear in our news coverage when they are caught up in current events. </blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote>It is concerned with contributors to BBC content where we owe due care to contributors or potential contributors who may be caused harm or distress as a result of their contribution, including in News and Current Affairs and Factual content where the BBC has approached someone to be a contributor in situations where there may be a significant risk of harm.</blockquote></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">I can't see that any 'significant harm' ensues from an elected representative endorsing the government s/he supports. A member of parliament is different from a vulnerable source because s/he </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64);">has power</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"> and privilege. They're elected by a specific group of people on the basis of their views, specific or general. There's no </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64);">expectation of privacy when it comes to political opinion. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">Constituents are entitled to know what their MP thinks so they can take it into consideration when the next election comes round. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">The BBC is pretty clear on what </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64);">counts</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"> as a 'vulnerable' person - here's one definition:</span></span></div><blockquote>they are not used to being in the public eye<br /><div></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">whereas </span></span></div><div></div><blockquote><div>We must judge this taking into account the editorial content, the nature and degree of the individual’s involvement and their public position</div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">There's no question that this MP was in danger of nothing more than reduced popularity and perhaps some stiff emails. S/he was clearly too cowardly to openly support a policy he believes in being put into action by the government he put in power. I know this sounds really pompous, but I genuinely believe that the BBC affording anonymity to an elected representative in no meaningful danger to promote government policy is a distortion of the democratic process. MPs are rightly held to greater standards of openness than - to pick a random example - a pseudonymous blogger because they have real power. If the state broadcaster allows elected representatives to hide behind anonymity to support or oppose mainstream decisions and views, the electorate is denied the chance to make an informed decision. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">The BBC has some <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/anonymity">guidance</a> for producers about anonymity, and it doesn't feel like they were followed when this article was put together. </span></span></div><blockquote>The decision to grant anonymity should be taken with great care. The programme maker must consider why the person wishes to remain anonymous. </blockquote><blockquote>The most important question to pose to someone requesting anonymity is “Whom do you want to be anonymous from - from the general public or from people who know you well?</blockquote><p>On the whole they're not keen on it: </p><blockquote>Sources and contributors should speak on the record whenever practicable and their identities and credentials made known to the audience so that they can judge the source’s credibility, reliability and whether or not they are in a position to have sufficient knowledge of the subject or events. </blockquote><blockquote>The decision to grant anonymity should be taken with great care. The programme maker must consider why the person wishes to remain anonymous. Do they have something to hide beyond their identity? </blockquote><blockquote>When it is not self-evident to the audience we should explain to them the reasons why the production granted anonymity to a source. The strongest rationale for granting anonymity is simply to protect the contributor from illegitimate retaliation, harassment or undesirable consequences for providing information.</blockquote><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">I don't think this case is justified at all, and no explanation was given on air, but it seems to me that the bar was set too low. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">How are we to know if the next MP to be given this treatment on some public issue doesn't have a monetary interest in the outcome, for instance? It could have been my MP, Stuart Anderson, a man with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/22/tory-candidate-got-illegal-dividend-from-firm-that-went-bust">legal and moral issues</a> of his own in a marginal constituency. Knowing his view might tip the balance in either direction, but we'll never know whether it was him or not. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;">The BBC guidance is far more focussed on the protection of justifiably anonymised contributors - people with social or psychological vulnerabilities or potentially open to persecution: there's nothing in the guidelines about the public interest, which is deeply concerning. </span></span></div><div><p>A member of parliament is elected by a specific group of people on the basis of their views, specific or general. Constituents are entitled to know what their MP thinks so they can take it into consideration when the next election comes round. There's no question that this MP was in danger of nothing more than reduced popularity and perhaps some stiff emails. S/he was clearly too cowardly to openly support a policy he believes in being put into action by the government s/he put in power. I know this sounds really pompous, but I genuinely believe that the BBC affording anonymity to an elected representative in no meaningful danger to promote government policy is a distortion of the democratic process. MPs are rightly held to greater standards of openness than - to pick a random example - a pseudonymous blogger because they have real power. If the state broadcaster allows elected representatives to hide behind anonymity to support or oppose mainstream decisions and views, the electorate is denied the chance to make an informed decision. How are we to know, for instance, if the next MP to be given this treatment on some public issue doesn't have a monetary interest in the outcome, for instance? </p><p>An MP too ashamed to support his/her own party's policy or government's decisions should take a long look at her/himself, not demand <i>and be given</i> protection from public opinion. For the MP to ask for this is shameless enough, but for a broadcaster with legal responsibilities of impartiality and ethical behaviour is a serious dereliction of duty. The BBC's responsibilities include this stirring statement:</p><blockquote>We must always scrutinise arguments, question consensus and hold power to account with consistency and due impartiality. </blockquote><blockquote>4.3.14 Contributors expressing contentious views, either through an interview or other means, must be challenged while being given a fair chance to set out their response to questions. </blockquote><blockquote>4.3.20 We should ensure that appropriate scrutiny is applied to those who are in government, or otherwise hold power and responsibility</blockquote><p>How can this happen if an elected member of parliament is allowed to hide behind the protections ordinarily afforded to whistleblowers to endorse something as mainstream as a government decision, and is allowed to provide a statement rather than face scrutiny in the form of questioning? </p><p>Maybe this is a very small hill to die on, but I really do think that if you want to exercise real democratic power, you should put your name to your beliefs, and you shouldn't be aided and abetted by the most powerful media organisation in the country when you want to avoid public scrutiny. </p></div></div>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-58277311204221635312021-09-10T12:04:00.003+01:002021-09-10T12:04:43.384+01:00Back to the paper mines<p>Hi all. I've been on holiday in Ireland for the first time in two years, where the shelves are groaning with food and coronavirus appears not to have led to a collective nervous breakdown unlike certain countries I could mention. It was great: several swims in the Atlantic, a bit of walking, fine restaurants, a homecoming parade for the local Olympic rowers and a lot of good reading. I started with Ariosto's absolutely bonkers 1516/32 Italian epic <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Furioso">Orlando Furioso</a></i>, a poem that mixes obsequiousness, total contempt for the peasantry, sexy times, history (particularly the wars between the French and the Spanish Moors), Arthurian legend, ultra-violence, religion, romance, a trip to the moon on a hippogriff with St John the Evangelist to collect a lump of brains, and shaggy dog stories, all tied together by a hugely endearing narrator who can never resist a fork in the narrative road. </p><p>Funnily enough, I then read Jo Walton's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent_(novel)">Lent</a></i> which was also set in Renaissance Italy - the central protagonist is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola">Savonarola</a>. She specialises in fantasy novels that engage with Classical and late medieval/ earlyRenaissance philosophy, especially neo-Platonism, and <i>Lent</i> manages to explore these themes, demonstrate her incredible historical knowledge while also working brilliantly as fantasy - similar in some structural ways to Adam Roberts's <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/11/the-thing-itself-adam-roberts-review-novel">The Thing Itself</a>,</i> Christopher Brookmyre's <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/22/pandaemonium-christopher-brookmyre">Pandaemonium</a></i> and Ken MacLeod's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Restoration_Game">The Restoration Game</a></i>. It's the first work I've read that humanises Savonarole, which is ironic given the plot reveal. That said, the only other novel about him I've read is George Eliot's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romola">Romola</a> </i>in which Savonarola is a forbidding but ultimately altruistic and inspirational figure for the eponymous heroine. Highly recommended, by the way - if you only stop at <i>Middlemarch</i> and <i>The Mill on the Floss</i> you're missing some of Eliot's best work. </p><p>After that I read the final volume of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy, <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/01/the-mirror-and-the-light-hilary-mantel-review-thomas-cromwell">The Mirror and the Light</a></i>. Despite having absolutely zero interest in the Tudors, her grasp of psychology, power, the slow creep of corruption, group dynamics and politics in an essentially lawless and permanently unstable polity, just as hereditary officers were jockeying with talented commoners for position was absolutely gripping - it deserves all the plaudits it received. After all that time in the 15th-16th centuries, I cleansed my palate with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Tey">Josephine Tey</a>'s clever 1934 murder mystery <i>The Man in the Queue </i>(recommended on Twitter by Aberystwyth University's <a href="https://twitter.com/tasha_alden?lang=en">@Tasha_Alden</a>), before heading back to Italy for <a href="http://www.salleyvickers.com/about-us/">Sally Vickers</a>' more contemporary <i><a href="http://www.salleyvickers.com/miss-garnets-angel/">Miss Garnet's Angel</a></i>. I'm still reading it and am enjoying the quality of the writing while rather resenting the implication that socialist teachers are dried up old sticks requiring a Forsterian revelation in Venice to show them the error of their ways and give them feelings…But then she is a Liverpudlian 'red diaper baby' (as the Americans put it) like Alexei Sayle, who is rather less repentant about his communist heritage. </p><p>The holiday was wonderful and much-needed. Now I'm back for a very different kind of year. Plenty of teaching this semester, lots of it in-person for the first time in ages, and no new modules for the first time in at least a decade, so less hurried cobbling, more mature reflection (in theory). After 8 years I've given up my course leadership to the mutual relief of myself and my colleagues. The role was unpaid, and involved responsibility for programme management but not (thankfully) line management, and managed to be both essential and unrewarding, onerous and yet unchallenging on any level. I'll miss being the students' first port of call, but not stream of unexamined initiatives from the army of non-teaching 'experts' who've colonised universities. </p><p>The idea is to fill my time with research and writing rather than forms, but we'll see. I have <a href="http://novel-perceptions.thememorynetwork.com">an AHRC project</a> to be getting on with, a PhD dissertation to turn into a book, my book on politicians' novels to write, a PhD to examine and much much else! But at least I'll never have to think of the phrase Continuous Monitoring Touchpoint 4 again. </p><p><i> </i>Here are a few of my favourite photos from the break: the rest are <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/plashingvole/albums/72157719800604674">here</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipT-_XLomgrN6I3ZsxKisJxjpNvnb-T-KfT6HZZlP39lAHd3Xl0heOTmUdbq6Nc30Aofr-r-wWv3oYELuxGqkB5SRtD6Ii7zmm5OOtNM6aFAhXzyRlDR_GwpiD9_Po-lNhbIOCdj7xOFk/s1680/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.37.48+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1680" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipT-_XLomgrN6I3ZsxKisJxjpNvnb-T-KfT6HZZlP39lAHd3Xl0heOTmUdbq6Nc30Aofr-r-wWv3oYELuxGqkB5SRtD6Ii7zmm5OOtNM6aFAhXzyRlDR_GwpiD9_Po-lNhbIOCdj7xOFk/w400-h233/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.37.48+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Vintage MG at Knightstown, Valentia Island</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hlwscrglbEwDwK64s9bZPJiaNYZXARxrMvMQ1PzM0hRGkyEw2ARR2gpvKGrQipj1m804W2qVYRzlXBK6raQ5SrLE8nMvakotEZtbbDcJw-i19RoQr075qdGR8DfWFRk2sa5tFJvBMr0/s992/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.38.07+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="910" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hlwscrglbEwDwK64s9bZPJiaNYZXARxrMvMQ1PzM0hRGkyEw2ARR2gpvKGrQipj1m804W2qVYRzlXBK6raQ5SrLE8nMvakotEZtbbDcJw-i19RoQr075qdGR8DfWFRk2sa5tFJvBMr0/w368-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.38.07+am.png" width="368" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rosaries left at the Valentia slate quarry grotto</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDce7pdn2BbyDffsVKfvJA9XJLYvoWNIsELl1wxTQjUV3txqvPxWXWj6s7mfpc1omrsptTKZUEzQr5GCijWZzjnTcaiLb5_F1993toQkjI5h3hsPxwIuHGtusIEQIwUkYGCppxcj8YVuc/s1052/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.38.25+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1052" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDce7pdn2BbyDffsVKfvJA9XJLYvoWNIsELl1wxTQjUV3txqvPxWXWj6s7mfpc1omrsptTKZUEzQr5GCijWZzjnTcaiLb5_F1993toQkjI5h3hsPxwIuHGtusIEQIwUkYGCppxcj8YVuc/w400-h378/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.38.25+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Valentia slate quarry grotto, perched high above the ground</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVA1qOXqfWgjePs_y_sgPSgms9aCiRZlyjoRhnIKTwKWRatOKgQ4YYC6oyKMFaO9il8yUkY6nDlW1qwz_oehPdA6VEMcALxIrSsrxEod3D91Tw_nK3sHumogL-doZ40ES2IS7LPcKneM/s1978/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.39.23+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1978" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVA1qOXqfWgjePs_y_sgPSgms9aCiRZlyjoRhnIKTwKWRatOKgQ4YYC6oyKMFaO9il8yUkY6nDlW1qwz_oehPdA6VEMcALxIrSsrxEod3D91Tw_nK3sHumogL-doZ40ES2IS7LPcKneM/w400-h200/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.39.23+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Sceiligs (now even more famous thanks to Star Wars)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0l1Ci5M7GkzI4s_3bm9y4kcHEKOnLW4622G0TEMDetl4ZeMoHiv9UQ1Ysxr6A7_cwf-4WL0w_PtQbf3BwSw6hJrthO0tyssqBzBL7cpd-eKQTC_ubrer6Fh1iIA45noU1QE0guNJs24/s992/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.39.59+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="728" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0l1Ci5M7GkzI4s_3bm9y4kcHEKOnLW4622G0TEMDetl4ZeMoHiv9UQ1Ysxr6A7_cwf-4WL0w_PtQbf3BwSw6hJrthO0tyssqBzBL7cpd-eKQTC_ubrer6Fh1iIA45noU1QE0guNJs24/w294-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.39.59+am.png" width="294" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbRuvi-fWEYS9yE1scGxxBIV0K7e73sF8mI1NUEkRVtHSzdca7qt5sxu4JJhvp_k83Fklg75_YI7GOJTHNf9PRinckTHco198kzTdCq48-Ks1tmzJeREc2OLCOdPOGnuXdT-U4S554jMk/s1774/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.40.53+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1774" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbRuvi-fWEYS9yE1scGxxBIV0K7e73sF8mI1NUEkRVtHSzdca7qt5sxu4JJhvp_k83Fklg75_YI7GOJTHNf9PRinckTHco198kzTdCq48-Ks1tmzJeREc2OLCOdPOGnuXdT-U4S554jMk/w400-h224/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.40.53+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The farmer was herding cows by driving along, banging on his bonnet with a pipe</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx-sKk-luEVu1_jDXzUuHBj2i9AZuQY-ofv35i3qGVx_RmTsfFMkF8zvpDUquxrMLTlpr8QJRBYlBduqv8froRboAZP9AXyLpfkyEDbWsaZOU0E1IXjcdeomFI6Oa_R_QxGIX3dkW2Us/s1290/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.41.23+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1290" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx-sKk-luEVu1_jDXzUuHBj2i9AZuQY-ofv35i3qGVx_RmTsfFMkF8zvpDUquxrMLTlpr8QJRBYlBduqv8froRboAZP9AXyLpfkyEDbWsaZOU0E1IXjcdeomFI6Oa_R_QxGIX3dkW2Us/w400-h308/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.41.23+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our new album is taking a rock direction…</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIG6WHw6dhJaQQvxLlMgEdZteoiIJkG2NzBm33AXvnNRtNuMvNzV2aTs4Nc7uQP-3MSrL4N70IIgjrh6_Na7eVvQMVvrJ5ev_jhWA2-Eov6VbHJLWuG5YXkBupiaVyLdIYHerbE9z3uJo/s964/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.41.48+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIG6WHw6dhJaQQvxLlMgEdZteoiIJkG2NzBm33AXvnNRtNuMvNzV2aTs4Nc7uQP-3MSrL4N70IIgjrh6_Na7eVvQMVvrJ5ev_jhWA2-Eov6VbHJLWuG5YXkBupiaVyLdIYHerbE9z3uJo/w273-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.41.48+am.png" width="273" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1PWw-im1dKfTwgPdDqXY5O2TkAEgX1_uum9HHNKu0Q6SuGf7J_4COm-T8Rmciza56fX151fXmZ5IQdGQbEdZ72z8lM4bykDtwYPeo0XB5bJ0fQUca8TJJMNzBUiORmNqr_TwqVdjA-Y/s1538/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.42.24+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1538" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1PWw-im1dKfTwgPdDqXY5O2TkAEgX1_uum9HHNKu0Q6SuGf7J_4COm-T8Rmciza56fX151fXmZ5IQdGQbEdZ72z8lM4bykDtwYPeo0XB5bJ0fQUca8TJJMNzBUiORmNqr_TwqVdjA-Y/w400-h258/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.42.24+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu6AMMwmrMbqqPDQv5icXFCHPMwOzge7SapqEzWJtiS5bA2BVGcx2BohY0RxhMLi6w7R_DVFDK4Q83aFMgmxn91nbOZqAC7HAxMfQzsghcwAZeMDf6lHe9YT9b3yhF6DX2CI0GHwWSryY/s1000/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.42.40+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="982" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu6AMMwmrMbqqPDQv5icXFCHPMwOzge7SapqEzWJtiS5bA2BVGcx2BohY0RxhMLi6w7R_DVFDK4Q83aFMgmxn91nbOZqAC7HAxMfQzsghcwAZeMDf6lHe9YT9b3yhF6DX2CI0GHwWSryY/w393-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.42.40+am.png" width="393" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNRXORT8VAC9CXkJSFeh-vwpsn-J980kzazjkBqJz9V4pmPzscsucJfHtPjI4r9MU-XDMBB7SIjXvI5Q4LIynaz5qIwFCG0dXbBVH6AvAJWffZvJY2WWXEq6GqOkEWYnnUMpEjmKHz-8/s992/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.50.10+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNRXORT8VAC9CXkJSFeh-vwpsn-J980kzazjkBqJz9V4pmPzscsucJfHtPjI4r9MU-XDMBB7SIjXvI5Q4LIynaz5qIwFCG0dXbBVH6AvAJWffZvJY2WWXEq6GqOkEWYnnUMpEjmKHz-8/w263-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.50.10+am.png" width="263" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAuEOtmilmISXPjfHQhevk0mZ0DKPDI_MMqSzO3WiMy-Ys1Txma-U0ugrPF_8Ngu_D_N3MT7VYqTjNdXHcG8BTQk4CWsYOfHx1xT34mRlVHKiEZ_uSUS87WXbv2w4SvJy_1ojtIvbgMW0/s992/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.50.39+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="822" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAuEOtmilmISXPjfHQhevk0mZ0DKPDI_MMqSzO3WiMy-Ys1Txma-U0ugrPF_8Ngu_D_N3MT7VYqTjNdXHcG8BTQk4CWsYOfHx1xT34mRlVHKiEZ_uSUS87WXbv2w4SvJy_1ojtIvbgMW0/w331-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.50.39+am.png" width="331" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At the Olympic homecoming for rowers Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOmoRxe0yAS4RZ5WsXgHVXK7OkrEUWNUoUYmebRAfQuXmQKtSKydp9bmSquBPuqMcsWPIFht-iRAM6uJuyMpeeN81FbS7JGOQbce9ZEzPMKBgut7caRNNdS3YwGvbor6T2yFjE5zBtxw/s1164/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.51.08+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1164" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOmoRxe0yAS4RZ5WsXgHVXK7OkrEUWNUoUYmebRAfQuXmQKtSKydp9bmSquBPuqMcsWPIFht-iRAM6uJuyMpeeN81FbS7JGOQbce9ZEzPMKBgut7caRNNdS3YwGvbor6T2yFjE5zBtxw/w400-h340/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.51.08+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUJKsHEVYe3cxnIVPy1AU1cbIicKa0V7HD0ZjpUWsuZYKUIa-XroP3FJdMVSDQZKbaQgfymvcPXljFr20WBUb4O6mSyX_G4x1MglRI3J2IZMgh6v_-rUtvC6jQhnwnKuposfd4bSxEvw/s872/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.52.50+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUJKsHEVYe3cxnIVPy1AU1cbIicKa0V7HD0ZjpUWsuZYKUIa-XroP3FJdMVSDQZKbaQgfymvcPXljFr20WBUb4O6mSyX_G4x1MglRI3J2IZMgh6v_-rUtvC6jQhnwnKuposfd4bSxEvw/w299-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.52.50+am.png" width="299" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cromane beach</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_l2ywCwIpxHBlVOofVqF4pJN7ik6NwAE0MCo4mLP-4dZyqjBfHhDQCtEl03taeEEJ4L73VuZXeC7lo-QkhFlXk30qymdS6TRObKtqv9YcmAv7pgOcNwtQjd5UVc1JQ3ETJhQrLwbds_A/s2042/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.53.16+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="2042" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_l2ywCwIpxHBlVOofVqF4pJN7ik6NwAE0MCo4mLP-4dZyqjBfHhDQCtEl03taeEEJ4L73VuZXeC7lo-QkhFlXk30qymdS6TRObKtqv9YcmAv7pgOcNwtQjd5UVc1JQ3ETJhQrLwbds_A/w400-h148/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.53.16+am.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRUp_Mzgbabmb5V0cD9X1q2pUegVvoQParUllzMJz8gB6N24JWcJzfavursJzXAGPpnWFiAg-MdmqNaXOyKFsp0xk9MbO-eqH45oYIlSYyi1auFRRO9f59ZGTN18Xv2x3iNGzb_zTDxY/s888/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.53.49+am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRUp_Mzgbabmb5V0cD9X1q2pUegVvoQParUllzMJz8gB6N24JWcJzfavursJzXAGPpnWFiAg-MdmqNaXOyKFsp0xk9MbO-eqH45oYIlSYyi1auFRRO9f59ZGTN18Xv2x3iNGzb_zTDxY/w295-h400/Screenshot+2021-09-10+at+10.53.49+am.png" width="295" /></a></div>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-84550773521830693262021-08-10T16:15:00.015+01:002021-08-10T16:25:31.345+01:00Now That's What I Call 90s<p>I'm picking up hints of a 1990s revival. I don't like it, but if there's no choice, it's got to be the <i>right</i> version of the 1990s: countercultural, traveller/free-festival friendly and non-sexist. For those readers too young to remember, it all went wrong when the boys with guitars started waving union flags around and feminism was replaced by 'girl power' which according to Geri Halliwell included <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-first-spice-girl">adoring Margaret Thatcher</a>. Then we got student tuition fees, the invasion of Iraq and eventually 9/11, recessions, pandemics, endless surveillance and constant culture wars. Not necessarily all the same order of magnitude, but there was an ease and joy that doesn't seem to have returned. </p><p>I'm certainly no expert on the dance scene, largely because music that you needed drugs to like and drugs that made you like people you probably don't like in an unstimulated state was not my cup of tea (and in any case the crusty ravers had largely been replaced by very heavy gangsters) so I won't recommend that side of thing to you. Instead - some of the indie/rock songs that have stuck with me despite the passage of time. And one or two dance numbers. But basically twee, wet, bedwetter indie of the kind that will confirm all my friends' prejudices. Oddly, I'm seeing most of these videos for the first time ever - we didn't have music TV at home or in my student houses - I have all these songs on vinyl instead. </p><p>Disclaimer: I'm not necessarily saying any of this is a) representative of the 90s or even of my tastes or b) any good. They're just the ones that stick in my mind after all these years. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OR7Gw9xcC1Y" width="320" youtube-src-id="OR7Gw9xcC1Y"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub_Sub" target="_blank">Sub Sub</a> got middle-aged, picked up acoustic guitars and became <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doves_(band)" target="_blank">Doves</a> - a fine band in their own right)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Ecdn5SGT1E" width="320" youtube-src-id="8Ecdn5SGT1E"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I remember hearing Steve Reich interviewed about his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7XlZKFH7h8" target="_blank">Electric Counterpoint</a> being sampled for this track by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orb" target="_blank">The Orb</a> - he sounded a bit bemused, flattered and thoughtful. There's definitely a link between the minimalist classical scene and the repetitious nature of the more intelligent dance crowd.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rAnmWNMcNEk" width="320" youtube-src-id="rAnmWNMcNEk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catchers_(band)" target="_blank">Catchers</a> were too ethereal for the big time and I've never met anyone else who liked this melancholic duo from Northern Ireland, but if you liked <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sundays" target="_blank">The Sundays</a>, you'll love this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Talking of whom:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qVL1u2xN3cw" width="320" youtube-src-id="qVL1u2xN3cw"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Moving on: who doesn't like feminist Anglo-French Marxist Krautrock, in the form of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolab" target="_blank">Stereolab</a>? With apologies for the appearance of Jools Holland at the start - he infested music back then too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w-tHWTzeWLs" width="320" youtube-src-id="w-tHWTzeWLs"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jKLiU7Hq93w" width="320" youtube-src-id="jKLiU7Hq93w"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PJ_Harvey" target="_blank">PJ Harvey</a> just thrilled me back in 1993 and I think her work still stands up - the early loud angry stuff and the stark, hushed darkness of <i>White Chalk </i>most of all. Around at the time and shamefully underrated by me at least are Aimee Mann and Liz Phair, whose work still sounds thrilling while also being much more grown up than a lot of the teen/college bands of the time. Same goes for Suzanne Vega, whose 'Tom's Diner' is a real Marmite song, but which deals with some horrific trauma in deceptively catchy form. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MlHTr5mCkAk" width="320" youtube-src-id="MlHTr5mCkAk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-bo98vi2ykA" width="320" youtube-src-id="-bo98vi2ykA"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Can't ignore Riot Grrr: so many great bands, and I loved the style - paratrooper boots paired with Laura Ashley fabrics or babydoll dresses (Courtney Love's famous 'kinderwhore' look). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mjk5lza9LsU" width="320" youtube-src-id="Mjk5lza9LsU"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G597VdnVBgM" width="320" youtube-src-id="G597VdnVBgM"></iframe></div><br /> </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But for fun times: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastica" target="_blank">Elastica</a>. I saw them touring their second album, which certainly wasn't fun times for them or us - line-up changes and heroin had taken their toll. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WlOje4ly4hg" width="320" youtube-src-id="WlOje4ly4hg"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Meanwhile in Gogledd Cymru / North Wales mod guitars and union jacks were very much not apparent. I bought these 16 year-olds' second album (!) on 10" vinyl when I got to university and rapidly fell into a deep hole of Welsh-language pop, krautrock and twisted folk: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wrench_(music_producer)" target="_blank">David Wrench</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catatonia_(band)" target="_blank">Catatonia</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheinallt_H_Rowlands" target="_blank">Rheinallt H Rowlands</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectogram">Ectogram</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fflaps">Fflaps</a>, Topper, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melys">Melys</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datblygu">Datblygu</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Furry_Animals">Super Furry Animals</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SNLEZBDyC9k" width="320" youtube-src-id="SNLEZBDyC9k"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I2n3vVrBvQs" width="320" youtube-src-id="I2n3vVrBvQs"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mdgZv-x_P_I" width="320" youtube-src-id="mdgZv-x_P_I"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The other 10" I bought that fateful day was by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tindersticks">Tindersticks</a>. Not their very best but representative of their work - one of the bands I've always gone back to and seen live whenever possible. Lead singer Stuart Staples' voice is another highly divisive topic, but I like it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cgoz2cv9YS0" width="320" youtube-src-id="cgoz2cv9YS0"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then there were the American college rock/post-rock kids represented here by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madder_Rose">Madder Rose</a> and singer Mary Lorson's subsequent band:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kwre_xhx6ow" width="320" youtube-src-id="Kwre_xhx6ow"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DdEHQJaln84" width="320" youtube-src-id="DdEHQJaln84"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throwing_Muses">Throwing Muses</a>' <i>University </i>was a big presence once I lived with some stoner-Goth scientists, so here's a bit of that followed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veruca_Salt" target="_blank">Veruca Salt</a>'s spiky fun one hit: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IBpZ1fq45vQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="IBpZ1fq45vQ"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4YrK1Rq7AKk" width="320" youtube-src-id="4YrK1Rq7AKk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Elsewhere in the US, who could resist the muted Mormon melancholy of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_(band)" target="_blank">Low</a>? Here's one of their Christmas songs and a cheery cover from the B-sides collection. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IippcraBPKA" width="320" youtube-src-id="IippcraBPKA"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NZuJmbDL9q4" width="320" youtube-src-id="NZuJmbDL9q4"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Too wordy? I'd be tempted to hit you with some Mogwai, Tortoise or Slint, but here's an <a href="https://www.dominomusic.com/artists/aerial-m" target="_blank">Aerial M</a> EP I've always enjoyed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PG4IKq0rXSQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="PG4IKq0rXSQ"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Back home in Blighty, the much-maligned Twee movement mutated interestingly - I loved <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Field_Mice">The Field Mice</a>'s melange of electronica and indie-pop very much indeed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E4D6v71_nx0" width="320" youtube-src-id="E4D6v71_nx0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That led to New Order's rhythm section, The Other Two, and to St. Etienne (and Neil Young but that's another story)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g0aA_QSK0z4" width="320" youtube-src-id="g0aA_QSK0z4"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gXFYpEn19ig" width="320" youtube-src-id="gXFYpEn19ig"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and thence to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenickie">Kenickie</a> (former members are now respected sociologists and presenters of <i>Desert Island Discs</i>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wBfFo1zQTfo" width="320" youtube-src-id="wBfFo1zQTfo"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>From Kenickie it's an easy leap to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Love">Helen Love</a> and her DIY feminist power-pop: here's Beat Him Up. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UsORIKEIv5I" width="320" youtube-src-id="UsORIKEIv5I"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She was covered by the teenage <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_(band)">Ash</a> (back to Northern Ireland) - here's an early one of their own:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/295vcxum3JE" width="320" youtube-src-id="295vcxum3JE"></iframe></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Can't miss out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_and_Sebastian" target="_blank">Belle & Sebastian</a>, which really divided everyone - my first copy of <i>Tigermilk</i> was a copied CDR surreptitiously supplied under the counter of my local record shop after the original pressing of 400 produced as a college course assignment sold out immediately. Through them I discovered all the Scottish indie greats from before and after - Teenage Fanclub, Spare Snare, Mogwai, The Delgados, The Phantom Band, Chvrches, The Pastels, The Vaselines, Orange Juice, Josef K, BMX Bandits, 18 Wheeler and more. I had the first B&S t-shirt in Bangor's Indie Night. It, though sadly not me, was an object of devotion and desire. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GKTDiWslOPo" width="320" youtube-src-id="GKTDiWslOPo"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lots of my friends liked to listen to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Orton">Beth Orton</a> when they got home from raves in quarries - I associate her music with badly-rolled joints, exhaustion and elation. It got me into modern folk, particularly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Carthy">Eliza Carthy</a> and her ilk - folk by and about the tribes driven off the roads after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Beanfield" target="_blank">Battle of the Beanfield</a> and the Criminal Justice Act (god I miss young people getting angry <i>en masse</i>). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qqS5o0C5nIM" width="320" youtube-src-id="qqS5o0C5nIM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6iaHAS26zeg" width="320" youtube-src-id="6iaHAS26zeg"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then there's Slowdive's successor band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_3">Mojave 3</a>: here's one that really builds slowly. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NIJy_ajteyI" width="320" youtube-src-id="NIJy_ajteyI"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A bit like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazzy_Star">Mazzy Star</a>, whose hushed melancholia will never stop sounding classy:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Z4zCIn7zyY" width="320" youtube-src-id="7Z4zCIn7zyY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's an album that's nearly completely forgotten: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boo_Radleys">Boo Radleys</a>' hugely ambitious <i>Giant Steps</i> - swept away by Britpop and their own subsequent mega-hit, 'Wake Up'. I listen to this one a lot even now - it feels fresh - a mix of Pavement's oddness with Scouse pop melody. I love everything they've done (especially their noise-rock cover of New Order's 'True Faith' - I collect covers of New Order songs, hence the Rheinallt H Rowlands number elsewhere in this post, which you might recognise) but <i>Giant Steps </i>is the most coherent, compelling album they made. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ImatMDcsNL4" width="320" youtube-src-id="ImatMDcsNL4"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the bad boys' corner, a couple of thrillers: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_to_the_Nation">Credit to the Nation</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaggers_ITA">Blaggers ITA</a>'s ode to rebellion:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jawivrE9GVI" width="320" youtube-src-id="jawivrE9GVI"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s-68cunH_f0" width="320" youtube-src-id="s-68cunH_f0"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Want something sweeter? Well, there are the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cardigans">Cardigans</a>, whom I saw in 1994 when they were a cute Swedish guitar pop band prior to becoming global megastars (on a bill including the terrible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluffy_(band)">Fluffy</a>, mediocre <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Stereo">Heavy Stereo</a> and the charming <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bluetones">Bluetones</a> for a bargain £5), and the lovely <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frente!">Frente</a>, represented here by their beautiful cover of the New Order's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarre_Love_Triangle">Bizarre Love Triangle</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_BiHBVkdMOQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="_BiHBVkdMOQ"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IJ1c9ErCn7w" width="320" youtube-src-id="IJ1c9ErCn7w"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftkDYYUUZ2k" width="320" youtube-src-id="ftkDYYUUZ2k"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>I can't remember the 1990s without <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Charlatans_(English_band)">The Charlatans</a>. Never the hippest of the Manchester bands (perhaps not even a Manchester band), but 'The Only One I Know' is a stone-cold classic, they had a string of further pop gems, and they took triumph and defeat in their strides. I saw them in the late 90s, well past their critical peak, in a half-empty hall in Stoke. They played like it was a massive arena gig packed to the rafters - it meant something to them and they knew it meant something to us. That deserves some respect. <div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0RJwW77Lsj8" width="320" youtube-src-id="0RJwW77Lsj8"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another inescapable indie-night classic was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwyn_Collins">Edwyn Collins</a>' 'A Girl Like You', his second act after his band Orange Juice in the 1980s. There still isn't much that sounds quite like it. We always paired it with Iggy Pop's 'The Passenger' to get people dancing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6oqJ0JpMj6I" width="320" youtube-src-id="6oqJ0JpMj6I"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Also in the terminally unhip category (first for being unwashed right-on hippies, then for having an annoying worldwide smash): <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumbawamba">Chumbawamba</a>, who I saw play their natural habitat (a tatty Students' Union bar) in 1993. Catnip for an 18-year old with no fixed views or tastes. And with the benefit of 30 years' hindsight, their blend of anarchist, anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-corporate politics with catchy beats very much stands up. I might understand the underlying political and economic dynamics better than I did then, but my instincts were right. (Honourable mention also to The Levellers, who I admire more than I like, though I did see them in the early 90s and had a good night). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/waJLv46_N6c" width="320" youtube-src-id="waJLv46_N6c"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The dark side of the 1990s is summed up for me by two particularly sleazy tracks: Pulp's 'This Is Hardcore', their horrified reflection on what Britpop had done to themselves and others, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Folk_Implosion">The Folk Implosion</a>'s 'Natural One', from the <i>Kids </i>soundtrack. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LrITltsuyQU" width="320" youtube-src-id="LrITltsuyQU"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y0FT-5JLCAY" width="320" youtube-src-id="Y0FT-5JLCAY"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rather more innocently, but equally downbeat, I really fell for <a href="https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/Hydroplane">Hydroplane</a>, a spin-off from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat%27s_Miaow">The Cat's Miaow</a>, whom I heard on John Peel's show, or it may have been The Evening Session. Anyway, I never got to see them live but still get phishing emails via their long-since hacked and defunct mailing list. I forgive them, thanks to the rackety beauty of this song (a cover of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Marble_Giants">Young Marble Giants</a>' 'Wurlitzer Jukebox'), followed by another lost and much-loved bunch of Aussie funsters, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradise_Motel">Paradise Motel</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W2dUhNmXiUY" width="320" youtube-src-id="W2dUhNmXiUY"></iframe></div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ScVMcoQKDAc" width="320" youtube-src-id="ScVMcoQKDAc"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A lot brasher but a lot of fun in a grunge-adjacent way were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebadoh">Sebadoh</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SCPP_j6EwTo" width="320" youtube-src-id="SCPP_j6EwTo"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm not sure if anyone remembers or cares to remember the short-lived goth-madrigal scene, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_Sex_Garden">Miranda Sex Garden</a> were at the heart of it so here's some:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cI9YzkfAqM8" width="320" youtube-src-id="cI9YzkfAqM8"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another band I couldn't have been without in the 90s was REM: I turned up at university with a £10 Woolworths tape player and two tapes: a Vaughan Williams greatest hits and a copied <i>Automatic for the People. </i>I still like them both, though I've moved on from cassettes. I worked backwards from <i>Automatic</i>, which was nigh-on ubiquitous at the time, to discover the strange and contrarian world of a band that seemed like 'our' U2 (i.e. not preachy poseurs) but also forwards - while most people reckon that <i>Monster </i>and <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i> are pretty poor, I love them - the last flowering of a band that eventually got too big. <i>Monster </i>is big guitar rock, a reaction against the hushed imagism of <i>Automatic</i>, while <i>New Adventures </i>is a 90s take on the obscurist beauty of their early-80s work. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jWkMhCLkVOg" width="320" youtube-src-id="jWkMhCLkVOg"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9BC07l2_zKU" width="320" youtube-src-id="9BC07l2_zKU"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And that's where I'll stop - I suspect if you've made it this far you're reaching for the Prozac, another popular 90s youth thing we'll leave for another day. </div>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-623668347056111772021-08-09T18:43:00.001+01:002021-08-09T18:43:27.978+01:00Out and about at dusk<p> I went for a walk in the rain with the camera as the sun set one evening. You can see the rest of my photos <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/plashingvole/albums/72157719658265324" target="_blank">here</a>. Not the best shots I've ever taken but I'm getting the hang of it again. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKlHo6_uh3sDufLU4ty8g_5fHRAtE7MUr_PLr1npBg_pljOBClKfjOWCTLjZAqfDKG7PBg5JaVinybQNBKcLmjxQhGJZ_X2_VbfCkuIxMyU23s4F8RayDq6Ta83zyStMRnzhiR2BCxDo/s986/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.26.44+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="588" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKlHo6_uh3sDufLU4ty8g_5fHRAtE7MUr_PLr1npBg_pljOBClKfjOWCTLjZAqfDKG7PBg5JaVinybQNBKcLmjxQhGJZ_X2_VbfCkuIxMyU23s4F8RayDq6Ta83zyStMRnzhiR2BCxDo/w239-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.26.44+pm.png" width="239" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPYK1nc0d5BoPHJfX3N66ImChRGaclT_VsuUNg6fMLcwvMZspL0qlLHOyUvBvzgY8epRVvJ1R0D_vdGk_jOWjWhIWig99Jxs1brfyZsrZJiOtLB0JIJL8f1syKyfihYCJAGW8ZjHCjok/s992/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.27.10+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="956" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPYK1nc0d5BoPHJfX3N66ImChRGaclT_VsuUNg6fMLcwvMZspL0qlLHOyUvBvzgY8epRVvJ1R0D_vdGk_jOWjWhIWig99Jxs1brfyZsrZJiOtLB0JIJL8f1syKyfihYCJAGW8ZjHCjok/w385-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.27.10+pm.png" width="385" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiZoBy_LUQV07CQCzsqKaUsMW_Af2ClnA491ye0Hv8ZdFrG1yiskSSrTWMH6Fh5Sd0KTkTbBU_XfSeGWM-_6g4VSTd7_RKlAetqE0bAwLSOr_IH0sHzMp500Cb6ZaDomY_pBd2t1_gNc/s986/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.27.59+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="648" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiZoBy_LUQV07CQCzsqKaUsMW_Af2ClnA491ye0Hv8ZdFrG1yiskSSrTWMH6Fh5Sd0KTkTbBU_XfSeGWM-_6g4VSTd7_RKlAetqE0bAwLSOr_IH0sHzMp500Cb6ZaDomY_pBd2t1_gNc/w263-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.27.59+pm.png" width="263" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNowDpV3R7EcHZdsLQixZCEcy4uTNwI7TI30XnyqyFMGbPHwRkam2iaU4hyphenhypheny-XltqlwaaPW9ojtADbjw4FbGwbLdFlRrzdWd-Sf85r-3wxtWz0ucPWKETQ3NVC0QivOYmxEdnyH_4dhs/s996/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.28.21+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNowDpV3R7EcHZdsLQixZCEcy4uTNwI7TI30XnyqyFMGbPHwRkam2iaU4hyphenhypheny-XltqlwaaPW9ojtADbjw4FbGwbLdFlRrzdWd-Sf85r-3wxtWz0ucPWKETQ3NVC0QivOYmxEdnyH_4dhs/w264-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.28.21+pm.png" width="264" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMgXQ5PLavsM57vE50mLvhcZ3-8pt4gh8aZBqnWrLu_zv652QtqTYER528F1ImdKdIg7oHZAdkEQCCt-svFDkFkfRC8l8a3kCtMLwY1IJZis1Jpsz5gI8rRyuWBkUwqTZaZaoK8T7p8E/s1506/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.29.08+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1506" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMgXQ5PLavsM57vE50mLvhcZ3-8pt4gh8aZBqnWrLu_zv652QtqTYER528F1ImdKdIg7oHZAdkEQCCt-svFDkFkfRC8l8a3kCtMLwY1IJZis1Jpsz5gI8rRyuWBkUwqTZaZaoK8T7p8E/w400-h216/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.29.08+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZo_oHxSEEjekizYBRtXGIIMYs7bN_cEeXG4nEmQipW11ovATdfKXSEk5WNACDjMOSD7sbkGz2uZKv2nSrFYMu-wjQQyFuKvIWJGEdeC4Lpli5wh2FpghK5Y0lSX7M6L9dnrjt7bDgwpQ/s1682/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.29.35+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1682" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZo_oHxSEEjekizYBRtXGIIMYs7bN_cEeXG4nEmQipW11ovATdfKXSEk5WNACDjMOSD7sbkGz2uZKv2nSrFYMu-wjQQyFuKvIWJGEdeC4Lpli5wh2FpghK5Y0lSX7M6L9dnrjt7bDgwpQ/w400-h174/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.29.35+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfbEHT5BNaMSsc1kp_XtJt6NlnLp0yILpk-wDmVQZOvXgLpxuFtip73-JpvPzhu4_boAEdsTllL02VThyphenhyphen7KJNDO_VtvqyWkNXq_X-nNoMjdZrt9PrmLXlYVKyCAdsrUxMYvdsq9nDxYs/s996/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.29.56+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="658" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfbEHT5BNaMSsc1kp_XtJt6NlnLp0yILpk-wDmVQZOvXgLpxuFtip73-JpvPzhu4_boAEdsTllL02VThyphenhyphen7KJNDO_VtvqyWkNXq_X-nNoMjdZrt9PrmLXlYVKyCAdsrUxMYvdsq9nDxYs/w264-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.29.56+pm.png" width="264" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFRu3-zLQ5dXFtQ_ebRpi4S7hgwD9TqtsuQ3rtmE-iPfB1Vucn8bRbIbIWU2aCLABnURxvZsDdfTqanLNYKxwO5FVBOZtC47LnN96739hm2xbN1Yq5HBd15t-Rs8Xx03NO3wzAjU2y19s/s1508/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.30.28+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1508" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFRu3-zLQ5dXFtQ_ebRpi4S7hgwD9TqtsuQ3rtmE-iPfB1Vucn8bRbIbIWU2aCLABnURxvZsDdfTqanLNYKxwO5FVBOZtC47LnN96739hm2xbN1Yq5HBd15t-Rs8Xx03NO3wzAjU2y19s/w400-h261/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.30.28+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvjvYaCzSepo_RISoxUV8Mps3NSGLr_cK14_D8mriFUF8bA2l6f5OKT5zi26oZrIOXAarwHEEi5P_LyzlZx7XuliINhCchsh92-HnHZcXTCgxRnFvPXlRfN4CKgcH-A1VUDqoBe88Rrw/s1242/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.30.50+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1242" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvjvYaCzSepo_RISoxUV8Mps3NSGLr_cK14_D8mriFUF8bA2l6f5OKT5zi26oZrIOXAarwHEEi5P_LyzlZx7XuliINhCchsh92-HnHZcXTCgxRnFvPXlRfN4CKgcH-A1VUDqoBe88Rrw/w400-h319/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.30.50+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAVBeJAHetVLJYdOpDYIvqrrIWihkCmCn0kRMrCCsOZJ5k0IJhUZDSrsT3dXvvwb-tfQ2tV0pzgqeR2ILR-qWmGMmPQIlI6_Z-NbR4Nqa6wYIwDDL5nA7QmAl794b-WGdR4Tn9RruD6U/s952/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.31.14+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAVBeJAHetVLJYdOpDYIvqrrIWihkCmCn0kRMrCCsOZJ5k0IJhUZDSrsT3dXvvwb-tfQ2tV0pzgqeR2ILR-qWmGMmPQIlI6_Z-NbR4Nqa6wYIwDDL5nA7QmAl794b-WGdR4Tn9RruD6U/w323-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.31.14+pm.png" width="323" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyh0nJNgKFwvgGehDHxDsiIxl19jKcp4HigwsQvsSnljXGvb5wr-hFGki70TDlvWYjxGFUdmSSfqq_AfVxS8_orye01qhcWvFuhoN3PDXxVmWxVEyFxdDBmvlqU-al-DhBYa7A3jsG0lA/s1504/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.31.44+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="1504" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyh0nJNgKFwvgGehDHxDsiIxl19jKcp4HigwsQvsSnljXGvb5wr-hFGki70TDlvWYjxGFUdmSSfqq_AfVxS8_orye01qhcWvFuhoN3PDXxVmWxVEyFxdDBmvlqU-al-DhBYa7A3jsG0lA/w400-h265/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.31.44+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk570NRKZaw7qmjI8Q5AteF2J4sv1xUQpME73RCTkIjY3wpoEK9UPQ-PgcKwO6gLiRBGEGmPh5OE6r_H1L9n-quTg_Daz4fYdSza-imMEk9hAbbT1zeRv4YjoS1iOGLpsuKa-zai6Jafw/s996/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.32.13+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk570NRKZaw7qmjI8Q5AteF2J4sv1xUQpME73RCTkIjY3wpoEK9UPQ-PgcKwO6gLiRBGEGmPh5OE6r_H1L9n-quTg_Daz4fYdSza-imMEk9hAbbT1zeRv4YjoS1iOGLpsuKa-zai6Jafw/w264-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.32.13+pm.png" width="264" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50dFFKvoNCqCS27P-RpqvoUKiIwSplnRC50l0BHO7skJL-zoVJBr3U3679uqHPDmwFYxrwiEr6ZIKTNQwdOt6UEPSPtMzVp6c4ntGG1H_bEYS_DZc3bLXQG4vDExOGXiAEXQ2wwXfoGQ/s1936/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.32.27+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1936" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50dFFKvoNCqCS27P-RpqvoUKiIwSplnRC50l0BHO7skJL-zoVJBr3U3679uqHPDmwFYxrwiEr6ZIKTNQwdOt6UEPSPtMzVp6c4ntGG1H_bEYS_DZc3bLXQG4vDExOGXiAEXQ2wwXfoGQ/w400-h133/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.32.27+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI2OH6GxukhtikQ2g-4oseqTU8qdskeZwFLdt-KwfvMGtI8ZfAkTTr00iFCq03qwN9ICpsQNDbd30IFm2O8gZ2FI0GIG9ekGTNRqYfSznzNcLiFPDHzCvAe7VV0zb9nmSLKGPMAyAw7U/s976/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.32.38+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="832" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghI2OH6GxukhtikQ2g-4oseqTU8qdskeZwFLdt-KwfvMGtI8ZfAkTTr00iFCq03qwN9ICpsQNDbd30IFm2O8gZ2FI0GIG9ekGTNRqYfSznzNcLiFPDHzCvAe7VV0zb9nmSLKGPMAyAw7U/w341-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.32.38+pm.png" width="341" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrn0_s8EMpgv4PfoJEvmYsK2tF3H_YyuHKkhhWcW7snmw6EnYeakwVLQ3cHjjs8YL0WKQ3CBB3vb51zANTp96MY_xG4hd5YwdOs4n-B9tNl6uwzqMZmz2zU5y_JNQHnlj-PIzfputGiM/s990/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.33.43+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="708" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrn0_s8EMpgv4PfoJEvmYsK2tF3H_YyuHKkhhWcW7snmw6EnYeakwVLQ3cHjjs8YL0WKQ3CBB3vb51zANTp96MY_xG4hd5YwdOs4n-B9tNl6uwzqMZmz2zU5y_JNQHnlj-PIzfputGiM/w286-h400/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+6.33.43+pm.png" width="286" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-52917998334439386582021-08-06T14:42:00.006+01:002021-08-06T14:42:54.287+01:00Whatever happened to the silly season?<p>Another week has gone in a blur. There have been Olympic games, but between the time difference and the absence of the sports I most want to watch from the BBC platform, I've watched very little. Bits of archery, climbing, badminton and table tennis, but no fencing and very little cycling. It all feels rather irrelevant. Instead I've filled my time with marking essays and counselling students. Very important, but no medals are awarded to them or me. I have managed to fit in a couple of bike rides, a walk with colleagues and filling my boss with enough whiskey and animal fats to satisfy Mr Creosote though. </p><p>I did read a draft MA thesis about identity, fandoms and #freebritney which was astonishingly good though - far outclassing all the media coverage I've read. I'm hoping that student will go very far indeed, though obviously the government thinks that - being working-class and provincial - she should confine her ambitions to manual labour. But at least in future all those nurses will have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jul/31/latin-introduced-40-state-secondaries-england">good Latin</a>. Not that I'm opposed to Latin <i>per se</i> (see what I did there?). Indeed I have a very poor A-level in it, and a better GCSE in Ancient Greek. I just think that feeding children, fixing up school buildings and teaching modern languages might conceivably be higher priorities. There seems little point in deliberately abolishing music, art and humanities at university level while simultaneously turning school-level Latin into a totem. Perhaps Gavin Williamson thinks that it's his inability to bandy popular classical tags around that kept him out of the top spot…</p><p>I'm trying to do my bit for the economy as we emerge from the pandemic, mostly through buying books and music. My purchases this week: the final part of Hilary Mantel's <i>Wolf Hall</i> trilogy; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/aug/07/convenience-store-woman-sayaka-murata-review" target="_blank">Sayaka Murata's <i>Convenience Store Woman</i></a> (which sounds hilarious); Ishiguro's <i>Klara and the Sun</i>; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ensor_(politician)" target="_blank">David Ensor</a>'s <i>Verdict Afterwards</i> (another forgotten but rather scandalous politician-novelist); Louise Lawrence's rather uncheery <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_the_Dust_(novel)" target="_blank">Children of the Dust</a></i>; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Berners" target="_blank">Lord Berner</a>'s <i>Collected Tales and Fantasies</i> (he was the model for Nancy Mitford's Lord Merlin); Shola von Reinhold's interesting-sounding <i>Lote</i> which might well find its way onto a module reading list; Sathnam Sanghera's <i>Empireland</i> and the book I'm reading first - an omnibus of the first three <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngaio_Marsh">Ngaio Marsh</a> Inspector Alleyn 1930s detective novels. I'm not particularly interested in contemporary crime fiction, but Marsh wrote 30+ of these over 50 years, so it will be interesting to see how she negotiates social and cultural change. I've read all of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margery_Allingham" target="_blank">Margery Allingham</a>'s Campion novels, which started off quite conventional but became interestingly odd in the post-war period - 1952's <i>The Tiger in the Smoke</i> is unsettling and fascinating. </p><p>I've also bought some new music: <a href="https://www.katherinepriddy.co.uk">Katharine Priddy</a>'s modern folk album <i>The Eternal Rocks Beneath </i>which isn't as edgy as I expected but is really good (she gets extra marks for wearing the hippy shirts we all sported in 1990s Bangor), a new recording of <a href="http://nicomuhly.com" target="_blank">Nico Muhly</a>'s <i>Shrink</i> and Philip Glass's String Quartet No. 3, <a href="https://missymazzoli.com" target="_blank">Missy Mazzoli</a>'s <i>Vespers for a New Age</i> and cellist <a href="https://www.mayabeiser.com">Maya Beiser</a>'s new arrangements of several Glass pieces. Oh, and KD Lang's greatest hits because no music collection should be without it. Though saying that reminds me of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbMSUQE36us" target="_blank">immortal Alan Partridge exchange</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PSzZ30HN0kU" width="320" youtube-src-id="PSzZ30HN0kU"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PQIOSxEn_rA" width="320" youtube-src-id="PQIOSxEn_rA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_4XMeY1RkWQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="_4XMeY1RkWQ"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yEEvqb2LJq4" width="320" youtube-src-id="yEEvqb2LJq4"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uoi914oFewQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="uoi914oFewQ"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UO0kGdxeQvU" width="320" youtube-src-id="UO0kGdxeQvU"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Can't find her Philip Glass arrangements so here she is doing some cool stuff with cello and electronics.</div>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-6241675443069606682021-07-29T16:47:00.001+01:002021-07-29T16:47:11.267+01:00Bill Bailey's Looking Ruff & Other Stories<p>It's been a month since I last posted here. What can I say? I've watched a lot of the Tour de France, turned 46, been for some walks with the camera and occasionally friends, represented union members, failed to find anyone willing to fix my house, and marked many, many essays while also wondering where all the others have got to. I've read a few books too, almost as many as I've bought, though not as many as I'd like. I've developed no new opinions since the last time: recent events cultural, political and social merely reinforce my bitter, crabbed view of the world. On the plus side, I know of two new final-year students, pretty much doubling our intake for next year (yes it is that bad: thanks Gove, Williamson and Conservative voters!). </p><p>So rather than bore you with all that, here are some of the photos I've taken in various places recently. You can see the rest <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/plashingvole/">here</a>. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuX3SzQc0is5r8Q7MbaoHz4MqP9niBWhgIa16pbK9fSCHb9FAJhR0pJy9reBwm05bmo7mYeQ3s1yLI_F8tpmzMK1iCH3vywQdb2bqz-58YmratbVpepEP0QsIdLtUK361IpFoRigDcrU/s990/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.19.36+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="658" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuX3SzQc0is5r8Q7MbaoHz4MqP9niBWhgIa16pbK9fSCHb9FAJhR0pJy9reBwm05bmo7mYeQ3s1yLI_F8tpmzMK1iCH3vywQdb2bqz-58YmratbVpepEP0QsIdLtUK361IpFoRigDcrU/w266-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.19.36+pm.png" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cardington Church</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPISuIl8SD5XNRvUUEpo4y2SD5gdnCuVyexqk_0ISr5sv-xkZsemHOQ3ffSk4JRg2ja_0FDG1IVEue3miblOSUQj13eLEJCuXX46-tK1myJLTwtnAqQQCOU_SGLL4eQujxGQ8iTb78og/s870/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.19.56+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="654" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPISuIl8SD5XNRvUUEpo4y2SD5gdnCuVyexqk_0ISr5sv-xkZsemHOQ3ffSk4JRg2ja_0FDG1IVEue3miblOSUQj13eLEJCuXX46-tK1myJLTwtnAqQQCOU_SGLL4eQujxGQ8iTb78og/w301-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.19.56+pm.png" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cardington gravestone</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-E5WmzuJS5MzPkv2249-3IxtK4x2XbQYRZ9N9ND07TMRl93RUrt2Mag-4ZpnZTR0nmZGeECU7AIrq71vrze9Wt-kp0MRxz2kJOLwsSCdk4Zg44Ttlpaax0QTXy43Kl6TPf9GI-W-qwfE/s932/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.20.12+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-E5WmzuJS5MzPkv2249-3IxtK4x2XbQYRZ9N9ND07TMRl93RUrt2Mag-4ZpnZTR0nmZGeECU7AIrq71vrze9Wt-kp0MRxz2kJOLwsSCdk4Zg44Ttlpaax0QTXy43Kl6TPf9GI-W-qwfE/w275-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.20.12+pm.png" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Bailey's looking ruff</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhTbVZhhSsZ17nqBvMj-CwSX79QNPNcpAKweIuVZTvnYnr9i33fus1fg00mSFmVBt0h1pgCa5PXxR95TtQ3UIV-386NFU0XBVi2UIROmIUShVYQYfnYm5nY7JM18mgdCRsj8-ZHfaR24/s1762/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.20.41+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="1762" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhTbVZhhSsZ17nqBvMj-CwSX79QNPNcpAKweIuVZTvnYnr9i33fus1fg00mSFmVBt0h1pgCa5PXxR95TtQ3UIV-386NFU0XBVi2UIROmIUShVYQYfnYm5nY7JM18mgdCRsj8-ZHfaR24/w400-h223/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.20.41+pm.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oats</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE2WbTDZH2VXaYTu-x8KtZuCcYdOP2W6TUs645yDY4J_a_wQ17ryReGgK5KXdupDMr5fWNcZW2jnABiy9rNrWPc-tiXl7YZDRWNmEuJa449LGk88ia4_oAr9cYqVY_i2xJoGJrO9284c/s1752/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.21.00+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1752" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE2WbTDZH2VXaYTu-x8KtZuCcYdOP2W6TUs645yDY4J_a_wQ17ryReGgK5KXdupDMr5fWNcZW2jnABiy9rNrWPc-tiXl7YZDRWNmEuJa449LGk88ia4_oAr9cYqVY_i2xJoGJrO9284c/w400-h223/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.21.00+pm.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Continuity of perspective</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQWQVXyiIG4S7gTobVMKY2_7jYEZt3DPBlVsZ-yZaS4CRY4SpPsbT8uWRwU4VSlQfFLKxJUlMl_yBPVOIkPNN_nzZ_ywddbR4ol81dNLqWIn_XJih9_Wzxl_y_MnDaSVAZBZKe9Ud3kY/s1484/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.21.22+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1484" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQWQVXyiIG4S7gTobVMKY2_7jYEZt3DPBlVsZ-yZaS4CRY4SpPsbT8uWRwU4VSlQfFLKxJUlMl_yBPVOIkPNN_nzZ_ywddbR4ol81dNLqWIn_XJih9_Wzxl_y_MnDaSVAZBZKe9Ud3kY/w400-h261/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.21.22+pm.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rain sweeping in over the Shropshire plain</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUHJIqSvJfD08xHfrEGFnNLU7-EnLIFUuPDKS2fdZ-5ciWwiuQAomidprva41egCZoF4pTGYg2BMsng7D3jKgFGpTw9v8_c5872V9CfbUeWCpBfX2dTV7VGmAZf2GGMdDhkh6nu-FSfY/s1488/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.21.49+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1488" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUHJIqSvJfD08xHfrEGFnNLU7-EnLIFUuPDKS2fdZ-5ciWwiuQAomidprva41egCZoF4pTGYg2BMsng7D3jKgFGpTw9v8_c5872V9CfbUeWCpBfX2dTV7VGmAZf2GGMdDhkh6nu-FSfY/w400-h248/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.21.49+pm.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lawley and the Wrekin from Caer Caradoc</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFj6ebL58AT9F2kNlPYjUED2cgqunkyTmrpbvR0XmA8v2PDBLCGnfhR7RmD8RY4sIocvYU16l264gD5HAHtdZVlUscHu8TBiMhvwtaYbo2tLKB7AB-JXYW7zMlXym7qWunnrLJdIveF4/s2030/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.22.12+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="2030" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFj6ebL58AT9F2kNlPYjUED2cgqunkyTmrpbvR0XmA8v2PDBLCGnfhR7RmD8RY4sIocvYU16l264gD5HAHtdZVlUscHu8TBiMhvwtaYbo2tLKB7AB-JXYW7zMlXym7qWunnrLJdIveF4/w400-h140/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.22.12+pm.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same again but with an 11-16 lens</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSvShm1N2kCeYp9Jj7oX1aBaj7rbY25sZ2R46i_wPTnRUSVjJSyG7dFvQrLlFcfnp9w3vYW9-ZtV9bHtnY88YLTLyYwQu3mnHyL7aYssqbW5IKxK6Vfja-iHEaEYC-TCd8wXuotC1nIs/s1480/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.23.24+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1480" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSvShm1N2kCeYp9Jj7oX1aBaj7rbY25sZ2R46i_wPTnRUSVjJSyG7dFvQrLlFcfnp9w3vYW9-ZtV9bHtnY88YLTLyYwQu3mnHyL7aYssqbW5IKxK6Vfja-iHEaEYC-TCd8wXuotC1nIs/w400-h263/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.23.24+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUArSYR_HUGa23WfVcT_dmM7T6gaDXe-c2XRv_5lrVk0PcgP9vMSWOhaTjAOZowKjiz770hVvjYnIDc1nH3KGIuvpKwQ4qD7WbD7tGYRI3wXMrarqsi0lrroLpco4Yus1swXFp_c9r8U/s980/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.23.49+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="636" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUArSYR_HUGa23WfVcT_dmM7T6gaDXe-c2XRv_5lrVk0PcgP9vMSWOhaTjAOZowKjiz770hVvjYnIDc1nH3KGIuvpKwQ4qD7WbD7tGYRI3wXMrarqsi0lrroLpco4Yus1swXFp_c9r8U/w260-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.23.49+pm.png" width="260" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLqRXdJQdvQp2DS_or23eBA7kNAd-aM8r7vKQF9u2TkxSg92UHjQyB7Nf8nkpJNGtcyuyQDXms0gtbIMt5Q2FEenhvX5MtC2AezP3o1AHO7ZmvmsDuR2Xa5KrmlBtVAgncWwkjCcE89Y/s948/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.24.23+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="618" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLqRXdJQdvQp2DS_or23eBA7kNAd-aM8r7vKQF9u2TkxSg92UHjQyB7Nf8nkpJNGtcyuyQDXms0gtbIMt5Q2FEenhvX5MtC2AezP3o1AHO7ZmvmsDuR2Xa5KrmlBtVAgncWwkjCcE89Y/w261-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.24.23+pm.png" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't blink</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0J3PCyRLtCzHJZiA58IMDlY-G7cRqHvUlcv5JDuLztzTBeUnl1IWqzSqqBFVT0HauCBUrPPuwQLcC06O7I_Ry572r4owXukbmmA_kb6OhHEvyjm0aN2tOCu8LuFAgrSxZU2glwzVVyOA/s964/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.24.58+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="634" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0J3PCyRLtCzHJZiA58IMDlY-G7cRqHvUlcv5JDuLztzTBeUnl1IWqzSqqBFVT0HauCBUrPPuwQLcC06O7I_Ry572r4owXukbmmA_kb6OhHEvyjm0aN2tOCu8LuFAgrSxZU2glwzVVyOA/w263-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.24.58+pm.png" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An ice house in Badger</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw89E7PYFFAAxew0hHpthRiC8JNR3jdoWean8FcfaVK3tqBNnVA9H0f3918YZ9YlL7ce9I0ojuQSEmNKbiDcXUXQS1HxcHrXzPzE-qrvRH_9cJx36MB4Y8dCYRQ4fkXcat1p3jjya4F0U/s1350/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.25.16+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1350" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw89E7PYFFAAxew0hHpthRiC8JNR3jdoWean8FcfaVK3tqBNnVA9H0f3918YZ9YlL7ce9I0ojuQSEmNKbiDcXUXQS1HxcHrXzPzE-qrvRH_9cJx36MB4Y8dCYRQ4fkXcat1p3jjya4F0U/w400-h290/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.25.16+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_h6YLSOpV4jmaTFeXoZ5phV3HOXGuGC8RIMu-5cJPqM1lxHhLVNPGXzShyphenhyphenguhkix2EO1gBDb-pBFyvJwmKueDuSsI87BheQWr2_UFki_NmN_HsD4cCUoaGwSRbU-odcUXkQ_iXx4emWw/s1664/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.00+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1664" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_h6YLSOpV4jmaTFeXoZ5phV3HOXGuGC8RIMu-5cJPqM1lxHhLVNPGXzShyphenhyphenguhkix2EO1gBDb-pBFyvJwmKueDuSsI87BheQWr2_UFki_NmN_HsD4cCUoaGwSRbU-odcUXkQ_iXx4emWw/w400-h235/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.00+pm.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hymn books in Badger Church</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxRAtkcG8nI2S-09orv9C9LxRGHpoSHJYwsn7rqGjrZd6G32Qoln-SI4TpzqAMh01HPgy8VxMa2vfsAODrjGSqjLQ9dmqwk4MHq-L6Mj2GDAuzl0FEkIWsZzLK5TZDT9dvon4qfeO8dU/s1480/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.15+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1480" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxRAtkcG8nI2S-09orv9C9LxRGHpoSHJYwsn7rqGjrZd6G32Qoln-SI4TpzqAMh01HPgy8VxMa2vfsAODrjGSqjLQ9dmqwk4MHq-L6Mj2GDAuzl0FEkIWsZzLK5TZDT9dvon4qfeO8dU/w400-h264/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.15+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnM93qmk0huEuMLTHbkXsAfJmIrypJ8xJXHUgRvCiT1s_mXTEqJGP0EuuUA-kADsXSbY-cgAen5Xziv6Tr9QRfZxxh2y213Znv0ZDBCVpXEOgYnGr8as7NKEzKL8Df7eINybbr424Ios/s1994/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.28+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1994" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnM93qmk0huEuMLTHbkXsAfJmIrypJ8xJXHUgRvCiT1s_mXTEqJGP0EuuUA-kADsXSbY-cgAen5Xziv6Tr9QRfZxxh2y213Znv0ZDBCVpXEOgYnGr8as7NKEzKL8Df7eINybbr424Ios/w400-h168/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.28+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienZpZTZuQO_KRM6hnbZkbiXF17Ednbke8SqFfQvKVm8zvuvPnZsHr0Njtq7VgHUmWNf36qL-VZyjj-oJoluoojZ7KctB9Bs01ppFwdhqDZSG-QyDvXDoF-WLaUX_dmHuyCwWGCK_U7Z4/s802/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.44+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="694" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienZpZTZuQO_KRM6hnbZkbiXF17Ednbke8SqFfQvKVm8zvuvPnZsHr0Njtq7VgHUmWNf36qL-VZyjj-oJoluoojZ7KctB9Bs01ppFwdhqDZSG-QyDvXDoF-WLaUX_dmHuyCwWGCK_U7Z4/w346-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.26.44+pm.png" width="346" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpB7GoF2nPlCFJ_Ij5Xi4wsFko8t2If01JWLuDH_jlBjXFTMERfCte4BfdJZc2hrkA36qqH8b2mY4XCOZV2mK9amfaVfhJjr_tTxXcc0vT6HWNVFwz5LMkCTqjcpCD8k50Z8Ade7KZERA/s980/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.27.18+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="472" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpB7GoF2nPlCFJ_Ij5Xi4wsFko8t2If01JWLuDH_jlBjXFTMERfCte4BfdJZc2hrkA36qqH8b2mY4XCOZV2mK9amfaVfhJjr_tTxXcc0vT6HWNVFwz5LMkCTqjcpCD8k50Z8Ade7KZERA/w193-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.27.18+pm.png" width="193" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxLKF9EMAG-eje2UviC3HxkaH4UL6jIIFYbxGtW993kl79NcYkxL58VaxWK8EiTX8gq4ZodExu_X_EALmORwNIjkM4HctddoI1CwxA5zzKWCNXy-I7mLca17tf55a9v6zt6YlchIx8vw/s1554/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.31.32+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1554" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxLKF9EMAG-eje2UviC3HxkaH4UL6jIIFYbxGtW993kl79NcYkxL58VaxWK8EiTX8gq4ZodExu_X_EALmORwNIjkM4HctddoI1CwxA5zzKWCNXy-I7mLca17tf55a9v6zt6YlchIx8vw/w400-h239/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.31.32+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GLu5S9vTWt23Apo5v0Jx61vFQYq7jshZalXDXTj8_6cz9fy7hVQwjvibrBUYgD3tfo6kCXRJc4nZYvR46nuLtZn8aSA9OfchQnFFd5WQf-BNeVb2WZtNOrCL9utvI1oLltEQHYNhF8k/s1530/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.31.54+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1530" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GLu5S9vTWt23Apo5v0Jx61vFQYq7jshZalXDXTj8_6cz9fy7hVQwjvibrBUYgD3tfo6kCXRJc4nZYvR46nuLtZn8aSA9OfchQnFFd5WQf-BNeVb2WZtNOrCL9utvI1oLltEQHYNhF8k/w400-h238/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.31.54+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOf1tZfVLGT6HNgz79jeRoRVyAEhPXIUQhqBRo1qPbWE5s0bAzFC1a_RGbYL1cpvMbms_wtbIybLxhax_wrLf8RUYMguin8f5vh7PP7f6x1I0y_xU9ZLs6YyZ7D_WAMMG0DNBohUxi0DA/s930/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.32.45+pm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="650" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOf1tZfVLGT6HNgz79jeRoRVyAEhPXIUQhqBRo1qPbWE5s0bAzFC1a_RGbYL1cpvMbms_wtbIybLxhax_wrLf8RUYMguin8f5vh7PP7f6x1I0y_xU9ZLs6YyZ7D_WAMMG0DNBohUxi0DA/w280-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.32.45+pm.png" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wind</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvi42j45mDkmrebVS-QnV__xPqrWklDWzf6uT5vHY5uD_n8PE5JTAKmnGVlFkmwo1y1WneWG3hhZrunjXjFD85iozVZpViwB6ol9bwr6mzFoRXht9ckkBpBXWf-VtVhkJl1rqa8KmcmLo/s1488/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.33.03+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1488" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvi42j45mDkmrebVS-QnV__xPqrWklDWzf6uT5vHY5uD_n8PE5JTAKmnGVlFkmwo1y1WneWG3hhZrunjXjFD85iozVZpViwB6ol9bwr6mzFoRXht9ckkBpBXWf-VtVhkJl1rqa8KmcmLo/w400-h258/Screenshot+2021-07-29+at+4.33.03+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-4140665919490758512021-07-01T14:24:00.009+01:002021-07-01T14:42:58.473+01:00Non-holiday snaps<p>After almost a couple of years not picking up the camera (damn you, pandemic), I've been wandering around a bit more and thought you might like to see some. You can see even more <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/plashingvole/albums">here</a>. </p><p>First up, I went to a family wedding in Chichester – the furthest south in the UK I've ever been. Being in a crowd for the first time in ages was surprisingly weird, especially as it was largely made up of relations who for some reason expected an emotional response. I guess they'd forgotten that I was socially-distant long before it was fashionable. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAil3XoqwladWo-noLnjq-SaaDorgg5z81u3pOEMG2iYXf5B-cCG8CLrzoHHMtEpg7TSDZUC3hL70impXU6VSjW1NP4W65imkRPqkwJe-LyP_yJ6T5Auu94SXsMlt8BPWtK2KqngFFWA/s984/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.53.05+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="606" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAil3XoqwladWo-noLnjq-SaaDorgg5z81u3pOEMG2iYXf5B-cCG8CLrzoHHMtEpg7TSDZUC3hL70impXU6VSjW1NP4W65imkRPqkwJe-LyP_yJ6T5Auu94SXsMlt8BPWtK2KqngFFWA/w246-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.53.05+pm.png" width="246" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54RSXquDRhDn4-qubgP6bzmaLbfQRxiBwU9O95SVo9w08si7SmHuvxa7m4L2Lo6IyWcGU_9lZ43e-ei3riLr8NHk6Ew8qqGClXgE5wzQjqyoi0tcdbk6QnK_J8CLu8GJbJduEHUtQ0fk/s984/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.53.43+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="984" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54RSXquDRhDn4-qubgP6bzmaLbfQRxiBwU9O95SVo9w08si7SmHuvxa7m4L2Lo6IyWcGU_9lZ43e-ei3riLr8NHk6Ew8qqGClXgE5wzQjqyoi0tcdbk6QnK_J8CLu8GJbJduEHUtQ0fk/w400-h399/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.53.43+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQtQFKYkSl8JaFlPlCYjOhtw0grzZZXzn9e-X6JDRnVTIkr9elhcIDWNVIt7pfZ5gWifpNovjWOiSKs88orgz3akVAP4pFG3Ld1e6GbGzzK_0NZnf1v_629JfK_ew_tCLGFkD3IkG3Bc/s992/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.54.33+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="658" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQtQFKYkSl8JaFlPlCYjOhtw0grzZZXzn9e-X6JDRnVTIkr9elhcIDWNVIt7pfZ5gWifpNovjWOiSKs88orgz3akVAP4pFG3Ld1e6GbGzzK_0NZnf1v_629JfK_ew_tCLGFkD3IkG3Bc/w265-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.54.33+pm.png" width="265" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uch6xeASkZPGOjkrcWKkAIogmJDO94PpxGcKCwsVkzla5UpN83nYvIq6yqibstPEVWvVWkjlq2sSrYoHZ5m2_MugGFp-ZE09KJWVTTXTxg6QkeMx0WZeycatKm0uahHgi-9GyJ6X3gs/s2040/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.54.51+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="2040" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uch6xeASkZPGOjkrcWKkAIogmJDO94PpxGcKCwsVkzla5UpN83nYvIq6yqibstPEVWvVWkjlq2sSrYoHZ5m2_MugGFp-ZE09KJWVTTXTxg6QkeMx0WZeycatKm0uahHgi-9GyJ6X3gs/w400-h194/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.54.51+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6GF1INrscclsG_GD7v8owcYZwfUm2TRU_E2N2QM4Ic-7QBAdJGREP05Vi_QH1g0a_seDqtbtvgx06mHV0_VmQ6Sj784oF3vrpoUwGBvIDKaeO7fXSyEA-HGXEgwauS8WwM8XOpfnK0Cw/s988/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.55.12+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="836" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6GF1INrscclsG_GD7v8owcYZwfUm2TRU_E2N2QM4Ic-7QBAdJGREP05Vi_QH1g0a_seDqtbtvgx06mHV0_VmQ6Sj784oF3vrpoUwGBvIDKaeO7fXSyEA-HGXEgwauS8WwM8XOpfnK0Cw/w339-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.55.12+pm.png" width="339" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2IQrFw2lSI8aazlgyxACAkF8rI3ytCRqhGsWo6RmAm0ljIGJXk7GFrSLI4fQ3X-a91tjN1NiXgUFtlvBqbY6uNWLrrSPOi9OhcIhq4XfvPq_gWbMtECytQ31B52LnxofD3uBoTp7stQ/s980/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.55.37+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="598" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2IQrFw2lSI8aazlgyxACAkF8rI3ytCRqhGsWo6RmAm0ljIGJXk7GFrSLI4fQ3X-a91tjN1NiXgUFtlvBqbY6uNWLrrSPOi9OhcIhq4XfvPq_gWbMtECytQ31B52LnxofD3uBoTp7stQ/w244-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.55.37+pm.png" width="244" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGktFMn_7zHVbQgX0V0ORpwpSzfES0pY36NyIi6x5fbphBXPF6nOcWn0woDmdxLK607m2UNCx24JDoXQYfbqzlcAli8lZSJGys7e4UeF5f4uicED9ybfz5TS1sS6CvcG-A0qi4r0L1ZE/s986/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.56.21+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="716" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGktFMn_7zHVbQgX0V0ORpwpSzfES0pY36NyIi6x5fbphBXPF6nOcWn0woDmdxLK607m2UNCx24JDoXQYfbqzlcAli8lZSJGys7e4UeF5f4uicED9ybfz5TS1sS6CvcG-A0qi4r0L1ZE/w290-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.56.21+pm.png" width="290" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Cathedral Peregrines!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVFTCrkWuC-tjN8SqHSDOixSVUOMLUuDdNUeUk8Eu07JZXztGzFNpE-35MhgVk4p6junPwkvVcsxd05PthTwSTEUn2Wue02tz-8ghnLGOIwah3wsF-AnxdZnWsii0TKsAnvRz8rhliu0/s1332/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.56.33+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1332" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVFTCrkWuC-tjN8SqHSDOixSVUOMLUuDdNUeUk8Eu07JZXztGzFNpE-35MhgVk4p6junPwkvVcsxd05PthTwSTEUn2Wue02tz-8ghnLGOIwah3wsF-AnxdZnWsii0TKsAnvRz8rhliu0/w400-h296/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.56.33+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtlMq-5Eep7GELTA3r5QJfzNZ3r5EGBKSfoR3k0a3dgcBR3_ul-S1GPUuHecTiM8x1wRnAmZXGwI_MMf3vZy0hbwzAkDOUuBbsPcF_b65g190aKvaTtaTLyyDKC2UKedUKf0he413568/s900/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.56.52+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="646" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtlMq-5Eep7GELTA3r5QJfzNZ3r5EGBKSfoR3k0a3dgcBR3_ul-S1GPUuHecTiM8x1wRnAmZXGwI_MMf3vZy0hbwzAkDOUuBbsPcF_b65g190aKvaTtaTLyyDKC2UKedUKf0he413568/w288-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.56.52+pm.png" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">St Richard…or Nosferatu?</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbrADP2iHne1CqFfqJco84oJEptCeJMubNI_maDU0blPNU2bsaCMhF_JW-fK46AHfWHAOtNh8GSFX_4XUEbTUSz1LwdIFRCcF4pNCiopPebvI1l6gO8XSf710RRIHwT6E8Es3H6zfHVY/s986/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.57.19+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="664" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbrADP2iHne1CqFfqJco84oJEptCeJMubNI_maDU0blPNU2bsaCMhF_JW-fK46AHfWHAOtNh8GSFX_4XUEbTUSz1LwdIFRCcF4pNCiopPebvI1l6gO8XSf710RRIHwT6E8Es3H6zfHVY/w269-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.57.19+pm.png" width="269" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me, giving a lecture</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Klvc9B5RJD02d9wI4F-fIDQxs8NUYjlePaPWyP5lOmoqJX4d7rtvgrK2IcKn9uwg35o4j7fn9_ksf3LrIoVCqWTsaE6sA6Tw1XOU5f_urcv4_uHct2VX6jU8l7It6ulJeQIj8_sJCcs/s700/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.58.23+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="614" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Klvc9B5RJD02d9wI4F-fIDQxs8NUYjlePaPWyP5lOmoqJX4d7rtvgrK2IcKn9uwg35o4j7fn9_ksf3LrIoVCqWTsaE6sA6Tw1XOU5f_urcv4_uHct2VX6jU8l7It6ulJeQIj8_sJCcs/w351-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.58.23+pm.png" width="351" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXd53OfLLG0YNUKk7XtJJ9VBtnG7bt5QPdxhSbZLG9LEuZbHLdBay0-vrXz4ePgaY0VBPxE9xaK4357pklX9gUQzKyZc1ybuYBCW6yBjvGOEVaHZctJAts9Pzk7a4fkbyQTr1Fj68DZU/s1500/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.58.35+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXd53OfLLG0YNUKk7XtJJ9VBtnG7bt5QPdxhSbZLG9LEuZbHLdBay0-vrXz4ePgaY0VBPxE9xaK4357pklX9gUQzKyZc1ybuYBCW6yBjvGOEVaHZctJAts9Pzk7a4fkbyQTr1Fj68DZU/w400-h240/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.58.35+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdS7iwrO4TB45Q4N61352yVtaDjdwyLN2BGlt2b6J2FcrlppawbRHcFQonca-Z6wnQJ7egQ1C8q9ggcVd2SjgsFOYCMx3ximM7XC1zAi0bx-kPqpqJCDGINT9hcafssYQAZqjpbGGy5Q0/s1176/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.59.18+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1176" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdS7iwrO4TB45Q4N61352yVtaDjdwyLN2BGlt2b6J2FcrlppawbRHcFQonca-Z6wnQJ7egQ1C8q9ggcVd2SjgsFOYCMx3ximM7XC1zAi0bx-kPqpqJCDGINT9hcafssYQAZqjpbGGy5Q0/w400-h305/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.59.18+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3U1dKcuip2P-YC4zMJZe2V8XEXLCZFbMvzHu6RRaGoB-e6K-lianSV3ezJ5QJE-XKphjiV7ZCcmZ-7U4FETahuwyyIOdFjZG-hy0O0ZatCXlwO94CuWKTiLBwHJXoRTdO2X1h_pKJnSM/s912/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.59.58+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="630" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3U1dKcuip2P-YC4zMJZe2V8XEXLCZFbMvzHu6RRaGoB-e6K-lianSV3ezJ5QJE-XKphjiV7ZCcmZ-7U4FETahuwyyIOdFjZG-hy0O0ZatCXlwO94CuWKTiLBwHJXoRTdO2X1h_pKJnSM/w276-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+5.59.58+pm.png" width="276" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7A6N3eFAIDIlaxnQ-rcGSonVzfXIvvIPIcPOwH92Ak4qH3zkQw0fwqeqJWGmVCGyAiCHJqi2Ape1aKNweYB6_tanTcg1v5Z6-KjD2AuRjQiXYkZfkP3Ze-0HByIKpvo_aWO3hLO6j7G0/s1372/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.00.43+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="1372" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7A6N3eFAIDIlaxnQ-rcGSonVzfXIvvIPIcPOwH92Ak4qH3zkQw0fwqeqJWGmVCGyAiCHJqi2Ape1aKNweYB6_tanTcg1v5Z6-KjD2AuRjQiXYkZfkP3Ze-0HByIKpvo_aWO3hLO6j7G0/w400-h286/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.00.43+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1OvVyq5Jnzd8fftuXJhcswISWdf_fEhHupHQ1_yecky558z_7moRQBJSs0FpJtjddJV2cGzw4v2dUsNJj4AZkrd0M72V_N6rrHYI6K1rFKshasgrw4hdAU0TgVQZ5jnOnYycN5uasBI/s1232/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.02.59+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1232" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1OvVyq5Jnzd8fftuXJhcswISWdf_fEhHupHQ1_yecky558z_7moRQBJSs0FpJtjddJV2cGzw4v2dUsNJj4AZkrd0M72V_N6rrHYI6K1rFKshasgrw4hdAU0TgVQZ5jnOnYycN5uasBI/w400-h301/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.02.59+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYwiRkUvk8SXHNXfr7tewa_lBK_h5P80V5fToSir2x-VQNA5B06PXouB-Uo_FLYnWwYxqkBlF-IqYBUzzOLJqV1DOr4xkzD0dI6zFuFjRKu30SCChDj-8QQoU13jUUPwd8ebDNWRuS8U/s878/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.03.17+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="632" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYwiRkUvk8SXHNXfr7tewa_lBK_h5P80V5fToSir2x-VQNA5B06PXouB-Uo_FLYnWwYxqkBlF-IqYBUzzOLJqV1DOr4xkzD0dI6zFuFjRKu30SCChDj-8QQoU13jUUPwd8ebDNWRuS8U/w288-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.03.17+pm.png" width="288" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPDY5Z2lMkB80PNJW94vmQ9No-QeUH4PHZ19Deiyf_qH-YROTs6SYAwIFSM_XCsszA-iWXdRQO8YgCNg-iT_crnsZBTQGUZD2PaVn_1Ovic2jSXiXkjl-j0kpM0AY4BJjSBb_Xd9puwo/s1430/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.03.44+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1430" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPDY5Z2lMkB80PNJW94vmQ9No-QeUH4PHZ19Deiyf_qH-YROTs6SYAwIFSM_XCsszA-iWXdRQO8YgCNg-iT_crnsZBTQGUZD2PaVn_1Ovic2jSXiXkjl-j0kpM0AY4BJjSBb_Xd9puwo/w400-h261/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.03.44+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnCi078ca9IaWRbxT9K44yBcSXQKqt4MmjwXRv0pdonctQNMbwVXo85nARvD7cmorHpTkLPfSl58ZgLZHWpvwiLy-ybjZq0F1BUluQXHDDYhfGC5j99u94WzKrvo_9Q-8p1EVdimAQGo/s968/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.04.07+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="642" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnCi078ca9IaWRbxT9K44yBcSXQKqt4MmjwXRv0pdonctQNMbwVXo85nARvD7cmorHpTkLPfSl58ZgLZHWpvwiLy-ybjZq0F1BUluQXHDDYhfGC5j99u94WzKrvo_9Q-8p1EVdimAQGo/w265-h400/Screenshot+2021-06-29+at+6.04.07+pm.png" width="265" /></a></div><br /><p>I've also been wandering my local area again, spotting quiet areas I've not paid much attention to including - like a teenage goth - a disused cemetery near me. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h3mnLkqMJPCdxJxN4tJFgMA0HDm9WJPxg5y_vazMtti9GkMFIL5LI_cVKvSWCiPMiEQaYlafR11n2w4-ilD8wl1tAL1DTNkpKa6AFRPrzFzcEx8D87C7NpR9DbdL282Q5H05SER0m3I/s1494/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.15.30+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1494" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h3mnLkqMJPCdxJxN4tJFgMA0HDm9WJPxg5y_vazMtti9GkMFIL5LI_cVKvSWCiPMiEQaYlafR11n2w4-ilD8wl1tAL1DTNkpKa6AFRPrzFzcEx8D87C7NpR9DbdL282Q5H05SER0m3I/w400-h264/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.15.30+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgkniED5N8I9CsknVes8tVYnYhhn88RLiA26fhHgwzkodLda1XTtX27wEI9KrpAK7JvFnpgmMOJkWTlfG8eawafU6bsQ8BKyy63aCFC1rfJRAv8XflO4i2JpgFZgMsTTwEdpwDyPlR7I/s1488/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.16.15+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1488" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgkniED5N8I9CsknVes8tVYnYhhn88RLiA26fhHgwzkodLda1XTtX27wEI9KrpAK7JvFnpgmMOJkWTlfG8eawafU6bsQ8BKyy63aCFC1rfJRAv8XflO4i2JpgFZgMsTTwEdpwDyPlR7I/w400-h265/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.16.15+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5IOPXM_GXwy-wVr3TyPkAYXArvglKFHLOm8X7O_k_jb2EcynsWsMnlKKmOXOabu3NeAjrb2cH9kU0_uYSHxB6eT0vpqvI_6PA-6NVWWSf5qF5oBna2FoSQPy0IzHGiOgg2nypEjFmnE/s2048/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.16.35+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="2048" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5IOPXM_GXwy-wVr3TyPkAYXArvglKFHLOm8X7O_k_jb2EcynsWsMnlKKmOXOabu3NeAjrb2cH9kU0_uYSHxB6eT0vpqvI_6PA-6NVWWSf5qF5oBna2FoSQPy0IzHGiOgg2nypEjFmnE/w400-h165/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.16.35+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlU3JF2vZOCGrjbbWzr1y_6ish8LdjWTCHdI_C93geB3E85PYuzCSIwCWbBF04UeybhA0aYBGuDGBaELJcu0OBUuYgWKkMbpdHz1PCaEwkJFnt1BmcV4j58pKOHa4VgM5gZeR7nA7JxDY/s936/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.17.22+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="654" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlU3JF2vZOCGrjbbWzr1y_6ish8LdjWTCHdI_C93geB3E85PYuzCSIwCWbBF04UeybhA0aYBGuDGBaELJcu0OBUuYgWKkMbpdHz1PCaEwkJFnt1BmcV4j58pKOHa4VgM5gZeR7nA7JxDY/w280-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.17.22+pm.png" width="280" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsopyZrLHsG5fy58BcD3VjSHs6x7t-Nr0jFLd2XqA3iKoLfErb6q5mr-bdyVA837TtTzFdgrhhV4MREHVuGavjfAx_59UjB7SnAXFdW0cgXfQyQJZTKT9A9YEyX1UCIDxzJpGEuMnxODI/s1904/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.17.59+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1904" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsopyZrLHsG5fy58BcD3VjSHs6x7t-Nr0jFLd2XqA3iKoLfErb6q5mr-bdyVA837TtTzFdgrhhV4MREHVuGavjfAx_59UjB7SnAXFdW0cgXfQyQJZTKT9A9YEyX1UCIDxzJpGEuMnxODI/w400-h193/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.17.59+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPejh6iPVdztuheUIUPY9sWXWM3MKEWvwmgGQjS8JfyUslilx5JbuLkjDX9XPytf41TwYwEPAyXksNKm_8JuXmbCIlbiv5_pPC8OicN52gAmHKU8xMHCHQXhnefE1mlUMJgiof52b4rQA/s1464/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.18.29+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1464" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPejh6iPVdztuheUIUPY9sWXWM3MKEWvwmgGQjS8JfyUslilx5JbuLkjDX9XPytf41TwYwEPAyXksNKm_8JuXmbCIlbiv5_pPC8OicN52gAmHKU8xMHCHQXhnefE1mlUMJgiof52b4rQA/w400-h243/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.18.29+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbafVieTtPTPKsSE9f0OhEEoOYyYvHbjysh-v3aqoITlEYhNpeagTmoshUdvCGwdJ6meO0Oi6sqAbSyf6VSYZimq0rFab-sxr3B5vKFpgX6Jkh4DglOVl_6xnBrZJ0_StAA01Af3wq7wA/s1540/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.19.24+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1540" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbafVieTtPTPKsSE9f0OhEEoOYyYvHbjysh-v3aqoITlEYhNpeagTmoshUdvCGwdJ6meO0Oi6sqAbSyf6VSYZimq0rFab-sxr3B5vKFpgX6Jkh4DglOVl_6xnBrZJ0_StAA01Af3wq7wA/w400-h258/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.19.24+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMwhnh7eQoU634kXTlpMQ88c30ITwPbTdOkeOebn6-_1y9zGKCEzIHuoq5UOcEbEWZw9YS0W7hn__5mM6Sem6IPa2U-LN-HAHMMno9Ani-Ts4w-6yXGM5lfBCqeiDQvVXw9TvasFhWnk/s966/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.22.33+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="654" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMwhnh7eQoU634kXTlpMQ88c30ITwPbTdOkeOebn6-_1y9zGKCEzIHuoq5UOcEbEWZw9YS0W7hn__5mM6Sem6IPa2U-LN-HAHMMno9Ani-Ts4w-6yXGM5lfBCqeiDQvVXw9TvasFhWnk/w271-h400/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+2.22.33+pm.png" width="271" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVF94nWUhDy5b7SnNGQ3ZlIQuBck8CRCup53hDxtu8lHkhv2OU9Dl-E_kjA3cuPEFYKEJTSZAMwcvMS8ULt9wL6_3EgvX3o7w2f_94tYZTM8EBNvP1TpR7gF46mnEjBu4CvjGZle2bAEg/s1488/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+12.23.18+pm.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="1488" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVF94nWUhDy5b7SnNGQ3ZlIQuBck8CRCup53hDxtu8lHkhv2OU9Dl-E_kjA3cuPEFYKEJTSZAMwcvMS8ULt9wL6_3EgvX3o7w2f_94tYZTM8EBNvP1TpR7gF46mnEjBu4CvjGZle2bAEg/w400-h264/Screenshot+2021-07-01+at+12.23.18+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-80964874628379532062021-06-09T23:51:00.005+01:002021-06-09T23:51:50.214+01:00And then there were two…<p>So The Donald has given up on <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/alerts" target="_blank">his blog</a> after a mere month, leaving <a href="https://dominiccummings.com">Dominic Cummings</a> and your humble correspondent as the final providers of semi-long form content on the open web (I'm not counting those guys - and they are mostly guys - on Substack: it's a rigged deck and it's a subscription service. Asking you for money would only cheapen the deep and abiding relationship between us, right?). I'm not surprised Donald can't hack it - churning out 400 words of eyeball-grabbing mediocre content on a semi-weekly basis is tough, especially if your daily routine consists mostly of cheating at golf and sexually assaulting passing life-forms. It's the same for me. I sit in a room doing admin, with occasional breaks to read books, polish my bald spot ('burnishing my crown') or sit haplessly on a bicycle - the only aspect of my life in which 'career' has any relevance). And yet here I am, a thirteen-year veteran of the Blog Wars, atop a pile of my so-called rivals' skulls. Where are they now? (On Instagram, mostly). </p><p>I therefore declare victory, in the Agricolan sense: as <a href="https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/readings/agricola.html" target="_blank">Tacitus claims</a> Celtic warrior Calgacus put it in his speech about the Romans in Britain: 'they make a desert and call it peace'. The question is, what to do with this space now it's all mine? There's always the Father Ted option:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="296" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kOzNsQyamvk" width="356" youtube-src-id="kOzNsQyamvk"></iframe></div><br /><p>On second thoughts, perhaps just the usual mix of second-hand opinions and second-rate lo-fi. And books. I've retreated back to my happy place recently - the interwar period. I'm on work by two immigrants to Britain at the moment: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Arlen" target="_blank">Michael Arlen</a>'s short stories, <i>These Charming People </i>and now I'm on the new unexpurgated diaries of Henry Channon. The Arlen is interesting. He was an Armenian who wrote a hit novel <i>The Green Hat</i>, essays, film scripts, plays and short stories mostly revolving around the somewhat unmoored lives of the post-war aristocratic set. Quite a change from my usual 1930s diet of proletarian Welsh fiction, but culturally significant nonetheless. The stories are interesting and not, as I expected, entirely adoring of the smart set: there's an outsider's perspective that throws the inner lives of his subjects into sharp contrast with the horrors their older siblings endured. </p><p>The Channon diaries are very different. This is volume 1, 1000 pages of an American incomer's account of his life in the real equivalent of Arlen's cast. The censored version published in the late 1960s caused a scandal; this new edition exposes the names and adds some racier details to his voyage through the <i>beau-monde</i>. Channon was wholly funded by other people's money and never once worked for his living, had sex with a lot of titled people of both sexes, wrote a couple of bad novels and was a Conservative MP for a while, hence his relevance to my politicians' novels project. It's replete with racism ('the black races start at Calais' sticks in my mind), the most appalling social climbing and snobbery (quite a lot of kings, queens and dukes are described as 'vulgar'), and the endless stream of footnotes document the very long lives of triple-surnamed cads and butterflies almost all of whom should have had an early date with the guillotine while constantly denigrating others for their social-climbing and snobbery, and a real, heartfelt fear and hatred of the working-class. Labour Party victories and strikes are seen as the start of socialist revolution, while Channon yearns for absolute monarchy, the violent suppression of the workers and the worst excesses of Catholicism, a church he adores while being too cowardly to join, aware that Jews and Catholics are less welcome in the great houses of England. </p><p>The one thing that Channon gets right, ironically, is his analysis of the wannabe-fuhrcer Oswald Mosley, whom he knew well. Channon shares an awful lot of Mosley's prejudices and became a huge admirer of Mussolini and Hitler, but perceives Mosley's egotism, arrogance, neediness and lack of principles pretty early on. It's not the politics he objects to, but the person embodying British fascism. </p><p>It's kind of interesting reading the Arlen and the Channon simultaneously. The diaries are relentless, eventually running to 3000+ pages even with editing. There are occasional risqué thrills, but the repetitive nature of Channon's vicious superficiality and the endless cycle of balls, gossip, fallings-out, misguidedly confident political and social judgments and so on very quickly form the case for the prosecution rather than - as he fondly assumes - a celebration of the <i>ancien regime</i>. The enormous gap between the roles played by many of the cast - as government ministers, advisers or public figures - and their inner lives or lack of them is brutally exposed by Channon's chronicle of their daily activities. The very shape of the Arlen's work casts them in a much better light. Slightly reminiscent of Katherine Mansfield's allusive style, Arlen depicts his aristocratic characters as thinking, feeling people possessed by deep melancholy, unmoored from purpose and broken to some extent by the mass slaughter of the first world war and social change that they don't understand. It might be that Channon's account is accidentally more truthful: the few toffs I've met have been emotionally capable of little more than celebrating pheasant-murder, but Arlen at least affords them the potential to feel deeply their loss of agency, and awareness of their increasing marginality. Not that they became socially or economically marginal, despite the advent of death duties etc., but they have been comprehensively outnumbered and culturally isolated. So in some ways the Arlen is reminiscent of Lampedusa's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Leopard" target="_blank">The Leopard</a></i> with more jokes. He played up to the dandy image in 1920s Britain, driving a yellow Rolls and wearing outrageous clothes, but there's a Wildean satirical sensibility in play I think, a kind of doubleness if you pay attention, whereas Channon is so needy, so self-hating (he was deeply ashamed of being an American) that he lacks any critical distance from his own or others' behaviour, at least in the diaries. I'm trying to track down copies of his novels for my project but none have popped up for sale yet. </p><p>Would I recommend either of them? Definitely the Arlen. The Channon diaries are a substantial historic record and hurling it away in frustration would constitute a decent work-out. As a stylist though…no. </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-91022957704814217592021-05-24T23:04:00.001+01:002021-05-24T23:04:48.457+01:00Some jingle-jangle evening<p> I didn't get very far with my trawl through the 7" collection: months later and we're still on A. I'd claim pressure of work but those who know me are aware that hard labour is my Kryptonite. But today was a difficult one - I was the external examiner for a PhD dissertation that we gave an M. Phil to - still a huge achievement but not was anyone wanted. Tomorrow is an all-day validation even for an Open University course, so I'm feeling exhausted. What could be more relaxing than delving back into my collection of forgotten and slightly mediocre 90s indie records? </p><p>Which is to say…hello <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_(band)" target="_blank">Astrid</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8iNM2njFr4P_-qGRvkOWoewSU3WJEiws5LnTBJvgMZNQTdX1PWI3DrtY5i6y6vVI1_FZqp9COItopYwtYIw5FxA9CzXunKn7_SX6Sgbf5XJhtnmkkopEVcG7FdokYzXwFxncxXdR0O9s/s1186/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.01+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1186" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8iNM2njFr4P_-qGRvkOWoewSU3WJEiws5LnTBJvgMZNQTdX1PWI3DrtY5i6y6vVI1_FZqp9COItopYwtYIw5FxA9CzXunKn7_SX6Sgbf5XJhtnmkkopEVcG7FdokYzXwFxncxXdR0O9s/w400-h334/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.01+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAQRjLVmh9rWkxPa_gHrJGZOPweN4NmARFxSO-FfwkQxNqaCUnJo8g0C5-FPRFzwLmGPqQFCkgiEfqXMdhFhvak8qS9ZAWB1rW6ohxA4Sy1FUeLMaKT6YBvaH1H4Ns9x31jXYnnppy5k/s1628/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.17+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1628" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAQRjLVmh9rWkxPa_gHrJGZOPweN4NmARFxSO-FfwkQxNqaCUnJo8g0C5-FPRFzwLmGPqQFCkgiEfqXMdhFhvak8qS9ZAWB1rW6ohxA4Sy1FUeLMaKT6YBvaH1H4Ns9x31jXYnnppy5k/w400-h244/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.17+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzcKWwdrMW2w6MSw8x8aNz_fRhHWl9qbXayACpVnFqCnheI-9egpjYFu8YLP7F-_MnneftBDp4p5XH-3XqXoCpHVI1ijkxxNDlV1MRI7oQDSLc99xUf7jjmoEzkgN-ypikmxcSV5NGFM/s1490/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.29+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1490" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzcKWwdrMW2w6MSw8x8aNz_fRhHWl9qbXayACpVnFqCnheI-9egpjYFu8YLP7F-_MnneftBDp4p5XH-3XqXoCpHVI1ijkxxNDlV1MRI7oQDSLc99xUf7jjmoEzkgN-ypikmxcSV5NGFM/w400-h266/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.29+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wxPiILCqBlBAlKOYeghdlPdQWBya3T_J_BVV6n4uZ6Cji8dkS7AM34orX7UGHOVxdaw0cVR3TDBdPm_A-Ib7fi0NHWV6ADq9Ile_JyRvMVndElPcMWyuieD74D5_5C8UtfCp9-SCPCA/s986/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.40+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="986" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wxPiILCqBlBAlKOYeghdlPdQWBya3T_J_BVV6n4uZ6Cji8dkS7AM34orX7UGHOVxdaw0cVR3TDBdPm_A-Ib7fi0NHWV6ADq9Ile_JyRvMVndElPcMWyuieD74D5_5C8UtfCp9-SCPCA/w400-h399/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.40+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2j1TjgsOwWb5OIS3rFsYFpNUXoVePbrIQx58q8a3dL4liCx7gOAFYjcon9K1IAmMp_nJUmImkdYme4_6Y9YhcgDaUkJTblgRzZpYpM5r3X1csRiLISgmqACJ7YCDUYleqdzStesW8p4/s1086/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.52+pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1086" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2j1TjgsOwWb5OIS3rFsYFpNUXoVePbrIQx58q8a3dL4liCx7gOAFYjcon9K1IAmMp_nJUmImkdYme4_6Y9YhcgDaUkJTblgRzZpYpM5r3X1csRiLISgmqACJ7YCDUYleqdzStesW8p4/w400-h365/Screenshot+2021-05-24+at+10.25.52+pm.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>I obviously liked them because I ordered their records in advance, from the earliest quite cheap productions, to the snazzy ones with free stuff on coloured vinyl when their label thought they were going somewhere, and back again. Could I hum one before playing them? No. </p><p>Predictably (if you've been following this series) they're Scottish. All guitar-pop bands from the 1990s are. It's like Teenage Fanclub or Orange Juice had a breeding programme, and indeed Edwin Collins produced their first album and members have been in Texas and Idlewild. There must be something in the shortbread…or the legacy of all those US airbases with their radio stations (also the reason why <a href="Country'n'Irish" target="_blank">Country'n'Irish</a> is big in the border counties of Ireland. </p><p>You can probably guess what Astrid sound like. Jangly close-harmony guitar pop! And very pleasant it is too. Without meaning any disrespect to the band, their cover of Sleigh Ride is the pick of the lot - perky, cheerful and committed. I just love Scottish bands doing unexpected covers: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpuqBK3_ofc" target="_blank">the Delgados' Peel Sessions version of 'Mr Blue Sky</a>' is far superior to the original, and Spare Snare's cover of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3DLpB89ois" target="_blank">'Say My Name'</a> is, well, it just is. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="313" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DquIp6VVg_M" width="376" youtube-src-id="DquIp6VVg_M"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="308" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/abDEO92JGVA" width="371" youtube-src-id="abDEO92JGVA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zZeeNUJz9V0" width="379" youtube-src-id="zZeeNUJz9V0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="305" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KuslP1p0b64" width="367" youtube-src-id="KuslP1p0b64"></iframe></div></div><p><br /></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-41997715346494829982021-05-21T13:43:00.002+01:002021-05-21T13:43:34.388+01:00Incredible<p>It's the middle of the marking period (a phoney war: so many have extensions that there will be No Summer For Vole) and I'm immersed in a PhD thesis that's frankly proving quite a struggle, so obviously my mind is wandering all over the place while I lie awake at night. Yesterday's musing was prompted by the memory of a (rare) text from my dear old mum, demanding to know why I'm not on WhatsApp. My reply ('I'm not 13') was deemed unsatisfactory and resulted in an absolute and unanswerable zinger: 'neither am i im in a group with 4 nuns'.* I do worry about old peoples' literacy sometimes: give them a phone and they think all the rules go out of the window. </p><p>Presentational quibbling aside, it did make me wonder what life looks like from the inside of religious belief. It must be so very different. I should point out that I'm an atheist, and a Catholic atheist at that. I was brought up firmly within church life - serving on the altar, singing in the choir, attending multiple services that protestant atheists might not have even come across - benediction, decades of the rosary and more (never an exorcism, sadly). Sometimes my parents reminded me of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwQr3VcoUvM" target="_blank">Homer Simpson looking for an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwQr3VcoUvM" target="_blank">, driving round until 3 a.m</a>. looking for More Mass, preferably in Latin. I'm not sure I ever had - or even understood - what it meant to believe in a deity and the specific one I spent so much time ritualising, but my subsequent lack of belief definitely has the Catholic version as its reference point - incense, music, fabrics, elaborate architecture. Part of my research is Welsh literature, which of course deals with chapel protestantism and its influence to a degree. It's fascinating, and I can see the bones of an entire culture delineated in the spare, austere chapels and their cultural products, but the post-Calvinist atheists nor the C of E ones are like me either. I've always been drawn to the deeply-democratic elements of reform - the Quakers and the swirl of dissenters around in the seventeenth-century - but also repulsed by the purism and what some of them became - just look at Northern Ireland's Free Presbyterians, the Westboro Baptists, or the Protestant group that heckled and picketed me and my church's trip to Walsingham shrine because we were Doing It Wrong, as if jeering an eight-year old from the roadside is the way to elucidate the finer points of theology. </p><p>I also often wonder what the social experience of belief must be like. Imagine being a Christian in about 500AD - yes, your friends and family might occasionally be carted off to the slave pits or be amusingly murdered for the entertainment of the local in-crowd, but presumably there was some sense of being in on the ground floor of something big like holding on to Apple shares in the late 1990s or buying an early Tesla. Later of course, they got to share the imperial pomp of late-medieval and early moderns Catholicism - now it's your turn to burn the splitters, invade vast swathes of the world and generally lord it over everybody, all while cosseted by the finest art, architecture, music and literature available.** Good times. What's it like now though? Being in a congregation of 30 in a building designed for hundreds? Does the fire of belief and knowing you're right keep you warm, or do you wonder where everyone's gone and whether they're right to be jogging or watching TV? Perhaps the last adherents to the Roman gods felt the same way. </p><p>Of course this all assumes that religious belief and my former brand of it is in decline - perhaps this is a white European perspective, and perhaps only applies to Catholicism and the more organised splinter groups like the C of E - I confess I don't understand the post-religious spiritualists among us either. I can't stand the smug, aggressive Dawkins and Co brand of atheism, but I do wonder how crystal healing, for instance, survives when basic science explained well is available at the click of a button for free. I think I understand the decline of religion and the rise of post-religious spiritualism as a product of the Higher Criticism, Victorian science, psychology and the post-Enlightenment collapse, but I just don't have a gap in my psyche that belief would fill. My library is stuffed by genuinely great works fuelled by belief; I'm listening right now to Leighton's <i>Mass For Double Choir</i> and it's thrilling but I have to assume I'm getting a partial experience because what feels like the numinous is purely aesthetic for me. In a way I regret having a poor-quality Latin A-level: I can understand just enough of the words to stop the music washing over me without getting annoyed by the attitudes contained within. </p><p>Mind you, I don't get Tamagotchis, SUVs, jeggings, sunbathing, royalism, Subway or Ariana Grande either, so maybe it's just me. I do like ironing though. Maybe that's my church. </p><p><br /></p><p>*I'm friends with several actual clerics and the philosophical gulf between us just adds to the pleasure. It helps that they have a degree of doctrinal flexibility I don't recall the stick-wielding monks and nuns of my childhood displaying. </p><p>** Yes I'm aware that religious impulses have fuelled great acts of charity and education. But I've read enough Kant to know that one shouldn't need a big man in the sky judging you to make you feed your fellow creatures. </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-19490798214344778232021-05-10T15:36:00.003+01:002021-05-10T15:36:31.128+01:00Stop all the clocks…<p>While I was queuing to vote the other day my eye fell on the private school across the road. It's a pretty standard bit of Victorian faux-Oxford, faux-baronial nonsense. The castellations tell you something about its relationship to the largely poor streets inhabited by kids who go to rather less aspirational schools elsewhere. </p><p>Something else struck me about it too. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IW-XIlImtpaaUb0sHTWC0lUUCVjrq_yqIs8oC2nac_Itu9MQBSPEwB2kcdqTzD3nqXtvXrdcKEe96hzV9-ehpICtav3G23Dqc4-qk0mYP8vD_XrSmFSGCeLtGkP2xrxaSfrGW2-wYLs/s2048/5D443D86-BB60-4E03-8F94-E857B0D78B0A.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IW-XIlImtpaaUb0sHTWC0lUUCVjrq_yqIs8oC2nac_Itu9MQBSPEwB2kcdqTzD3nqXtvXrdcKEe96hzV9-ehpICtav3G23Dqc4-qk0mYP8vD_XrSmFSGCeLtGkP2xrxaSfrGW2-wYLs/w300-h400/5D443D86-BB60-4E03-8F94-E857B0D78B0A.heic" width="300" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Check out the clock, or rather the absence of one. Built in a period in which timekeeping was becoming more important, but reliable clocks and watches were expensive, lots of public and private institutions included clocks on their buildings - partly altruistically and partly as a means of controlling the kind of mass workforces that worked shifts. The clock clearly intended for this tower would primarily encourage discipline in its students, but could also have been a public gesture for those who could see through, but never cross, the railings that protect the young ladies and gentlemen from the less fortunate. Why was it never added? Was it thought to be the equivalent of virtue-signalling and ditched as the school became a proudly insular engine of class division. Why spend money on the oiks?<p></p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-29649749692457737232021-05-07T17:20:00.002+01:002021-05-07T17:20:42.976+01:00The rain has fallen with a particular sickening thud…<p> Hi Don, hi Dom. </p><p>I mean, of course, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/04/trump-website-facebook-485370">Trump</a> and <a href="https://dominiccummings.com" target="_blank">Cummings</a>, the other two washed-up figures clinging desperately to blogging as a means of howling into the electronic void despite clear evidence that everyone else has moved onto Instagram, Tik-Tok or something I'm too old to even have heard about. In my defence, I'm not actively evil nor do I go back and edit my blog to falsify my powers of prediction. And I've never been to Barnard Castle. I can't even drive. </p><p>And yet here we are, the Last Bloggers. Don's been cut off from Twitter of course, a medium to which he was more suited, in that there's very little blank space to fill with ideas. Dom's a creature of the 90s like me though - the generation that saw the internet as a place of total freedom, anarchy or libertarianism depending on your perspective - John Barlow's <i><a href="https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence">Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace</a></i> was <i>huge</i> when I first ventured online, though even back then I thought it leaned worryingly towards the macho libertarian rather than levelled the playing field for the proletariat. Still, the idea of ideas being constantly circulated without being throttled by corporate interests, government or the established media was hugely exciting. I was always convinced that corporate interests would abolish the liberatory potential of the internet - we're virtually all trapped in their private imitations of it now - but I was naive enough to think that new spaces would encourage new, democratic and better behaviours. In actual fact, we imported and amplified the worst aspects of habitual behaviour, encouraged by anonymity (of which I'm generally a fan) and the ease of reaching a big audience fast by being witty, snarky, cutting or just plain vile. The attraction of blogging for Cummings of course is that there are no editors or interruptions - it's a monologue. </p><p>My meatspace following was distinctly limited: perhaps there might be enough saddoes online to boost my ego, given the global reach of the internet. I actually started this blog back in 2008 as part of an MA class in Media and Cultural Studies: I asked the students to start blogging as a practical demonstration of the format's structures, potential and limitations, especially the non-essentialist sense that while one's online self might not be any more 'real' than one's physical manifestation, it provided the opportunity for a different kind of performance (why yes, I was reading Judith Butler at the time and later Anderson's <i>Imagined Communities</i>) . It didn't go very well and none of them were inspired to continue, but I found it a useful outlet for views/rants/observations my friends had had quite enough of already thank you. It also kept me writing when the PhD was going nowhere.</p><p>My blogging has declined significantly in recent years. I'm busier than ever, I'm getting too old to keep up with the cultural twists and turns, and I can feel my opinions solidifying or settling, depending on how you see it, while simultaneously feeling less and less like I have anything to add to public debate. I can see why so many newspapers employ Oxbridge-educated columnists: coming up with an authoritative piece about something you previously knew little about to a tight deadline is both difficult and an extension of those universities' pedagogical model. Today's British elections are a case in point. My general sense is that the English electorate in particular is becoming very rightwing and will vote for any party that promises easy answers (especially if blaming foreigners is one of the options) - there are no longer any votes in being nice, kind, thoughtful or honest. They voted for Brexit in a spasm of revenge against a world that left them behind, and the very politicians who left them behind are now encouraging them to double down on the idea that a glorious past is within reach as long as you don't let those bourgeois southerners distract you with talk of corpses and corruption. I don't think it matters what Labour does: in the words of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Tuck">Dick Tuck</a>, 'the people have spoken, the bastards'. I was thinking today of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Prophecy_Fails" target="_blank">Leon Festinger's classic 1956 study <i>When Prophecy Fails</i></a>. It's complicated and in many ways outdated (and ethically dubious), but it followed an apocalyptic UFO cult which confidently predicted the end of the world on a specific date. When the date came and went, the core group didn't disband and reassess their ideas: they adjusted the technical calculations but doubled down on their beliefs - partly because it's psychologically easier to do that than admit to being plain wrong. You adjust the world to your beliefs, rather than vice versa. Perhaps the Corbynites are, or the Starmer supporters, and I definitely think the Brexit-supporters are, which probably makes me a deluded 'Seeker' too - the more Britain descends into reaction the more certain I am that it's wrong and I'm right. </p><p>I saw Peter Mandelson opining today that the only response to defeat in Hartlepool is for the Labour Party to adopt the mindset of the Brexiters. Then what? Why bother professing anything other than what you think people will vote for. Just confirm the prejudices of a group of people whose views you find abhorrent and win elections - but then what do you do once there? But if you <i>don't</i>, you never get elected again especially under Britain's deeply stupid electoral system. It's a conundrum I certainly can't answer - all I have to offer is a numbing sense of depression and a reminder (one I give my students quite often) is that the progress of time does not equal progress. Things sometimes get better until they don't. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it isn't: my view on what we currently call the internet is that it's infinitely worse but feels better because it's so quick and shiny. </p><p>Obviously none of this is particularly kind or original, and gets us nowhere, which is why it's appearing on a blog and not, for example, on the comment pages of the <i>Observer</i>. I can't go on. I'll go on. Perhaps less frequently. There's something quite freeing in writing things that have no readership.</p><p>On a lighter note though, I've read some very good books recently. If there's anyone out there, I heartily recommend <a href="https://ambientehotel.wordpress.com/about/">M John Harrison</a>'s beautiful, disturbing <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/19/the-sunken-land-begins-to-rise-again-by-m-john-harrison-review-brilliantly-unsettling">The Sunken Land Begins To Rise Again</a> </i>(which is also a fine addition to the short shelf of Shropshire novels alongside Mary Webb and PG Wodehouse's work) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_Clarke" target="_blank">Susanna Clarke</a>'s <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/17/piranesi-by-susanna-clarke-review-an-elegant-study-in-solitude" target="_blank">Piranesi</a></i>. They both take an oblique, fantasy-tinged approach to contemporary identity issues and I loved them both. <i>Piranesi </i>is amazingly different in tone, intention and style to <i>Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - </i>a real surprise. I've liked Harrison's work ever since a friend gave me one of his Viroconium novels back in the mid-90s - I don't know many authors who are so at home in a range of genres, and it's great to see him get some mainstream recognition after decades as a cult figure. This particular novel has echoes of the London psychogeographers, Jonathan Coe's <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/16/middle-england-by-jonathan-coe-review" target="_blank">Middle England</a></i> (also partly set in Shropshire - it's having a moment), Jeff Noon's recent folk-horror <i><a href="https://zachary-houle.medium.com/a-review-of-jeff-noons-creeping-jenny-17b4306f3e08" target="_blank">Creeping Jenny</a></i> and Angela Carter and some of Jo Walton's work - all books in which something is going radically wrong just out of sight. </p><p>I also read and really enjoyed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_Davies" target="_blank">Robertson Davies</a>'s <i>What's Bred in the Bone</i> - an old-fashioned novel of ideas by a semi-forgotten author. He was Canadian, but as his father was Welsh and he lived for a while in Y Trallwng, I might find a way to write something on him within my field. My next book is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Arlen" target="_blank">Michael Arlen</a>'s <i>These Charming People</i>, a Waugh-like collection of short stories set in the brittle world of the 1920s smart set. </p><p>Enjoy your weekend. </p>The Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.com2