99% is ....... The Barnet Eye

Music, football, Dyslexia, Cancer and all things London Borough of Barnet. Please note we have a two comments per person per blog rule.

Thursday, 30 June 2016

Andrea Leadsome - The Conservative Corbyn

The difference between Labour and the Conservatives is that the Tories have always put self preservation before principle. The party at large has always been way to the right of its MPs. I genuinely believe most Tory activists have never really twigged this fact.

One of the unfortunate side effects of the EU referendum is that now the fact that most Tory MPs are far more sensible than the rest of the party has been laid bare.

What we are seeing in the Labour Party is a graphic demonstration of when a party leader reflects the party rather than the MPs. Having seen how this plays out, you may wonder how the usually pragmatic Tories would respond. We may find out rather soon. The Tory equivalent of Corbyn is mulling a bid for leadership. Her name is Andrea Leadsome. She is hard Leave. She is a mirror of Tory activist middle England. If you are not a Tory activist, you've probably never heard of her. If you are, the mere mention of her name will elevate you to a state of political orgasmic delight. Are the Tories bonkers enough to elect her? I've no idea, but in this year of the Political Apocalypse 😜 nothing would surprise me
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Wednesday, 29 June 2016

the filth and the fury as the Labour Party impodes

Give me the top five reasons why the UK Electorate voted to leave the EU. I'll give you mine.

1. The right wing stirred up resentment of immigrants and blamed the EU.
2. The UK electorate felt that the EU threatened the sovereignty of the UK.
3. UK workers were scared of losing jobs to migrant workers.
4. The Leave campaign managed to convince the UK electorate that Camerons deal was bogus and that Cameron and Osborne were lying to them.
5. UK voters were lead to believe there would be more moeny for the NHS if we left the EU.

Over the course of the campaign, I heard these themes repeated time and time again. It seemed to me that the more Remain politicians campaigned, the less the public trusted them. I suspect that if the Remain campaign had banned all politicians from campaigning and simply got  economists, professors and business leaders to spell the case, Remain would have won. I may be wrong, just my hunch, but I truly believe that the input of politicians was massively counter productive.

And what two UK Politicians did more to undermine the trust of the British  public than any other in living memory? Well in my opinion Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson. I believe that these two have done more damage to the trust of the British people than the rest of them put together. Blair will forever be remembered for the dodgy dossier. Whilst many politicians tell lies, few in our lifetime have told lies with such disasterous consequences as Blair. I've no idea how many people died as a result of Blairs porkies, but a whole region of the world is in flames as a result. It is my firm belief that without Blair's lies, the US would not have embarked on the second gulf war. If this had been avoided, then we wouldn't be seeing ISIS terrorising hundreds of thoiusands. As for Mandelson, has anyone ever been less trusted by the public? Mandelson was kicked out of the cabinet for dodgy dealing, but Tony brought him back as soon as was possible. What message did this send?

I was a Labour party member from 1980 until 2009. I stood by the party through thick and thin, but in September 2009, I could stand no more. The final straw was the behaviour of Alan Johnson on Sky news, when the Sangatte refugee camp in France was cleared by French riot police. There were many things I had unforgivably excused, but the sight of Alan Johnson praising the French riot police for beating up innocent women and children in the process of clearing the camp was too much for me. Whatever the Labour party was or wasn't , when a senior member praised violenceby a paramilitary force against women and children, it was the end.

Many people (especially on the Leave side), seem to see refugees as in some way inferior to us. I don't. We are all human beings, we all bleed the same red blood. We all hurt when we are hit. As far as I am concerned I am no better than anyone and probably a lot worse than many. I was born and raised and in a rich country, into a stable family life, with well off parents. I've never wanted for anything. I've never had to go hungry, sleep rough or sell my ass for my next meal. I've made my own choices. Anyone who has ever worked with refugees knows that horror stories abound. Refugees deserve our compassion. Given that the actions of our government has created the situations they find themselves in, we really should bear some degree of responsibility, but sadly the last Labour government took none and showed zero compassion.

As far as I am concerned, the last Labour administration was morally bankrupt. That was not what I wanted to say, I spent years in denial. But it was the truth. At the end of 2009, I joined the Lib Dems, for the simple reason that I felt their principled stand against the Iraq war was something I wished to associate myself with. My politics are centre left. I felt comfortable with many of the policies of the Lib Dems. Sadly the 2010 coalition with the Tories ended that relationship, almost before it had really started.The abandonment of the student loans pledge convinced me I'd made a mistake in joining the party.

After the 2015 election, I realised I'd made a mistake. I have spent the last year agonising over where I should hang my political hat. It is 100% clear to everyone who is not a complete basket case, that for all their faults the Lib Dems prevented the Tories from destroying the country. Labour were a different proposition. I have met Jeremy Corbyn on several occasions. He has always supported the people of Barnet. He joined us on marches in the snow. He truned up to screenings of our films in the Commons. He gave me faith that Labour hadn't lost its soul or its integrity. I don't agree with Corbyn on macro economics. I do however think he is decent and honest. I recognised exactly why he was needed in British politics. With his massive mandate from Labour members, I felt that if the party rallied around him and united, then Labour would have a chance. I believed Corbyn had given Labour a chance to re-establish its credentials as a party of honesty and integrity.

The last week has shown just how dishonest and untrustworthy the Labour Party is. As I mentioned at the start of this blog there are numerous reasons that the electorate voted to keave the EU. No one has said it was because Jeremy Corbyn didn't campaign hard enough. Whilst some said that Blair and Mandelson had put them off, none said the same of Corbyn. But the last few days has seen a clearly stage managed procession of disloyal Shadow cabinet minister resigning,. Only a fool would believe this wasn't planned for months. Whilst politicians constantly lecture us on the need to respect democracy, it seems that Labour MP's don't see the need to apply this rule to themselves in respect to the leadership of the their own party.

I can understand that Labour MP's don't like Corbyn. I can understand that they may wish for one of the "in crowd" to be leader. I am no fool and I realise that as soon as a new leader is elected, ambitious MP's start thinking about the next leader. What I can't understand is how they blame Corbyn for all Labours ills, when they have done everything to undermine him. Never has a Labour Leader had less support from his own MP's. Sadly the civil war they are starting, on completely spurious grounds, will rip the Labour Party apart. The members who flocked to Corbyn, in unprecendented numbers will be completely disenchanted with the party and I can only see a civil war, which only the Tories will win.

No wonder David Cameron was keen to knife Corbyn at PMQ's. He knows that a Labour civil war will guarantee the Tories at the ballot box. The sad truth is that Labour lost the trust of its own members and the public through the lies and poor conduct of Blair and Mandelson. Now the Blairites have the audacity to blame Corbyn for the lack of public trust in politicians. The horrible truth is that the biggest losers in all of this are the weak, the vulnerable and the disabled. The thing that terrifies me is that this will give the Tory hard right encouragement. They will see this as a green light to replace Cameron with a true hard right figure. Such a figure would normally be electoral poison, but with a fragmented Labour party, they will see a unique window of opportunity. If such a nighmare scenario emerges, it will be the fault of the disloyal Labour MP's who have put their own personal vanity before the democratic will of the party. I don't think Corbyn was perfect, but how can anyone have expected him to succeed if he spent all his time looking over his shoulder, waiting for the knfe in the back. What shocks me most is that all of the Blairites I've spoken to think what has happened is bloody marvellous. Personally it makes me sick,


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Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Don't blame Roy Hodgson, blame The FA for Englands years of failure

The press has been full of it. The phone in shows ablaze with it. The pubs are belowing steam with it. The whole country seems to have unified in bilious contempt for Roy Hodgson and the England team. We hear that Roy didn't have a plan, Roy hadn't prepared the team, Roy didn't know what he was doing. As I sat watching last night, I too felt frustrated and angry. However, in the cold light of day, I think we all need to stand back and take a look at what happened. England were desperately unlucky against Russia to concede a soft goal in the 92nd minute. Against Wales, Hodgson was lauded for his brave substitutions. Then what happened. The FA announced that Hodgsons job was on the line. We all saw a graphic illustration of how managerial uncertainty affects a team with the implosion of Manchester City's title attempt, when the club announced that Manuel Pelligrini was leaving. Did the FA learn?

If this was an isolated incident and the FA had a strong track record, we may put it down to a one off aberration. But the truth is that it is 50 years since England won a major tournament. No country has a God given right to win anything, but England has the richest league in the world. If anywhere on the planet should have the resources to develop players, it should be the UK. But look at the England team. How many world class players were there in it? I was discussing before the tournament and I pointed this oit to friends. They felt that this "young crop" would have the team spirit and the desire to compensate. When I pointed out the flakyness of the defence, I was told that our attacking options would compensate. Sadly we saw the true limitations of Kane, Vardy, Rooney et all last night. The sad truth is that whilst we were playing a team from a country with the population of Leicester, we couldn't manage a single moment of true inspiration or invention.

Over the years, England has produced a long line of world class midfielders. Hoddle, Robson, Gerrard, to name but a few. Sadly though, the money has rolled in, but the talent has dried up. This season, the outstanding midfielder in the Premiership was Mahrez. There was no one in any way comparable of English extraction. Have you ever wondered why? My son played youth football from the age of 7. How much support did his team, one of the best established and most successful in the Borough or Barnet get from the FA? The sad answer is none at all. How often did the FA send anyone along to see how clubs were doing with coaching? Never. How often did the FA offer places to our club for talented youngsters? Never. In truth, the FA does nothing. There are good,successful youth clubs, but they get no support at all from the FA. Young players get absolutely nothing from the millions that football generates.

Youth football clubs in England are judged by their success in winning trophies. Players at the best clubs are schooled in the arts of winning trophies, rather than developing strong core skills. As a result, other countries are light years ahead of us. Roy Hodgson is simply reaping the crop that was sown 15-20 years ago in youth leagues up and down the country. We see young players with promise emerge, only to be shut out of the best teams by the expensive imports teams need to win trophies. Take Marcus Rashford. Everyone I know thinks he was the player  of the tournament for England, playing without fear and terrifying defenders. What chance has he got with Mourinho at Manchester United when an older more experienced player to the new managers liking is brought in. Two years ago, Raheem Stirling was in the same boat, but the press and fans have ganged up on him, destroying his confidence. We hear all this talk of  "overpaid superstars". This is most unfair. Footballers get paid the going rate for the job. Unlike bankers and newspaper owners, they are pubicly accountable to the people who pay their wages. If you dislike the headlines that appear in The Sun, you can't get to shout at Rupert Murdoch. Footballers have to face the fans every week.

Whilst we can't prevent fans venting their displeasure, the FA could take issue with the newspapers that demonise young players. I believe a newspaper code of conduct should be drawn up and those papers that go over the top should be refused access to press conferences and players. I am not against criticism, but when attacks are unrelenting and personal, designed purely to undermine players, the FA should step in. An example of this was the papers reporting on a crowdfunding page to bring Raheem Stirling home. How do you think a young man with a crisis of confidence would feel about this? What support did FA bosses give him?

Roy Hodgson was just one of a long line of England managers given lukewarm support by an FA which is only interested in its own importance. Perish the thought that anyone criticise the FA and blame them, when they have a nice convenient scapegoat like Hodsgon. The FA has a long history of choosing managers who don't rock the boat. The most successful English manager of the last 40 years was Brian Clough, winning the European cup twice. The FA interviewed him for the job, but decided he was a "loose canon". Every appointment seems to be either be made in a panic or to be the safest possible choice. When was the last manager to be appointed, who had a track record of winning trophies with English players? Sadly, we seem to have even stopped producing successful club managers. This season, the trophy winners were Pelligrini, Ranieri and Van Gaal. What have the FA done to encourage English managers? Of course we hear about the "free movement of labour" and football being an international commodity, but if we are not developing the players and we are not developing the managers, we will never be anything other than an embarrassment.

I don't believe that the English are incapable of playing creative football or developing first class managers. I do however believe that with the FA in its current structure, we never will acheive anything on the international stage. We need root and branch reform, starting with youth football and with proper development for young managers. I think that we need an FA that comes clean and say "This is year zero and it will take us 20 years to develop a proper structure for developing a team that can win international championships". And we need a plan to get us there. If you look at the structure of the FA, there's no one who has been a successful player or manager at the top table. The CEO joined the FA from United Biscuits. Where are the Glenn Hoddle's. the Trevor Brookings and the Kevin Keegans? I'd love to see Roy Hodgson on the board. He is a football man and he knows the pressures on the next manager.  I believe Roy was set up to fail and I rather suspect he knows it as well. When Roy needed unity and harmony in the camp, Greg Dyke, the FA chairman, who gave us Roland Rat, gave him a knife in the back. When players should have been concentrating on the next game, they were doubtless speculating about the next manager. Our most reliable players, such as Hart and Rooney looked like bags of nerves last night. These are players who have played with distinction at the highest level with their clubs. Last night they looked like novices. I believe the blame lies at the door of the FA. I hope that the English FA wakes up to the truth that this is their failure. To blame Roy Hodgson is dishonest and unfair.



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2016 - The Worst year ever?

Crap weather, no governement, no opposition, no football team, no football team manager, no Bowie, no Lemmie, no Terry Wogan, No Ronnie Corbett, No Prince, No Alan Rickman, No Victoria Wood, no Muhamed Ali. What exactly do you think we've done to piss the big fella up there off? 2016 - We are only half way through the year. I am not going to tempt fate and say "How much worse can it get" because I think we all know a couple of very good examples of the that. 

I think we collectively all need to start thinking how we can collectively improve our national Karma! Can I suggest we all commit to do three things before Sunday to make a start. I'll leave it up to  you to find three things within your own belief system to make a small difference. My paramaters are 1. It must make a difference to someone else in a positive way. 2. It must involve a degree of effort. 3. Don't crow or brag about it. Just do it.

Whether or not you believe such things make a difference to the bigger picture is a matter for you, but if you do something that helps someone else, it can only be for the good of our great nation.


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Monday, 27 June 2016

Communication from Andrew Dismore regarding EU referendum result


From Barnet & Camden London Assembly Member Andrew Dismore,
I wanted to  write to you, post the EU referendum, to give my initial  reaction and thoughts.
As I hope you know, I campaigned for a ‘Remain’ vote, and I am deeply disappointed by the result. I know many residents in Barnet and Camden, and indeed London as a whole, are also profoundly disappointed. 
For the record, the results in Barnet and Camden (which were far better for ‘Remain’ than was expected):
Barnet: remain 62% ;  leave 38%
Camden: remain 75% ;  leave 25%
London: remain 60% ; leave 40%
Before I comment on the implications, a few words about the call for a second referendum, supported by millions of outraged people.  I fully understand the frustrations of those who back this call, but I think it is the wrong thing at the wrong time, though I do not wish to dissuade anyone from signing the on line petition.  In the unlikely event that there were to be a rerun (presumably due to a legal technicality), then the result could be worse - experience tells us that usually when elections are rerun, the result is confirmed more strongly. We have to respect the outcome.
However, there is much still to be decided. I consider  the opportunity to examine the detailed implications will come soon. I believe a General Election in the Autumn must follow, after a new Prime Minister has been appointed by the Conservative Party. I hope that our European partners will accept that the formal process (‘Article 50’) should not commence till then, and after such an election has given a new Government a clear mandate on how to address the consequences of the vote. Those consequences are profound: for the cohesion of our society; for our national and London economy; and for our politics.
There is little doubt that the referendum has exposed deep fractures in our society: geographic, inter-generational, class, ethnicity and many others, divisions exploited and exacerbated  by demagogues in the campaign.  The challenges looking ahead will be to address these social impacts and their causes. I believe the referendum was seen by many as the chance to express  their alienation  and dissatisfaction.  The cause of that alienation I believe has its roots in the fallout from austerity and its impact on public services, and for which immigration became a convenient scapegoat.  The consequences we are now seeing include an increase in hate crime against  minorities,   especially  towards migrants both from the EU and elsewhere.  I am pleased that Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has emphasised to the Metropolitan  Police  his policy of zero tolerance towards such crimes.  I also fully endorse his statement that EU migrants, who make such an important contribution to the life and economy of London, are welcome here.
By the Autumn, the early economic consequences will become increasingly clear and biting: It is not just a case of more expensive foreign travel unless the pound recovers against the dollar and euro (which seems unlikely),  but prices will start  to rise as the impact of higher fuel prices  affect not just motorists at the petrol pump, but feed through into transportation costs for all other  goods;  and the cost of  imports of all types will rise.
The consequences for  London’s financial services’ contribution to the  economy cannot be underestimated . Lord Hill, the UK’s EU Commissioner  who held the financial  services portfolio on the EU Commission is resigning, which means we will not have a say in the setting of policy for this sector,  which is  so vital to London’s jobs and economy, and where we have had to resist changes that would have affected the sector detrimentally.
We have to do all we can, to ensure that the country does not leave the single market, for which the referendum did not give a mandate. Although this is  important  for the  trade in goods, for London it is also vital for the provision of services which is not yet fully  covered by the single market. The risk is that any further implementation  of the single market  for  services will not reflect the circumstances of London’s business in services,  and will be to our detriment.
This is why Sadiq Khan is right to demand  that London  has a seat at the ‘EU exit’ negotiating table, to do the best we can to minimise the impact on our capital’s economy and by extension, the nation’s.
Although most of the rest of the country voted the other way to London, they are heavily dependent on the resources generated by and in London.   Overall, London provides a net subsidy (money raised in London but spent elsewhere)  of 20.3 per cent of GDP, so one pound in every five earned by Londoners is used to fund the rest of the country, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). 
Therefore, in my view, the result makes irresistible the case for much more devolution to London over fiscal powers as well as services, so that we can address the consequences for ourselves, given that the London economy is so different  from that of most of the rest of the country - If London were a country, our economy would place us 11th largest among EU countries.
London Government also needs to find common cause with the other ‘Remain voting’ big cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle, and work, so far as it is London’s interests to do so, with Scotland too.  
What of our politics? It is clear that the main parties are in crisis, over the disconnect  with the communities they represent. In this I include Barnet, where two of the local  ‘Brexit’ supporting Conservative MPs, those  for Hendon and Chipping Barnet,  were out of step with their ‘Remain’ voting electorates by a large margin. In Finchley, although the  MP supported ‘Remain’ he was invisible in the campaign. Almost all of Barnet’s Conservative Councillors (with a small handful  of exceptions)  also supported Brexit.
On the other hand, I am pleased that the Labour Party  in both boroughs- MPs, Councillors, local parties as well as myself as London Assembly  member- campaigned for Remain, in accordance  with the majority of our constituents’ wishes. Labour carried out the ‘heavy lifting’ of the Remain campaign in Barnet and Camden.
The challenge nationally is how to reconnect with the disaffected voters I referred to at the start of this  email, when there are such clear differences  between the regions of the  country. I believe in due course the answer should lie in party political devolution to London  so we can set out own domestic political agenda, in the same way that  political devolution has been granted by the parties to Scotland. If this is not granted, then any party manifestos  risk alienating one or other part of the country, when there are such disparate aspirations of  London, the regions and the other nations.
Finally, for the long term, we are in uncharted waters: the effect  on our economy and trade, on  savings and  pensions,  and our  political role in the wider world remains to be seen. These consequences will be the subject of my further updates in due course.
Best wishes,
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Andrew Dismore AM

Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden
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Referendums and constitutional change

Ever since the referendum was called I have had major reservations about the way in which the referenum was staged. The closeness of the result and the fact that the promises of the leave campaign have unravelled in the space of 48 hours has not helped. It is clear that the Leave campaign(s) mislead the public. Nigel Farage's admission that the the claim of £350 million a week for the NHS was nonsense has shown just how dishonest the whole thing was. If you buy a washing machine under the sale of goods act and you find that the seller lied, you can get a remedy under the sale of goods act, but apparently this doesn't apply in elections and referendums.

I am not one who will be signing a petition or calling for a rerun of the last referendum.  I do however believe that the UK people should get a vote on whatever the new deal is. At that point we should be given a choice to go for the new deal or stick with the EU. That way whatever happens there is a clear mandate from the people of the UK.You can't ignore a democratic vote, but the alternative was never spelled out. Lets see the alternative and then make a proper informed decision. One where both sides have to tell the truth.

And finally a couple of observations on the process. I beieve that for a referendum, voting should be compulsory with a "none of the above" options. For a vote to be carried, a minimum of 50% of all votes should be carried. I also believe that as it is so fundamental a change that every UK citizen should have a vote. By this I mean that this includes everyone, from newborn babies upwards. Of course a newborn baby can't vote, so the legal guardians of all under 16's should be given the proxy vote. Ultimately the parents will have to answer to their children if they screw it up. It is ridiculous that a 99 year old who may be dead tomorrow has a say, but my son who is 16 and will have to live with this for decades doesn't. If in 30 years a parent has to explain themselves to their children for having cast a vote the child disagreed with, that is surely better than the child having had no say and no chance to shout at someone for being an idiot.
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Sunday, 26 June 2016

The Tweets of the Week in the London Borough of Barnet 26/6/2016

There was a big event in the UK this week, but I think we could all do with a rest from that. So lets have a look at all of the other wonderful tweets.

 1. This woke me up at 7.30 yesterday morning. A sound not heard for a long time in Mill Hill!

Revel ‏@__Revel
The wonderful #FlyingScotsman passing through Mill Hill railway station this morning @Barneteye @barnet_rebel

2. And on the subject of public transport, there is a new proposal for a Northern Line extension


Robin Edds Verified account ‏@robinedds
BREAKING: London/Scotland alliance reveal proposed extension to the Northern line.

3.If you still need cheering up Thursday week, keep this in mind.

The Chandos Arms ‏@ChandosArmsPub
Colindale Comedy Club - free comedy - guaranteed enjoyment! 1st Thursday of the month - 8pm
 
4.  The glory of modernism in Burnt Oak!

Modern in Metroland ‏@mod_in_metro Jun 15
Silkstream Parade, Burnt Oak (1931) by Burnet, Tait & Lorne http://buff.ly/1WGOqZG  #barnet
 5. Had to laugh at this. When a Policeman gives a man with no trousers a "helping hand" the mind can only boggle!

  1. Barnet MPS Verified account ‏@MPSBarnet 22h22 hours ago
    #ResponseTeamB were called to a man at Edgware Bus Station with no trousers or way to get home to Kensington #HelpingHand #DrinkResponsibly
 6. Barnet Rebel has been checking out the Finchley Fire Station open day. Looks like fun!

Donald Lyven ‏@barnet_rebel
Really busy at Finchley @LondonFire station. Lots to see, learn & do! @FinchleySociety @FinchleyGreat @BrokenBarnet

  7. There was a bit of a car crash in Barnet tis week


Evening Standard Verified account ‏@standardnews Jun 19
Barnet crash: Driver obliterates car by ploughing into front garden in north London http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/barnet-crash-driver-obliterates-car-by-ploughing-into-front-garden-in-north-london-a3275366.html …


8. There have been some great events at the Finchley Literary festival, including the incredible Allen Ashly, who also happens to be the singer in the False Dots and who is appearing with me at The Chandos Arms for free tonight, please come down.


  • Sarah Doyle ‏@PoetSarahDoyle Jun 24
    There is a great turnout for @AllenAshleyUK's launch of "The Planet Suite" @FinchleyLitFest. Such a beautiful book.
       
    9. We are following the progress of the Mayor of Barnet this year,a s he's a tweeter. Lets hope he gives us a few more piccies.

    David Longstaff ‏@David_Longstaff Jun 21
    Thank you to everyone who turned out for the Armed Forces Flag raising ceremony. I'm tremendously proud to have raised the flag.


    1. David Longstaff ‏@David_Longstaff Jun 21
      And here's the flag....
  • 10. And finally..... We saw a nice rainbow in Mill Hill this week. And watch this space as there are some exciting gigs coming up in the Mill Hill Area!

    MillHillMusicComplex ‏@MillHillMusicCo
    Great meeting with @MarkRic85498153 and Mill Hill Neighbourhood forum discussing plans for music events in Mill Hill

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    Saturday, 25 June 2016

    The Saturday List #92 - My Top Ten fave garden flowers right now!

    I was struck by how beautiful the flowers in my Garden are this morning. I thought maybe I should share them as we all need some beauty in our life. A free pot noodle to the first person to name them all! I am blessed to have such a lovely garden
    I










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    Three suicides - feeling low and feeling depressed

    How many times in your life have you seriously thought about putting a bullet in your own head? I can tell you exactly. For me it's three times. Three times when I really felt I couldn't face another second. You may wonder what caused such feelings. Was it the election of a government that I thought would destroy the country? Was it the decision to quit the EU? Was it the death of my beloved Mum and Dad? No, it was none of these things. It was being bullied at school. Three times I sat in my bedroom and couldn't face the thought of waking up. How did I respond? I became depressed. Clinically depressed. So much so that when I was 13 my parents took me to see a Paediatrician. He asked me a whole range of questions, all of which I gave dishonest answers to. I had stopped eating and was suffering extreme stomach cramps continually. The doctor did not help. He diagnosed that I had a "spastic colon" and that I was depressed. This didn't help because at the time being called a Spastic was one of the more common insults, usually for ineptitude on the football field or an act of clumsiness. To reveal that I had a spastic colon was not something I intended to share. I was prescribed valium. I spent three days walking around like a zombie, before my father decided that being depressed was better than being a zombie and he threw the pills in the bin.

    Three times I sat in my bedroom and wondered what possible reason there was for going on. Three times the thought of going into school and facing derision, humiliation and physical violence was just too horrible to consider. There were only two things that saved me. One was that, being raised a Roman Catholic, I believed I'd go to Hell. I've always assumed that Hell isn't full of fires and devils. It's full of bullies who strip you of your dignity, undermine yourself confidence and make every second full of pain. I just assumed that in hell, I wouldn't have my bedroom to hide in and my dog to keep me company. It would be like what I was going through, but with no respite. In truth I avoided the bully like the plague. I'd only see him once or twice a week and most of the time, all he did was intimidate me and threaten me. To this day the thought of it turns me cold.

    Whenever I read of a teenager who has killed themeselves, I have deep empathy. Had I carried through my feelings I'd never have had all the fantastic times I've had, but when I was 13 I truly believed I'd never have a girlfriend, a job, a band, a career or a blog anyone would read. They say suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I wholeheartedly concur, but I can 100% empathise with why bullied teenagers feel how they do. In truth, I was simply the victim of what is deemed "low level bullying". The odd insult once or twice a week and the odd slap once or twice a month. The perpetrator was not in my class and was fairly easy to avoid. It only really happened when I was careless or circumstances conspired against me.

    There were many things which happened between the age of 13 and 15 that helped me lift myself out of the dark place. Most of the major things, I actually don't feel comfortable sharing publicly just yet. Not for any other reason than, I suspect that for some, my path would have a very tragically different outcome. But letting music into my life, with the advent of Punk Rock in 1976 and suddenly finding a sense of belonging was a big part of the process.

    When I think back, perhaps the biggest problem I had was that I felt completely unable to share my feelings and concens with anyone. I pretended I didn't care to my schoolmates. I lied to the doctors about the cause. I lied to my family. Why? I thought they'd alll despise me for my ineptness, my weakness and my inability to deal with difficult situations. I felt that nobody really liked me and that if I told the truth, this would get worse. Of course this was completely wrong, but I 100% believed it.

    Now I can deal with things and be honest and coping with periods of feeling low is far easier. I haven't been clinically depressed since. If you are a parent and your child is depressed, don't assume that they are tellinbg you the full story or being honest with you. If they are not, it is because they feel they can't. If you are a suffering depression as a result of bullying (and it isn't just teenagers) please recognise that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is hard to deal with but these situations pass. If it is at school, get it dealt with or change school. If it is at work, get it sorted or get a new job. If it is where you live, see if you can move if there is no way to resolve it. There is also another way, it is just sometimes difficult to see it. Get help and when you do, be honest. I found writing down my feelings really helped. Write yoursef a letter, if you don't  want to write a blog about it.

    As someone who has suffered from depression I know how hard it is. The only real solice I can give is that you are not alone and there are people who care and can help you. The hard part is recognising those people and opening up to them.
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    Friday, 24 June 2016

    Britain votes to leave the EU

    The people of the UK have cast their votes. As I expected both Barnet and London have come out strongly in favour of remaining in the EU. Sadly the rest of England feels rather different. We are now in a crisis. The Prime Minister has resigned. It is truly sickening to see the crocodile tears from those #Brexit Tories who have spent the last 6 months calling him a liar. For what? Cameron said #Brexit would cause massive uncertainty and this would damage the UK economy. This has already happened with the £ and the FTSE crashing. We are guaranteed a lengthy period of uncertainty whilst the Tories tear themselves apart picking a new leader. Is this what Leave voted for or wanted.

    The Leave Campaign labelled warnings of such things as "Project fear". As the prices in Supermarkets rise as imports cost more, I wonder how many people will start to regret their decision. Many people said to me "my head says remain, my heart says leave".  In my experience, when I let my heart rule my head, it usually ends up costing me money and heartache.

    No one knows where this ride will take us. As someone who loves the UK and loves London, all I can hope is I am totally wrong and all of the experts are wrong. We will see if those who called to leave and dismissed all arguments against are like drunken braggarts who put their heads in crocodiles mouths.

    The truth however is that we are a democracy and in a democracy sometimes you get a result you don't like. The only decent thing to do is to accept the vote and work your socks off to make sure that the damage done is as little as possible.   I'm not angry with ordinary Leave voters, taken in by the lies, but I am furious with the Murdoch press and the Leaders of the Leave campaign for duping them. And I am especially sickened by the 25% of people who couldn't be bothered to vote.


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    Thursday, 23 June 2016

    The Referendum nightmare is nearly over

    Today is the last day of your old, dull life. A Chinese curse says 'may you live in interesting times'. Personally I've found the campaign anything but interesting. Mindless tweets ad nauseum from ill informed commentators, endless porkies from politicians and endless blogs from me!

    I think the public are sick to death of the whole thing. Over the last six weeks I've had less blog hits than at any time since I started writing it, save for a big spike when there was a burst water main in Mill Hill.

    But the interesting times will come back. Tomorrow we'll awake to one of two starkly different visions of the future. One is (to me) a xenophobic nightmare, Farageworld, where we hate Johnny Foreigner. Cameron will go and God only knows who the Tories will pick to replace him. Presumably they would go with a Leaver and of these perhaps Gove is the candidate who has done most to enhance his credibility.

    The other is 'business as usual' only it won't be. The Tories are hopelessly split. How can Humpty Dumpty be put together again? My bet is on Theresa May to be the next leader if Remain win.
    I cannot see any circumstances where Cameron lasts long. He was already a lame duck having announced his intention to quit before the next election.

    George Osborne also seems to have lost the trust of the Tory masses. I suspect both Cameron and Osborne secretly yearn for the good old days of the Coalition, where normal Tory infighting was suspended and The Lib Dems were blamed for everything. Back in those heady days, Cameron didn't have to spend all his time looking over his shoulder. He could simply get on with running the country.

    In Effect we've had no government at all for months. All of this simply to try and sort out a bun fight in the Tory party. I suspect that whatever happens there will be massive recriminations.

    This will be the second last blog I write on the referendum. The next one will to be to discuss the result. It will also doubtless be the first of many discussing the civil war that starts tomorrow in the Tory party.
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    Wednesday, 22 June 2016

    Guest Blog - Brexit could spell disaster for UK music by Darren Johnson

    A Guest Post from Darren Johnson

    Rock Fanatic and former Chair of the London Assembly for the Green Party

    Darren Johnson and another Johnson ... not related

    Darren Johnson, Rock Fanatic with Queen and another Johnson … not related

    Younger voters have been overwhelmingly pro-EU. And in spite of concerns that younger people are less likely to vote, less likely to be registered or be at Glastonbury for the referendum and failed to apply for a postal vote, it seems that younger music fans are pretty much like the rest of their generation when it comes to recognising the benefits of Britain’s membership of the EU. But what of older rock fans? I’ve both heard some pretty alarming sentiments expressed amongst fellow music fans of our generation. In some ways that’s not surprising. Opinion polls are showing that while there is a massive lead for remaining in the EU amongst the 18-39 age group, when it gets to the over 50’s and particularly the over 60’s the tables are turned and there’s a significant lead for leaving the EU.

    Bob Geldof presented four reasons to remain in the EU

    Bob Geldof presented four reasons to remain in the EU, pointing out that he feels everyone should consult their kids on their views, as it is they that will inherit the consequences of the vote … Peter Cook agrees that Nigel Farage is no Fisherman’s Friend, having only attended 1 out of 43 meetings at the EU where he could have put their case.

    However, could it be that older rock fans are unwittingly sabotaging one of the things in life they love most. The Musicians Union has sounded alarm bells that a so-called Brexit vote could have serious consequences for musicians, particularly in the area of touring and copyright. A recent official statement argues:

    “The effect that Brexit would have on musicians in Britain is not entirely clear and would depend on the terms negotiated. We could, however, expect touring to become more difficult and potentially see British musicians having to apply for visas in order to travel within Europe. Given the cost and difficulty many musicians face in obtaining visas for work in countries such as the U.S, this would be very unwelcome. It is also likely that European legislation which has protected musicians in the areas of copyright, health and safety and workers’ rights would be watered down or removed entirely if Britain were to leave the EU.”

    Bernie Torme, former Gillan guitarist, still gigging and still releasing albums, spells out the likely extra hassles and expense should we leave. These are not millionaire rock stars. Artists like Bernie have a niche, but dedicated fan-base and every penny matters if the economics of touring and releasing albums are to add up. As Bernie says:

    “Leaving is a no-win situation for musicians in my opinion: as the MU points out it will increase the cost and difficulty of European touring, through potential visas and also the probable reintroduction of customs carnets and bonds coupled with the time involved in organising all that. That will make it well nigh impossible to tour and sell merch in Europe unless you are a very big band and have an organisation behind you to back you up. For an independent artist like me who self releases CDs and vinyl it will also be significantly more difficult and expensive: the best quality, cheapest, and quickest pressing plants are all in mainland Europe, so with Brexit there will be customs duty on getting the records in to the UK and also again on selling them back out to Europe. Many other reasons too, from buying equipment at a cheaper price than you can in the UK, to copyright protection and royalty collection (royalty collection from the US is a nightmare), to the problems some bands would have because they have members in various countries. Its not good.”

    Mr Torme

    Mr Torme …

    Indeed, Mark Davyd, Chief Executive of the Music Venue Trust, who are fighting a strong and effective battle to protect Britain’s grassroots music venues, argues that the so-called “heritage” rock acts could be particularly hard hit.

    “The impact will be felt hardest by those musicians who need Europe the most; those trying to establish a career, build audiences, or UK musicians who have built a sustainable touring career – heritage bands who aren’t massive but need to tour Europe to make ends meet. In terms of what will happen,; nobody really knows, but the question of immigration and rights to work are not a one way street; if you want to limit the number of EU workers able to work in the UK, that means you accept a limit on the number of UK workers able to work in the EU. The most likely outcome of a Brexit which includes limiting immigration, which seems to be the main driver of the Brexit campaign, will be to limit temporary workers, and that means UK musicians, their technicians and crew. A US Visa takes six months to arrange and costs, including management of taxation, circa $5,000 for the most organised. Even imagining a single EU entry visa, with no further border controls or conditions as UK musicians pass from one EU nation to another, that sum of money and the organisation time is beyond 90% of the UK musicians currently supplementing their income with EU performances.

    And that’s just the musicians. UK Music’s report “Wish You Were Here 2016” demonstrates the value of music tourism to the UK, at festivals and in every venue in the UK – even at a grassroots music level, over 135,000 overseas tourists made a visit. We don’t know how many of them will be dissuaded by new border permissions, nor what the impact of a falling pound will be on their ability to travel – currently our EU visitors enjoy reciprocal benefits such as access to health care which makes the UK an ideal holiday destination. Will that continue? Nobody knows.”

    From a fan’s perspective Mark Tully, an avid supporter of classic rock bands, backs up the point that leaving the EU could mean lots of extra hassle and expense for the bands and musicians he loves seeing:

    “A friend of mine is Brian Cummins who does a Peter Gabriel tribute. Last year he got a telephone call asking if he would do a performance at Rockpalast in Germany. He drove all the way from the Wirral to Germany. He only had to present his passport when he left the UK and when he arrived back. If we leave the European Union it is very likely that this will not be the case.”

    There are many, many reasons for Britain to stay in the EU, economically, socially, environmentally and, of course, this referendum is about far, far more than the impact on the British music scene. But amidst all the hollow rhetoric about “getting our country back” and outright lies about straight bananas, it would be a great shame if rock fans do vote to leave the EU on Thursday placing additional burdens and expense on some of the bands they love which may call into question their ability to carry on touring and carry on making music.

    Peter points out that artists from Roger Daltrey to Bob Geldof, Billy Bragg and Paloma Faith recently stated their support for the remain campaign. So far it seems that Mick Hucknell of Simply Red is one of few noted stars that has come out against staying in Europe. Peter has analysed this and points out that this decision was foretold in their hit “Something got me started”:

    Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 22.02.50

    Even David Cameron and Tessa Jowell tried to get in on the act … and Peter does not even think they play the guitar or are members of the Musicians Union …

    Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 22.07.00

    Finally, Peter also points out that Boris Johnson (not related to Darren) is also not qualified to talk about music and musicians:

    Note the position of the Capodastra ....

    Note the position of the Capodastra ….

    ---------------------------------------------

    Darren Johnson was a member of the London assembly until May 2016 and is a supporter of the Save London Music Campaign and The Mayor of Londons initiatives to protect live music and venues. He is also a self confessed music nut!


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    Roger Tichborne, author, musician, blogger, studio owner, film maker and campaigner. Has campaigned on environmental issues in the London Borough of Barnet, through the Barneteye blog. Recognised as one of The Guardians Top London Bloggers in 2011. Recently contributed a chapter on the Darlands Nature Reserve for "West London Wildlife" on Aurora Books.
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