Global Events, Local Sheep, Rescued by the Navy

It would seem that some people have truly forgotten how to look after themselves - probably a fault of the welfare state, and an education system that usually fails to encourage any form of initiative and self reliance, and even possibly parents who wrapped them up in cotton wool. The point is that there seemed to be a real lack of any collective drive to "do something". Some people seem quite content to be herded and corralled, relying on the airline to work out how it is going to get them home (without the use of airplanes - there's a clue there somewhere), rather than picking themselves up by the boot straps and setting out for home by all means possible. My brother made it back from Scandinavia with little fanfare and tv interviews/book deals, and at 200 Euros all in, a lot less expensive than John Cleese. It took him slightly longer than the 3 hour return flight, but he just got on with it, grabbed a couple of colleagues, and set out for home.

Thank god for the Royal Navy - at least they'll be able to sort things out - or can they? Rudyard Kipling summed it up best in Tommy "Oh it's Tommy this and Tommy that, and Tommy go away, but it's thank you Mr Atkins when the band begins to play". In the same vein, people seem to think that our Armed Forces have got something up their sleeve, a hidden flotilla that could somehow whisk them all back from their far flung destinations. What seems to be lost in the hype is that only 3 ships can be mustered for this task - still miraculous given the nature of the paltry defence budget, but a really sorry reflection of just how mismatched the general public's ideals of the capabilities of defence are, versus the funds available.

If Dunkirk happened again, then I'm afraid that there simply just isn't enough of the plucky British spirit left, it's been dumbed out of people. And as for the heroic Armed Forces, well, there might just be even less of them left after the next election.

Election Fever 2010

It's been a while since I've been interested in the general election. Sadly the last few have been slightly disappointing in their conduct and outcomes, with no real fireworks, policy gaffes and downright fun political shoeings. After all, having been conditioned by reality? TV and various "Strictly Ballroom/Boredom" programs, the daily electoral diet of news broadcasts, interviews and panel shows is actually quite dull.

I do think that against the backdrop of the economic downturn (understatement of the year), MPs expenses, and the ongoing war in Afghanistan, this could be quite an interesting election period. Ever the optimist, I am hoping that we will see some real political blood being spilt, a few heads rolling and a couple of decent breaches of party discipline.