Bass Guitar and Guitar Workshop on Saturday 18th

We now have full details of the Bass guitar and Guitar workshop to he held on 18th February. We are very lucky to have Jim Neale as the workshop leader who will draw on his own learning and teaching experience as well as his work with ceilidh bands. Jim plays bass guitar, guitar, mandolin and fiddle as well as being a singer.

FolkWorkshops Acoustic Guitar and Bass Workshop for Beginners of any age

Attention to all budding, acoustic guitar players and singers. I, Jim Neale, propose to organise a community workshop at the Fire Station, Peterchurch on Saturday 18th February 2012. You only need to bring an Acoustic Guitar or Bass Guitar with you. If your Bass is electric, you will need a Bass amplifier; although I have a spare Bass amplifier to share (even electric Bass guitars can be played without an amplifier!).

I would like to start with the Bass guitarists, (either acoustic or electric) at 10.00am,an hour before the acoustic six string guitarists arrive at 11.00. I feel confident that the Bass players will be able to enhance the sound of the guitars and add the ‘deep notes’ to keep us together! So when you ‘sign up’ below, please let me know your requirements. (No extra charge for Bass Players joining the acoustic guitar workshop at 11.00 am)

I have carefully chosen songs that are ideal starting points which embellish both Guitar and Bass. I will provide all material including a CD so that you can practise on your own to perfect your skills.

The aim of the Workshop is to get people playing and singing together, the most important part of creating music. With that in mind, the morning’s session is broken down into the following elements:

1. 1) Tuning the strings in standard pitch (both guitar and Bass)

2. 2) Introducing the simplest chords on the guitar and Bass pattern

3. 3) Using a plectrum and creating the rhythm pattern for the songs

4. 4) Introducing the ‘extra’ notes for the more adventurous player

5. 5) Playing together to create a community of ‘sound and song’

Please note: The number of songs we manage in the workshop is unknown at our first session. However, the method used will provide any beginner or moderate guitar player the means to play along with others and follow most guitar books with greater understanding. There will be a fee of £5.00 (students and job seekers free) to provide the CD, printing and refreshment.

To sign up for a place on this Workshop please cut and paste the the following registration details and send a printed versions to the address shown, together with a cheque for £5

............................................................................................................................................................................................

I wish to enrol for the Bass session. I understand it starts at 10.00am and finishes at 11.00am, Saturday 18 February. Please tick here...... (also tick below if you also want to attend the guitar session at no extra cost)

 I I wish to enrol for the acoustic guitar session starting at 11.00am and finishing at 12.30pm Saturday 18^th February. Please tick here........

My Name:

My Email:

My Address:

My Phone/Mob:

Please return these details with a cheque to the value of £5.00 to: Jim Neale

1 Meadow Heights, St.Owens Cross, Hereford, HR2 8NP info:Mob(07909524171)

Revew: A Grand Folk Concert, Shire Hall, Hereford, Saturday November 12th: 7 to 11 pm

The Performers: My draw to this concert was to hear Roy Bailey for the first time. The reputation of this left wing singer and song writer reached me well before I had seen him perform. It is an odd thing how some artists seem to have passed one by. This is hardly surprising. Work, commuting and family life does tend to prevent one from ‘getting out more’. It was well worth the wait however since this is a man who holds values I have no difficulty identifying with. Songs and stories which were at times both very moving and amusing added up to an excellent performance. His style of guitar playing was varied and fascinating to an old ‘3 chorder’ like me. If I could have a voice like Roy’s when I reach his age I will have no complaints, and neither should my audience.

Memorable among the supporting artists was Martyn Wyndham-Read whose collection of Australian songs and stories has got me returning to this repertoire. With Remembrance Sunday just an evening away his choice of material, including references to the loss of his father in Normandy in 1944, was apt and poignant. This is a man well worth visiting on Google. For reasons which will become clear below I cannot name the other supporting artists as I had not intended to review this event so did not take a note pad. It will also become apparent why I have written this review. Consequently I can only report that the opening act, I think he was Eddie Upton as he is the only other name on the flyer I have, was an excellent starter with a good voice, guitar technique and material. I apologise for not doing him justice through lack of detail but a brief printed programme would have been nice. A fund raising opportunity, along with others, lost.

The same absence of details applies to the troupe of French singers and musicians who brought some World Music to the evening. It was very, very good, but not my cup of tea and suffered from what I regard as a failing of World Music: they never know quite when to stop. The couple from Devon, who managed to survive the failure of the PA system, sang a version of Henry Martin which sounded a bit too jolly. The absent bag pipe player referred to in their intro would no doubt have put this right. They both had strong voices and the harmonies worked very well.
Martyn Windham-Read then returned for his second set which was equally impressive but for the reasons expressed below I had to leave the event before his set ended and before Roy Bailey returned to the stage for the final set. Musically this was a lovely evening, but...

The Organisation of the Event: this was very weak and did not do justice either to the talented performers and the good causes being supported, let alone those who had paid £15 each and probably travelled some distance to hear Roy Bailey. We were assured by the person at the contact number that there would be no problem with admission on the door. This was true as, despite an impressive turn out there was room for us, but no tickets! It seemed that if one needed to take a break outside it was clearly to be done on trust. Furthermore, we were told that there was no drinks licence and so drinls were to be acquired by donation. Also, there was something mumbled about the Vegan Buffet not actually being on sale, but donations could be given. No notices about recommended donations were displayed and the dreamy youngsters behind the bar had to be reminded why they were that side of the counter. By the time we reached the barrel, the beer had run out, my friend had had a glass of wine spilt over his trousers by a member of the bar crew and I was thinking of going back to reclaim some of my donation as it now seemed excessive for 3 apple juices and a glass of bio-dynamic wine, but a moment’s thought about the good causes brought me back to my senses.

This was a pity really as my senses were about to be assaulted in several unexpected ways. Firstly, is it obligatory that children at folk or artistic events of this kind have parents who wish their kids to demonstrate the extent of their free spirits by running all over the place and talking during the performances? As did some of the adults I would add. All this, with the backing chatter from the customers and assistants at the catering tables. The announcements were unpredictable in their audibility anyway due to the intermittent failings of the PA system and the great door to the hall often being left open meant we could hear even more noise from the free spirits playing in the entrance hall below. Surely someone from the Woodcraft Folk could have organised a training evening for ‘Occupy London’ or something? If there isn’t a local group, why not? On top of all this there was no programme at all, let alone one with some biographical details about the artists (hence my limited review above) and the running order seemed to be evolving as the evening went on. Having started late the inevitable consequence was that Roy Bailey’s final set didn’t end to well past midnight. This was too late for many judging by the reduced numbers in the room. This seems disrespectful of Roy Bailey and those artists who had commitments elsewhere on Sunday. Let alone the audience. I will now stop this report on the evenings missing production values.

The Venue: I am prepared to put up with quite a bit of discomfort for a good cause but there are limits. The Shire Hall, although it was very grand in the past, is now looking rather sad and shows all the signs of a municipal white elephant. The lighting was awful. I have had a more relaxing evening with institutional lighting while waiting in the arrivals hall of Terminal Five. This was not helped by someone forgetting to put the rear lighting back down after the first surge to the bar and vegan buffet. The PA system, when working, coped well with this barn of a place, but even with most of the seats occupied it still felt a bit like having a concert in a defunct Victorian baths complex.

This discomfort was compounded by the steel chairs. To those who complain about hard pews at church and chapel events I say, ‘You ain’t felt nothin yet’. If you are going to a concert at this venue two good cushions for back and posterior protection are essential. The seating in the entrance hall downstairs for those attending court is luxurious by comparison. My free advice ( no consultancy fees here) to Herefordshire Council is to check the price of scrap metal and see what replacements can be bought on the modern commercial chair market. In the meantime I feel as though hard punishments are not confined to the court rooms below. Such was my accumulated discomforts that my endurance ran out before Roy Bailey’s last set.

Conclusion: I understand that this concert was part of a birthday celebration which had been going on for much of the afternoon. I have no problem with that, but when you invite paying members of the public, albeit for good causes, everyone deserves better. Amateur organisation and an uncomfortable venue nearly spoilt the evening for me but some great artists came to the rescue. Those planning public events on this scale should take advice from someone with experience. But I repeat my specific advice to anyone going to the Shire Hall. Don’t forget to take the cushions and possibly the shades, unless, of course, you are appearing in court.

Dacier

FolkWorkshops Newsletter for October/November 2011

Dear Supporter,

Ooops! What happened to October? There is no shortage of things happening. Our Tuesday practice evenings for the Black Hill Folk are now under way. It has been assumed that this would fit in with various work commitments and other meetings but please let us know if this is wrong. You will also see from below that the 2nd Tuesday of the month will be taken up by the new session at the Crown Inn, so Susie’s Song School will still be possible. Check on the Village Quire website for details of the Song School. That said, it would be a pity if anyone was excluded by inflexible meetings. Talking of sessions, the 11 of us who made it to the Longtown WI evening on the 18th October really enjoyed the experience and by all accounts so did many of the audience who came up to express their thanks afterwards. Well done everyone.

Just in case there is not enough going on for you it is always worth checking out the e-newsletters from the Borough Theatre Abergavenny and the Courtyard Hereford. There seems to be a regular supply of musical surprises. Since these can be very varied we will do nothing more than draw your attention to these excellent publications. Also, welcome to all our new followers of @FolkWorkshops. We now have 62 followers from elsewhere but only 2 from this mailing list (now numbering 60) as far as I can see. By exploring who follows us and who we follow you can build your own collection of information sources on Folk Music events throughout the border counties and beyond. Don’t forget to let us know if you think an event should be posted with us.

Upcoming Events

Sing Out and Sing Around Evenings at The Crown Inn, Longtown on Tuesday 8th November and every 2nd Tuesday of the month thereafter, weather permitting. We have always been made very welcome by Phil & Sheila at this excellent pub so let’s hope the sessions take off. Solo’s, duo’s, ensemble, instrumental performers and listeners all very welcome.

Grand Charity Folk Concert in aid of Oxfam, Water Aid, and Friends of the Earth, with ROY BAILEY and a host of others. Lots of interesting refreshments for sale including bio-dynamic Red and White Wine etc. Hereford Shire Hall: Sat 12th November, 7 p.m. ‘till late. Tickets ( £15 adults, children under 12 free) from Outback Records, Church Street, Hereford.

Friday 11th November, Armistice Day, at St. Margaret's Church 7.30 p.m. Black Hill Folk will be taking part in this evening of readings, song and meditation on the theme of Memories and Remembrance. Jim Neale will be joining us. We aim to end by 8.45 to give time for hot drinks and a chat with friends, new and old, afterwards. Entrance is Free, but all donations will be given to Royal British Legion.

Lanveynoe Church, Winter Warmer Concert, 25th November, Clodock Church, at 7.30 pm: The Pax Singers from Malvern will be signing a wide ranging selection including spirituals and folk songs. Tickets £10 ( children under 12 free). To include a glass of punch & a minced pie. Contact the Churchwardens or tickets on the door.

Carols & Crumpets at Brilley Village Hall, Fri 9th December 7.30 p.m. If you enjoyed the recent John Kirkpatrick concert, or are sorry that you missed it, he is performing at this evening of music for Christmas and Midwinter. At the moment we do not have a contact phone number, but we will post more details on @FolkWorkshops and pass the word in the usual way.

The Village Quire in Concert Saturday 10th December, All Saints Church, Cwmbach, Glasbury 7.30: Performing their annual concert of music and readings for Christmas this is an evening not to be missed. More details on their website. Simply Google Village Quire Glasbury. Please note this concert will also be staged again at the Globe, Hay on Wye on the 23rd December, also at 7.30

Annual Black Mountains Group Church Choir Coach Trip to St. David’s Hall Cardiff:14th December If you have never been to this event it is well worth the trip to hear the combined Welsh Hospitals Choirs, the Brass Ensemble of the Royal Welsh Regiment, and a celebrity guest. The latter is not usually known until nearer the date. Pick ups at Longtown Village, Clodock Church and Pandy. If you would like more details contact Bob Burson. We can always forward your e-mail if you send your request via FolkWorkhops.

Christmas Carol Singing at the Crown Inn Longtown: Friday 23rd December: From 8 pm As last year the Reverend Nicholas Lowton will be taking his keyboard to the Crown Inn Longtown to lead some Carol Singing, aided and abetted by Black Hill Folk with a few party pieces of their own. As this is the evening at the end of the last working week before Christmas it should be quite busy.

We hope to have some voice left for a quiet family Christmas and the two usual Carol Services. Will we be battling through the snow as in recent years?

So, if you are seeking a traditional Christmas there is loads of the stuff on your doorstep, hopefully with not too much of the white stuff. This seems all a bit tiring at this point but the trick is to make a happy selection. In the meantime our thanks go to John and Bridget Biggs who provided much of the above information and who are taking on some much appreciated organising due to the roller coaster ride we have had since September.

Best wishes from,
John & Jane Baxter

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FolkWorkshops September Newsletter

September is the month which marks the slowing down of the festival season and the settling down for the winter evening sessions. This is not to say that things are any quieter on the events front as you can see from the various events guides. But first a quick look back at the month just gone.

Sian and I made two trips to Kent. The first to buy an upgrade banjo and the second to hear our great niece sing with the Wallingford Choir during their week’s residency at Canterbury Cathedral. On both occasions Jane and I sang at the Faversham Folk Club’s singaround evenings (by invitation in the sense we invited ourselves: that is how it works), and it confirmed the value of the informal and tolerant approach. The second session was made up of totally different people to the first, but the talents were equally impressive with people travelling from various parts of the county to attend. On both occasions it was clear that a lot of original writing is going on as well as songs being passed on from one singer to another without any clear indication of where they have come from. There were no inhibitions about reading the words from a sheet on a music stand, (apparently some Folk Clubs can be quite snooty about this) or coming along with homemade instruments or exotic instruments. Jane and I did a number with the banjo and psaltery; another couple did several pieces with dulcimer and guitar while another couple sang beautiful harmonies and original songs to a homemade amplified electric lute!

Incidentally, some of us are beginning to take the ‘workshop’ idea a bit further. John is in the process of getting the things together to build a ‘dulcijo’ while another is tracking down plans for building a ‘cigar box’ guitar. However, don’t hold your breath as such things take a while!
We have had some encouraging feedback regarding our singing at the Songs and Poems Among the Flowers evening at St.Margarets and there are plans for other occasional events of this kind. Thank you again to all those who took part.

The other highlight of the summer was our caravan/stand at the Longtown Show (complete with the new @FolkWorkshops banner) which drew a lot of people, including a good few youngsters. It got a bit hectic at times but it was most rewarding and we made some new friends. One husband may well find that he will building a dulcimer for his wife as a Christmas present while one youngster is looking forward to a banjo in his Christmas stocking if Dad keeps his promise. Thanks to all those who turned up to help and sing and to all those visitors who made it worthwhile. We have been asked back for next year if we can make it.
Various plans are being made to resume our evenings at Newton Church Room and occasional evenings at the Crown in Longtown and elsewhere. Regular singers have already been given the new collection of songs for our winter programme. It is never too late to start so let us know if you want to be added to the list of those to be notified of rehearsal sessions.

EVENTS

The first events will of course be the Workshop with the Village Quire at St. John’s Newton on Wednesday 28th September at 7.30 and their concert in St. Margaret’s Church on Saturday 1st October at 7.30.If you want to take part in beautiful harmonising please come to the workshop. Tickets are £5 for the workshop and £10 for the concert. A combined ticket is £13. You can reserve your tickets by phoning John on either 01981510629 or 01981510388. We have attached a poster if you have room to display it somewhere such as in your car etc.
Our other fixture is a FolkWorkshops session with the Longtown WI on Tuesday 18th September at 7.30. The aim will be to get as many people singing as possible as incited by our regular singers and songs, aided and abetted by a glass of wine or two. In between songs there will be short explanations of the folk repertoire and instruments. We will take as many instruments with us as possible by way of display items as well as for accompaniment. Sadly, the ‘dulcijo’ is not expected to be ready by then.

Susie’s Song School the Song School again on Wednesday, October 5th, 7.30 - 9.30, and will run fortnightly. If there are any songs that you fancy doing, or any queries, please let Susie know. Details will be avaia;lable on the Viggae Quire Website.


John Kirkpatrick Workshop and Concert, 15th October: John Kirkpatrick
Vocal workshop and concert
The Victorian Farmer’s Year in Song
Gwernyfed High School, Three Cocks
LD3 0SG Contact: Dave or Cheryl on 01497 847676
Workshop 2 - 5 pm
Concert 7.30 pmTickets £7.50 concert only / £10 workshop only / £15 combined workshop and concert.This will be a brilliant event for those wanting to learn more about folk song and to have a pleasant evening out. For booking details visit http://www.villagequire.org.uk


So, at the beginning of our third year, let’s hope we continue to grow, get more people singing and playing, but most important of all, that we have an enjoyable time in the process. Perhaps you will be encouraged by the following quote from the latest English Folk Dance and Song Society Magazine in an article written by Sarah Morgan of Craig Morgan Robson regarding one aspect of our activities. I know it strikes a familiar note for some of us,

‘The community choir movement is one of the huge musical success stories of our time. Underpinned by egalitarian principles that singing is our birthright, and that everyone’s voice is of value...these open access choirs (which anyone can join without an audition or music reading skills) can be found the length and breadth of the country...many do not even use the term ‘choir’ lest it should be off-putting for those whose experience of singing in schools was to be told ‘stand at the back and mime’.


Keep on singing and strumming!

Welcome to Our Tales

While you are here why not try our search facility and see what else might interest you. Looking back over the subject covered we seem to be a wide ranging sort of blog. I am not sure I still agree with some of the older articles on politics and elections but they are part of the record and it would be against my instincts to delete them. I have always found librarians who want to get rid of some of their holdings rather disconcerting as how do they know what might be of interest in the years to come. On the other hand I have snapped up a few treasures thanks to their shortsightedness.

Dacier

The Night the Weasels Took Over Debenhams

Having spent a pleasant day with our daughter in Birmingham last Monday we went our separate ways when she caught her train back to London at 18.57. Not long after we had a call from her saying that police were being deployed in Birmingham city centre so we abandoned any ideas of eating out at Jamie’s for the first time.

Earlier in the day we had joked about the Tottenham riot spreading to Ealing where she now lives. Rather like Bournemouth voting Labour we thought. Little did we know. When my daughter went to catch her bus home at Ealing Broadway Tube station, 15 minutes before the shops opposite were trashed, the police presence amounted to two normally clad officers and a van. Whether this meagre presence was a look out posting or an advance party we do not know. But, such was the speed of the descending looters and the absence of advance notice on the part of the police, the results were a ‘free for all’ in Ealing Broadway and other Boroughs. There were no police deployed in many areas where they were needed. West Ealing for example, just along the Uxbridge Road, seems to have become a help yourself festival.

Later that evening when we were back home in the hills we watched the footage of the Debenhams Store in Clapham being looted, rather like an early Christmas sale, and it brought to mind the images from Wind in the Willows and the occupation of Toad Hall by the Weasels from the Wild Wood. Even then I couldn’t help totting up the bill which the Metropolitan Police were going to be presented with under the Riot Damages Act 1886. It now seems that the costs to be borne by the police, and the Met in particular, are going to be much wider. I am however prepared for it to be argued that looting, was not in law a riot.

All this has made me wonder whether the police are suffering from a loss of institutional memory. Yes, responses to public disorder take a time, but not being ready by Monday evening? This recent festival of looting was a unique event. Since the founding of the new police with the Metropolitan Police Act 1928, there is nothing in the books of this scale. But, this is the second time the police have been caught on the hop recently. The first was the slow response to the Millbank invasion. By contrast the riots of 1981 were responded too quite quickly with the Mutual Support system being activated to deal with riots in several major cities during one weekend.

By the time of the Miners strike of 1984 Mutual Support had come into its own as a means of dealing with flying pickets, aided and abetted by inventive, and sometimes illegal interpretations of ‘an, anticipated breach of the peace’. On the other hand, few people knew how few police were left on duty in non mining areas.Very few in fact.

On Monday evening the ‘Flying Looters’ were much more difficult to deal with due to their speed of travel, their modern communications, and a large amount of cheek. The penny had dropped in the twisted minds of gang leaders and aspirational thieves alike, namely, that when the mob strikes quickly in large numbers, in several locations, the police cannot cope. The slower the police are in responding, the bigger the impact on property and individuals.

That the mob can quickly get the upper hand can be seen from the Castle Morton Festival beneath the Malvern Hills in 1992 which started with one or two vans arriving on a Friday afternoon. These were the first of a convoy moving into Worcestershire from Gloucestershire. The result, as explained by local residents in the part of the Committal Proceedings in a prosecution for common law Public Nuisance, I attended, was that by the next day a small town had been created which not only damaged resident’s property but in effect made them frightened prisoners in their own homes for nearly the following week. In the meantime the mob ruled, the common became a no-go area to the police and a major drug exchange seems to have been set up. The West Mercia Constabulary recognised the power of the mob and explained their observing role as, ‘taking a low profile’. By mid-day Saturday they had little choice.

( As far as I am aware this case was the last prosecution for common law public nuisance before it was replaced by a statutory offence. A trial was eventually held in Stoke on Trent but I lost track of it due to an illness. If anyone has any information with regard to the outcome please leave a comment as this will probably prove to have been the last spontaneous public assembly of its kind.)

So, if there was an institutional memory, if there was someone somewhere on duty who possessed some of it, I would have expected various contingency plans to be triggered on the Saturday. Yes, this was a ‘public order’ issue, but these often spill over into periods of opportunist looting. Prime Minister Cameron’s purported claim to having made some kind of difference at his first Cobra meeting when he claims tactics apparently went onto a crime fighting agenda is a distinction without a difference, and a claim now disputed by senior police officers. Whatever the parties to this spat might say the facts speak for themselves. A small peaceful vigil marked the beginning of a mobilisation of the mob.

Could there be a connection with all this and the many early retirements, cost cutting already implemented and low police morale? Does the Prime Minister's obvious wish to import an American cop as the new Metropolitan Commissioner stem from a low opinion of British policing and an ignorance of what has been achieved in policing since 1981? I for one, as a policing critic, do not think that there is anything fundamentally wrong with the model. More often than not problems arise from ethical and resource deficiencies. Is Prime Minster Cameron's wish to import an American policeman to Britain's top policing job now saying that the police have deficiencies in the human resources department as well? Present Government policies will do nothing to help any of these deficiencies.

Whatever the causal links, the fact remains that the events of Saturday 6th August 2011 did not bring any more police into London through Mutual Support until Tuesday and by the time they did arrive the scenes of Clapham and Croydon were already emblazoned in our minds. Large scale destruction of this kind is not supposed to happen in Britain. The looters knew they were in control, the police knew they were in trouble, but PM Cameron also apparently knows things will be better next time round, even though there will be fewer police. Such is his knowledge of the history of policing since 1981 he thinks that an American cop, who actually increased police numbers in New York, can come to the rescue with regard to one of the suspected causes of the problem. Unfortunately he has no idea of the lead time for a cure for gang culture. I can also tell you now, he will not like the advice his American buddy will give and I will have no sympathy for him. Those who live by the gimmick often die by the gimmick and our current Prime Minister seems to have a plentiful supply.

Why it is wrong to use Homelessness as a Punishment

Whilst the desire to do something about rioters now the smoke is clearing is understandable, I fear that the Government, led by the PM, are letting their enthusiasm for draconian punishment get the better of them. I have no problem with individual responsibility but there is usually a well established way in which the law can bring that about for the individual concerned. Neither do I have any trouble with parents taking responsibility for the acts of their children, but there are positive ways and negative ways in which this can be brought about.

My particular concern is with parents being evicted as part of this process of attributing responsibility when their child has been charged or convicted with a public order offence. Leaving aside the presumption of innocence, as some have already done, this is wrong. This is because it is a vicarious punishment imposed by way of strict liability.

Since we are told that the Government believes in the family, although not yet enough to give them some tax breaks, I find it difficult to see how making a mother and her child homeless achieves any relevant purpose. If a tenant had been a nuisance to neighbours and has a record of anti-social behaviour, then having a recently convicted 'rioter' in the house could well be the last straw for the landlord and the other neighbours, in which case one might ask why an eviction has not already been sought. If however this is the only cause then to make the family homeless is disproportionate and damaging to any family unit, or what is left of it.

Some of the parents seen on television swearing at reporters as they leave court with their children do not evoke much sympathy, and may well deserve eviction for other reasons. However, when asked where they expect such people to go after they have been evicted the PM simply says the private sector and they should have thought about that, before the child went off to a riot. I suppose this is at least better than ignoring the question as has been the result of my as yet unanswered enquuries of the Housing Minister @grantshapps.

To be vague or silent about these consequences is not only to reveal an ignorance of how traumatic homelessness can be, it is also tantamount to writing people off in the heat of the moment. If a dysfunctional family is at least in their home, there is a possibility, albeit slim in some cases, that there is something to build on. There is at least a chance that worthwhile lives can be built.

If the Government is saying that is nothing to do with them, then they might as well write off an awful lot of dysfunctional people, wash their hands of them, and hope they go away. They may do so for a while, they may be out of sight, but in such instances, unless someone can help achieve a breakthrough in providing hope for such ‘punished’ human beings, yet another seed is sown for a whirlwind which will inevitably return. This harsh, disproportionate and indiscriminate punishment not only shows a degree of callousness, it is also marks the absence of governmental compassion from people who probably never have been, and never will be, homeless. It lowers Government to the level of the thoughtless and unfeeling looters who cared nothing for their fellow citizens’ property or lives.

Dacier

Understand Looting? No thanks: it’s much easier to Condemn

Trying to explain the new phenomenon of ‘consumer looting’, is often seen by some, as condoning it. This is clearly nonsense and often comes from people who are strong on condemnation generally and short of the talents required to explain. Sadly, Prime Minister Cameron and Home Secretary May, reveal this failing when they say that the disorder on the shopping streets is, ‘crime, pure and simple’. If only it were. Anyone who has eavesdropped on conversations between young street people or taken vox pop interviews of unemployed youngsters seriously, will soon realise that many of them are suffering from a serious disconnection from what no doubt Cameron and May would describe as ‘the standards of normal society’. Having seen quite a few employed ‘adults’, of whom it is tempting to say should have known better, leaving court, I think the problem goes back across several governments.

Unfortunately in the world of disaffected youth and their parents, or parent, the standards of comfortable Britain are difficult to find. Serial bad parenting over two or more generations can produce a very different person to that which members of ‘normal society’ would like to have living next door. How many people in ‘comfortable Britain’ have heard of the need to teach some failing parents basic parenting skills like how to wash themselves or prepare food. This might explain why such places on such courses, if they still exist, are very hard to find by hard pressed social workers trying to help the disfunctional families among their impossible case load.

The range of factors causing the cultural disconnection is wide and runs from the inability to read, through to an inability to escape the hold of the local gang, drug addiction, let alone an inability to find or keep a job. And all this takes place in a context of materialism and its attendant advertising based on the notion that to be worth anything you must have the product being advertised. No wonder levels of self esteem and hope plummet. Such an individual has no future and nothing to lose.

Excluded people looking in on ‘normal society’ from the outside, sooner or later, will be tempted to break in, or break it up, in some way, you break themselves up. Some get a lucky break but they are hard to come by. Aspirational looting, as I have heard it described today, is now one way of achieving both the break in and having a ‘smashing time’, all at the same time in the company of similarly disconnected youngsters possibly in your gang. These youngsters get some feeling of worth according to their own distorted view of where they are.

To those in normal society they are ‘feckless’, ‘anti-social’, ‘a-social’, ‘a-moral’ and many other things. Judging by the values of the Cameron Government they do not appear to be a sub-class worth investing in. Condemning their social origins as sick Dr Cameron is easy. Do you have a modern Dr Finlay to find a cure? Like so many of the cuts I fear there will be rather a lot of false economies in the pipeline. John Major said we should ‘... condemn more and understand less’. His wish seems to be coming true. Unfortunately, failing to understand something through fecklessness or ignorance, or both, usually has a big price.

Dacier