Where Paths of History Cross (Pt.1)

When the commission charged with deciding which towns should be granted city status reported some years ago my home town was rejected on the basis that nothing had ever happened there. Apart from a bit of hurt pride the annoying things about this conclusion was its untruth. To say this about any place in these islands is shallow to an infuriating degree. It also misses the point about communities. Living peacefully and productively is apparently not enough to earn ‘citizenship’. Stick a pin into any map and start doing some research and I guarantee something, often significant, will have happened there or nearby.

This brings me back to the hillside. In the days of large local breweries they would send theirs sales reps ( outriders) out on horseback to take orders from their tenanted public houses. One such traveller was Mr Alfred Watkins who would ponder the landscape as he rode off to find a remote pub in the hills and he got to wondering how ancient people found their way round the dangerous forested land they inhabited. The product of this thinking was the ‘Old Straight Track’ (1925) and the notion of the ley line so beloved of the ‘new age’. The idea came to him while he rode over the hills near Bredwadine, no doubt eventually passing the track to the Church, where the reverend Francis Kilvert (of Kilvert’s Diaries) was once the vicar, and where Sir John Betjeman later visited on his researches of Herefordshire churches and Kilvert’s life.

Delve back into photographic history and you will find that the same man was the inventor of the Watkin’s Exposure Meter. His path probably passed our gate as he made his way to one of the many public houses which were then scattered among these hamlets of the Golden Valley. So get that pin out and I guarantee, if you have a copy of his book to hand, that you will spend hours looking for the ley lines in your area, which in turn will lead to ancient sites where churches now stand, to the watch towers of warring times, and the ancient route centres where, according to some, nothing has ever happened.

Dacier

‘I was only doing what the Fees Office told me guv’

‘If at first you don’t succeed, give up’, might have been good advice to an MP who lamely claimed that his or her purchase of some idiotic luxury was within the rules, but now the, ‘try, try again’ bit has kicked in. The latest fashionable defence is that everything was approved by the Fees Office, whether for living quarters for the gardener or childminder relative. It also turns out that the failure to declare financial assistance from the taxpayer for filling in your tax form, as part of your earned income, was all the fault of the Green Book itself, which did not take into account the Inland Revenue’s rules.

Three things strike me about this. Firstly, how can we expect any of these characters to run the country when they or their advisers don’t have the ability to apply rules which already apply to all of us? Secondly, how do they find the time to do all this shopping and property dealing? Probably because they are making a pigs ear of running the country. Thirdly, if I had been advised by an accountant that various dealings were all within the law and it then turns out that I have lost my reputation and job and that I now risk a prosecution with penalty payments for arrears, I would sue the accountant.

So all these aggrieved MPs who have apparently been landed in it by the Fees Office should sue the fees office. They might say that they were only doing what they had been told to do by their employers. You would then have to join them as co-defendants. All you would need to do would be to get the names and addresses of all your other colleagues in the House of Commons and issue proceedings against all of them in person (yourself included) or at their principal residence. Are, I thought there would be a snag....

Going to Market: It must be Tuesday!

I have always liked retail markets. They are so much more interesting than shops. This Tuesday we went to Abergavenny, now our preferred shopping town. The tail backs outside Hereford mean we only go there when we have to. Hay-on-Wye is a favourite for many other reasons, but more on that in another article.

Abergavenny has excellent shops and a vibrant market held every Tuesday. Smaller ones are held on other days. Shop staff are friendly, helpful and have time for you. On the way to the barbers I bought the Telegraph for the latest instalment of ‘expenses are us’. The lady at the counter, another customer, and I, were soon saying what we thought about the story.

This topic also arose at the barbers, an excellent establishment which is staffed by local ladies. Some commute over the mountain from places like Blaenavon. Our conversation moved on to ethics, morality and religion. Since the owner’s cat had been put down on Monday we finished on euthanasia for good measure. At the supermarket cash desk I asked the lady what she thought of the expenses story. She too was happy to express a view. Suffice it to say this small vox pop was a universal expression of anger which could see the turnout at elections decline further or increase dramatically.

Eventually I reached the market and met my wife at the cheese stall which also stocks nuts, dried fruit and eggs. While she moved on to a stall selling Greek baklava and olives I nipped over to the music stall. I have yet to visit without being tempted to buy another instrument. However, I settled for a copy of, ‘Digital Music for Dummies’ at £2.50. There are many other of stalls and a host of interesting customers, many of whom travel up from the valleys to join us lot down from the hills.

With markets under threat it is a pity that Farmers Markets have become segregated. In Hereford the Wednesday retail market is a shadow of its former self. The shock of Foot and Mouth seems to have left permanent damage. The planned move of the retail market into the town centre is a good one but without a critical mass it will not achieve the atmosphere which a good market should generate. Perhaps it is time that the regular Farmers Market is also held on a Wednesday alongside a re-vamped retail market.

Dacier

Archbishops Intervene!

When I heard reports of Archbishop Rowan William’s article in the Times ( Sat 23rd May) it seemed to be out of touch with what has been going on. We were told that the humiliation of delinquent MPs had gone far enough and would endanger our democracy. The next day he joined with the Archbishop of York to call on voters not to vote for the BNP at the forthcoming European Elections.

In reading the article it was clear that the headline emphasized the first paragraph and skipped the ethical issues. There is much to agree with in the article. The Archbishop argues the need to urgently re-establish trust and to connect the underlying attitudes with a wider problem i.e., personal integrity should allow observance of the spirit of rules not just the letter. Asking, ‘what can we get away with?’ is not a sound moral starting point. By acting in good conscience we not only respect ourselves we also earn the respect of others. I have no problem with any of this.

The humiliation of MP’s is not a pretty sight and by itself could indeed be dangerously undermining of confidence in our democracy. Unfortunately the truth which has now come out will run its course and cannot be stopped. But it would seem that electors have woken up to what has been going on and wish to reclaim democracy, through the ballot box to a new Parliament which recognizes the failings of its predecessor. It is because many electors feel that they know what is fair that they have regained their political self respect. Where the danger lies is in irrational voting or abstention which is exploited by extremists. This is sufficient reason not to plunge into a General Election for the moment. Sadly, the PM was not quick witted enough to grasp this reason for delay.

Whilst the relationship between integrity and rule observance, is a point which needed making, it gives insufficient emphasis to those who ignored the rules. How anyone can say that the purchase of a duck island was an expense incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the course of carrying out parliamentary duties, is beyond imagination. It is a breach of the rules and the claimant is having a laugh at our expense. You might have a different way of expressing this when not in the presence of an Archbishop.

Although many now lack faith in the Parliamentary system we must keep faith with those politicians who have earned our respect during the present crisis. We must also trust the people through the electoral process. But this is where democracy is it at its most fragile and which as we now know, in view of his and the Archbishop of York’s condemnation of the BNP, gives rise to his concerns. If our faith in democracy is lost, or if our votes are misplaced, then delinquent politicians will not be the only ones being humiliated. This is why the intervention of the Church of England should be welcomed by all tolerant people and why others should join in. Lord Tebbit’s advice not to vote for the main parties could easily become, in the present volatile situation, a constitutional nihilism which he had not foreseen, but which we must all fear.
Dacier

Hay-on Wye: Why Not?

There is no reason why you should not visit Hay-on-Wye, although during the next 10 days you might find it a bit busy. I nearly forgot to write this short appreciation but I have just got back from my 6 mile drive to get a paper and the Hay Festival convoys are well and truly on the move along the valley road. I know they are going to the festival for two reasons. Firstly, they are consistently driving at speed and most of the cars are of German manufacture. It as though the rains have come and the dessert is blooming, not with flowers, but the literary and chattering classes. There is nothing wrong with any of this but it is an interesting phenomenon to observe.

. The countryside from Brecon through to Hay is often described as the Hampsted Highlands and this week sees migrations of all kinds from all directions. Needless to say this is an excellent boost to local businesses but I have yet to see any research results which puts a figure on it like they do for the Glastonbury Festival. Perhaps the festival’s sponsor, the Guardian, has done some. Being a bit lazy and careful with the cash we need a push to go to any event. The choice is excellent, sometimes the ticket price is very high and other times they are only £5 or £8. There are also some free events. It would be nice to go by bus but as there is no evening service for us to return by. We have got the bus pass, all we need now is a bus service.

Event 222 is of particular interest as the speaker is none other than Bishop 22, sorry, Tutu. Having heard tickets were still available we checked the festival programme. This event is in fact an award ceremony for the Michael Ramsey Prize, and the present Archbishop of Canterbury will be attending as one of the judges.. Tickets cost £75 and will take place in the Oxfam Studio. Bishop Tutu is speaking in the Barclays Wealth Pavilion in the evening. Tickets for this are £50. If you feel this information has too much irony built in, you need to know that Oxfam is the Guardian’s new sponsor partner and I hope they raise a good amount of money. I can’t help thinking that there are more efficient ways of supporting good causes. So if you are at a loose end between now and 31st of May why not take a trip in this direction. Who knows you might be helping economies all over the place. On the other hand you might like to make charitable donations direct to a community through one of the smaller charities.
Dacier

Blog Trailers

If you have stumbled upon this site I thought you might like to know what will be happening here in the near future. This might encourage you to follow the site, to share it with others and to comment.

With the Mr Speaker controversy moving on. Did the Queen have something to say? Will Mr Martin resign his seat and cause a Glasgow bye-election. PM won’t want that. Watch this space for comment

The last fortnight has been filled with constitutional drama and has given the politics side of this blog to gravitate towards Westminster and in the nature of things that will happen from time to time, especially with a year of electioneering stating up. AS my recent blog emphasised the European Elections could be a useful starting point for the General Election. Although the PM can usually decide when to ask the Queen for a general Election, the five year life span of a Parliament now boxes him in and as time goes by his options narrow. So lots of fun to come.

In the meantime why not look out for some of the following blackhilltales. The list does not show an exact the order in which they will appear:

Hay Festival at Hay-on-Wye: Why Not?
Visits to local towns and markets
The joys of insulating old properties and rural poverty
Travails with the Energy Saving
Time to Update the Solar Panel

World Premier of our new folk song: details may follow, if not too embarrassing. Sorry.

Country Pubs
Fixed Penalty Fines in a not so supermarket

Occasional series: Watch out its Wildlife!
Occasional series :Briefing Notes for Debaters.

You will have noticed that articles are a bit long for a blog. Some effort will be made to keep some down to 300 words while others that need a bit of room will be not go much beyond 600 words.

And there will be more articles but various DIY jobs are getting rather urgent.

Oh my God it’s Tuesday

Our Prime Minister could have this as his waking thought today. It means that he must go to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the Queen. She is rumoured to be very cross at the mess the House of Commons has got itself into so what will happen in the private of private conversations. The Queen, as a constitutional monarch may do three things whenever she meets her Prime Minster. She can warn, advise and encourage. She cannot tell the Prime Minister what to do but within the meanings of these three words she has a lot of scope to tell the Prime Minster what she thinks of her elected chamber. She is after all part of the legislature being formally described as the Queen in Parliament. It is hard to think of anyone else who can tell the Prime Minister some home truths. She is, after all, above him in the hierarchy of government.

Those who would like to remove the constitutional monarch should come up with some pretty good ideas as to how their new constitutional model will provide a person who is above the murky waters of politics and can amass experience of watching and reading the inner workings of government. That is nearly 60 years for present Queen who has been on the ball right from the start. Winston Churchill thought that the new young Queen would know little of the affairs of State. History records that he was surprised to find the young monarch was well up on her reading of State papers and had some good questions for him.

Sometime today the Queen and the Prime Minister will have had a ‘frank exchange of views’. It is an interview which he cannot avoid before a person who has dealt with every Prime Minister since 1952. She has seen it all from Suez, through the Profumo affairs and the three day week. If we ever think we need a better arrangement for our head of State we should recognise that in these times of political tawdriness a piece of the constitution which remains dignified, independent and experienced is of great advantage for us and a troubled Prime Ministers. We have had enough half baked constitutional reforms from people who have probably never read a constitution, let alone drafted one. Any more bright ideas for reform should be examined against the lessons of history. Not dreamt up on the hoof by those who live in a continuing present, knowing little of where we have come from and with little idea where their ideas for change will lead us. I am not saying that a constitutional monarchy is the only way to have a figurehead and mediator of last resort, but should we ever need to change to a presidential system we must not do so without understanding what we will be rejecting.
Dacier

At Last, a Reason for Everybody to Vote!

Suddenly we are living in interesting times. We are now living through a Rump Parliament, but this time it will not be a Cromwell that storms in and shouts, ’for Gods sake go!’ It will be the electorate.

Some might be thinking of abstaining. This is the option for the sulking fence sitter. My attitude to abstainers is that they haven’t thought it through. Granted, some just can’t be bothered. Some might be intellectual or moral cowards. Some might be anarchists and don’t like the fence. This is nothing new. Fence sitters are well known in political history. Indeed Benjamin Franklin had a name for them, ‘Mugwumps’ these are people with their mug on one side of the fence and their wump on the other. It was such people he probably had in mind when he said, ( I am quoting from memory here), ‘Gentlemen, we must all hang together because, if we do not, we almost certainly will hang separately’. This seems apposite in the present constitutional crisis.

When the going is getting tough we do not want apathy. We need more people involved, not less. We don’t want the tough guys to get going because they will exploit our divisions for their own, sometimes extreme, political agendas. So come the General Election, all political parties must get their acts together. May I suggest they address the main problems confronting us and spare us their favourite lunacies.

Environmentalists should stick to issue which would achieve their environmental aims. Promoting legal brothels and funny fags will not concentrate minds. George Orwell showed in his book, ‘1984’ how a population can be kept down by means of alcohol, pornography, and gambling. We need clear thinking, energy and a strong grip on reality if we are to stop this crisis becoming a disaster. Both main parties should give us a break from trying to deregulate, regulate and privatise in varying degrees and serving us a dog’s dinner which no one wants. Might I suggest that they do a few important things well? Achieve something approaching social justice and avoid exploitation and scapegoating of the weak, inadequate and vulnerable. Make serious headway in environmental renovation. Dealing with freeloaders would give encouragement and hope to ordinary hardworking people who feel they get little reward for their decency. I’ll vote for any honest competent candidate who holds such values Any policy outside those values should be dumped and even those within them should be prioritised and only then put in a manifesto.

In seventeen days time we can vote in the European Elections, so vote. Encourage others to vote. Don’t take the Tebbit route and vote for small parties out of spite. Vote for the party who you see as having the right policies. A big thoughtful turnout would be a better shock than the Tebbit treatment for our political classes and more effective than abstaining. None of us want extremists to dominate any more than we want a Cromwellian outcome. A Peasants Revolt at the ballot box is what we need. The message to the politicians at the EU elections should be a fulfilment of Mr Shirky's prediction, ‘Here comes Everybody!’, so look out, we cant wait for the General Election.(See Book Review below)
Dacier

They just don't get it

Harriett Harman tells us they have got the message. The Prime Minister is angry. So much so he had to repeat it three times. That was John Major’s technique. Watching ‘Mr Three Time’s’ government sink was rather boring. Watching the McMillan government go down against the back drop of the Profumo affair had great entertainment value. The final months of this government as it sinks into the depths will be painful. If only the waters were as shallow as some of the politicians it is consuming. Some of them still haven’t got the message.

The big mistake some MPs are making is that they don’t realise the questions voters are asking themselves. Why cant MP’s understand the simple words, ‘wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the course of your Parliamentary duties’? Why should voters believe them when they try to convince us they know what they are doing? Competence, judgement, and honour are now being questioned. Even some senior politicians are clearly unaware of how ordinary people have to cope in a recession where keeping a job and a home is a losing battle for increasing numbers.

Politicians fail to understand that voters have a good idea of what is acceptable in the work place. To hear Sir Ming Campbell tell the Newsnight audience that the rules are in fact only guidelines, came as a shock. This from a respected MP and a Barrister. He is of course not the only lawyer in Parliament. Lawyers will exploit ambiguity and spurious justification in the performance of their professional duty. This doesn’t always work in a court, but to try it in the current public arena was a lapse of judgement.

For politicians to tell the public that this is all a distraction from major world issues is to state the obvious. The voters also know who has, in part, caused those problems. Government jumped into a war on doubtful grounds, failed to see where the money markets were taking us and then gave loans to the banks without seeking guarantees The present PMs talent for dithering and/or making policy on the hoof, compounds this poisonous mixture. We need a cooling off period not a General Election. Why? Because the deep waters which are consuming the worst offenders also contain more incompetents, especially those nasty sharks who once they have had our votes, will come after us.

Dacier

Junk Mail: It must be Monday

This blog has got a bit diverted into matters which are London centric. The only justification is that Westminster politics can absorb so much public money and time. So, by way of a change I thought I would share the contents of my junk mail with you. Firstly, there were no invitations to acquire a credit card. My efforts to stop this by sending back a message on their pre-paid postcards had no effect but the credit crunch has. Junk mail was not to bad in winter as it provides an endless supply of paper for lighting the Yorkist Range and/ or the Clearview wood burner. In the summer it soon builds up and the paper bank’s ambiguous list of wants means I don’t put the stuff in there, especially where names and address were still present. Even without the peddlers of credit I still mane age to get useless collections of leaflets. One, judging from the logo, is a Royal Mail compendium of insurance products. Another, which always amuses me, is the pizza takeaway offering delivery to our door. A twenty four mile round trip seems rather excessive for us. If we were considering picking one up coming on the way out of town a visit to one of the 24 hour supermarkets we pass might make a better buy. But for a treat it might be fun to get one delivered as suggested by the leaflet. Provision of our post code to their website quickly showed they don’t come this far.

The three other items were not strictly speaking junk. Two were Euro election leaflets from UKIP and the Green Party. We are in the same constituency as our daughter who lives two hours drive away. Since our present MEPs names were unknown to us we visited www.writetothem. We await the sitting candidates leaflets. An excellent service but the names meant little to us. As my earlier ‘Why Blog? ‘piece indicated, these political leaflets are being saved for later comment. Lord Tebbit’s advice not to vote for the main parties, if followed, could have interesting results.

My third piece of mail was a mail shot from my last employer, a college at a joyfully great distance from here. Why on earth anyone out here would want to join an association of former staff I cannot imagine, even though no membership fee is mentioned at this stage. I suppose that as higher education seems to have proceeded on the assumption that academic staff should not have a life outside the collegiate one, there must be quite a few lonely souls finding it hard to exist without the company of their old workmates. Perhaps the most amusing benefit is a discount at a well known bank. What for I ask? Buying its shares or is it for sale? Among the benefits of joining are discounts for lunch in the training restaurant and on the annual membership fee for the gym. All very fine if you have retired within a short travelling distance which is the assumption of the invitation.

The most worrying benefit which is promised is free access to the college library. I always thought it was a public library and free anyway. Does this mean that a pensioner, not a former member of staff, has to pay to use the library? If I have got this wrong perhaps someone should go on an in house copy-writing course. I am sure one would exist as such leaflets are part of the great commodity movement. Education has customers, managers, products and marketers, so it must also be sold like all the other products. It is now an industrialised process and so an item of mail like this should not be surprising. However, it is no more accessible to a rural resident than a pizza delivery service. It is however the urban mind set of both items which irritates and amuses. In other contexts such assumptions would be seen as politically incorrect. So I suppose both items have their instructive uses. But does that stop them being junk?
Dacier

Parliamentary Expenses and Allowances: Contempt or What?

Not so long ago Parliament, or more correctly, the House of Commons, used to take its own reputation and conduct very seriously. So much so that every so often it would call a cheeky journalist, political activist or, even one of its own clan, before its august assemblage to stand at the Bar of the House and be admonished. The journalist who made up stories about MPs taking bribes or MPs taking bribes, all could be summonsed. Punishments were vague but could include imprisonment in the Clock Tower. In effect the House of Commons did not like behaviour which brought Parliament’s reputation down in the eyes of the people at large. It was very similar to defamation, the traditional definition being that of exposing a person to hatred, ridicule and contempt. A more modern version would be something like lowering a reputation in the eyes of right thinking people. Both these devices pre-suppose that there is a reputation to protect. If a person is declared to be a thief by his local paper and he is a thief, then no defamation occurs. He has the reputation he deserves i.e., a thief. It is hard to see how Parliament will be able to invoke its ancient privileges to punish or admonish since it no longer has a reputation which can be harmed further. Of course it could summon all of these who have taken advantage of the rules, all those who disapproved but did nothing, and all those officials who drew up the scheme and/or later applied it, or indeed encouraged MPs to avail themselves of the taxpayer’s unwitting generosity. The House of Commons is now getting a reputation which its own processes and personnel have created. There certainly wouldn’t be room in the Clock Tower or at the Bar of the House for so many miscreants.

The rules on expenses and allowances didn’t come from some outside body, they came from within. Only now do they tell us that their rules were wrong even though they seem to have been going along with them perfectly happily and profitably for some years. When high commercial salaries are reported in the press, the resulting public indignation is met with the answer that such levels are needed to get the best people. It certainly didn’t work with many of the bankers and financial wizards who have led us into near depression. Government on the other hand couldn’t face such indignation when MPs salary rises were recommended. Instead, to give appropriate rewards the allowances and expenses system was dreamt up, no doubt to make sure we got the right people for the job. Once again it doesn’t seem to have worked.

With regard to the present fiasco running its course the view from the hill is rather like watching some ludicrous satire which in the end sees the destruction of many of the characters and the world they inhabit. Unfortunately a blink of the eyes does not bring the senses back to reality but merely makes it worse because in the meantime even more revelations have found their way into the cleansing power of daylight. Worse still, the view beyond the current matinee performance of this Westminster farce is still visible and is as grim and stark as ever. Lost savings, lost homes lost jobs and a dole queue that leads nowhere. The problem is too large and self inflicted for summoning anyone to the Bar of the House or throwing them in the Clock Tower. As Andrew Neil pointed out on last Thursday’s, This Week, the House of Commons has become an ‘object of ridicule’. We can now add ‘contempt’. Mr Speaker has made things worse. No dignity, no gravitas. The House is seen as disreputable. No one wants to contemplate the third result of a lost reputation, that of hatred. Now that really is a dangerous thing to see an electorate opting for. Take no comfort from the hope that it will only be at the ballot box that it is expressed. That, is danger enough.
Dacier

Expenses and Allowances: A tale of two Gnomes

I was very lonely as a single Gnome so the second Gnome Agency helped out. Down here beneath the hill it is very quiet, relieved only by the tramp of ramblers’ feet on the path high up on the ridge. The agency soon sent my second Gnome, arriving on the weekly market bus. The only fly in the waffle is that that second Gnome has a job under the Children Hundreds doing important counselling work. I have said that he might get a Children Hundred’s allowance which could split between our two grottoes. Second Gnome has a better idea however. He is going to explain the situation to his employers and say that because of our new lifestyle it would be unfortunate to say the least if our new life together has to be lived out at such a distance or in close proximity to the Children Hundreds because it would avoid being surrounded by his work mates and clients. He thinks they might have a special lifestyle grant so he can avoid them all. This would allow us to have a further grotto somewhere under Salisbury Plain so we can enjoy a proper Gnome residence. Surely they can’t be employers that would expect us to commute backwards and forwards. I thought this would be better than having a swimming pool under the hill. In any case the apartment by the Children Hundreds needs decorating and landscaping, and the toilets seats are so unfashionable.

But I have just had some bad news from the Children Hundreds. They say that if you are a couple of Gnomes then where we live is up to us. I could move in with second Gnome and our living expenses could be paid out of second Gnome’s Children Hundreds allowance. Some of his salary could then be used to keep our grotto back under the hill. They are also saying that if we want, we could sell my dear old grotto and buy somewhere ourselves under Salisbury Plain. They have apparently told second Gnome that there is no such thing as a subsidy for a lifestyle and if he doesn’t like the implications of his job he should seek employment back here. They also said that they would normally have expected a lot of extra work in the old days in view of all the trouble the political ramblers are having, but as it is, redundancy is even on the cards for second Gnome as no one ever seems to apply to them for help anymore. They also had the cheek to say, and I quote,’ ...and you think you should have a third home, think again, where do you think you are, Fairyland!?’ Dacier

Authors Note: I should make it clear that nothing in this tale should be divined as referring to any particular MP. Being an allegory it is an ‘aptly suggestive resemblance’. (O.E.D) Gnomes do not exist exist. It is only fare to point this out as there may be MPs who own between 2 and 7 homes who might think that such a fairy story could harm their reputation. I recognise their sensitivities. Far be it for me to intervene. MPs are clearly quite capable of doing that on their own. In any case, the standard mantra of the past week has been that everything is within the rules, and of course, the Gnomes are only working within the fictional rules of their fictional world. The rules which apply to MPs are perfectly clear and are not a fairytale. By their own admission MPs have complied with the following:-i) You can claim reimbursement for the expenses provided they are wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the course of your Parliamentary duties, ii) You should avoid purchases which could be seen as luxurious, iii) You must ensure that arrangements for your claims are above reproach and that there can be no grounds for a suggestion of misuse of public money. Members should bear in mind the need to obtain value for money. (Parliamentary Green Book 2006). So, that’s all right then. So what’s all the fuss about?

Book Review: 'Here Comes Everybody!'

Book Review: 'Here Comes Everybody; How things Change when Everybody Comes Together'by Clay Shirky: Penguin Books [London] 2009 344 pp including acknowledgments, bibliography/notes and index. £9.99.

This book is essential reading for those involved in politics, pressure or special interest groups. The internet means that small and large groups alike can come together and pursue their collective aims. The bloggers, FaceBookers and MySpacers escape the cell. (See earlier posting).

From business theory the author leads us through to the dynamics of networks, communications between groups and web communities, and the sociology of the web. The developments which have made sites like Wikipedea, My Space and Face Book possible are chronicled. Perhaps the most significant development for the individual computer literate is the new ease of publication which makes this posting possible. Without the net it would have to be placed with a journal willing to take it. The reviewer would not be taken on trust so a good contact, track record or luck would be needed to get it into print. Without factors such as these it would not be read by anyone other than the reviewer. Now, as explained by Shirky, we are all our own publishers at no great expense and no risk of wasting time or the costs of failure. All the conventional routes are avoided. With the aid of one or two connections it might be seen by many. Examples of such escapes into a wider context are given as examples of how things have changed. The earthquake in China, the Tsunami and the London bombings are some of the examples of how the new technology breaks the news so quickly and often gets things done.

The strength this book is found in the way the author manages to bring many different topics together to show how a new way of doing things has emerged. For the outsider the description of how Wikipedea was developed shows the potential of collaborative work taking place well away from the conventional routines of publishing. If you ever wondered why the age of the ‘amateur’ writer is so looked down on by conventional journalists, then you need not wonder long. According to Shirky they are waiting in line for their turn to disappear like the scribes before them.

Examples of the ease of organising to express grievances are also given. To take on a government or a company as an individual will be no more than a stand on principle, which brings no results, unless others take up the cause. But with the ease of joining together the game has changed. The students who had taken out accounts with HSBC were not pleased to hear, at short notice, that their interest free overdraft facility was to be withdrawn. Dispersed customers were found through Facebook and HSBC suddenly found there was a co-ordinated force planning to demonstrate at their HQ. The plan was scrapped. Only this week M&S conceded on the big bra premium they were charging.

Those parts of the book which go into computer programme development and the theoretical material could be hard going for some. but these glimpses into different worlds are worth it. You are reading about a major convergence of factors which cannot be reversed, or stopped. With an internet connection we can all be in the crowd and hear the cry, ‘look out, here comes everybody!’. Will it be a really ‘Open Society’?. ( See Karl Poppers book) Is this a new mob rule or a correction of an imbalance of power? Is this a new democracy? One thing seems certain, the new tools of liberty are out of the box and they can never be put back. However, they might be difficult to find should the lights go out.
Dacier

Why Blog?: or Blogging by Candlelight?

Why Blog?!; ( Or blogging by candlelight?)

I think that being asked why you have a blog is a good question and so is, and, ‘...what’s with the name!?’ This is a very normal reaction. My reply, sometimes, is that I am like the character in E.P.P.Thompson’s essay, ‘Writing by Candlelight’, (1970) who sounded off in a letter written to The Times as a result of the country being blacked out by the power workers strike. Better to write something rather than suffer the frustration of silent dissent. The letter came from the Surrey Hills and its author won the lottery of getting it published. By good luck, no wasted effort.
This blog comes from the hills of the Welsh borders and my writing is not by candlelight but in what might be, for all I know, a cyber padded cell. No one may hear. It may be a symptom of not having to descend into the lowlands and put the world to rights while taking the cattle truck to work. It might have much deeper meanings for well paid counsellors of some type. However, my justification is that this cyber cell takes up little room but has the special feature of a partially sound proofed window in the door. This means that there is just a chance that some other poor victim or member of the management might pick up a few words which, by happy chance, in the former case might allow them to carry on for a bit longer, or in the latter, might cause them to ask themselves, ‘Is this really the best way of running the asylum?’ So, no more burning effigies or reaching for the Private Eye rubber brick when watching TV. As long as we are not running on emergency candles, of course., my wife’s new command is, ‘ Save it for the blog.’
So it is most fortunate that, what I shall call our first pre-election leaflet, fell through the letter box this morning.. Instead of being used to light the wood burner these will now be a source of inspiration. This first example was quickly followed by our polling cards for the European Elections, due next month. In taking another look at the leaflet, which tells me all this particular prospective parliamentary candidate is doing at the moment, no mention is made of any election whatsoever. I would have expected some references to the European Election but perhaps this is a canny candidate. Perhaps he knows that most people have no interest in such matters. I have no idea who the candidates listed will be until I get to the polling station and the candidates seem happy at the moment to keep it that way. It is probably explained by election etiquette. If your standing for Parliament its the MEP’s prerogative to mention Europe. This distant relationship with Europe is rather unfortunate for democracy and the rural community. We seem to be forever picking up the work schedule sent down from Brussels. This week it’s the new procedures for tagging sheep, causing yet more fears of departures from the industry. See what I mean. Another bee escapes the bonnet and Europe wasn’t even mentioned on the leaflet! Are you .listening in the corridor out there?

Nearly forgot the name. This is part of my newly created campaign to make use of all those family names that are never used or have been forgotten. It makes a change from the usual label and is a gesture against Jacqui Smiths now confirmed scheme to get us all fixed up with our National Identity Cards. She has as much chance of convincing me that it will work, let alone serve liberty, than she has of convincing me that she has a second home in Redditch. Nice to know she thinks we can afford it though, like Trident.....
Dacier.