Feeding & Squabbling

just thought I'd like to share my latest avian observations!

A non-participatory event

I'm just re-posting this from my first, and probably last, posting on my blog on The Labour Parties Membersnet - so far I am not impressed.

Having been a party activist, serving on GMC's in different constituencies in the 1960's & 70's, I gradually became disillusioned by its middle-classwards drift, and work taking me to live in a staunchly Tory constituency, (which amazingly changed to LibDems for a couple of terms), there seemed little point in bothering with the local party. [Incidentally, Phil Willis, our LibDem MP attended & supported local anti Iraq war meetings whilst Blairs poodles followed the mighty Dubya into the illegal war.]

The neo-Thatcherite tendencies of the Blairite ascendancy gave me little hope that anything worthwhile could be acheived by a New Labour government. Perhaps it's a sign of my mellowing with age but, as the last election drew closer I began to see how much we risked losing at the hands of the Tories. I also had to acknowledge that Gordon Brown was the person best equipped to deal with the fallout from the global capitalist crisis.

After a couple of decades I decided to rejoin, although health problems (being an M.E.sufferer) could well prevent me being much of a grassroots activist.

Having duly received my membership card I noticed there was something called Membersnet; my first thought was "great, I'll be able to follow, and probably join in, some interesting discussions!" but that's when the problems started.
Under the membersnet header "Discuss", thought I would like to see what discussions are going on. Under each sub-header I clicked I'm greeted with the following message:


Sorry

But you are not allowed to view or participate in this group.

The group may be private and therefore require an invitation to join.


I'm just loving the open-ness and sharing of this party that I've rejoined (after a membership lapse of a couple of decades). Wonderful encouragement of participation!

Website Update

I've just added a new gallery MORE VISITORS  to our New Luv4Sinners Website.

Israel and a quandary of faith - thinking aloud

There are times when I wish that I'd never been grasped by the good news proclaimed by (and of) Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of faith. I am ashamed, far too frequently, of the bigotry and intolerance shown by his followers, the unhealthy obsession with sex, as well as the historically imperialist ambitions of Christendom. The self congratulatory indulgence of being saved, of what Jesus has done for "me"(the emphasis being more on the me than the Saviour), I find rather nauseating at times. For me the central message is one of justice and fairness, the bringing in of the Kingdom (although I'd prefer it to be a republic), to be fought for and attained through non-violent means.

Yes I have known, and know, the joyful knowledge of being accepted and loved just as I am; I have experienced the gifts of the spirit, even the trivial glossolalia, though I could argue the case for this being self-delusion. I have been blessed, in spite of struggles, with many God-incidences (events which have felt far more purposeful than mere co-incidence) which have turned my life around, but not without a cost to myself.

The weekend events, of Israeli piracy in international waters, have brought to the fore much of my unease with having any kind of attachment to Jesus's Dad. Wasn't the heavenly Father of Jesus the self-same YHWH who led the Hebrew people to the bloodthirsty conquest of Palestinian lands those thousands of years back? I have a suspicion that the theology of Israel only began as a justification for the rapaciousness of this section of Abraham's children. The God who is given the credit for their liberation from captivity in Egypt is the same one who guided and condoned their theft of the lands which subsequently became Israel and Judah. No doubt it is the same Yahweh who condones their barbaric acts today.

Was the Father to whom Jesus prayed that self-same YHWH; had YHWH had a change of heart?

As I said at the beginning, an essential part of my being grasped by the good news is an attachment to non-violence but, my all too human heart would not be totally saddened by the overthrow of the Israeli nation state, which was, after all, established through acts of terrorism from 1939 onwards.

Of Monkeys and Organ Grinders

It has really been quite embarassing to hear Nick Clegg, at the weekend, and Vince Cable today (on Radio 4) attempting to justify their support for policies which, throughout the campaign, they so vociferously opposed.

Interesting that the BBC should choose to interview the monkeys, rather than the organ grinders, as the cuts are announced. It's no real surprise though, to see that these opportunists are already being set up as fall guys by their parliamentary marriage bed partners!

The Visitor

The door opens and, with ungainly gaited glide, the visitor zeroes in on a chair right next to mine; a harbinger of claustrophobia in what, until this moment, had been an airy space.

I feel his breath on the back of my neck, perceive a penetrating gaze absorbing all that appears on my laptop's screen. An intense sense of dis-ease crushes me, I find myself almost gasping for breath.

It's rare that just a few minutes can seem like endless hours but, today, this was the case. I had no desire to rudely scream and exorcise the presence from our dwelling place, for here is history, albeit a quite tenuous family tie.

I vacate the room and head for the garden, an opportunity to breathe freely once again. Fortunately ma belle senses my un-ease, coping remarkably well with her own, relieves me of the need to endure this painful companionability for a moment more than necessary.

When one's stamina levels are already low, entertaining can prove a stress too far.

Dunnock - singing in the wind

The Birth of ConDemNation

In spite of the past extended weekend of depressing parliamentary goings on, the total lack of principle on behalf of the LibDems, I've just about managed to keep myself buoyant. A Tory by any other name is still a Tory no matter what colours they wore to deceive the electorate into casting a vote for them. No amount of adjusting / reforming the electoral system will compensate for the lack of principle and integrity so in evidence amongst politicians. The words uttered during the campaign all prove meaningless.



Clouds of gloom kept falling around us as we struggled to get on with life. We had a most enjoyable visit from my brother and his wife, from Saturday until Wednesday, accompanied by some enticing wining and dining experiences. The weather militated somewhat against venturing far afield, though I must admit that suited me fine. Visits out were to Brio's Italian Restaurant, Cafe Culture, the garden centre at Otley and the local nature reserve.


At home, the fermented grape juice enjoyed ranged through, Deutz Marlborough Cuvee Brut NV, Bergsig Gewurtztraminer 2009, Alma Andina Torrontes 2009, Ungsteiner Kobnert Spatlese Pinot Noir 2007, and our customary Champagne region fizz accompaniment to a viewing of 'High Society'.


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Although I had many areas of disagreement with the Labour government, not least of which were the illegal war in Iraq and Blair's neo-Thatcherite tendencies, I cannot fail to acknowledge the great number of social advances (at home) made during their spell in office and, Gordon Brown's commitment to combatting global poverty, as well as the way he set about dealing with the aftermath of the global capitalist crisis.


I felt rather nauseous as the newly crowned Cameron acknowledged that we had become a more open and compassionate society during the past decade; I remember far too well his tirades before and during the campaign, against the "broken society" which he attempted to lay at Brown's door. In fact most of the broken-ness is a long lingering result of the selfish asocial Thatcher years. My fear is that the Cameron - Clegg United Public Schoolboy Front are set to undo much of the good that has been acheived since 1997.


After more than a couple of decades outside of the Labour Party I have finally rejoined them!

Cameron's Disappointment

Regardless of the persuasive powers of the Tory biased media, their darling Cameron has not acheived a sweeping majority. That is the good news. A large Tory majority would have proved totally disastrous to our hopes of recovery, a point of view held by many significant economists which much of the media attempted to ignore. As all the bile was heaped upon Brown, the fact that the UK debt is smaller, as a percentage of GDP, than that of Germany, Japan and the USA, was totally overlooked by mainstream media. I am pleased that Labour's performance in the polls has not been anything like as disastrous as the Tory media hoped; perhaps some intelligent voters recognized that Brown had dealt effectively with the crisis faced by the banks (as a result of the global economic crisis). It's hard to believe that just a few short months ago a Tory landslide seemed inevitable.

As a lifelong committed socialist, and Labour activist throughout the sixties and seventies, I had never had much truck with Blairite New Labour but, for all their fairly large scale adoption of Thatcherite economics, new Labour did have a compassionate heart - at least at a domestic level. I have also admired Gordon Brown's commitment to international development against global poverty but, totally disagreed with Blair's Tory supported illegal war with Iraq.

Seemingly since the beginning of time, prior to 1997, our constituency had been totally neglected by its (Tory) MP  but, since then, we have been extremely well represented and served by Phil Willis (LibDem). Phil stood down at this election and, tragically, the seat has been lost to the Tories. The election of the UK's first Green party MP is a cause for rejoicing, albeit at the cost of another seat for Labour.

Even with the whole hearted support of the wealth accumulators, stock market gamblers, and their media mouthpieces, the Tories have failed to obtain an overall majority; far more votes have been cast against them than for them. Perhaps this really is the time for some kind of electoral reform to more equitably represent the will of the people.

New photo on Mal's Picturebox

Just posted a new photo of a blue-tit on 'Mal's Picturebox'

A Special Privilege

No need to go out bird-watching when the garden is receiving so many avian visitors. Apart from the regular starlings, tree sparrows, dunnocks, blackbirds, wood pigeons, blue tits and collared doves, we are now receiving frequent visits from goldfinches, greenfinches and, today, a bullfinch which posed for us, in full clear view, within a few feet of our living room window.

Just a couple of days ago, a willow warbler perched itself within a few feet of me, whilst I sat in the arbour seat, and treated me to its wonderful liquid song. As I sit tapping this out, a couple of great tits are at one of the feeders whilst a blue tit is utilizing one of the bird baths, a male blackbird at the groundfeeder gives a brief burst of song and a female arrives at the same feeder. Meanwhile, another couple of blue tits gorge themseves whilst hanging precariously from the fat ball feeder.

I just feel so fortunate to have all this activity on my doorstep. I'm almost anticipating the (frequently observed) red kite to glide over at low altitude to complete the picture. If Malcolm can't venture far to observe nature, nature will come to him!

freshly erupted

Just posted a brand new, spontaneously erupted, poem 'MAMMON' on 'Mal's Factory'.

Murdoch's Tory Machine

You know that Murdoch's Tory Machine were getting desperate about the impending elections close call. After all, when Murdoch first decided to back Cameron and co they were much further ahead in the polls; Murdoch's call marked the beginning of a fall in support for his chosen runner.

An obviously impartial decision was made to broadcast what should have been an off-air remark by Gordon Brown, thus transforming a private off-the cuff remark into a nationally broadcast insult. So now the truth was out, Brown is merely human, unlike their airbrushed Etonian hero; ha-ha the gleeful Murdoch giggled, we've got him now.

I'll let you in to a little secret, I have no time for the Tories, and Cameron is no different to the socially divisive Thatcher. Regardless of the state of the economy, their policy has always been to protect privilege and, I have no doubt that will continue to be their policy. The bankers and the stock-market gamblers, responsible for the economic collapse, will continue to cast their votes for the Tories as they impose increasing hardship upon the real working people.

Mal's Picturebox

I have recently posted more photos on 'Mal's Picturebox'.

Asocial Democracy

As the prospect of a Cameron government, ably supported by Nick Clegg's LibDems, looms ever larger - my sense of despondency grows deeper.

The anarchy of the banks and stockmarkets, gambling with peoples lives, this is the moving force behind our whole political system. The Tories, defenders of inherited wealth and tax avoidance, are their front-line supporters. The press, undemocratically supported by their advertisers, attempt to persuade you to support their propietors political interest. When, as a consumer or productive employee, were you ever asked whether the profits derived from your endeavours, and purchases, should be utilized to uphold the Tory press and indeed the self-same party by more direct, and even occasionally dubious means? The politicians are merely the mouthpiece, and innefective monitors, of the City's abusers. The true wealth creators, the working class, are overlooked by these fearless defenders of the pin-striped parasites.

In my younger (political) activist days the greatest scorn we could pour upon any prospective candidate was that they were "careerist"; these days the word careerist seems to be umbilically linked with the title politician. All the major parties vie to see who can do the most to maintain the status quo. Yes they'll offer a minor tweak here a deceptive twist there but all they can do is proffer a band-aid to their victims when what the whole system needs is major surgery. The prospect looms of a VAT increase whoever attains power, as if they don't realize that this will hit the most impoverished members of society the hardest!

Of Gardens Tweets and Banana Curry

A marked improvement in the weather has resulted in me spending much more time in the garden; a lot of necessary tidying up alongside new plantings and transplantings have been a component part of these open-air hours. Gardening aside, even more of the time has been spent simply observing avian, piscine and amphibian activity as well as watching flowers (both cultivated and natural varieties) grow. The gardening activity has in no small part been encouraged by the presence of ma belle amoureuse who has taken a few days leave (from her employment).These prolonged escapes, from the more cloistered hearth and home, account in part for the recent paucity of blog postings.

On top of these modest exertions I've even managed a few moderately brisk strolls around the neighbourhood; so far, much to my delight, I've even managed to avoid any relapse! After my familiar 10 - 11 hours of bedrest, having taken painkillers to deal with the routine painful spasms in the lower limbs whilst still abed, the days have passed quite smoothly.

I've always managed to squeeze in some time on the PC, on at least a daily basis, primarily to check e-mails and, follow through any links from those people that I follow on Twitter. Amazing how time consuming this latter activity can be but, I even manage to do a bit of tweeting of my own.

As ma belle has not been at work, it has made a pleasant change to do some cooking at lunchtime rather than in the evening. I even managed to devise a Banana & Green Pepper Curry on one of these occasions which turned out much better than I could have imagined.

The recipe (two servings) was roughly as follows:

3 large bananas, 1 medium sized onion, 1 medium sized green pepper, coriander powder (3 heaped teaspoons), cumin powder (1 level teaspoon), turmeric (l heaped teaspoon), tikka spices (1 heaped teaspoon), mixed herbs (1 level teaspoon), West Indian hot pepper sauce & extra virgin olive oil ( 2 tablespoons). Penne Pasta (7 oz)

Having peeled and sliced the bananas I added a generous dollop of hot pepper sauce (a kind of lazy marinade), left it to stand for ten minutes.

I preheated the spices in a frying pan, to release the aromas, before adding the olive oil and swiftly sauteed the onion (sliced into rings). After a couple of minutes throw in the sliced green pepper stirring all the time. Finally threw in the sliced banana and simmered for about seven minutes.

This unusual curry was served on a bed of wholegrain penne pasta.

Following that experimental cook, which we both thoroughly enjoyed, today we settled for a simple meal of yellowfin tuna steaks, served with new potatoes, broccoli, leeks and french beans.

As time is so pressing for us OAPs - I must apologize for this abrupt conclusion!

 

Avian Spectacular

As I stroll up the garden, the hedgerows vibrate with chatter from the thronging sparrows; I inadvertently disturb the starlings squabble as they take flight from their feeding station. And suddenly, I'm on alert, a coarse croaking crow cawed duet greets my ears. One can't fail to note a hint of aggression in their strident guttural call.

The lure of the ear swiftly draws the eyes attention to an impressive aerial display; my pulse races as I observe the avian activity. The corvines frantically pursue and dive-bomb an inquisitive red kite; the kite responds to their somewhat frenetic activity with a couple of (almost relaxed) beats of its wings as it seeks and rides an appropriate thermal, gaining altitude in an apparently effortless glide. I almost hear it mutter, "you had enough then!" to the exhausted crows.

Minutes later, my pulse continues to race with the excitement of the display. I feel truly blessed to have been an observer, on my own doorstep, of such a breathtaking spectacle.

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This morning, I posted some photos, Garden Flora - Up Close, on Mal's Picturebox.

Pessimism & Despondency - The Cameron Prospect

No matter what the polls say, promises of a hung parliament etc., I approach the forthcoming election with an intense sense of foreboding. Cameron in power is the essence of nightmares, a period of social divisiveness that will make the evils of the Thatcher years seem like a picnic. It was the Tories who destroyed our industrial base,  who doubled VAT thus penalizing the poorest in society, and who started the whole process of demutualizing and deregulation that led to the current economic crisis. It is the Tories who are most eager to cut back public spending whilst at the same time pumping more resources into our Offence Forces.

Sadly, elements of Thatcherite philosophy seem to run deep in the veins of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative leaders. All represent the interests of the middle and, in the case of the Tories, upper-middle classes. All pretend to proffer freedom of choice yet none of them offer to repeal Thatcher's anti Trade Union legislation, which denies a meaningful voice to the working class. In the end, my primary consideration before casting a vote is, who will best protect the interests of the weakest in society, both at home and overseas? All of them uphold a disreputable capitalist system, whilst attempting to ignore it's inherent contradictions, but perhaps a few of their representatives sincerely believe it is possible to redeem it!

At least the Lib Dems didn't support the Iraq war, which to me is the strongest point in their favour and, they even have the best potential Chancellor in Vince Cable, unlikely as the prospect of that coming to fruition is! Ultimately, my vote has to be cast whatever way helps to keep the Tories out of office. Fortunately our constituency has been very well represented by Phil Willis (Lib Dem), who is standing down this time, and whose successor as parliamentary candidate, Claire Kelley, has worked closely alongside Phil for a number of years. Until Phil took office a couple of elections ago, our constituency had always been solidly Tory and was noticeably unrepresented / underrepresented by our elected Tory poodle in parliament.

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P.S. the recovery, albeit fragile, is on it's way - don't let the Tories wreck it:

BBC News - UK economy set to outpace most G7 peers, says OECD

news.bbc.co.uk

The UK economy is forecast to outstrip its G7 peers in the second quarter of this year, says the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Easter Greetings

Spring Is Here

A couple of days ago, I posted four new photos ("rite of spring") on Mal's Picturebox. The frogs they would a-wooing go!