By-election fall out might be for the best?

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS?

It was English by-election day yesterday, not just in the two Westminster seats that have received ll the coverage today, but also in three council seats.  And the results in all five may be an indicator that the disastrous far right politics of 2016 are slowly being rejected.

The clearest indicator of that was in Stoke where Labour held on to their seat despite promises from ukip of an upsurge in their fortunes.  This was a constituency that voted heavily to Leave in June.  This result may be an indication that many of the voters there are starting to realise how badly they were conned by the Leave campaigns lies and hate-mongering.  Ukip thought they had this, so much so that they chose their own toxic leader as Candidate.  It's good to see he's had as much success as his frog faced predecessor, although he's got a long way to go to catch up on Fuhrage's seven failures....

Ukip are struggling for money, having had to pay back the EU after misspending public funds, and their membership numbers have fallen.  Add in the internal feuding that was so apparent and it's possible this recent failure is one more step towards the fascist party's death spiral.  Politics is best rid of them.

On the face of it the result in Copeland looks to be anti-progressive, with a historic win for the governing party.  But it might just be part of a much needed jolt for Labour.  I like Corbyn.  He's got many excellent policies, has tried hard to bring a kinder face to political discourse, and appears to be a fundamentally decent person, the very opposite of the Tory leadership.  But.  There's too much evidence showing that he's a terrible, indeed ineffectual, people manager.  And that's been fatal to Labour's ability to be an effective opposition, with the membership of the shadow cabinet changing like socks.  Worse still has been his dereliction of duty in failing to do enough to oppose May's attempts to railroad though disastrous constitutional change.  His failure to properly oppose the tyrannical Brexit bill is a betrayal of Remain voters who deserve effective representation in parliament, something that's been left to the numerically handicapped SNP and Lib Dems.

So a Tory win looks bad, but if it's a step on the road to having a more effective Labour party it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

In the three council elections the Tories held on to one, but lost the other two to the Lib Dems.  Not just narrowly, but on a massive swing.  Maybe there were local issues that caused this, but I can only hope it's another sign of the appallingly name Bregret that is becoming mentioned more frequently, and that public opinion is steadily moving decisively against leaving the EU.

That would be good for England and, selflessly, I applaud that.  Even if it may actually be a step back for Scottish independence....

Weight watching, the lazy way

FOLLOW THE LAD

People worry about retiring. For several reasons.

Having enough income to live a decent life is the biggest one for most. We're lucky enough to have enough coming in to feed, house and clothe ourselves, and still have something left over to enjoy life with.

Then there's health. Well, you're getting older and the body doesn't quite function like it once did, but all you can do is try to keep active, eat healthily and hope you're lucky. Plus there's a lot to be said for not having to go into an office, or on crowded commuter public transport, when there are bugs going around.

Boredom?  Some people wonder how they'll fill the hours of every day when they no longer have a job to turn up at. They wonder how they'll cope with the loss of routine and structure that work provides. They think they'll miss the office gossip, the intellectual challenge, the sense of achievement. And really it depends on the type of person you are. I might, very occasionally, have missed some of the people I used to see every day. But the rest of it? Nah.... Never once. Far from being bored, I wonder how to fit in all the things I want to do some days. And I do have the chance to get some of those things a job used to provide through voluntary work (more of which in a future post). Trust me, there's no reason to let yourself get bored with life.

There was one thing I did have some concerns about though, partly linked to the health concerns above. Other than during a particularly stressful period of work almost twenty years ago, I've never been one to have to worry much about putting on weight. But a less active, less stressed, less structured lifestyle might well lead to eating more, burning off less, and an enlarging waistline. Fortunately we've discovered the perfect route to maintaining a steady mass.

It's simple really. Although we might wake around 7.30 or 8, that's not the same as actually getting up, is it? I go down for hot drinks, feed the cat, come back to bed and catch up on what's happening in the world (WiFi is the retiree's friend). Another round of drinks, a bit of a read of whatever book I'm currently in to and .... oh look, it's 10.30. How did that happen? So by the time I'm up, and done a bit of stretching (those cats know a thing or two), had a shower and chosen today's t shirt, breakfast seems to be some time around midday. And I do like a decent sized breakfast.

So there isn't a lunchtime really. And it's too close to dinner time to want to start snacking, so there is no incentive to eat anything much until I sit at the table again. That's it, that's the secret. Get up so late you can't really consider anything more than two decent meals. I call it the LAD. The Lazy Arse Diet. Works for me....

Staring at screens all day

FROM SCREEN TO SHINING SCREEN

A few years ago if I'd said I had spent most of my day looking at screens they'd have been PC monitors or laptops, with the odd glance at my phone.  I'd have been looking at reports, plans, spreadsheets.  I'd have been filling in forms, writing updates, dealing with emails.  And, in hindsight, not really doing anything worthwhile.

Today I've spent long periods looking at four screens, and they have all been worth my attention.  In the morning it was the Cameo cinema to see the wonderful 20th Century Women.  After lunch we were in the Filmhouse to see German comedy Toni Erdmann, which had one of the funniest party scenes I've ever watched.  In the evening it was the TV at home, with the live webcast of the hockey match between Coventry Blaze and my Edinburgh Capitals.  Not the finest moment of the day, not just because Caps lost, but due to the effect on my eyesight of such a blurry picture being displayed - sort yourselves out Coventry!

While that was on I paid partial attention to my laptop, doing a bit of tidying up.  And now I sit before my desk monitor, battering away at my keyboard to do a bit of writing, a bit of checking up on the news.  No reports, plans or spreadsheets.  No writing because I have to, but because I want to.  And no emails demanding my urgent attention.

There's a lot to be said for retirement....

A self-serving POTUS

PUBLIC SERVICE IS A STATE OF MIND

A few weeks ago we went to see the film Jackie ( about the events in the life of Jackie Kennedy following the murder of her husband JFK. The Americans like to say that one of the great things about their country is that any citizen can become president. And at least it's true that someone could have a greater chance of achieving that status than someone would of becoming head of state in the archaic UK system of government. But anyone? Not quite.

The Kennedys weren't anybodys within the US social structure. They were part of the patrician class, born to wealth, privilege, influence and a life well beyond the reach of any ordinary American. Jack became president, but his brothers Bobby and Teddy were also prominent senior politicians of the period.

Current White House incumbent (but for how much longer?) Trump is hardly anybody either. Like the Kennedys he was born into extreme wealth and has become a weel kent name to the media through his activities. And that's where the similarities end.

I was a civil servant for more than three decades. An abortive attempt at a career in retail showed me I wasn't interested in a job where the idea of serving the public was underlaid by the desire to extract as much money as possible from them, and pass it on to other people who didn't do much for the privilege. Over the years I developed a clearer understanding of the importance of having a public service ethos in government work. By which I mean that the first consideration in any decision should be looking at how it can best benefit the public. That might then be subject to all sorts of other pressure - finance, resources, practicality, other legislation etc etc - but that should always be the starting point.

Most civil servants think that way. Recent governments, especially the Tories, have taken a much more aggressive approach, seeking to monetize everything they can. You only have to look at the steady destruction of the NHS to see what damage that causes. In many departments senior management has been brought in from outside industry with a view to turning public services into money making businesses as far as possible. Thus no longer delivering a public service....

The Kennedys might have been brought up as spoiled brats in many ways, but they also had inculcated into them a notion of public service. Perhaps even of duty, that old fashioned aristocratic notion. They were flawed individuals in many ways, but they did have a world view that put the interests of the people, at least as they saw them, at the forefront of their thinking. They had an understanding of what constitutes public service.

Trump only understands service in one way. Whatever he does it must be in the best interests of Donald Trump. He has none of the qualities required in government. A spoiled brat, but with no concept of duty or serving others. Trump is a disaster.

If he's impeached, which seems already to have become a very realistic prospect, he would be succeeded by the vile, homophobic Mike Pence. But, bad as the latter is, the current VP could never be as bad as his present boss. He does, at least, have some notion of what it means to serve the public having held elected office for sixteen years. Pence would be a terrible president. But still a hundred times better than the orange one.

Passing by the Maple Leaf

A FLAG WITH MEANING

Yesterday I was walking down through the lower reaches of the New Town, as you do.  (Well, actually, as I don't, because this was rarely seen territory for me, letting my nose and feet lead me without much forethought.)  So I came to this junction, and there, in a first floor window on the corner, was a Canadian flag.  A splash of colour, and identity, in this dull winter scene.

This wasn't consulate territory, so maybe it's somebody's bedroom, or living room, and they want to proudly display their origins.  It's no big surprise in a multinational city like Edinburgh.  Hey, it could even be one our 'our' Edinburgh Capitals hockey players....

I walked on, still thinking about that flag, and it struck me how appropriate it seemed for the moment.  Canada and Scotland, both with moderate, inclusive, social democratic governments, both outward looking, both nationalities that are welcomed around the world.  And both having a southern border with a neighbour that looks increasingly like their government is flirting with fascism.  Both at odds with the regressive values of their much larger, bombastic, isolationist 'friend'.

It's not a comparison that stands up for long of course.  Some might identify Scotland more with Quebec than Canada, having their own internal discourse about whether or not to sever ties of political rule.  And Canada doesn't have to store their neighbour's nukes for them....