At Parsonage Down
among the anthill hillocks
ancient cattle herd
by Scooj
Tag: Haiku
Site visit (Parsonage Down)
.
I don’t get out much,
National Nature Reserve
on the cards today
.
by Scooj
Wind confused
.
A blustery day
a crow, territorial
dives after a leaf
.
by Scooj
Autumn
When green turns to gold
and persistent rain slaps down
on old paving slabs
by Scooj
I am afraid
The world’s in a mess
extremists rise from chaos
what are we to do?
by Scooj
I have never known anything like it in my life and I am afraid. The extremists (particularly the far right) are seizing power and disregarding/dismembering those who stand in their way. To win at all costs seems to be the narrative and one that is popular amongst ignorant followers who don’t care about detail or facts or collateral damage just so long as they win and get their way, and get to crow that they are on a winning team.
This state of affairs couldn’t be any further away from consensus politics where ideas are discussed on their merits, not on their origins. Good ideas are not the property of one party or another, or at least they shouldn’t be. Had Theresa May been more inclusive in her approach to Brexit and created a cross-party working group from the start we would probably have left Europe by now, but instead she decided to lay down red lines… remember those? Then the chaos began.
In the UK, the worst part of all of this is the dominance of an unelected advisor to the Prime Minister, Dominic Cummings, who is pulling all the strings and playing Boris Johnson for the opportunist fool he is, and what does he get from all of this? He gets the satisfaction of winning, as if it is an intellectual game. He cares not one jot about the outcomes, simply that he orchestrated a win. ‘America first’, ‘win at all costs’, ‘bring back control’ – these are all jingoistic slogans designed to whip up superiority, strength and a winning mentality, while utterly ignoring reason, facts, and the damage inflicted to achieve the win.
My biggest fear though, and the reason for this rant is the way our Prime Minister and his inner circle are attacking and undermining the Supreme High Court and the judiciary more generally, suggesting that they are enemies of the state. Academics and experts have already been relegated as unimportant (Michael Gove has been particularly rampant in this field). I am afraid that the political landscape mirrors some of the darkest periods in European history. Each day trawls up yet another inflammatory or provocative episode that encourages the right wing hoards to gain momentum and confidence. I am afraid for the country I love.
School
.
Up to school for an
information evening
slight feeling of dread
.
by Scooj
Putting the bins out
Very possibly
it’s my least favourite job
better walk the dog.
by Scooj
How dare you?
Humiliated
world leaders get dressing down
for complacency.
It takes determination
and courage to do these things.
by Scooj
Greta Thunberg is an extraordinary young woman. She has managed to bring a difficult message to the world stage and has been given tremendous exposure. I believe her when she says that she will not give up, and I believe that what we are witnessing is the beginning of a movement for change the likes of which we have not seen before.
Her speech is here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2019/sep/23/greta-thunberg-to-world-leaders-how-dare-you-you-have-stolen-my-dreams-and-my-childhood-video
Of course there are those who say that they agree, BUT (remember everything before the but is bullshit) that it can’t be done, that her demands are unrealistic. Those people are in my view wrong and this excuse has been used as a reason for inertia for decades. Had we been taking action 30 years ago, the urgency of action now would not have felt so acute.
The best Donald Trump could come up with on Twitter was this sarcastic comment
‘She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!’
How immature, but then we know all we need to know about Donald Trump. On the other hand Greta Thunberg has behaved with utter dignity and has so much more credibility than any politician I can think of.
I subscribe entirely to Greta Thunberg’s mission and have been waiting for leadership on this issue for decades – little did I think it would come from a Swedish school girl, but then maybe that’s exactly where it needed to come from, from somebody outside the establishment.
The hard work begins now as changes to our learned way of life begin to gain traction. It doesn’t necessarily mean sacrifice, rather it means change, and much of that change will be for the better. Anyhow in its simplest form, the changes are necessary so that our children and their children can live in a world like the one we grew up in (or even better). Do we need any greater incentive than that?
All clear
A routine screening
for signs of bowel cancer
sigmoidoscopy.
by Scooj
* In the UK the NHS offers a bowel cancer screening appointment to all adults at age 55. I had mine today, and thankfully all seems to be ok. It is free screening programmes like this that do so much to protect the health of the nation that are at risk of being ‘privatised’ should we leave Europe without a deal. Trump already has his eyes on our health service, and I am sure he is not alone.
Forgotten. Never forgotten
.
In a smoke drenched box
brought from my late father’s flat
a forgotten man.
.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 