Post on Sunday 3rd May
OK in this run up to a general election in GB I have a lot to tell yez.
This is where I was at 4am on 5.3.15- I pick up books on Virginia Woolf (by Quentin Bell) and Bert Irwin and think about the ‘talent’ and the way we fight for or pursue outlets for our vision. There are so many talented humans that I could not even keep up with reading about all of them.
In contrast we in Britain are daily blasted by the so called ‘neutral-balanced-fair’ BBC television and national press with images and reports about the leeches on society called ‘politicians’ far outweighing their effectiveness, well their positive, good quality effect anyway. I see less reports about artists, writers and other creatives in fact there are relatively few and we usually have to wait up late to see them and they are more often than not presented by one or two people who went to Oxbridge. I don’t wish to be inundated with what one Tory Tosser says about how the country’s problems are all the fault of the other parties and vice versa. I want those who guide the country’s footsteps to be focussed on doing a good job rather than driving ideologies and party one-upships. I swore when Thatcher was in power that if she got back in I’d leave the country, I never did, but why should I it’s my country, at least since my grandparents immigrated from Ireland and their ancestors came over with the other Celts from Europe and their ancestors came from India and before that Africa. We are all immigrants be blowed. As you can see I am holding my tongue about my opinion of politicians.
Then there’s the dirismic dirge of the so called class system in Britain, which still rages on epitomised by the Conservative Party which was propelled to power after the Blair & Brown incompetence allowed Conservatives to bring right wing ideology to the fore again. I fear for GB. It appears that all that was fought for and seemingly achieved between 1900 – 1976 with sacrifice in two ‘world’ wars, general strikes, the 60’s and pre-Thatcher 70’s has been obliterated by ‘Thatcherism which continues in Cameron’s and his public schoolboy lot. There’s been record numbers of people evicted since the Conservatives took over. The rich get rich and the poor be damned.
I prefer not to participate but you get drawn in, last night I watched an incredibly informed programme about the emancipation of women. It really brought to light the stranglehold held by ‘men’ (predominantly led by upper class twits from the public school and university system who became ‘leaders’ of government (govern-meant?), armed forces, church, industry etc including the exploitation of women (including sexual servility) and children (mines & mills) and of ‘Empire aka Common-wealth’. The upper class twit which fought hard to prevent the workers and women being part of the process of decision making has returned with a vengeance. Top down model prevails. What to do? What can I do? Little really in direct terms, little else but survive. Churn my own cabbage patch, create my art output. With all I have striven for my output has its own voice. I carry the torch lit by my parents Jack & Jennie Kennedy born 1918, participants in the second world conflict. And the likes of Roy & Don Fraser and Gordon Horlock, Ted Walker who were also there, fighting for GB’s survival and sadly for the Empire too, which collapsed after 1945.they all thought they fought for a fairer society and most died without seeing the advent of Cameron’s boys altho they did witness Thatcher whose policies these tarts follow.
Trouble is there’s no real chance of one of the smaller parties like the Greens getting enough votes to topple the power structure, so a vote for green is almost a lost vote. IF I am wrong please let me know. I am only 64 and just over a half and I still have little idea or interest in Westminster. I love what I have seen of the SNP leader Sturgeon. She seems human, sharp, informed and heading for an important place at Westminster, but altho am a Scot I cannot vote for her/party. Milliband doesn’t seem to have captured the popular vote and I can hardly think of another Labour politician of any whumpf. LibDems burnt their boats on all sides and are heading for political wilderness.
I am tempted not to vote but that’s apathetic and shows no respect for those who battled for the right of voters etc.
It is apparent to me that GB is a divided country in several ways. Scotland would like to be free of and outside the control of Westminster. The rich like to run away to tax havens with their financial gains. The poor can’t afford to even buy a first house nor meet the rent. I grew up thinking that things were getting better, a more even society and that ‘dream’ was blasted away by Thatcher’s lot who began the interference with state education which continues with a vengeance today and has spread into many institutions even hospices. I fear for the Health Services and social services and state benefits. The three leaders of the three main parties are all public school products. The characters have disappeared from politics.
The best I can do is to carry on doing my art & writing for my own satisfaction despite the dysfunctional political state of this country.
I hope whoever wins the election will run the country fairly and help make life betterer. I hope they make the life of our galleries and theatres easier to run with more support. I hope they ensure fair wages for all and an end to excessive zero hours jobs. I hope they can create a more inclusive system of governing which brings in the qualities of other even opposing parties. I hope this country can gradually become a better place, a meritocracy rather than a jobs for the ones privileged to get privileged access to ‘education’. The idea that students have to run up massive debts to get an education is wrong, a country MUST HAVE a highly educated and informed population and education is a lifelong mission. When I was growing up in the 50’s moving slowly from the strictures of post world war 2 rationing of food and money we were led to believe if we worked really hard and ‘got qualifications’ we would do well and help this country to grow better. I am not sure if it happened in my working life, or if it will in my childers’ lifetimes. Bob Dylan said in the 60’s John Kennedy told him what you need to make the country grow- Anita Eckberg, Sophia Loren…country’ll grow.
I am not using any art works in this blArt cos that’ll show what the world is without art, a lot duller.
My old mate Chris sent me this after reading the above blArt:
“Well said Pete. I’ll be voting Labour and door bashing on election day to remind people like me to vote Labour. But the real politics is said through art. I understand now, at my advanced age (the owl of Minerva flies only at dusk), that art is everything and it says everything so succinctly which is why the Tories always give art such a bad time. Keep blarting and arting, Pete because you and it are a force for good.”
Thanks Chris, altho I still don’t know where to place my vote. In the area where I live the sky is rather blue. So, if there is a Labour candidate I’ve not heard much from them. Have had a couple of pamphlets thru me door from other groups. AND one from a Conservative politician in another area because she seems to have so much money behind her she has even put up wooded boards with her mane in white against a blue background. Somebody knocked one down but it was re-erected within hours.
apulhed tingling 