Politics

It is the way of the world that are will always be winners and losers, and the winners always come up with ways of consolidating or improving their position. There is no better example of this than the current political climate in Britain. The campaigning for the General Election on May 6th is well under way, and I can't really believe what the politicians are saying with their
promises to do this and that if they get in. I'm sorry, but I have gone beyond this kind of kidology a long time ago. No politician can deliver what you want no matter which party he is in. Politicians rub their hands in glee when they win a seat in Parliament and they know that a gravy train is waiting for them at the nearest station, though now of course they have to be a little bit careful at what they claim as expenses. No, most politicians will always look at personal opportunities first, I'm convinced of it, and the constituent will always come a distant second in the priorities race. Take Labour's time in office since 1997. Don't they remind you of a watered down version of the Conservatives? I remember the time when they won in 1997 very well. I
wrote a letter to Tony Blair on my way to work on a train to Liverpool one early morning in 1995, which I didn't send in the end, going on about how our country needs a Labour government to rid of the hated Tory rule, who had proved that they don't give a shit about the ordinary working people here in Britain. The continous relevations in the tabloids about
Conservative MP's screwing their secretaries and basically just doing what they wanted, and seemingly getting their jobs back after a spot of 'gardening leave' just pissed me off so much.
But it just wasn't the content of the revelations themselves that pissed me off. It was the blantant disregard to decency and honesty, which I believe that Tony Blair and his government would adhere to, and wanted to see in politicians. I must have been quite passionate about politics or the state of the country (which really I suppose go hand in hand) during this time. I believe it must have been the accumulation of 11 years of the Tories in power that produced this frustration and vented onto my writing pad that morning. I don't feel exactly the same way now. The hope I had back in those days has long disappeared and has been replaced by a cyncism that has almost turned to apathy. Apathy must never be reached, though. It's the rock bottom of
human experience, and would surely signal the end of human civilization if it were to become compulsory. That will never happen, certainly not as far as I'm concerned anyway. When you
study history as long as I have you get a sense or feeling on what's important, or should be important. Being apathetic means that decisions are not made and making decisions is what
changes things. Indeed history is the study of human decision making. There's almost a science attached to it. What was one of Newton's laws? For every action there is an equal reaction. Well, the history books are full of actions that provoked reactions, whether equal or not. For an effective government to function there must ALWAYS be winners and losers, the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. Take employment. There can never be jobs with decent, liveable wages for all of us. It's impossible. The competion would be cut-throat, and literaly the stress and anxiety would change our personalities so much that a 'kill' or be 'killed' behaviour would prevail. Imagine a world where everyone has degrees and were highly skilled, and all competing for the same positions. Everyone wants to better themselves, elevate to the next level in wealth and social standing, but its important for our society to work if some never find their way up the ladder. Ever wonder why people do menial jobs? It's because it has been drummed into them that that's all they are capable of, which must have started at school. We are graded and assessed in school and our path in life is pretty much established there. They are needed, because others would not do it. Where would we be without shop workers, for example? Some may say that these kinds of jobs are transient, but I've seen the same people working in the same shops for years, and apparantly quite content to carry on. Not my cup of tea, but it fits into the life plan of some people. So when a politician promises to cut unemployment or create more jobs, he's really saying he's going to cut the unemployment figures down, which are highly interpretable anyway. The words and the delivery he uses are directed at the individual because it's the individual's vote he's after. Analysing the discourse of a politician is quite fascinating. Try and hear what the politician is really saying behind the words that he chooses. They are trained to say the right things, at the right times of course, especially when an election is coming up. Still, a skilled discursive psychologist could literally read his mind.

Health. This one's easy. If everyone was healthy and living longer the population would increase so much it would place enormous pressure on resources. It is a tricky balancing act. Too many ill people and the same can happen, affecting the well being of the economy. The very profitable pharmaceutical industry can't afford to have too much healthy people about, or they would not make as much money. Think about it. People smoking has been an enormous source for raising taxes for years. If everybody stopped smoking imagine the difference it would make to the budget! It's just not in their interest to help people quit. You have to wonder why after all the years and the money pumped in as to why a cure for cancer has not been found. Imagine the effect THIS would have on so many industries if ever one was discovered. I find that strange. How many times have we heard on election campaigns that promises are made to make the health service better? Every one of them! And do they? Even today the health services are in a shambles so despite the billions spent nothing has improved. So, there's another 'promise' that I won't take too seriously either. I got a chance to see the Live Sky debate last night and I encouraged the boys to see it so that they can try and see what its all about. It's Simon's first election and he didn't have a clue who he was going to vote for. I was particularly interested in what Ben's view was, 14 and still in school so not much interest at this stage of his life about the current state of the country. To my horror his first impression was that Cameron appealed to him! Then as he viewed more of the debate he soon realised that Cameron was not for him and that Brown was the one that appeared to make sense. At the end of the debate Simon, on the other hand, told me he was more confused than ever! Which is not surprising because, of course, all 3 of them were saying that they want to do the same thing, but were saying it in different ways. All 3 parties were claiming that they had the 'winning ticket' to a better Britain, but all 3 can't be right! The confusion was heightened for Simon, I think, because they were all pretty evenly matched, so not one of them came out on top, as one of the polls suggested. In hindsight it probably wasn't the ideal debate for a first time voter to be exposed to, especially as Simon has never been interested in politics before. He would rather it all go away, but his politicisation will, I'm sure, change the way he views his world from now on.

Porcupine Tree: Rock Lessons at the Academy

Going back to the Manchester Academy to see Porcupine Tree live was like visiting a friend that I hadn't seen for a long time. Four and half years in fact. When I got to that part of Oxford Road I even discovered that that friend had moved house! It seems that finding locations where PT performs is as problematic as trying to find their CD's in local shops! The first time I saw them was back in 2002 at Academy 3 and when I recognised the familiar steps leading up to the main doors I thought I'd find them in there again. Getting our tickets out I heard a voice saying that there was a queue, and so there was. A queue going back so far I didn't know whether to feel pleased for PT for attracting such support or trepidation for the prospect of being squashed into aphyxiation when we got in. Luckily my son Simon's bladder intervened so we nipped into a MacDonalds over the road. Going back I noticed another building which had an 'Academy' look to it, and what appeared to be an A4 sheet on the glass covered entrance with Porcupine Tree and North Atlantic Oscillation start times on it. Oh joy! No queue. This is more like it, but a part of me was wondering why there weren't more people. Most of the venues on this current tour promoting the album 'The Incident' have been sell outs, which had prompted me to think that the big queue down the street was for PT. Anyhow, as I was walking in I remembered that this was just the same feeling I had when I first saw them in 2002. Plenty of personal space around, a bar in the foyer and music filtering through from the auditorium. The support act, North Atlantic Oscillation, had already started their set and I then realised how late we were. We had a bit of a struggle getting to Manchester that day. Missed the direct train from Colwyn Bay by minutes, luckily got a train not long after to Chester, changed for Crewe, then got a connection to Manchester. In the end we were 20 minutes later than we had planned, not too bad considering, but there was no stop for the Oxford Road station. Therefore we had to hike it from Picadilly. The other dampener to our evening was the fact that the last train from Manchester to North Wales was at 10:35, so we knew before we left home that we would not see the entire show. Another throwback to my first PT show. What was so annoying is that the timetable has been changed since the summer, which had the last train leaving at 11:15, which me and Simon got home from a trip to Old Trafford. If this had still be running we would have probably seen the whole show. Never mind, seeing half of PT live is better than not seeing them at all. Or for that matter some other bands in full.
Of what I heard of the support act, which must have been a good half hour, I was impressed. North Atlantic Oscillation have a good sound, catchy melodies and not predictable. I like to be surprised by bands, to make me wonder where the music is going to go. They did that. There are too many bands who tend to follow a familiar path with their music, especially with progressive music, and veer towards areas already covered by bands they are trying to be like. N A O are, I believe, ploughing their own furrow, and planting the seeds to some promising music in the future.
Porcupine Tree planted their seeds way back in the early 90's, and it has taken a long time to bear fruit but they have finally broken through the barrier of musical prejudice that once gripped the progessive rock genre. They broke through for many of their fans years ago because their albums have been consistently good since 'Up The Downstair' in 1993. Since then the Porcupine Tree sound has matured into a category that cannot be defined. File it under Porcupine Tree music!
By now the venue was pretty full, with a few hundred having joined the rest of us to see the main act. A voice spoke to the audience about the group policy of asking fans to refrain from using any type of recording devices or they would be escorted out of the auditorium. Throughout the time I was there I could see the odd jackass trying his luck to record snapshots for his posterity (one in front of me even had the nerve to stick his SLR above his head to take a shot of the band playing!) How he didn't get chucked out I'll never know. The band came on to a tremendous applause amidst a foggy stage and unleashed 'Occam's Razor', the first track of 'The Incident', whose power almost took me by surprise, even though I knew what was coming having listened to the CD often enough. The band have been playing the album in its entirety throughout the tour, which started at Seattle on September 15th. Colin Edwin's bass guitar sound was like a wave which makes your chest and stomach areas tremble! Simon was concerned of the dreaded 'brown note'! Porcupine Tree progressed through 'The Incident' flawlessly. I have to also mention the images of Lasse Hoile which were displayed in perfect synch throughout. Both disturbing and beautiful the images tend to distract you from the band, so your eyes are constantly in motion. I love the images that accompany the track 'Time Flies'. I can definately identify with my past, growing up, and experiencing the effects of the advancement of time. Personally, it has a poignant significance for me after the passing of my father last August. My first hearing of it coincided with that sad event. Back to the concert and the tracks 'Drawing the Line', 'The Incident' and 'Octane Twisted' absolutely rocked and sound even better live. Simon, being his first rock concert, was a bit taken aback with the noise and the sheer power of the band, Colin Edwin's bass rippling into us like a shock wave, and Gavin Harrison's drums booming with every beat. Steven Wilson's mastery on the guitar always amazes me. His fingers dance along the frets so effortlessly I swear he could be as good asleep! The closer 'I Drive the Hearse' is a beautiful ballad reminicent to me of something the Goo Goo Dolls were doing some years back. I knew that this song would be the last full song we would hear tonight, and I wondered where the time had flown, but it truly does go quicker when you are enjoying yourself. Reluctantly our time was up and a train had to be caught in order to prevent us from wandering Chester station all night waiting for the mail train! The 10 minute countdown of the band's re-emergence on stage was displaying on the screen and we left the auditorium with the strains of 'The Start of Something Beautiful' in the air. In fact as we were walking away from the building and with an ambulance rushing past us in full siren we could still hear the band. We managed to catch the train home at Oxford station in plenty of time in the end and practically devoid of other passengers. Overall, despite only seeing half of the show, the trip was worthwhile and anyway I needed a T-shirt!

Anticipating Porcupine Tree

At last the wait is over! Tickets were bought months ago and now Simon and I can exchange them for a performance of the great Porcupine Tree tonight. We are going to the Academy in Manchester to witness the band playing 'The Incident' in its entirety, plus hopefully we will have time to see some of the second part of the show before we have to head off back down Oxford Road to catch the train home. Going to the venue will bring back happy memories for me. My first experience of seeing Porcupine Tree live was at the Academy but I believe that tonight's show will be in a different auditorium. The following for the band has dramatically increased in the last few years and this is reflected by the size of the audiences they have been drawing into venues on this current tour. It's good to see their popularity increasing and is continuing to increase as the years go on. Soon, gone will be the days when when people will say "who?" when Porcupine Tree is mentioned.

A 'Larry David moment'

Since rewatching the Larry David show 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' recently I have come across many instances commonly known as 'Larry David moments', when a ordinary normal situation eventually turns out to be one giant headache to sort out. However, there are other times, again there are many examples in the show, when Larry can't quite get why certain people act in the way that they do. Next time you go out to town, do the shopping, or take a run in the car, you are bound to meet some of these morons, who tend to do things that really annoy you.
Such a moment happened to my eldest son, Simon, this morning. Simon recently turned 18 and is quite a big built lad, and has no trouble passing himself for 20 actually. He popped out to get a Playstation magazine at our local Co-op here in Rhos-on-sea, but came back empty handed because a checkout assistant insisted on seeing proof of identity! This particular magazine is a popular one with kids obviously being a game console mag and I would imagine that kids of the age range between 10-18 would want to buy it. He could not believe that this woman had refused to sell him the magazine, so I said, come on let's go back. I want to see this! Simon picked his mag and went to the counter and was duly asked for his ID again. I was loitering trying to pretend I was not with Simon, but chipped in, "You do know that magazine is rated 15 don't you?" She replied that she has to ask because it's more than her job's worth. I said, " Yea, but you can see he's over 15, can't you?" It's policy, she said. So, you have to ask all the kids for ID before they can buy magazines now?, I said. Yes was the reply. So there you have it, if a magazine is a 12 rating, then all the 10 - 13 year olds have to show proof of age now. How many kids of that age carry ID cards? Not many. I have no problem if there is reasonable doubt in regards to someone who looks borderline, but if she thinks Simon wasn't even 15 years old today, she needs her eyes tested!

Tom's christening and that school!

Last week-end we went down to Suffolk to attend little Tom’s christening. It was held at the parish church of Copdock where Tracy and I were married in 1990. It was a bit weird going there again, first time since a little after the wedding, and it seemed a lot smaller inside now than I remember it then for some reason. Am I still growing! Surely not. Tom is the son of Tracy’s niece, Emma and her husband Keith. We had a great time, it was nice to meet up with family again, and Tom was a star through the whole thing. He seems to like Ben, smiling and laughing away whenever Ben was around him. Tracy’s other niece Jessica was also there with her fiancé, Alan, recently having announced their engagement. It was good to see her happy again and moving on with her life.
It was no surprise to us that our usual thorn in the side, the boys’ school, threatened the enjoyment of this happy occasion. Nothing surprises us with that place, continually getting things wrong and seemingly trying to make life difficult for us. In the past they have reported an Education Social Worker on us because I phoned the head to inform her that Ben was having a hard time going to school. I won’t reveal the specifics but it was about a month into his first year and he was having a hard time coming to terms with the situation that had developed at home. So, thinking it was the right thing to do, I informed the head teacher and said I need help as I didn’t know how to get him over this. Without any sympathy to our plight she forcibly told me that if I didn’t get him to school the following day the school would prosecute us!! This is a head teacher dealing with a parent who actually believes in education and has children who are polite and well behaved! Needless to say we took him in and he was worse than ever, despite the head of year reassuring us during the day. Ben later told us that the method he took to check on Ben was to go to his class and ask Ben in front of the whole class if he was ok! IDIOT. Of course he would say that! He didn’t go in the following day (understandably) and was reported to the ESW by the ever so helpful Mr Parry. He really showed himself up by being the head lap dog with this little incident, and I saw him in the head’s office as we were driving from the school. So much for me getting “help” from them! Luckily there was a school nurse there who helped us pull Ben through or God knows how Ben would have turned out. She was marvellous, but I won’t go to any teacher or member of the management at the school ever again. There are loads of things the boys have told us in the last 3 years of incidents that have happened which they have witnessed themselves, that would make any parent of a child in that school shudder, but perhaps all schools are like this, which if true is disturbing to say the least.
The week leading up to the trip is a typical example of the incompetence displayed on a regular basis. After writing letters to the form teachers of the boys at the beginning of the week to inform them that they had been invited to the christening, they were told to fill in a holiday form. Now bearing in mind that they were only going to be away for 2 school days, we did fill in the form anyway. We noticed that it said on the form that it was meant to be used for annual family holidays only, but hey, they know what they are doing, right? Sent it in and waited for a response. Got a letter from an assistant head to say that we need not have filled in the form and that a letter to the form teachers would be sufficient, and a reminder that it was not advisable to take pupils out of school during term time. HELLO! IT WAS FOR A CHRISTENING IN SUFFOLK! TAKES HALF A DAY TO EVEN GET THERE! What goes through these people’s minds? Do they expect us to leave the kids at home or with other relatives, while Tracy and I go down without them? Wouldn’t our relatives be wondering where they were and be upset that they were not there? So, after receiving the letter I phoned the school to sort the mess out, and that we had already written letters to the form teachers. I got told that everything would be sorted and that the boys would be registered as away due to family commitments. Finally, we can rest easy that the school knew and had recorded the correct information. Really? Too good to be true, I’m afraid! We went down by car, got booked in the hotel, and went to visit Tracy’s parents. Tracy checked her mobile and what do you know, a message from the school made at 2.50 enquiring that they were worried that Ben had not turned up to school! Ten to three they phoned! He had been missing since quarter to nine! And why were they phoning anyway? We had told them about the christening, remember?
So, I phoned again on the Monday morning to straighten things out again. When we got back they gave us more grief, regarding Simon’s EMA payments. The agony just goes on…! So, visit the blog next time to read the next hilarious chapter! What a Carry On… as

Simon's first goal

We have been taking Simon to football training for the last 3 weeks now, a village by the name of Betws yn Rhos by Old Colwyn, and after a couple of weeks of settling in and getting to know the other lads, he scored his first goal tonight. I know it's only training sessions, but it will do the world of difference to his confidence. A few more sessions and I'm sure he will become an asset to the team. He is not short on determination and I'm sure he will give it his nest shot.

These trips to Betws yn Rhos are quite good as there is an excellent pub there so Tracy and I can have a whole hour and a half there!

It's her birthday tomorrow so we might go back there for a meal.

Time out!

I had a rare opportunity last week to visit a pub in Llandudno! That may not be a big deal to most people, but with the current situation at home it was a great feeling just walking into the Albert pub (pictured) and having a pint of bitter. The situation arose through chance as my son Simon was not well at school and we went to pick him up. I had an appointment with Cam Ymlaen at 11 so Tracy decide to take him home. I stayed on for the appointment and intended to catch a bus home to Rhos-on-Sea. Tracy has OCD so it was a big test for her to drive home without me.

As it happens I needed change for the bus and I was standing around the same place as where this photo was taken, wondering where could I go to buy something for loose change! No contest! The pint of smooth John Smith's tasted magnificent, and I spent around 20 minutes just savouring the atmosphere. I have been going into this pub for over 20 years and remember how it used to be before it was refurbished. Some happy memories. I met my old college mate Dave Bland here for an afternoon drinking session back in 1988, just before graduation. He was in Llandudno for the week on a driving course. It's still a decent pub and one of my favourites to visit, with good food.

School

My kids have been back to school now for a whole week, and after a long break (longer for Simon) it's amazing that things settle down quite fast. After a couple of days of readjustment at the beginning, things have, thankfully, gone back to normal The summer is already a distant memory, and the realisation of its twilight period (darker evenings, christmas cards in the shops etc.) is starting to kick in. Ben is in a much better form class than last year, where it was the worst that teachers had seen, which says something about the general behaviour of the kids going there. Simon, being in the sixth form, was taken aback at the 'pep talk' given to them by the head teacher, who basically warned that some of them were lucky to be there and laid into those taking history as there were too many taking the subject! I, as a parent, would have liked a few encouraging words for them and congratulations for getting there, inspire them rather than drag them down. What do I know, eh?
Is this a record I wonder? Barely an hour and half into his new school, a lad was permantly excluded from John Bright School, for setting off a fire alarm. They are pretty strict on this misdemenour because of an epidemic of such incidents when the new school was started. Mind you, fire alarms were being deliberately set off in the middle of exams last summer term. I have some pretty strong views on school policies but I know that complaining and giving an opinion to those 'in charge' is a waste of breath; I've tried and it makes no difference and it just frustrates you to hell! Simon was attacked by a pupil in the middle of a PE lesson, with 2 teachers present, and the person we reported it to kept it quiet from the head for 3 MONTHS! And all the time we thought that the school were dealing with it! By the time the head did find out it was near the summer holidays, and she excluded him for just 2 weeks. The teacher who was at fault was retiring so she obviously tried to ride her time out and had no concern for Simon's welfare. This an incident that has affected Simon deeply, and for a long time was very bitter about everything. By going to 6th Form is a sign that he is getting over these experiences.

Simon's Exam results

It's been an eventful week for my son Simon which keeps getting better for him. He got his exam results this morning and he has obtained 8 GCSE's which include a couple of B's for both History and Welsh. We are all very proud of him, especially as it has been a traumatic couple of years for him at the school. He will have an interview tomorrow to see if he is allowed to enter the 6th form. He has the grades in the subjects he wants to A levels in so hopefully some more good news tomorrow. His nain took us all for lunch to The Estuary at Glan Conwy and we had a very good meal and a very nice time. It was nice to sink a couple if beers for a change!

Simon is 16

My oldest son was 16 yesterday so we decided to take him to a place he didn't think he would ever get the chance to go. We took him to Manchester United's ground Old Trafford where they take people around the ground on stadium tours. He was very pleased with the 'present that we could not wrap up' and bought him a new Man United football shirt with 'Tevez' on the back of it. We also took him to lunch at the Red Cafe, and I can recommend the buffet there. The tour guide, Stewart, was very entertaining and luckily I got away from revealing the knowledge of my football team. It would have been very awkward if he had found that I support Leeds United as they are not so hot nowadays and there is fierce rivalry between the two!

Judging at how many times Simon thanked us during the day I think we got it right this year!