The Meandering Gullbad Nogbee

Global Warming

In 1896 Svante Arrhenius was the first recorded person to claim a link existed between the use of fossil fuels, the subsequent level of atmospheric CO₂ and a correlating link to temperature rise within the atmosphere. He coined a phrase to describe the ensuing cycle as ‘The Hot House’ effect. At the time hot house was the name given to glass structures used to accommodate exotic plant collections. By the 1980’s, the term had been replaced with a more conventional term of the time; The Greenhouse Effect.

He and Thomas Chamberlin calculated that human activities could warm the earth by adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This research was a by-product of research of whether carbon dioxide would explain the causes of the great Ice Ages but was not actually verified until 1987. Why not?

My guess is that Al Gore's coined phrase 'An Inconvenient Truth' summarizes the complex reality.  Just as Arrhenius and Chamberlin discovered the potential damage fossil fuels might wreak upon our health and environment, innovation was starting to take place directly facilitated by that which was identified as having a potential cost in the long-term.  As the 20th century heralded auto-mobiles (and with actual mobility comes social mobility), fossil-fueled power stations (offering ubiquitous energy), global shipping routes and long-haul flights.  These are all things which define the 20th Century and all of these innovations rely on industry with their own powerful lobbying bodies.  Is it any surprise that so little was done by so many? 

After the discoveries of Arrhenius and Chamberlin the topic was forgotten for a very long time. At that time it was thought than human influences were insignificant compared to natural forces, such as solar activity and ocean circulation. It was also believed that the oceans were such great carbon sinks that they would automatically cancel out our pollution. Water vapor was seen as a much more influential greenhouse gas.

In the 1940's there were developments in infrared spectroscopy for measuring long-wave radiation. At that time it was proven that increasing the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide resulted in more absorption of infrared radiation. It was also discovered that water vapor absorbed totally different types of radiation than carbon dioxide. Gilbert Plass summarized these results in 1955. He concluded that adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere would intercept infrared radiation that is otherwise lost to space, warming the earth.

The argument that the oceans would absorb most carbon dioxide was still intact. However, in the 1950's evidence was found that carbon dioxide has an atmospheric lifetime of approximately 10 years. Moreover, it was not yet known what would happen to a carbon dioxide molecule after it would eventually dissolve in the ocean. Perhaps the carbon dioxide holding capacity of oceans was limited, or carbon dioxide could be transferred back to the atmosphere after some time. Research showed that the ocean could never be the complete sink for all atmospheric CO₂. It is thought that only nearly a third of anthropogenic CO₂ is absorbed by oceans.

In the late 1950's and early 1960's Charles Keeling used the most modern technologies available to produce concentration curves for atmospheric CO₂ in Antarctica and Mauna Loa. These curves have become one of the major icons of global warming. The curves showed a downward trend of global annual temperature from the 1940's to the 1970's. At the same time ocean sediment research showed that there had been no less than 32 cold-warm cycles in the last 2,5 million years, rather than only 4. Therefore, fear began to develop that a new ice age might be near. The media and many scientists ignored scientific data of the 1950's and 1960's in favor of global cooling.

In the 1980's, finally, the global annual mean temperature curve started to rise. People began to question the theory of an upcoming new ice age. In the late 1980's the curve began to increase so steeply that the global warming theory began to win terrain fast. Environmental NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations) started to advocate global environmental protection to prevent further global warming. The press also gained an interest in global warming. It soon became a hot news topic that was repeated on a global scale. Pictures of smoke stags were put next to pictures of melting ice caps and flood events. A complete media circus evolved that convinced many people we are on the edge of a significant climate change that has many negative impacts on our world today. Stephen Schneider had first predicted global warming in 1976. This made him one of the world's leading global warming experts.

In 1988 it was finally acknowledged that climate was warmer than any period since 1880. The greenhouse effect theory was named and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was founded by the United Nations Environmental Programme and the World Meteorological Organization. This organization tries to predict the impact of the greenhouse effect according to existing climate models and literature information. The Panel consists of more than 2500 scientific and technical experts from more than 60 countries all over the world. The scientists are from widely divergent research fields including climatology, ecology, economics, medicine, and oceanography. The IPCC is referred to as the largest peer-reviewed scientific cooperation project in history. The IPCC released climate change reports in 1992 and 1996, and the latest revised version in 2001.

In the 1990's scientists started to question the greenhouse effect theory, because of major uncertainties in the data sets and model outcomes. They protested the basis of the theory, which was data of global annual mean temperatures. They believed that the measurements were not carried out correctly and that data from oceans was missing. Cooling trends were not explained by the global warming data and satellites showed completely different temperature records from the initial ones. The idea began to grow that global warming models had overestimated the warming trend of the past 100 years. This caused the IPCC to review their initial data on global warming, but this did not make them reconsider whether the trend actually exists. We now know that 1998 was globally the warmest year on record, followed by 2002, 2003, 2001 and 1997. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990.

The climate records of the IPCC are still contested by many other scientists, causing new research and frequent responses to skeptics by the IPCC. This global warming discussion is still continuing today and data is constantly checked and renewed. Models are also updated and adjusted to new discoveries and new theory.

So far not many measures have been taken to do something about climate change. This is largely caused by the major uncertainties still surrounding the theory. But climate change is also a global problem that is hard to solve by single countries. Therefore in 1998 the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan. It requires participating countries to reduce their anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF₆) by at least 5% below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012. The Kyoto Protocol was eventually signed in Bonn in 2001 by 186 countries. Several countries such as the United States and Australia have retreated.

From 1998 onwards the terminology on the greenhouse effect started to change as a result of media influences. The greenhouse effect as a term was used fewer and fewer and people started to refer to the theory as either global warming or climate change.

Most recently political effort has been focussed on 'The Paris Agreement' (French: Accord de Paris) is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. The language of the agreement was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015.  It was opened for signature on 22 April 2016 (Earth Day) at a ceremony in New York.^[5] As of December 2016, 194 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty, 119 of which have ratified it. After several European Union states ratified the agreement in October 2016, there were enough countries that had ratified the agreement that produce enough of the world's greenhouse gases for the agreement to enter into force.   The agreement went into effect on 4 November 2016.  We can only hope that the agreements which have taken so many, so long to agree and dedicate themselves to will stand as a concrete starting point for action.

Although many thousands of ordinary folk have been engaged in the campaign to save our planet over the years, an equal activist in the effort to combat global warming is Leonardo DiCaprio whose Hollywood celebrity ensures messages shared by so many are given an excellent platform to be heard.  DiCaprio's environmental focussed films since he narrated 'The 11th Hour' and most recently 'Before the Flood' and 'The Ivory Game' ensure that the audience is a large one.

Whether the average member of the mob starts to hold companies and governments to account is yet to be seen.  What is needed is for each and every ordinary person to make a small yet extraordinary commitment in their lifestyle to help and protect the earth for future generations.  For some of us, this action could be as simple as avoiding meat for one day per week, for others it might be to choose whatever option is least damaging to our world at every opportunity; choose paper over plastic, choose second-hand over new, choose renewable energy over traditional options.  Together we can do something extraordinary.

I can assure you that I am not some neo-liberal, but I am pragmatic.  I can foresee a time when those who come after we are long gone will ask of their own families and communities - "What Did You Do?".  I believe that our legacy should not be one of inaction but rather a global movement of co-ordinated movement for change.  At least we all should be setting the example and demonstrating the benefits of those choices to the global market.  After all, it is in our common interest.

Of course this approach is easily adopted by those of us who are in the developed world and who live with post-materialist values, where choices regarding consumption are relatively straight forward, but for the majority of the world who live below the poverty line, consumer pressure is something of an unknown entity.  In developing countries, where many fold live their life aspiring to move from subsistence to materialist values, the notion of going without those things which have defined what it means to be successful before they have even had them, seems hypercritical.

So what is the answer?  As consumers from burgeoning middle-classes of emerging economies in ASEAN, India, China et al are increasingly becoming brand conscious; how do we reasonably ask them to make choices we, our parents and grand-parents did not?  Unless the right (environmentally sound) product choices can be presented as 'better-value' it seems obvious that the same mistakes which we have seen happen in the past will be made again.

In Thailand, chains of 7Eleven and Family Mart are mushrooming together with Tesco Local mini-marts bringing with them the convenience of every-day sugar-filled processed product at low prices supported by and in support of industrial agriculture.  All this means traditional and seasonal choices are fast disappearing from the daily diet of most urban dwelling Thai people.  As a result modern illnesses such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease are increasingly forecast for the millennial generation.   

It seems to me that the simplest message understood by most poor folk around the world, is the that whilst they choose convenience over a local farmers market for example, the rich get richer whilst the poor get sicker.

Eating healthily, buying local where possible, recycling, reduce and reusing are all things which need to be associated with with happiness, healthiness and success; in short - wellbeing.

If this example of aspirational benefits in life can be linked to responsible lifestyle choices for the 21st Century then there seems some chance those who are about to walk the materialist path, might just turn out as being more responsible than those who had materialist privilege during the 20th Century.   The only positive is that we don't have too long to find out.  Certainly we won't need to wait another hundred years to see the effects of the choices being made today.

End.

 

 

________________________________________________________________________________

Source/s:

Source: http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php

Source: Maslin, M., Global Warming, a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement

http://leonardodicaprio.org/

 

Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/greenhouse-effect/global-warming-history.htm#ixzz4SVSclX3A

Why did no one do anything about it until a hundred years later?

Seven Sisters Documentry

642 THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT

It has been a while since I sat down to think about something, let alone write something to share with anyone, via this neglected collection of thoughts and babble spewed from my brain box, who might be remotely interested in the lumbering merry-go-round that is my progression through this thing otherwise known as life.  

 

A while since, despite by most recent post where I was sure I had got back on track.  How wrong I must have been.  

 

Insight is funny thing.  When I don’t have it, I am often reminded “you don’t have insight”, “take a look at yourself”.  As is often the case the thing doing the ‘reminding’ is my own brain.  My own unforgiving internal monologue.  The cursing, spitting sometimes corrosive mental noise.

 

Which reminds me of what I always wanted installed above the hand basins of  a day centre for homeless people I once worked in.  I recall chatting to a couple of colleagues about the almost ubiquitous attempt of individuals to apportion blame of their circumstance on someone else (who hasn't done that?), something else (again who hasn't done that?) and never really accept their situation as a result of choices they had made.  

 

My proposed solution was to install mirrors above every handbasin emblazoned with the message “you are looking at the problem”.  Of course it was a bad idea in as much as it would simply have pointed the finger of blame, rather than a good solutions-focused chat.  The idea was dead.

 

That idea ended up on the same scrap heap as the idea where, to reduce the level of harm sex workers in Medway were exposed to, I proposed to offer a facility for them to make use of premium-rate phone lines offered by our charity.  A kind of self-employed, work at home, route out of street work using the same skills they might already have possessed.  

 

I can see now that was a minefield and the Board of Trustees were right to have kicked it into the long grass.  There is a funny story attached to that too, but we can leave that to another time.    

 

Back to the insight.  When I think I have it, I later realise, that was a delusion, an oft mistaken doppelgänger for something which seems like insight, but is otherwise more insidious, since inertia feeds off delusion like a leech.     

 

Anyhow, I have not written lately since I have been busy, making myself busy doing loads of stuff, which now I am trully back on track, I will go into at another time.  There are dozens of great things to share, but all for another day.

 

My inertia mostly related to this blog, and although it only really has a low number of followers, it does appear to have been looked at, if not 'read’ by a host of people from across the globe.  If I need an excuse to get cracking again, now I have it.

 

A couple of days before Christmas, and a day or so before leaving the little crop of rock perched somewhere to the top left of the European continent which I call my birthplace, a friend of mine (GG) gave me a book. 

 

 

“So?” you might ask.  And you’d be right to ask.  “So what?”.  Well, the book is called ‘642 THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT’.  

 

Well, in that simple gift giving/receiving thing which happens every year around the anniversary of (strictly speaking its originally the Roman celebration of Saturnalia.  Later to be incorporated by the story tellers of the man Jesus Christ  with their inclusion in the story of his birth of gifts, namely Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, given by the Magi and even more recently usurped by the giant corporations and their armies of merchandisers and marketeers who simply want us to think about things like discounts, offers, seasonal promotions and their profits) the birth of the King of Kings, son of God etc. 

   

Back to the book, the gift, '642 THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT’.  It’s a great book for anyone who hopes to write anything other people might read and I suppose something which anyone who enjoys the sometimes pointless process of generating collections of words, even just for their own amusment, might benefit from.  Why not check it out?   It’s brilliant.

 

Over time, I guess you’ll see the results of the gift.  Will it inspire?  Will I get into the habit of adding a few lines to this blog regularly.  It certainly has got me to write this and so…even though only time will tell…their is already a positive effect.

 

Right now, I have energy and focus; the doting parents of determination and I believe I will do this; write more.  Thanks for reading this and in case no one has genuinely said it to you of late; I wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.  

 

whales are sensitive, social animals with highly developed nervous systems

Like many, I received a copy of an online petition seeking to outlaw the annual slaughter of Calderon Dolphins or Pilot Whales in the Faroe Ilands, part of Denmark.

Whales are sensitive, social animals with highly developed nervous systems. They have a profound capacity to suffer distress, terror and pain. Each year, the Faroese kill pilot whales and other small cetaceans.

Islanders in motorboats first drive the whales into a bay. The chase may be lengthy. The exhausted, terrified and confused whales are eventually driven into the shallows. Here the bloodbath begins. The islanders repeatedly hammer 2.2 kg metal gaffs into the living flesh of each whale until the hooks hold. A 15 cm knife is then used to slash through the blubber and flesh to the spinal column. Next the main blood vessels are severed. The blood-stained bay is soon filled with horribly mutilated and dying whales.

Every year around 2,000 whales are driven ashore and cruelly slaughtered in the Faroe Islands, mid-way between the Shetland Islands and Iceland. For centuries the Faroe Islanders have hunted pilot whales, driving entire schools into killing bays, where they are speared or gaffed from boats, dragged ashore and butchered with knives. Although the Islands are a protectorate of Denmark, they have their own Government and regulations governing the pilot whale hunt or "grind" as it is known.

Dolphin drive hunting, also called dolphin drive fishing, is a method of hunting dolphins and occasionally other small cetaceans by driving them together with boats and then usually into a bay or onto a beach.

Their escape is prevented by closing off the route to the open sea or ocean with boats and nets. Dolphins are hunted this way in several places around the world. In Europe, the biggest annual hunt of this kind takes place in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic.

Despite the highly controversial nature of the hunt resulting in international criticism, and the possible health risk that the often polluted meat causes, many thousands of dolphins are caught and killed in drive hunts like this each year around the world.  The Faroese celebrate the butchery of their victims in an carnival atmosphere of entertainment. Indoctrinated from an early age, children are often given a day off school to watch the fun. They run down to the bay and clamber over the carcasses of slaughtered whales.

On the Faroe Islands mainly Pilot Whales are killed by drive hunts for their meat. Though officially this is the only species hunted, other species are also killed on rare occasion such as the Northern bottlenose whale and Atlantic White-sided Dolphin. The hunt is known by the locals as the Grindadráp. There are no fixed hunting seasons, as soon as a pod close enough to land is spotted fishermen set out to begin the hunt. The animals are driven onto the beach with boats, blocking off the way to the ocean.

 

When on the beach, most of them get stuck. Those that have remained too far in the water are dragged onto the beach by driving a steel hook into the blubber of the animal, though these days in response to allegations of animal cruelty they're more often dragged by putting a hook in their blowhole. When on land, they are killed by cutting down to the major arteries and spinal cord at the neck. The time it takes for a dolphin to die varies from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the cut. When the fishermen fail to beach the animals all together, they are let free again.

The pilot whale stock in the eastern and central North Atlantic is estimated to number 778,000. About a thousand pilot whales are killed this way each year on the Faroe Islands together with usually a few dozen up to a few hundred animals belonging to other small cetaceans species, but numbers vary greatly per year.  The amount of Pilot Whales killed each year is not believed to be a threat to the sustainability of the population, but the brutality of the hunt has resulted in international criticism especially from animal welfare organisations.

Aside from the fact that the number of North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales is unknown and they are listed as 'strictly protected' by the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, this is an act of barbarism and pointlessness. By slaughtering 100 whales at a time, the Faroese are wiping out entire pods and family groups. They are removing building blocks from the gene pool of the species and damaging the web of life in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.

The drive hunt is a practice abandoned elsewhere many decades ago, and now outlawed by other European states. The inhabitants of the Faroe Islands have no subsistence need for whale meat, and much of the flesh is left to rot and be dumped; it cannot be exported, as it is polluted with heavy metals and other toxins and therefore cannot meet EU heath standards for human food.

As in Japan, here too the meat is contaminated with mercury and cadmium, causing a health risk for those frequently eating it. Again, especially children and pregnant women are at risk.  In November 2008, the New Scientist reported in an article that research done on the Faroe Islands resulted in two chief medical officers recommending against the consumption of Pilot Whale meat, considering it to be too toxic.

In 2008 the local authorities recommended to no longer eat Pilot Whale meat due to the contamination, and this has resulted in reduced consumption, according to a senior Faroese health official.

According to Faroese legislation it is also permitted to hunt certain species of small cetaceans other than pilot whales. These include: Bottlenose dolphin; Atlantic white-beaked dolphin; Atlantic white-sided dolphin; and Harbour porpoise (There are also specific regulations for the hunting of harbour porpoise. Harbour porpoises are killed with shotguns).

So, what am I asking you to do about all this butchery?

Log onto:  this link by clicking here and add your details to the petition to end whale hunting in the Faroe islands.  You can also encourage friends and family to read about this dreadful practice and like you lend their support to abolish this brutality.

save sakineh

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43 year old mother of two, was convicted in May 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men and received 99 lashes as her sentence. Despite already having been punished, she has now been further convicted of “adultery” and she and sentenced to death by stoning.

She is currently being held on death row in Tabriz Prison, north-west Iran, and faces imminent execution. Around July 7th , following international protests, officials in Tabriz asked the head of Iran’s judiciary to agree that her sentence of stoning to death be converted to execution by hanging. On 10 July, the head of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights said that her case would be reviewed, although he affirmed that Iranian law permits execution by stoning.

On 14 July Sajjad Qaderzadeh, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son, was summoned to Tabriz’s Central Prison, and is believed to have been questioned by Ministry of Intelligence officials who possibly threatened him not to give further interviews about his mother’s case. It is clear Sakineh remains ingrave risk…

PLEASE sign this petition

The petition calls on the Iranian authorities to clarify her current legal status, demands that the authorities enact legislation that bans stoning as a legal punishment, and eliminates other forms of the death penalty for “adultery” such as flogging or imprisonment.

Further reading:

Iran Solidarity Blog

Guardian article

Dieudonne appeal

Heraldsun article

End.

the racist rock of dunoon

There are two guys I know called Thomas Rebel and Bill Child who are involved in a project to:

“permanently obliterate a racist monument on the shores of the Clyde Estuary on the West coast of Scotland. “

The monument is a rock daubed with red, black and white paint in the style of a ‘Golliwog’.  The rock also bears the motto ’Jim Crow’.  The name ‘Jim Crow’ was the nickname given to the racial segregation laws observed in the US at the beginning of the 20^th Century – the Jim Crow Laws. The name was also applied in the US to the grossly exaggerated ‘minstrel’ caricature of a black person – that which was was popularly known in Britain as a ‘Golliwog’.

For many years the racist Jim Crow rock has stood as a testament to both blatant prejudice and profound ignorance. 

The rock sits on the foreshore of the small community of Dunoon.  In 2003 a letter was published raising the issue and objecting to the rock in the Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard (the local newspaper), but with little tangible response. In the same year an email was also written to Trevor Phillips, the head of, the then Commission for Racial Equality, but received no reply.

Feeling this was unacceptable, the two guys drove to Dunoon last June (2009), and in the dead of night used several tins of Drummond’s International Grey (an almost perfect colour match for the rock!) and following closely the instructions on the tins, painted out the motif.

This resulted in the local newspaper taking the issue more seriously, publishing an article on the ‘vandalism’, and allocating space for the debate in their letters section. There were several letters of support for the protest from members of the local community. 

Despite this, within weeks of the efforts, the motif had been reinstated – most likely with the support of certain local politicians.

The guys have now pledged to repeat their ‘vandalism’ in order to achieve the original objective, and will do so again year on year until the rock is allowed to exist in its’ natural state.

Most recently they have tried to get additional support and endorsement from any other quarters, now including me.  Support I am happy to lend, if it means this nasty afront to diversity might be removed. 

Please find below some interesting links for your perusal.

The following link demonstrates the strength of feeling of a portion of the local community.
http://www.huntersquay.co.uk/

Another independent website outlining the story.
http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/TheJimCrow

Information provided by the Jim Crow museum details the history and significance of Jim Crow
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm

If you want to assist in maintaining the rock in a neutral (non racist state) by periodically painting it with Drummonds International Grey or if you want to just share your thoughts about the issue, please do so here.

as people on sun loungers have a paper by their side

I have had a number of conversations over the past couple of months with British, mostly English people, who reside here in Lanzarote,  about their views of the UK.

Its quite interesting how sheltered I have been to the news from the UK without much time to watch TV or even read a paper in the morning.  I have found myself becoming increasingly out of touch. 

Imagine what happens when someone lives here for a year, five or even ten years.

News is brought by recently landed tourists, debates held in mini-buses or half-caught headlines glanced at as people on sun loungers have a paper by their side.

I remember learning that word fact derives from the Latin 'fac(ere)'- to make, to do.  Similarly words including factor and factory derive from the same source.  Although accepted, these days, as meaning something that has happened, the word fact can just as easily be used to describe something 'made' or 'tested' or 'proved'.  In each one of these cases, simply placing the word man in front of the word dilutes its authority.  ‘Man made’ in regard to a factual piece of information implies it is fiction.  The cynic hearing the term ‘man-tested’, might point out how fallible man is as an authority and anything 'proved' by one man is dimply something waiting to be disproved by another at a later date.

On this basis I have listened and participated in debates with people who have been armed with their facts which they have been fed by news agencies, who were in turn fed by PR companies, spin doctors, politicos and promoters; each with their own bias.  Propaganda therefore fuels the minibus conversations from town to the dive sites most mornings.

As I have listened to debates rage with knickers getting twisted, I have heard details of how in the UK Christmas was banned, the flying of the St George's flag is illegal, the playing of conkers is outlawed and an Englishman is not allowed to be English.

When I was in England, I don't remember it being so restrictive.  I remember Christmas last year and it did not appear to be banned.  I remember distinctly when I received my mail with ‘Merry Christmas’ greetings on it. 

Where I live in Faversham, there is a St George's Day parade.  Is that banned? 

How can conkers be outlawed?  Kids will always find a way of stringing a horse chestnut and trying to hit one against the other.   Won’t they or will the ridiculous ‘elf and safety’ brigade really win the day?

(As a little digression, I remember a chap in my school called Julian having a tiny baby conker in his pocket which he thought was a world record for the 'smallest' - bizarre). 

I suppose this kind of fear-mongering sells papers and plays on peoples deep seated insecurities which in turn divides people and creates prejudice, ultimately selling more newspapers, spreading more lies, half truths or omissions. 

I am left reflecting in how modern Britain is a diverse place with several flags representing not just the geographic identities of England, Wales, Scotland (Northern Ireland which is represented on the Union flag by way of the inclusion of the St Patricks Cross), but many more flags having the possibility of being flown alongside the nations flags, in order to represent the diverse people who live in these places.

The communities I have lived and worked in have been pretty diverse.  Sure, the majority of people in my community have been English, but when the odd flag gets flown, whether any one of the flags already mentioned or indeed Italian, Australian or Ghanaian, I don't internalise it as a threat to my national identity.  I suppose even that I quietly celebrate the fact that the people I am living amongst are not all alike.  Difference in my opinion is good, and instead of worrying about Englishness being 'diluted', I see Englishness adapting and changing as it always has over millennia. 

I am left asking myself "What is an Englishman?".  Since I am English, then my blood is probably a reflection of the language I speak. 

The English language is a cornucopia of words, passed on, stolen or made up over the last 2000 years. English is still evolving, changing and mutating. Our language is not English (whatever that means!) after all - it is a stew pot of diverse words that have travelled to our shores and across our border from all around the globe. So how do words come to be part and parcel of what we use?  The answer is new words come with invaders, migrants, tradesmen; in stories, artworks, technologies and scientific concepts; with those who hold power, and those who try to overthrow the powerful.

So what am I saying?  I suppose I am saying to all those people who probably feel more out of touch than I do, "Untwist your knickers".  Britain is still Britain, England is still England and both will forever be changing.  If your not on the merry-go-round, its hard to keep up. 

For nothing is surer, change or difference happens whatever you do to stop it and so it’s best to celebrate it.  But my point is not just an attempt to say "stop being a bigot".  It is also an attempt to say loud and proud that; I like St George's Day and Christmas and Conkers and anyone trying to ban any of these things are just stupid, and not worthy of any level of serious contemplation.

Now let’s talk about something else.

Susan Winehouse

My smoking experiment seems to be going well and I can now inhale without choking. 

Of late a friends grown-up daughter has been popping round.  Ernest Winehouse' daughter, Susan, has been popping round.  A month or so ago Ernest, a Conservative called my house as asked me on behalf of he and his wife to attend a dinner at their waterside home.

I asked if he was ok, and he was reassuring that he had 'no difficult questions'.

When I arrived I was shown by 'Mother' (a lovely woman) who, on passing an open door from the hall, mentioned that their daughter Susan is cooking.

Then Susan entered my life.

She spoke of far off lands, adventures on beaches with turtle shells, creating pearl jewellery and meeting all kinds of strange and wonderful people.

As it happens Susan is not at all hard on the eye, and has a charisma to bring soul to any dinner of any political persuasion; probably even any dinner, politics excluded.

Susan also had stories!!  Stories of people dying having given their life to explore.  Amazing!

This is not to say that Conservatives are dull, but very often people from the same party in the same Town will share opinions on what is the best way to resolve an issue, notwithstanding their political hue.  This can sometimes result in a lot of dancing around handbags with all parties saying "Your not wrong there" or simply "Yes".  This does not make for a great chat.

I have always found Ernest to be easy to get on with and easy to agree with, but during this dinner, it was special.  He spoke about how he met Mother and how they moved from land to land, before settling where they are now.   Conversation moved across continents and anecdotes were shared.   It was a good evening in fine company.

A week or so later and I was invited to The Sun Inn in West Street by Susan.  It is a really nice pub.  Although a lot of the character was ripped or covered when the antique and retro posters were removed or hidden, it is still the best pub.

This was significant since I had not been their since my mate and I saw my lost love there some months back.

I met Susan who proved herself to be individually an interesting conversationalist.  She was entertaining, lively and witty.  During this time I was called by my old mate and later in the evening, we three met up to continue drinking at home.  It was during this evening that I finally decided to start my social smoking.

Anyhow to cut a long story short, Susan has been around my house several times to help purge it of all its nonsense.  I went out to see my Nan, whilst my sis, Susan and my late dad's wife bagged up and removed 22 bags of stuff which was later taken to the tip.

Over that weekend (last week end) I had an impromptu gathering where I got very, very drunk to the point of oblivion.

I am assured that nothing too outrageous occurred.

At this point its worth pointing out that without the assistance of the three mentioned above, I know that my house would not have been in the condition it was for the people to move in.  

In recognition for her contribution to my home, Susan was rewarded with what she said she wanted the most (...but that is another story).

Susan remains a good pal to whom I am indebted.

Hoodies, CCTV and 1984

Last night I was round a mate’s house, we watched a programme about ‘hoodies’.

It was quite strange in the way it tried to present itself as a serious piece of documentary making and by the end I was not sure if the programme was simply part of the hoody damning media bandwagon or not. 

On reflection I think its producers did a good job trying to look at all the angles and unpicking the presenting problems below the hoody covered surface.

There were two points I found most interesting in the programme.  The first was by a fashion guru who spoke about the 'blandness of youth'; the fact that youth has bought into the corporate machine so much that it is not cutting edge or reactionary as the rockers, mods and punks were, but rather were simply buying 'off the peg' sportswear provided by multi-nationals in every high street around the world.  The hoody is not a statement unless it is simply a statement of mediocre conformity.  This I liked!

NOTE: It is worth mentioning that I have bought a hoodie or two over the past few years thinking that they were a statment against the prejudice targeting those who are normally associated with wearing them.  I even went so far as to wear a hoodie to the first council meeting I attended after being elected a Tory councillor in May 2008, but again that is another story!

The second was when Piers Morgan narrated that (further reiterating his point in an article in the Observer on Sunday 25 September 2005):

"We are CCTV-mad in this country. I discovered in the course of filming this programme that Britain has 20 per cent of the world's CCTV cameras. Yes, 20 per cent. There are more cameras in Basingstoke than in New York City, where they are banned from places like the subway on civil liberty grounds."

"The average Briton will be picked up by 300 cameras a day, creating a pervading sense of paranoia. Cameras don't mug or stab you, though. And there is no doubt that a lot of hoodies cause a lot of problems for those who have the misfortune to live around them."

I thought that I would check out the claim and stumbled upon the following article on BBC News.  I found it interesting and think that everyone should be part of this debate, before its too late. 

Britain is 'surveillance society'
Thursday, 2 November 2006, 15:40 GMT
BBC SOURCE WEBSITE

Fears that the UK would "sleep-walk into a surveillance society" have become a reality, the government's information commissioner has said.

Richard Thomas, who said he raised concerns two years ago, spoke after research found people's actions were increasingly being monitored.

Researchers highlight "dataveillance", the use of credit card, mobile phone and loyalty card information, and CCTV.

Monitoring of work rates, travel and telecommunications is also rising.

There are up to 4.2m CCTV cameras in Britain - about one for every 14 people.

But surveillance ranges from US security agencies monitoring telecommunications traffic passing through Britain, to key stroke information used to gauge work rates and GPS information tracking company vehicles, the Report on the Surveillance Society says.

It predicts that by 2016 shoppers could be scanned as they enter stores, schools could bring in cards allowing parents to monitor what their children eat, and jobs may be refused to applicants who are seen as a health risk.

Produced by a group of academics called the Surveillance Studies Network, the report was presented to the 28th International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners' Conference in London, hosted by the Information Commissioner's Office.

The office is an independent body established to promote access to official data and to protect personal details.

The report's co-writer Dr David Murakami-Wood told BBC News that, compared to other industrialised Western states, the UK was "the most surveilled country".

"We have more CCTV cameras and we have looser laws on privacy and data protection," he said.

"We really do have a society which is premised both on state secrecy and the state not giving up its supposed right to keep information under control while, at the same time, wanting to know as much as it can about us."

The report coincides with the publication by the human rights group Privacy International of figures that suggest Britain is the worst Western democracy at protecting individual privacy.

The two worst countries in the 36-nation survey are Malaysia and China, and Britain is one of the bottom five with "endemic surveillance".

Mr Thomas called for a debate about the risks if information gathered is wrong or falls into the wrong hands.

"We've got to say where do we want the lines to be drawn? How much do we want to have surveillance changing the nature of society in a democratic nation?" he told the BBC.

"We're not luddites, we're not technophobes, but we are saying not least don't forget the fundamental importance of data protection, which I'm responsible for.

"Sometimes it gets dismissed as something which is rather bureaucratic, it stops you sorting out your granny's electricity bills. People grumble about data protection, but boy is it important in this new age.

"When data protection puts those fundamental safeguards in place, we must make sure that some of these lines are not crossed."

'Balance needed'

The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) said there needed to be a balance between sharing information responsibly and respecting the citizen's rights.

A spokesman said: "Massive social and technological advances have occurred in the last few decades and will continue in the years to come.

"We must rise to the challenges and seize the opportunities it provides for individual citizens and society as a whole."

Graham Gerrard from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said there were safeguards against the abuse of surveillance by officers.

"The police use of surveillance is probably the most regulated of any group in society," he told the BBC.

"Richard Thomas was particularly concerned about unseen, uncontrolled or excessive surveillance. Well, any of the police surveillance that is unseen is in fact controlled and has to be proportionate otherwise it would never get authorised."

Trouble makers dying in the winter

For several years I was involved in the fight against the effects of homelessness.  I have sat and listened to lots of informed and uninformed arguments and debates all trying to agree on the best means of providing essential services to homeless people in our society.

On the 19th April 2009, I attended a meeting at the office of a local district authority where together with another homeless charity operating in the same area, we again tried to look at solutions to problems faced by homeless individuals and the communities in which they live.

There are some who believe that since resources are so scarce, only people who want help should be afforded it whilst those who have either no insight into their position or no inclination to change can be excluded.  It may sound very liberal but I happen not to agree with this stance believing more in the merits of "There by the grace of God...". 

Many years ago I was told that the laws in Britain are based on the phrase  “Thou shalt not kill; but need'st not strive, officiously to keep alive”.  As time has gone on it seems that this is a profound or fundamental position taken by policy makers and implementers; not just a nuanced argument or perspective when considering the  law of the land.

There are a lot of things wrong with the central government homelessness agenda, but when meeting with representatives of the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department, they always struck me as passionate about alleviating the effects of poverty and targeting ‘those most hard to reach’.

Obviously this was lost in translation by the time the district was implementing their plans.  The reason I propose that the district was out of step with central government is because during my 19th April meeting, the local authority ‘officer’ stated:

“Well maybe our strategy needs to depend on trouble-makers dying in the winter”.

I was outraged and explained that any approach our agency would be part of would only be provided from the basis of compassion and without prejudice.  Moments later the meeting ended. 

It is uncanny that within 20 days of that meeting the charity was given notice that essential funding would be withdrawn and the night shelter would have to close, despite the feedback of monitoring officers informing us our performance was ‘on track’.

The charity and its team of staff worked extremely hard to comply with all that had been stipulated.  When notice was ultimately received, it became clear that rough sleepers would no longer have an emergency night shelter from September onwards.  The charity’s Board of Trustees appealed to the decision makers to enable the Nightshelter to remain functioning until March after the worst weather had passed. 

“No” was the response.

And so, what may have been said flippantly by an officer of a district council turned into reality as we in the UK suffered the worst cold whether in 30 years.  

Maybe their strategy did depend on trouble-makers dying in the winter.  

We will never know.

NOTE: It is fair to say that there were aspects of the service which did need investment to improve them, either in respect of time or money.  It is also fair to say that I for my part was accountable and responsible for a major proportion of the failings in the service.  A proportion of accountability reasonably is carried by everyone who had any involvement in the service delivery from the front line staff to the Board of Trustees. 

However much we try to blame ourselves or each other, truth be told, the powers that be, simply did not want a nightshelter.

Swapping their paddles and harnesses in favour of overalls and tools

With a recruitment process dedicated to team dynamics, the immediate future of Actual Reality looks like it’s being carried by its front-line staff, whilst its board wrestles with the local authority to secure the castles future.    

In a dramatic rally of support from over 5000 campaigners using the social networking website, Facebook the work of a great team of instructors might have been saved.   Having joined the Facebook campaign and having engaged in the discussion boards, I was passionate about the cause and decided that I should ‘do my bit’.

"I was passionate about the cause and decided that I should - do my bit"

It was one of those spur of the moment decisions that have punctuated my life over the years.  I decided to take part in a march in support of the work of the company ‘Actual Reality’, an outdoor education provider who operates out of a picturesque castle on the West coast of Scotland.  

 

In recent months the activities of one of Scotland’s premier outdoor education centres has been put under threat.   The centre based at Castle Toward, was closed by the building’s owners, Argyll and Bute Council in November last year following a combination of both fire stipulations and overdue maintenance needs not undertaken by the council.

I landed in Glasgow on Thursday and was keen to get to grips with the issues at first hand. It was then that I was introduced to the dedicated staff of Castle Toward.  Uncertain about their professional futures, the atmosphere was light and hardworking.     I took photographs of banners on the castle advertising the forthcoming march and public meeting.

 

 

The pressure applied by local community stakeholders together with the ‘Facebook 5000’ did make a difference and at public meeting, the council made an apparent u-turn.  The council representatives declared their intent to work alongside Actual Reality to resolve the problems and re-open the castle on 1st March enabling kids from all over Scotland to benefit once again.

"the ‘Facebook 5000’ did make a difference"

The closure threat to the outdoor activity residential education centre has attracted almost 1,400 signatures on a petition calling for it to stay open and the council obviously listened. 

In early January, following the closure and amid heavy criticism of Argyll and Bute Council for its handling of the situation, local supporters requested that South Cowal Community Council facilitate a public meeting to discuss the situation, with council officers in attendance.

Representatives of Argyll and Bute Council and Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Ltd had a very positive meeting on 22nd January which cut ‘the Gordian Knot’.

Following a gathering of supporters around the bandstand in Dunoon, at a public meeting on Saturday 30th January, Dr Chris Mason speaking on behalf of the Directors of Actual Reality explained, “the 1st March opening date is a great step forward and the company is now engaged in negotiations with a view of buying the castle and a proportion of the estate from Argyll and Bute”.

"the 1st March opening date is a great step forward"

Image courtesy of Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard

Whilst the Facebook campaigners are still gearing up to fight the rest of the war in support of buying the castle, staff at the castle are fighting their own battle at the front line leading up to the 1st March. 

In a push to complete remedial works required in order that Castle Toward is fully occupied and used for residential accommodation, it’s all hands on deck, with instructors swapping their paddles and harnesses in favour of overalls and tools. 

 

The council released a statement saying, “If the agreed works are completed to the satisfaction of both parties, Castle Toward will be able to be used by Actual Reality for the delivery of its outdoor education programme.”

 

In an official statement released by Actual Reality it was confirmed “Castle Toward is a beacon, a bright light on the radar of Scottish education provision whose contribution to the skills, knowledge, attitudes and understanding of countless young people is legend.  We are now all going to work together to carry that capacity forward for future generations thus helping to develop the confident and responsible citizens and contributors upon whom so much will depend as we face more and more complicated options for a sustainable future”.

Pete “Pedro” Clark, Senior Instructor for Castle Toward, overseeing an 18-strong team of outdoor educators said “It’s fantastic that everyone has rallied so hard to get the place ready for the kids when they start coming again.”

"It’s fantastic that everyone has rallied so hard"

Later during the interview when describing how staff are recruited Pete explained, “unlike some other centres up and down the country, it’s not about being macho or testosterone fuelled, it’s not about whether a person has the best kit or has the most qualifications. It’s about whether they will fit in and contribute positively to the team.”

Reading the comments left on the discussion board of the Facebook group, it’s clear that the team make a big difference to 6000 or so kids who pass through the centre every year before considering the secondary positive effects the castle brings to the surrounding local community.   

"my thoughts rest on the Castle Toward instructors and their battle I think they will win"

During my limited time sitting in the staff room and sharing tea-breaks with the crew, I left feeling inspired that the castle is in safe hands.  The front-line instructors are a light hearted and passionate bunch.  They are the heart-beat of the castle without whom, the castle just turns into a  Victorian pile of stone and mortar. 

 

As one member of the ‘Facebook 5000’ and reflecting on my experience whilst on my flight down to Gatwick, my thoughts rest on the Castle Toward instructors and their battle I think they will win.   
 

For further information see:

http://www.actualrealitycentres.com

http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk

Facebook

Forargyll.com

End.