protest

Dear Mum

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To my mother, Elaine, how did you put up with me? And Astrid and Paul Jr too.  Thanks for being there no matter what and for giving me the confidence to be me.  I am finally seeing who I am and will make up for all my mistakes.  It’d be a dishonour to you, if I did not. I am always trying to better and fairer. Even when the fan is hit by epic proportions of proverbial turd.

Thanks for the Lego, the creation, the joy of reading and the pushes a long my walk through life.  Gran shines on through you and your sisters.  Then, there’s my Dad’s mother, Nana, friend’s and family members as mothers.  We’re blessed by so many great people that we meet a long the way.  Then, there are those unlucky not to be mothers, or mothers who have gone through terrible tragedies.  Let’s think of them too.  There are so many great mothers in the world, but only one is mine. 

Thanks for sharing the gift from a wonderful person, your Paul, t’other day. Seeing the Royal Northern College of Music and Clod Essemble’s production was magically enchanting. The enchanting evening featuring Welsh poetry, prayer, dance, lighting, and Thomas Mccarthy‘s words was emotional. Mam and Paul shared some amazing times and I’ve been lucky enough to share a few along the way.

Thank you Mum, for being my hero. I’ll try to do you proud, as best as I can. This week will be a tough one with Paul’s funeral. You’ve worked hard to ensure treasured memories and tribute follow. Thanks to you and Alexia for staying together to sort all this touching moments and photographs of time into a fitting farewell.

My Mam hasn’t needed profound words or phrases but she has always had a way to make me think, rather than lecture. Learning about choices and consequences, through expected feelings and what could or could not go wrong or right is one way to develop. Mam has opened many doors to the world.

Through an introduction to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., and live gigs like Meat Loaf or Jeff Wayne’s War Of The World‘s, Mam has always ensured entertainment and fairness. The Campaign for Minimum Wage concert at Manchester’s then Nynex Arena was yet one example of social consciousness that I’ve been lucky to attend. Save Levenshulme Baths walk completed. Fix Chapel Street Primary School roof, supported. Local coffee shops over brands and chain? Why not?

Cypriot charms, Cornish climates, Lanc-York-Derby-Shire wanders, trips to Barmouth in Cymru, and so many examples of Mam providing a good life beyond No Frills beans and Weetabix. Cheers fo investing in us all.

To mums!

To my Mam. You’re the best. Love you.

The People vs. Just Stop Oil

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Do we need to give our heads a massive collective wobble? Is a bunch of suffragette-style protest interrupting a fourth set the biggest of our worry? Just how recycled is that Donald Trump-coloured confetti? Will Gladiators return to TV inspire a Last Of Us radicalisation of our survival instincts?

These past 30 calendar days have seen the highest average global temperatures on record. Presumably, a catastrophic event caused higher temperatures prior to an extinction event. Not that thermometers had been invented, and people evolved. As toasted Mediterranean olive bushes and scolded tourist skin fragrances, the air of Italy and record-breaking Sardinia, shouldn’t we be worried?

As a jetsetter, I’m part of the problem. As a consumer, I’m deeply ingrained in the cause. As a descendent of the Industrial Revolution, I’m the offspring of people who came, saw, and conquered all. We’re the revolution, we the collective that is needed to realise that we’ve gone too far. But… leaders are needed to lead. Decisions, immediate laws, and collective change to make a difference are long overdue. Sadly, UK Prime Minister(s) and other global leaders fail us. Our destructive yet beautiful oxymoron of a species is moronic and running around like a headless chicken… with its wings on fire. Totally cooked. Still, at least we can eat spicy chicken wings. Carbonated.

Forest fires? Rising in numbers. Like sea temperatures. Just like air pollution. Build a rocket boy? No! Everyone, country or business, can jettison vast amounts of space exploration gases. Dig up the coal. Burn it! Burn it all! Tax wind farms and milk the profits of oil barrels. Morality to mortality? Just Stop Rishi Sunak and his massive heated outdoor swimming pool. Our leaders and those at the top, interwoven and controlling all, have their pockets being lined, so how do we fight back?

Just Stop Oil are the suffragettes of the 21st century. Their methods may inconvenience many, and some compare them to terrorists in that they’re too active attacking people rather than leadership and authorities, but Just Stop All are making a fight, and that fight is making talk. Actions? Arguably, the actions at oil terminals helped their order.

Just Stop Oil wish to end fossil fuel licensing in the UK. Vandalism, civil resistance, direct obstruction, and road blocks have featured. Alongside tubes of superglue. Leaderless and without hierarchy, Extinction Rebellion and Insulation Britain are similar to Just Stop Oil. Each has targeted sporting events, British institutions, and maximised publicity. Art is bo exception. Glueing to a viewing. I’m not a fan of destroying heritage and culture, but isn’t it more on the line than our artistic history?

Hundreds of arrests, fines, and Police hours have been dedicated to protests and those seeking change. If it wasn’t for my profession, the consequences, and my own cowardice to abandon responsibility for protest, I’d happily join Just Stop Oil. Sadly, it’s all just my own hot air. Public Order Bill involvement seems a bit too far for this Mancunian from a city famed for radicalism. That real-life James Bond baddy, Drax, can keep pumping harmful gases in peace. As Norway taxes fossil fuel companies at 78% rates to support its economy and move to natural resources, Britain is left behind by greed and corruption. God save the King?

As for the contradiction of supporting an oil-backed football club, sporting an Etihad Airways sponsorship logo, whilst also wanting to support Just Stop Oil, that’s life, filled with contradiction… never simple. If only leaders could regulate and guide us from total destruction. Labour under Keir Starmer and the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak seem no better than one another. Both seem to vilify Just Stop Oil. Wishful thinking to think either can fix this environmental mess?