CoffeeHousers' Wall, 20 July - 26 July

Jeremy

Hurrah! The Coffee Housers' Wall is up...and here is Mein Contribution:

Something About A Crow.

There I sat - ageing rock music aficionados to the left, the intellectually challenged to the right, and me in the middle. 'twas ever thus...

Today I had the cafe experience - at my favourite cafe, where the coffee is good. I am an inveterate cafe-sitter - or, to be more precise, an inveterate outside-the-cafe sitter. There, we perch on our chairs and cling territorially to our tables at the very edge of the precipice. One step beyond our small, teetering outcrop of civilised order and it's....the abyss. Barbarism. Beards. Florid faces, broken noses and cheap alchohol. Missing teeth, too - if you look for 'em. But not here. Not with us - sitting precariously around our tottering tables. We are Romans, and this is the Roman Empire - but unfortunately the date is 474 AD. Oh dear. One slip and we're doomed. We're doomed anyway, but....can we have just one more cappuccino, please? As good as the last one? Thank you...^^

It's a filthy job - upholding civilised standards at the end of things, when nobody else cares any more - but somebody's got to do it. So it might as well be us. And who are we? We don't even know one another...we just recognise one another by sight, that's all. Teetering here, on our little outcrop of civil order...with chaos all around. Yes, it is Rome. But the date is 474 (and a half) AD.

Today was also the day that I went to the bookshop. And what did I do there? I read some Shakespeare. I chanced upon a rather nice edition of the sonnets. It looked and felt like one of those old-school hardback textbooks - of the sort that everybody else around here is probably too young to remember. Just what you want, really. But it was twenty quid (!). So I had to make do with loitering in the bookshop, leaning against the shelves and reading randomly selected highlights. I like the early-to-middle ones the best. Why? Because the poet's feelings are at their strongest. That, and the way he uses the language. At least Shakespeare reminds you of what it is to write.

But to write to whom? And to write what to them? Not for nothing did one of Shakespeare's contemporaries describe the sonnets as "sugar'd". They are fair covered in the stuff. All the better to make them sweet, no doubt. They were written to please. But to please whom? Well, in spite of what the obscuritanists and conspiracy-theorists might tell you, the answer to that question is actually quite simple. They were written to please Shakespeare's titled and wealthy male patron (the Earl of Southampton) who also happened to be younger than himself - probably in his late teens when Shakespeare was writing the sonnets to him. And this explains the slight note of artificiality which they contain. Given the relative positions of the two in the social hierarchy of the time, Shakespeare could hardly write absolutely everything he might have thought and felt about this person to them. Best to err on the side of praise. Hence:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate...

This is not to say that all of the poet's feelings towards Southampton were artifice. It is simply to say that for the aforementioned reasons, he could not write down everything he felt. He had to watch his step. He was treading a fine line. Perhaps even running a risk and taking a chance. He was a bit of a "chancer", was our Will. One foot over the line, either way, and "chop!" In the social order of the day, Shakespeare was only a poet, after all...

Whilst in the bookshop I also read some Ted Hughes. Something about a crow. God was trying to teach this crow to say the word "Love". But all the crow did was to retch up the head of a man followed by a woman's vulva. This was much to God's dismay and somewhat to the crow's own shame, too.

"Typical Ted Hughes!" I thought. "Writing about a delinquent crow..."

I think the crow is the poet. "God" is the Muse of Poetry. And the head and the vulva struggling with one another on the grass? That's that other subject of his....I reckon.

I think that I might quite like these "crow" poems of Ted Hughes'. Rawrk!

Paul B

1-0 !!!!

Freddie!!!!!!!!!

Sheila

A great piece from Peter Hitchens who has consistently pointed out how the Blair/Brown era has been the most radical in this country's political history (what other leader has sought to wipe out the indigenous population via mass uncontrolled immigration?) This is his latest post on this subject:

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2009/07/the-defence-secretary-and-the-international-marxist-group.html

This is the sort of thing Melanie Phillips means to when she refers to Labours ideological spite. McPoison is a poisonous means, the end to which he and his fellow smearers have been working is even more spiteful and poisonous than the ends themselves.

Matthew Oliver

Competition Time
http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/electionpurity/?p=881

Looking ahead to the Glasgow North East and Norwich by-elections, the Stamp Out Voting Fraud campaign, is starting a Twitter competition to guess how many postal votes will cast in each of the two elections.

Readers will remember what happened in the Glenrothes by-election when the number of postal votes cast shot up from the 2005 general election number of 3,125 to 6,925. Then the marked register went missing so parties could not check who actually voted!

There were 11,361 postal votes counted in 2005 in Norwich out of a total of 47,033. In Glasgow there were 1,617 out of a total of 28,418 votes! Source: Electoral Commission

The lucky winners (there are two separate competitions one for each by-election) will get a free copy of our book Unlocking Democracy: Twenty Years of Charter 88

Competition Rules
All guesses should be left on Twitter (to follow me see the link on the right hand side). Alternatively you can leave them in the comments section on the website.
The deadline for each seperate competition will be 10pm on Polling Day when the Polling Stations have closed.
People can vote how many times they wish.
If no one guesses the actual number, the nearest guess will be used.
Judges decision is final.

Jock

There are a couple of oft repeated and seeemingly unchallenged claims made by the government which I would like to see checked.

The first is the assertion that there are 500,000 fewer unemployed people than would have been the case but for action taken by the government to counter the recession.

What is the basis for that claim? Has it been checked or commented on by any independent source?

The second relates to capital spending in respect of which the government positions future cuts by asserting that some capital spending has been brought forward to combat the effects of the recession.

If that is right, surely it must mean that current and early future year captial spending must be greater than was planned - presumably by an amount equal to the brought forward expendidture.

Has data been published which confirms this switch of planned spending from later to earlier years?

So David, can you or Fraser or other colleauges help on this?

David Ossitt

Jeremy.

"Shakespeare was only a poet, after all..."

Only a poet?

David Ossitt

Jeremy.

"Typical Ted Hughes!"

What on earth are you on about; or should I ask what are you on?

Verity

Sheila - Yes Blair has sought to wipe out the indigenous population with mass, lunatic immigration ... and people are so naive, so unknowing, that they put it down to carelessness, or stupidity on the part of the government. "God! Hopeless! Can't they do anything right?" Oh, but they were ...

Blair's was the most malign, despicable government ever endured by the British - with the hollowing out of the indigenous population, our ancient civil society and our ancient legal structure. All of it brought down with a wrecker's ball. And people (other than a few, a very few, like Peter Hitchens) shook their heads and said, "This is so stupid! Can't they see the consequences?" And Blair, marching on through the institutions, allowed them to think it was stupidity and ineptitude ...

Cameron would't do it, and thus mustn't win the next election, but every statute put on the books, every last one, over the previous 15 years should be removed with the stroke of the pen. En bloc. No point in debating any of them because they were all spiteful and vicious. Next, EHRA, stroke of the pen: gone.

And the same minds that devised the EHRA are, with stealth and cunning, advancing the EU, so have to be rid of the European Union as well.

Cameron would have neither the nerve nor the nous to do this.

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

Jeremy.

You don't have a job do you?

Cogito Ergosum

The Queen's English Society has, in the recent issue of its journal, made some comments urging reforms in education and in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. I commend these comments to Mr. Gove and his admirers. I quote...

... This editorial has a more deep-rooted concern: it is appalled at the relentless optimism in all QCA documents; it is not only appalled but deeply depressed. Those documents suggest a picture of happy children eagerly absorbing knowledge from dedicated teachers. That contrasts with newspaper reports written by real teachers, of sullen and insolent children waging guerilla warfare against clock-watching teachers who are counting the days to when their pension starts, while feckless parents threaten legal or physical action against the schools and councils are selling off playing fields to building developers. Our concern is that the efforts of the QCA will achieve nothing unless the real state of our schools is properly dealt with, particularly at secondary level.

If schools were as happy as the QCA picture suggests, we would possibly not need the QCA in the first place. We suggest that schools are unhappy places because many educationists and teachers are failing the children, despite their protestations to the contrary. So we ask what can be done to better absorb children's energy in the kind of learning that will satisfy them.

The first necessary reform must be to accept wholeheartedly that there is a range of ability in children; and that teaching can harness that ability into achievement but it cannot impart that ability where it is lacking. In the immortal words of Tony Hancock, "But stone me! You've got to start with something".

This column regrets that the old GCE and CSE were combined into the replacement GCSE. It is obvious that brighter children can learn more than duller children. What is less obvious is the difference in quality of what they learn: the brighter children can go behind the immediate facts to varying levels of abstraction. Therefore we really do need two types of examinations.

In a mixed-ability class, there will always be some children who are bored. The duller children will be bored by any attempts at abstraction, but the brighter children will be bored if everything is ruthlessly practical. Boredom turns to resentment, and leads to the troubled classes noted earlier.

The second reform is to accept that children can best learn at their own pace when everyone else in the class is learning at a similar pace. When that happens, there is an unmistakeable "buzz" in that class, and we would be approaching the happy picture that the QCA and everybody else hope for.

Two reforms, then: recognise the variation in ability, and group children accordingly. These reforms would bring what Neville Chamberlain might have described as "Peace in our schools".

CDF

MikeF,

Feeding urban foxes is 100% avoidable, stupid and anti-social.

Steve.W

Arts funding is 100% avoidable, stupid and anti-social. So don't do it again MikeF.

Kevyn Bodman

1-0 indeed,and well done Freddie.
But not just Freddie.
Graeme Swann got 4 in the second innings.
Strauss got a big hundred in the first, and Cook got 95, a superb first wicket partnership on day 1.
Prior's quick 60 enlivened the game.
So, not just Freddie.
And those who didn't star in this match will contribute in 2 or 3 of the next 3.
It's a team game.
Praise to Freddie, certainly. But not all praise to Freddie.

I have been watching it on satellite TV and have been delighting in the commentary of Shane Warne.
This is the first time I have heard him and already I think he is the most insightful of all the current crop.
He's the most humorous too. And there is wisdom in his humour;he knows the proper use for an ice-bath.

But watch out England when Philip Hughes hits form.

Poor Mitchell Johnson.
I was reminded of something that Gerald Davies wrote in his book, published after he retired. A captain should never give a hard time to a player who is playing badly. The player himself knows, and he's not setting out to play badly.
It looked as if Ponting understands that aspect of captaincy.
But I don't think Johnson is going to hold his place.

(Gerald Davies, who he? google him, or even better see if he is on youtube from when he was at his peak.)

Jeremy

David:

"What on earth are you on about; or should I ask what are you on?"

I'm not quite sure what the question means in relation to what I have written as a whole. Perhaps you might care to elaborate a little further...?

"Only a poet?"

I think that I was trying - albeit in brief - to set Shakespeare within the context of his time. Perhaps had I written "..a poet, a playwright, a sometime actor and man who owns shares in a theatre..", that might have been better. But I think my basic point holds good. I mean, given what and where Shakespeare came from, the trajectory of his life and career would suggest a man of some ambition. Obviously ingratiating himself with a titled, well-connected and (presumably) wealthy patron would not exactly be against his own best interests...would it?

I think that one ought to be aware - when reading the sonnets - of the difference in social rank between the poet and the object of his verse.

Were you objecting to that point?

John Law

A bit of Déjà vu, about 1000 years on.
I was looking up King Canute, as you do, and came across this, which could apply to our own dear PM.

In an account of King Canute and his sons, this:

Harthacnut (read Broon the unready) then ruled for only two years before he, too, died, leaving behind little to remember him by other than the huge taxes he imposed.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said of him, "He did nothing worthy of a king as long as he ruled".

As well we only get them this bad every 1000 years

MikeF

CDF - Lighten up, I am not conducting a controlled breeding programme and then releasing them into the wild. Like all wild animals that live amongst people - and they do now - they can present problems, but also bring the reward of reminding you of what nature is about.

Commondog

No word as yet from Amnesty Int' regarding Bowe Bergdahl and his being paraded by the Taliban.

Nor from any other of our defenders of human rights.

Maximilian

CDF, there's nothing wrong with urban foxes. A lot of people like them, including me. My wife and I used to feed them regularly when we had some living near us in southeast London. We moved away, but I expect the foxes are still going strong.

Jonathan_T

The shambles of the Brown 'administration' continues.

According to the Times, tax revenues are down by £32bn (perhaps no surprise) but Ministers were too spineless to announce this previously (definitely no surprise).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6721120.ece

On a more positive note and as others have noted, 1-0!

Verity

Mike F - Diversity coordinating is 100% avoidable, stupid and anti-social.

David Ossitt

Jeremy.

"Were you objecting to that point?"

No; I was objecting to the word 'only' as in 'only a poet'.

For me; all of his work is as near to perfection as it is possible to be, it is as if one could write off Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as 'only a musician'.

Paul B

Kevyn , I agree with everything, especially your comments on Shane Warne. To use the cliche, hes a breath of fresh air. His knowledge of the game is second to none, he amusing, indiscret, honest, straight talking and just a wonderful character.I to loved his comments about the ice bath did hear his comments about the baggy green and McGraths chuntering to himself. Always in the back of mind , is the memory of him, Warne, THE finest bowler of all time now fast becoming the best pundit.

David Duckham, who he? Ssee his display for the Barbarians, an honourary Welshman indeed.

Bryan

Swine Flu Expenditure: I have it from reliable sources that the government is not only PLANNING measures to deal with the worst-case scenarios, but is actually already spending REAL MONEY buying buildings, equipment and systems to cope with them. Is anybody asking HOW MUCH?

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

Verity.

You'll love this:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6720688.ece

Nicholas

Is it me - am I becoming just too cynical as a result of this wretched occupation of our beautiful country by the forces of fascism - or is there a connection between the announcement of a downgrading of the terrorist threat status on the same day as yet another fatality in Afghanistan is announced?

Is it a subliminal New Labour message for the prols that the campaign in Afghanistan is working to "keep terrorism of our streets" which has been their "on message" studio bleat when they are being criticised for military casualties?

If so, are the police complicit in this New Labour propaganda? Rhetorical question - no answer required.

Moira

"He gave our country away. He took away our pride and pleasure in being who we are, BRITISH, with everything that that represents. He reduced our history."
This is part of a moving comment alongside a signature on the Stop Blair eu petition, made yesterday. So sad, and so very true.

Nicholas

Yet another example of New Labour manipulation trying to bury evidence of their monumental incompetence:-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6721120.ece

Jeremy

David:

"For me; all of his work is as near to perfection as it is possible to be, it is as if one could write off Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as 'only a musician.'"

I think that you have to draw a distinction between, on the one hand, a person as seen within the context of their own time and, on the other hand, how they subsequently come to be regarded by posterity. The two things are not necessarely the same...

Now, you say that all of Shakespeare's work, for you "is as near to perfection as it is possible to be", and I dare say that many others (not least the playwright himself) might be inclined to agree with you.

But I also think that the comparison with Mozart is something of a red herring. The composer's milieu is not the same as that of the writer's. Hemingway isn't Handel (unless Handel was into bullfighting, booze and shotguns: "You mealy-mouthed son-of-a-bitch...") Beethoven isn't Lord Byron (unless he's seducing the choristers - again) and Schubert isn't Kipling (who, I think you will agree, made exceedingly good cakes). The London theatrical scene of the late sixteenth century (pits an' warts an' ribaldry an' all) isn't the same thing as the concert halls of Vienna in the eighteenth century (if that is where and when Mozart lived). I think one ought be careful about mixing up characters and milieus in the way that you seem to do. The impression that you seek to convey - that nice Mr Shakespeare sat nicely at home, nicely "composing" his nice plays whilst all the Artful Dodgers of London filled the streets with cries of "Gawd bless yer, Mr Shakespeare!" and then went round for plum pudding on a Sunday - is probably an artificial construct.

Paul B

What a wonderful statue of Eric Morecombe and thanks for the photo EC. The statue really brings out the essence of the man, it may be gloomy , but Eric brings a warm amused feeling. Hes making me smile, bringing sunshine.

EC who is the sculptor? Its reminiscent in some ways of Anthony Gormleys Another Place, the statues in the Mersey estuary, which I find an incredibly amusing and thought provoking body of work. For me, Gormley is one best British artists presently working, I love his living sculptors on the spare plinth in T Square, a real man of and for the people.

Andy Carpark

I recently rediscovered "Tom Driberg: His Life and Indiscretions" by Francis Wheen.

During the 60s, Driberg was commissioned to compose a series of crosswords for Private Eye, most of the solutions to which were at least vaguely salacious, even if the clues themselves were cryptic. Then as now, there was a small prize for the first correct entry. One of the winners, who had her name displayed in 6 point type and was therefore noticed by practically no-one, was a Mrs Rosalind Runcie, wife of the then Bishop of St Albans.

Apologies if this morsel doesn't "contribute" anything to the no doubt momentous "Debate".

Paul B

Jeremy,

Thank you for your blog regarding Cafe life, I to enjoy sitting in (or outside if weather allows) Cafes and watching the world go by. Mines either a large Latte or an Americano, with a raspberry jam doughnut. I (embarrassingly) am rather Homerish (is that a word) in my lust for doughnuts.

Thank you for the few facts regarding "Our Will" ,to my shame I know so little about him. Is there a suggestion that Shakespeare may have been prostituting himself with Southampton, having a homosexual relationship with , which was not to Shakespeare choosing, but he need the money. Artists stereotypically tend to be more bohemian and experimental in their preferences than the rest of the great unwashed, or is that a stereotype too far on my behalf.

Paul B

David O- I believe Jeremy was being ironic in his use of "only" and not in being disparaging of Shakespeare's talents

Frank P

Having just scrolled to Fox News on my Sky TV Box, I find the following message:

"Fox News Channel brings you all sides of events and people who change our world and live updates 24 hours a day. Sky TV subscribers can get the channel and more for £1 extra per month (EUR 2).

To upgrade your subscription press [red button] or call 08442 415161 to receive this channel."

Weeeeelll! For a start who DOWNgraded me. Sky recently upped the monthly subscription - as it does annually. I've been getting Fox News without a surcharge since Sky first started to broadcast it here. Why am I now being fined £12 per annum for watching it? I note that CNN is still free ( perhaps that's because I never watch it anyway, having gotten thoroughly pissed off with the Channel for it's leftist bias). Can somebody tell me WTF is coming off here? I am loathe to fine myself even more by dialling the above telephone number which no doubt is a premium rate number with a cut going to SKY. Is this just a financial rip-off, or is there a political motivation here? And what is (EUR 2)??

Kevyn Bodman

On the subject of doughnuts:
where I live Krispy Kreme are a relatively new arrival.And they've already got a devoted hard-core fan base.
Junk food at its absolute finest.
Please don't say that they are only doughnuts;on that basis Shakespeare was only a poet and JSB only a composer.
And Eddy Merckx was only a cyclist.

EC

Frank P, I think it's just about the money. Phone sky customer services up and tell them that you are unhappy and ask to cancel your subscription. They will then put you through to their "customer retention" department and you may be able to cut a deal with them.
Good luck!

logdon

Kevyn Bodman
July 21st, 2009 1:39pm On the subject of doughnuts:
where I live Krispy Kreme are a relatively new arrival.And they've already got a devoted hard-core fan base.

Obviously well heeled. My local Tescos sell them at an enormous price. However whenever I see the people who buy such overblown products it's not the only thing which is enormous. Or overblown.

Why do we fall for all this nonsense?

Sun dried tomatoes.

Wraps.

Ciabbatta.

Packaged chicken kievs.

Balsamic vinegar.

Baby veg on a tray.

Skinny late.

Crocs.

Half mast shiny nylon pants.

Fiat Multipla.

What is the bloody point?

I guess that when you combine the herd mentality with social snobbery this is the result.

Verity

Logdon, I have never bought any of the above or even brought myself to taste them in someone else's house. What the hell is the point of a sun-dried tomato? What's so special about balsamic vinegar?

I've never bought a single product from Starbucks, which is HQ'd in the People's Republic of Seattle.

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

Recently from Clive Davis:

"This website as a whole has a problem with a circle of regulars who seem to think Barack Obama is a secret Muslim and that Britain is a neo-Stalinist dictatorship where helpless whites are oppressed by ethnic minorities. There really is no point in having a conversation with them."

Alright hands up, who's sent him an email?

Paul B

I like sun dried tomatoes in a salad.I also like balsamic vinegar in salad dressing and elsewhere. Ciabbatta is delicious warmed up and spread with butter.

Sun dried have an intense deep flavour, their point is that they are to be enjoyed as a foodstuff, like prunes. Probably dried initially as a form of preservation. I would recommend you try then Verity, if you don`t like them then, so be it. Have a ciabbatta sandwich with a good salami and a couple of sd toms, with a glass of Pinot Grigio Yum.

Verity

Alf Tupper CROF asks, "hands up who's sent him an email".

Not I.

But as clearly he reads these pages, I will take the opportunity to reply to the paragraph you quoted through the good offices of The Wall.

1. No. We don't think the dictatorship is Stalinesque (neo or paleo), but Fascist.

2. Another faulty observation: "where helpless whites are oppressed by ethnic minorities". Again, incorrect.

a) Certainly, the indigenes are oppressed, but by their own people with an agenda of hollowing out Britain.

b) I believe you err when you refer to "ethnic minorities" when what you mean is Muslims (who are not a separate anthropological group (or, as I'm certain you would say "grouping"), as are groups sharing genetic characteristics. Islam is a religion, freely entered into, not a race into which we are born.

I think Davis and his ilk do a great disservice to real ethnic minorities, like, say, the Hindus, the Jews, the Sihks, the Chinese, etc., when he uses them as a stew to disguise the word "Muslim".

Mr Davis, FYI, most Pakistanis are Aryan, like us, so even disguising Muslims, in this instance, as "ethnic minorities" won't wash.

There really is no point in reading this man's weakly expressed "thoughts", as I discovered the first and only time I visited his blog.

EC

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

Meanwhile over in the USA someone called Debbie Schlussel might provide the key to your Clive query:

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2009/02/spectator_uk_co.html

Verity

Paul B - Well, we do get a lot of outstanding wines from Chile. The rest of your recommendations sound fairly vile, but as to the glass of Pinot Grigio - saludos!

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

EC

See you visited Morecambe. Was it open?

Me and my snarling treasure had a ride out there last year to see if any improvements had been made. Eeessh.

As a kid, I spent most holidays there, many's the happy hour I've spent catching crabs on its sands, very much like Blackpool later in life (arf arf). Thank God for that blue lotion is all I can say.

'Bradford by the Sea' it was named, which does give a hefty clue as to the scale of its demise. Mind you the nuclear power station at Heysham wasn't going to help matters I suppose.

Old Eric, he brings me sunshine every morning when I look at the poster of him and Ernie which I wake up to.

Jeremy

Paul:

Firstly, I don't want you to think that in talking to me you are talking to an expert on anything - because you are not. I can pretty much tell you what I feel about the subjects you have raised, but not much more...

"...I to enjoy sitting in (or outside if weather allows) Cafes and watching the world go by. Mines either a large Latte or an Americano, with a raspberry jam doughnut. I (embarrassingly) am rather Homerish (is that a word) in my lust for doughnuts."

I'm an outside man myself, because that's where you can smoke. That's pretty much the case whatever the weather. If conditions are bad, one simply has to hold down the table and splice the mainbrace...

When it comes to coffee, I'm strictly a cappuccino man. And I do like my cappuccino to have a kick - which considerably narrows down the choice of cafes. Occasionally I will have tea. When it comes to cakes and pastries, I'm agnostic...

"Homerish"? Never heard of it. I think you must mean "Homeric". And if you are Homeric in your lust for something, then I assume that must refer back to the lust of Paris for Helen. Or was it the other way around? Or was it both of them? Zeus knows...You have an Homeric lust for doughnuts? How extraordinary. The lump of strawberry-flavoured dough that launched a thousand ships...across the sea to Ilium's cloud capp'd towers. Never mind...

"Is there a suggestion that Shakespeare may have been prostituting himself with Southampton, having a homosexual relationship with , which was not to Shakespeare choosing, but he need the money. Artists stereotypically tend to be more bohemian and experimental in their preferences than the rest of the great unwashed, or is that a stereotype too far on my behalf."

No, I think it was a love thing. But I also think that it was mixed up with other things. Status, for one thing. And perhaps even acknowledgement of status, for another thing. It would be interesting to know how they met. One imagines it would be at the theatre. Shakespeare's home turf. Where he would be at his fullest, his most popular and perhaps even...powerful? The acclamation of the crowd. The acknowledgement. The status. The young aristocrat. The acknowledgement. The status given and even, perhaps, received. Shakespeare's darling. His best friend. The one who caught his eye - and held it. The admired one. The mutual admiration - the one for his beauty, the other for his talent. The applause of the crowd for the work. At the theatre. Where the classes met. That other "cock-pit of the nation". At that time. Something like that, I should imagine. Something of that sort in the dynamic between them. It must have been a very romantic thing. Perhaps most especially for Shakespeare. The acknowledgement. Winning the young aristocrat. Perhaps, then, he felt not just as though he had arrived, but as though he was...complete.

Or perhaps he just sent him a book^^...The preface to one (or perhaps both) of the long poems is written to Southampton. And that's quite an interesting piece of writing. Not for its style, necessarely, but because Shakespeare publicly acknowledges Southampton's acknowledgement of him. From my own perspective, I still think it was a risky association for him to form. But then, when you think about it, Shakespeare in the theatre - in his kingdom, as it were, with the acknowledgement of the crowd and the familiar affection of his peers - must have cut quite a powerful figure himself. Shakespeare in his context.

Paul B

Thanks for that Jeremy, most interesting and illuminating. I think Shakespeare must indeed been a poweful personality within in his context. A Pinter, Olivier & Hall wrapped into one. Added to this would have been the adulation of the masses that only a premiership footballer or a major movie star commands today. A heady brew.

"Homerish" Sorry about that one. I was thinking of Homer Simpson. A cartoon character, who has an almost insatiable lust for doughnuts. Link to a Wikipedia page regards the man if interested.

http://tiny.cc/vn4dh

Paul B

Frank P- my Fox channel is woking ok. I subscribe to movies & sports

Rhoda Klapp

EC, I got your english-german wordplay, but I think the lady's name was Schussel.

The Bellman

Snapshots of a government in terminal decay/The decline of British diplomacy: No 94.

In the course of my work, I occasionally need to travel to unsavoury places, so about tqwo years ago I signed up for the FCO's travel advisory alerts. This used to be a relatively useful way of finding out about changes to visa regulations, exit taxes, increases in crime rates etc.

In the past six months, however, the emails traffic has switched from being practical advice relevant to foreign travel to thinly-disguised government propaganda. My inbox is now violated by party political tripe headed "The Foreign Secretary's statement on the [insert overseas event - invariably one for which Britain has no responsibility and no capacity to respond or assist]". Far from being practical, actionable advice, they are little more than a transcipt of the latest witless, mealy-mouthed, anodyne word-vomit from the branes of our high-flying young Foreign Secretary's media advisors.

Now I suppose there's some value in knowing which of our former allies this little twerp has offended. But the biscuit was well and truly taken this morning when I received the - ahem - "clarification" of Lord Malloch-Brown's comments about helicopter support in Afghanistan.

Aside from being of no interest whatsoever o a fraveller, it provides a useful snapshot of the current functions of British diplomatic information policy: it is now a fully-co-opted arm of the government's media management operation, more concerned with shoring up the government's crumbling reputation at home than it is with supporting British subjects overseas.

Raffles

Not often i laud the Daily Mail as it can be a bit hysterical but Max Hastings is a must read today.

Kevyn Bodman

Would that I were well-heeled.

With food and drink I have found that it is worth paying a little more and, if necessary, consuming a little less.
I learned this after too many years of drinking wine out of Tetrabriks.

Doughnuts, whisky,cheese, beer.
Pay more, if necessary consume less.

On beer Homer gets it badly wrong; he goes for Duff when what he is is so clearly lacking is Brains.

Jeremy

Paul:

"I think Shakespeare must indeed been a poweful personality within in his context. A Pinter, Olivier & Hall wrapped into one. Added to this would have been the adulation of the masses that only a premiership footballer or a major movie star commands today. A heady brew."

I'm not being pedantic, Paul - because I think you make an interesting and thought provoking point - but I'm not sure that I would entirely agree with you about the phrase "...adulation of the masses". I think that might be overstating it a bit. But certainly Shakespeare would have been popular with those who attended the theatres of his day. Which leads me on to another point: The acknowledgement of Shakespeare by Southampton may have had both cultural and political dimensions to it. In a sense, I am thinking, acknowledgement and acceptance by Southampton symbolises acknowledgement and acceptance by the aristocracy. For a man who, in any case, might have been quite keen to carve out a place for himself in the England of his time, such acknowledgement would clearly have been important. Acknowledgement and acceptance by Wriothesley is also confirmation of Shakespeare's significance as a cultural figure (or perhaps even figurehead) in his own time. He was clearly significant enough to be worth acknowledging. And that might be because it was recognised that he both wrote extremely well, and attracted large and appreciative audiences to the performances of his work. In other words, he had the ears and the eyes of the crowd. A man like that - through his work - might very well be able to put ideas into their heads. From the point of view of the "establishment" - and assuming that Shakespeare was in any case sympathetic to England's cause and therefore to an appreciative nod of the head from their direction - it might be best to have such a figure firmly "onside". Hence the acknowledgement of an aristocrat and with it the acknowledgement of the aristocracy.

D'you see?

There are social, political and cultural dimensions to Shakespeare's association with Wriothesley - in addition to the purely human feelings involved.

I'm not saying that the sonnets are hemmed in or compromised by these things, but clearly Shakespeare had to take some care with what he was writing, with what he allowed himself to express in writing, and with the tone and manner in which he expressed it. It was quite complex and delicate territory that he was treading (however lightly) upon. I think that to some degree one has to bear these things in mind when reading the sonnets.

It's fascinating stuff. But then Elizabethan England was a fascinating place.

Sheila

Mary Ellen Synon on how the Germans are getting fed up being first in line to bail out other Eurozone countries. Let's hope they really do get fed up and pull the plug. PS, you too can do your bit by pulling money out of banks in the Eurozone thereby making the budget gaps bigger (I've done my bit by doing just that). Come on and help that collapse:

http://synonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2009/07/gott-im-himmel-the-german-people-say-nein-to-more-europe.html

EC

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

The late Les Dawson used to have a line in one of his routines that went something like, "They don't bury the dead in Morecombe they stand 'em up in bus shelters."

I should perhaps point out, in order to get this published, that Morecombe today is not that bad and well worth a visit.

Heysham? I like nuclear power stations. They not only bring prosperity to the localities in which they are situated but also generate reliable 365/24 power which is more than can be said for wind turdbines.

Verity

Well, it's been around five hours since any new comments were put up on this or any other Coffee House blog.

How long can you keep up this hectic pace, as we all drift off to other media? This is even slower moving than on the weekend and the weekends are close to moribund.

richard miles

Who is the Tom Brown who writes a lengthy critique of the Tories' City regulation proposals on the letters page in today's [Weds] FT ? His signature makes him out to be a middle-management non-entity at a non-descript bank (one that I have never heard of): however, his comments are highly party-political, and I wonder (i) who put him for it, and (ii) why the FT saw fit to publish them?

They follow a similarly critical article in yesterday's FT by Philip Stephens, the FT's poilitical editor. Stephens can generally be relied on to fight rearguard actions for Brown, but as far as I recall, he hasn't previously gone on the attack against the Conservatives.

Kevyn Bodman

Electrification of the line from London to Swansea at a cost of £1.8 billion for a time saving of 19 minutes (source Sky News).

Is this a good idea? Is it money well-spent?

I do not know; I'm not being argumentative this morning, these are questions.

Any thoughts?

johnfaganwilliams

With the electrifying news that Britain is to get some more electric train lines - at last we may overtake Macedonia in our goal for a modern railway - it does occur to me that Lord Adonis, despite the ridiculous name and the pretentious claims, may be someone that it would be worth keeping in govt after the Fall of the House of Brown. I've seen suggestions that Lord MB should also be approached by Dave. It seems to me that as the incoming guys are inevitably going to be lacking in experience and "on the job" skills it is sensible to keep on board ministers who are doing a good job. Kate Hoey also seems a person who can think for herself. I wondered if any other coffeehousers agree? Sorry, Jeremy, if this post is a bit short.

Sheila

richard miles, the FT is a Marxist hotbed these days. I am told by people who work there that pictures of Barack Obama adorn the hallways and landings and that downstairs still hangs a big photo of the man they all used to laud there: Gordon Brown. Ahh...

How sweet. And they charge people money for that tat.

EC

Verity: "How long can you keep up this hectic pace, as we all drift off to other media ..."

If you're missing your old mate Numberplate then, despite being on vacation, he's over on Conservative Cabbie's blog where posting appears to be almost instantaneous. (They must have different libel laws over there)

2009 must be the new summer of lurve for the Obamites and champagne socialists in La-La land.

Andy Carpark

Not a single danged thing of interest in the magazine this week. Not. A. Sausage.

The contents took me one minute to browse and five seconds to forget.

Who still buys it and should their relatives consider activating a lasting power of attorney?

Nicholas

Verity, yes the "speed" with which posts go up makes one think the Speccie's offices are sleepy, empty places where everyone has left for the summer. My scathing attack on Clive Davis in response to your comment was not even published which, together with Commissar Davis not allowing comments on his rubbish posts, makes me think he has the Speccie in a legal arm-lock (it was full on ad hominem to give the Lefties a taste of their own medicine).

mac

Pete Hoskin,

As you seem to have a watch on, stop on responsibility for vetting all posts, the frustratingly very long delays before they appear on occasion, as mentioned by Verity and others, are doubtless inevitable.

Here's a suggestion: find a mini-me aspiring PH
to share the job, funded by waving goodbye to the ivory tower dweller, Mr Davis. Or is Nicholas' analysis correct?

The Bellman

@Andy Carpark: Yes indeed. You'd think the Editor might practice a sort of journalistic Keynesianism, building up a stock of useful pieces during the rest of the year to carry it over the low season. But really: padding it out with the tedious musings of Sarah Standing and Jan Morris' self-pity is not up to snuff.

The new criterion, incidentally a terrific read if you can find it in the UK and tolerate the c3 week delay in postage from the US, doesn't publish in July or August. This is far more honest way of doing business.

Andy Carpark

Here's some champagne for the brain, if you like. David Icke on Swine Flu.

http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/25191

I don't suggest people read it all (it is rather long), but his claim is that the problem is not swine flu - it's the vaccine!!! Meat of it is:

"I mention this because, as readers of my books will know, a CIA scientist told me in 1997 that microchips developed in the secret government-military research projects were even then small enough to be injected by hypodermic needles in vaccination programmes. With nanotechnology, no one would know."

Some second-rate minds used to write of David Icke as a bit of a crank, but his meditations have the *ring of truth* do they not?!?

Come the time, as come it will, when Clive Davis is forced to step aside for a greater luminary, the Spectator could do a lot worse than filling the vacancy with David Icke.

oldtimer

It seems, from the above comments, that I am not the only one to have submitted comments disappear into the Spectatovoid, a journalist`s black hole, never to be seen again. This happened again to me the other day, when I offered uncomplimentary remarks about Mr Brown`s end of term press briefing/Q and A.

Given the Spectator`s interest in foreign affairs, I am surprised that William Hague`s speech to the IISS did not attract a comment. I found it interesting and informative. It was not to the liking of the FT which is almost a recommendation in itself.

The Bellman

Dear mac,

I quite agree: Pete Hoskin needs an assistant. But please do not make sacking Clive Davis contingent on securing this post. He needs to go now.

Yours sincerely,

The Bellman
The Campaign For Clerical Support For Pete Hoskins And Sacking Clive Davis at Old Queen Street

Verity

Hmmm ... interesting, Andy Carpark. I've written before how strange it is that the UK seems to be the only country with masses of people apparently with swine flu. Yet I live in Mexico and there has not been either a single case, or a single suspected case, in the large state that I live in. People employed by the government - national, state, city - no longer wear face masks. And their departments wouldn't have told them they could stop wearing them if they hadn't got the word from the national government.

EC, yes, I visited Conservative Cabbie's new blog a few times and encountered the ubiquitous Number Plate. It's a shame. It's a good little blog with interesting subjects to discuss.

I think Clive Davis should be replaced with Quentin Letts or Anne Trenenman.

Paul B

Just seen a low flying Vulcan aircraft- the only one left, restored lovingly- flying low over the village I live in, in North Oxfordshire. Probably on route to Brize`. Wonderful sight and sound.

I was struck by it similarities to the American B2, although designed and built a long time before stealth technology, I reckon in its day it would have been hard for radar crews to locate.

Steve.W

Electric trains, what happens when there's no wind? I assume wind farms will supply the power.

mac

Steve W:

Rail "customers" will lose out in any event: when it's windy there'll be leaves on the line or flooding due to tidal surges. So, it'll be 'Service cancelled due to technical problems (and climate change).'

Jeremy

Doggerel for A Rainy Day:

O, I wish the bloody rain would stop!

It's getting on my jangled nerves...

I've walked my bike up from the town

I'm sitting in the garden now

Being dripp'd on by the leaves.

...^^

Jeremy

Poor Man's Poesy for James Forsyth (On the Libel Laws)

And James's plaintive cry went up:

"The state! It seeks to strangle us...!"

And all marked him

- all ears marked him.

But none there were who stirred

And no-one said a word.

...^^

David Ossitt

My wife and I have just been watching the BBC 6 o’clock news; as usual at 6.30pm it switched to our regional news for Yorkshire.

For most of the week we have been getting far too much coverage on the swine flue outbreak and have been told each evening of the very complicated measures to be launched today of how one could obtain a prescription for Tamiflu.

This involved telephoning a specific call centre or contacting them on the web.
The caller would then answer a number of questions and if the answers indicated swine flu a special code number would be given so that a friend or relative could collect on your behalf from a specified collection point after proving there own and your identity, to prevent spreading the virus the sick must not collect for themselves.

Each evening I have remarked to my wife this will be a major cock up and I was right as this brief synopsis of tonight’s news shows.

“Hundreds of people have been queuing for a swine flu drug at a pharmacy near Leeds after it was mistakenly listed as the only place it was available.
Three hundred people were directed to the pharmacy at Asda in Morley after being diagnosed on the National Pandemic Flu Service hotline. The locations of around 170 anti-viral drug collection points in Yorkshire and the Humber had been kept secret.”

I have a couple of comments that I would like to make.

We were told that the error could not be corrected until tomorrow but that the other collection points were listed on other web sites.

I checked there are only six, for the whole of Leeds.

At the Asda in Morley the TV crews were interviewing some of those who were collecting the Tamiflu, one a man said he would probably not take the medication because he had read of the possible side effects, another a woman said that she had driven twenty miles and with a grin took one of the tablets on camera.

My point is that neither of these two had the flu; you can’t drive with the flu you can hardly walk, you can hardly get out of bed.

EC

David Ossitt, Do you really think this is just about 'flu?

Alexandrovich

I watched the Proms on the box tonight. Not overly keen on Debussy, but less keen on that tramp interviewing the two holiday makers during the intervals.

Verity

EC - well-bowled! Your question: "Do you really think this is just about flu?"

I don't!

I think it's about a malign, mal-intended government "containing an emergency", which doesn't exist.

How on earth did Britain, 3,000 miles away from the (well-contained) outbreak in Mexico become the most infected country in the world? Isn't that a bit strange?

As in ... not Spain? - which is where Mexicans who want to vacation in Europe head for obvious reasons?

Britain???

And what about the rest of the Hispanosphere ... around 600m people in Mexico, Central America and S America? Hmmmm ...

As I've said, in Mexico, certainly in my state, the police and civil servants no longer wear masks. And the supermarkets aren't spraying handles of trolleys with disinfectant between customers any more. History.

And WHO's Margaret Chan is a Brit ... I wonder which party she votes for and which party may have promised her outfit additional "funding" for this dreadful pandemic. And "support", of course, from the EU coffers.

Jes' askin' is awl.

David Ossitt

EC.

No; I suspect that we are being used and manipulated.

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

Listen you lot, this swine flu is nothing to be sniffed at.

Nicholas

I see that Obama has flung his hat in the race relations ring. I didn't think it would be long before the post-race mask slipped and the first black president showed which side of his genes he dresses on.

Still, at least he is alienating his police rather than infiltrating their upper ranks with Common Purpose graduates and party placemen.

Verity

Well said, Nicholas!

Nicholas

Having threatened a lawsuit Gates now wants to "move on". Classic lefty ploy and language for stifling the articulation of the other side of the story whilst seeking to appear to retain the moral high ground. Obama now seeks to limit the damage of his intervention by inviting the two protaganists for "a beer". Gates uses this as an opportunity for more sanctimonious sermonising. The reds, hippies and activists of the 1960's have much to answer for in this ghastly world of their creation.

mac

Nicholas @ 1104:

As you say, Professor Gates is suddenly all magnaminity having realised that this affront to his dignity wasn't selling. The attendant sanctimony is risible:
"I am pleased that he, too, is eager to use my experience as a teaching moment, and if meeting Sgt. Crowley for a beer with the President will further that end, then I would be happy to oblige." (from Drudge).

"A teaching moment"? Pass the sick bag.

Your last sentence is spot on; I imagine this episode has spawned a rash of Chomsky quotes from the Gramscian throng on countless college and lefty blogs. And, of course, had this been Blair's Met the sergeant would have been suspended immediately, a grovelling apology made and a high court judge commissioned to report.

Puncheon

Can one of the well informed and intelligent bloggers on this site explain to this ignoramus what "common purpose" actually is and means. I keep seeing references to it/them everywhere, but haven't a clue what it means.
PS. Sorry for being such an oldie/clueless old fool.

Nicholas

Puncheon, Common Purpose website is here:-

http://www.commonpurpose.org.uk/home.aspx

Started in 1989 by ex (supposedly) communist Julia Middleton.

One wonders where she got her funds and backing for such a huge project within a relatively short time period. In their own blurb they claim that "Common Purpose helps people in leadership and decision-making positions to be more effective: in their own organisations, in the community and in society as a whole."

If you google them you will find many sites offering different views of their activities, including those of leading anti-CP activist and speaker Brian Gerrish who believes that it is "a marxist authoritive agenda posing as a "charity" from Government to local council in Britain, funded by british taxes via the EU to dumb down society into destruction."

Common Purpose is also linked to the concept of the authoritarian Federal EU super state and the undermining of national sovereignty and traditional bureaucracies.

"Graduates" of CP courses are supposed to network together and "lead beyond authority" and prepare for the "post-democratic society". It is a secretive organisation whose members are already active and influential within local government and particularly the police.

It seems an interesting coincidence that it originated at a time when the communist regimes of Eastern Europe (and presumably their subversive support and funding of activists in the West) was crumbling. Is it communism re-branded? I don't know. But I do question the ethics of a secretive charity engaging in creating a network of members in the higher echelons of civil society with an obligation to the organisation and each other that transcends their obligation to the people they once were supposed to serve and now conspire to "lead".

There are also questions to be asked about its relationship to the shadowy world of lobbying agencies, quangos and fake charities spawned by New Labour, an incestuous web of political influence outside the democratic process which has infiltrated and suborned most of our traditional establishment.

This blog is insightful for their view of themselves. Note in particular their mantra for being "bureaucracy-bashers and social entrepreneurs who want to change the world":-

http://srjf.blogspot.com/2007/01/book-julia-middleton-beyond-authority.html

All well and good if their ideas are right. Personally I think the traditional inefficiencies of bureaucracy are a protective corrective against zealotry and the abuse of power. There is a fine line between the aspirations of Common Purpose and pure fascism. I suspect their hand has been behind many of the curious changes we have seen in this country since 1997.

Florence of Arabia

Very well summed up, if I may say so, Nicholas. Common Purpose is an ubiquitous, secretive One Worlder/Marxist organisation and its members are not supposed to admit membership, but they are every level of government and, of course, quangoes and NGOs. They are supposed never to disclose that they are members of Common Purpose, which is how it is able to fly under the radar. I also suspect that perhaps hundreds in the media, especially the BBC, are members. It would explain a lot.

Here is what Brian Gerrish - he's a former officer in the RN - has to say. Get a drink and settle in as this video is a long haul flight.
http://tinyurl.com/3dzw96

EC

Puncheon,

One thing I think that Nicholas and Florence forget to mention is not that not just anyone can join. They don't like old(er) people or, judging by the cost of their courses, old(er). I would suggest that they don't old(er) people because their life experience makes them more naturally resistant to re-education. Some might say that re-education is another word for brainwashing.

I hope that DAVE has got his eye on this one. Unless, of course, he is already a member.

However DAVE has yet to tell us about a lot of things. I do wish he would actually start talking to us.

Commondog

Nicholas.

Thanks for your comprehensive answer to Puncheon's question. I was totally unaware.

EC

"providing your writing isn't libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency - you'll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section.

Oh really? I don't want to seem ungrateful or unappreciative of your efforts BUT, as has been noted by others, the number of comments that the Specatavoid "appears" to swallow without a trace has been growing.

EC

OH how I wish that the spectatavoid had swalowed that last one!!! I wouldn't mind but I haven't touched a drop!

What I meant to say was something like:

Puncheon,

One thing that Nicholas and Florence forgot to mention is that not just anyone can join CP. They don't like old(er) people and, judging by the cost of their courses, poor people. I would suggest that they don't like old(er) people because their life experience makes them more naturally resistant to re-education. Some might say that re-education is another word for brainwashing.

I hope that DAVE has got his eye on this one. Unless, of course, he is already a member. DAVE has yet to tell us about a lot of things. I do wish he would actually start talking to us.

Puncheon

Thanks to all who responded to my question. I'll certainly follow-up the e-leads.

EC - I guess I'll be lined up for liquidation then, given that I'm an old codger.

Florence of Arabia

EC - Of course, I have no idea whether Cameron (or anyone else) is a member, although I found it suprising how he, a fairly mediocre mind, an uncharismatic personality and without much of a national profile, progressed so quickly out of nowhere to beat the solid, staunch David Davis, who had longstanding national recognition, for leader.

And "Dave" fits the profile as far as age and inclinations go: believes (or pretends to believe) in global warming crap (has a twinky little windmill on his roof and cycles to work), which is a new, and patently absurd, myth to impose controls on other people; and is a Europhile, and thus a One Worlder.

This is conjecture on my part and obviously, I could be 100% wrong.

But Common Purpose has certainly succeeded in flying under the radar for a long time. Their members may be convinced that they are leading Britain to a new Jerusalem, but given the destruction wrought by their members, I doubt it.

I suspect that a lot of Nuspeak originated with Common Purpose ... like "inappropriate"; "diversity coordinator"; "multicultural training" and the rest of the jargon that falls so effortlessly out of the mouths of socialist officials. I also suspect that the Elf 'n' Safety wheeze, which is another way of hollowing out human common sense, is theirs, too. Control, control, control.

Florence of Arabia

Puncheon, no one here has accused Common Purpose of "liquidating" any one. Let us stick to the facts.

Nicholas

"They don't like old(er) people"

Correct. And that is a trend across the public and private sectors in sharp contrast to the supposed anti-ageism stance of New Labour. At the same time as people are being warned to expect to work longer with older retirement ages and we are being bombarded with messages about diversity the breadth of the job market is shrinking for the 50-65 age group and they are disproportionately under-represented in modern management demographics .

The experience and wisdom of older people is not wanted in organisations that seek to drive a one world view or conspire in the sort of trite drivel that passes for policy and strategy these days. They challenge and ask awkward questions of the "junior leaders" now everywhere in our society. They can remember it how it used to be and are not so easily taken in by the prevalent bullshit in the modern corporate and political world.

Florence of Arabia

Nicholas writes of older people that they are "disproportionately under-represented" ... eeeeek! "Under-represented" is one of their phrases. Like "not helpful", "diversity coordinator", "inclusivity officer". (I made that last one up, but I'll bet you didn't guess.)