Nothing to do and nowhere to go
9:56pm
Show me a teenager in the history of teenagers who has never been bored. Nevertheless, teenagers in the country are sometimes justified in wailing that ‘there’s nothing to do.’ But what do they need/want, can/should it be provided and is there a way to stop the few spoiling it for the rest – or is that, too, in the nature of the beast?
Depending where the young people live, the first problem is one of transport. There are more buses in the country than people suppose but they run strictly to timetable and...
There is not, and there certainly shouldn’t be, anything personal about being a Republican. It is the system which is at fault. Those who are part of it may or may not be admirable, impeccably mannered, kindly, self-sacrificing, dutiful, hard-working or idle, greedy, extravagant or frugal, rude, condescending or charming, pompous or puffed up or patronising, humble or modest. The Royals are a mixture, same as the rest of us. Ardent Royalists really do seem to believe these people are not as other men, that they are in some way elevated, separate and apart....
The NHS is in a mess, so the story goes. It cannot any longer care for you properly, it fails on every level. No, it doesn’t. Too much is spent on layers of management, it is true and there is far too much government interference with staff at the sharp end. But many of the problems the NHS faces every day, would go away if it were not for People.
It is usually, and understandably, left to Melanie Phillips to write about anti-Semitism but she needs moral support on this subject, and besides, her viewpoint is often a wider political one, involving the whole Arab-Israeli question. That hideously complex issue is not one I feel informed enough to discuss. But the less specific question of anti-Semitism, particularly in this country now, is of concern and interest to everyone and I feel qualified to write about it. Why ? Because I am a Christian.
