Practical Thoughts

The point that Glenda Jackson made as the motive behind her description of the Thatcher reign was that she felt a need to ensure that history was not being re-written - i.e. that the Tories would not get their wish to have a spotless description of her reign recorded for posterity. On thinking about it, I find that we English tend to have a wonderful ability to exaggerate our history - particularly in the notion that we gave things to the world that the world didn't have before. Though that may be true in respect of things mechanical and the ability to divide and rule, the notion that our sense of civilisation was any better than what existed in all the lands that we occupied is often a completely flawed notion. This was particularly true in India, which - I am sure - will come back and show us to be the repository of true civilisation in not many years from now. Many even think that the sciences stemmed from Isaac Newton and other European greats, until a study of history revea...

The death of Lady Thatcher this week has aroused (again) considerable emotion about what she did and did not do during her term of office from 1979 to 1990. It is, however, agreed by virtually everyone that in certain ways she changed the face of British politics and has left subsequent party leaders (of left and right persuasion) eager to emulate her in certain ways. And to the British public at large she infused a sense of what we have come to term 'aspiration'. However, what does that term really mean ... and does it really take us in the direction we should be aiming for? In fact, by bringing in this aspirational concept, Mrs. (as she was then) Thatcher had the affect of nearly burying some trends that were beginning to be popularised in the 1970s towards green concepts ... the notion that was developing among certain groups of people that Mother Earth was being hard done by, that we were steaming ahead in extracting fossil fuels and creating much dangerous waste. Gree...

The upshot of Maggie's era (having misquoted St. Francis' prayer to start off the process!) is to leave us with professional politicians whose leaders have hardly ever experienced another line of work and an attitude that has left behind those days when at least there was a semblance of genuine experience in public life. And the morals of business - which were always suspect - have been let loose big style. And - yes - Tony Blair capitalised on the era he inherited. It's not to say that everyone's 'at it', but what has been uncovered these last few years makes us realise that the era in which us oldies were brought up (for me the late 40s and the 50s) was the best era in terms of decency, when a TV with 2 b & w channels and 2 weeks' holiday was perfectly all right thanks. And also when most of us ate decent wholesome food. No, of course the society of the 50s couldn't stay where it was, but our leaders (in politics and of trades...