A sleeping nation

Philip Pullman (of His Dark Materials fame) wrote an opinion piece in the Times on Friday 27th February. Rather strangely that piece now appears to have vanished from the Times website, but a number of other website have quoted pieces of his comment on the internet to preserve it. A friend of mine managed to find a website with the full, unedited piece originally published in the Times.

Lest it be lost yet again, Here is the full text of Philip's article:

Philip Pullman

Are such things done on Albion’s shore?

The image of this nation that haunts me most powerfully is that of the sleeping giant Albion in William Blake’s prophetic books. Sleep, profound and inveterate slumber: that is the condition of Britain today.

We do not know what is happening to us. In the world outside, great events take place, great figures move and act, great matters unfold, and this nation of Albion murmurs and stirs while malevolent voices whisper in the darkness - the voices of the new laws that are silently strangling the old freedoms the nation still dreams it enjoys.

We are so fast asleep that we don’t know who we are any more. Are we English? Scottish? Welsh? British? More than one of them? One but not another? Are we a Christian nation - after all we have an Established Church - or are we something post-Christian? Are we a secular state? Are we a multifaith state? Are we anything we can all agree on and feel proud of?

The new laws whisper:

You don’t know who you are
You’re mistaken about yourself
We know better than you do what you consist of, what labels apply to you, which facts about you are important and which are worthless
We do not believe you can be trusted to know these things, so we shall know them for you
And if we take against you, we shall remove from your possession the only proof we shall allow to be recognised

The sleeping nation dreams it has the freedom to speak its mind. It fantasises about making tyrants cringe with the bluff bold vigour of its ancient right to express its opinions in the street. This is what the new laws say about that:

Expressing an opinion is a dangerous activity
Whatever your opinions are, we don’t want to hear them
So if you threaten us or our friends with your opinions we shall treat you like the rabble you are
And we do not want to hear you arguing about it
So hold your tongue and forget about protesting
What we want from you is acquiescence

The nation dreams it is a democratic state where the laws were made by freely elected representatives who were answerable to the people. It used to be such a nation once, it dreams, so it must be that nation still. It is a sweet dream.

You are not to be trusted with laws
So we shall put ourselves out of your reach
We shall put ourselves beyond your amendment or abolition
You do not need to argue about any changes we make, or to debate them, or to send your representatives to vote against them
You do not need to hold us to account
You think you will get what you want from an inquiry?
Who do you think you are?
What sort of fools do you think we are?

The nation’s dreams are troubled, sometimes; dim rumours reach our sleeping ears, rumours that all is not well in the administration of justice; but an ancient spell murmurs through our somnolence, and we remember that the courts are bound to seek the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and we turn over and sleep soundly again.

And the new laws whisper:

We do not want to hear you talking about truth
Truth is a friend of yours, not a friend of ours
We have a better friend called hearsay, who is a witness we can always rely on
We do not want to hear you talking about innocence
Innocent means guilty of things not yet done
We do not want to hear you talking about the right to silence
You need to be told what silence means: it means guilt
We do not want to hear you talking about justice
Justice is whatever we want to do to you
And nothing else

Are we conscious of being watched, as we sleep? Are we aware of an ever-open eye at the corner of every street, of a watching presence in the very keyboards we type our messages on? The new laws don’t mind if we are. They don’t think we care about it.

We want to watch you day and night
We think you are abject enough to feel safe when we watch you
We can see you have lost all sense of what is proper to a free people
We can see you have abandoned modesty
Some of our friends have seen to that
They have arranged for you to find modesty contemptible
In a thousand ways they have led you to think that whoever does not want to be watched must have something shameful to hide
We want you to feel that solitude is frightening and unnatural
We want you to feel that being watched is the natural state of things

One of the pleasant fantasies that consoles us in our sleep is that we are a sovereign nation, and safe within our borders. This is what the new laws say about that:

We know who our friends are
And when our friends want to have words with one of you
We shall make it easy for them to take you away to a country where you will learn that you have more fingernails than you need
It will be no use bleating that you know of no offence you have committed under British law
It is for us to know what your offence is
Angering our friends is an offence

It is inconceivable to me that a waking nation in the full consciousness of its freedom would have allowed its government to pass such laws as the Protection from Harassment Act (1997), the Crime and Disorder Act (1998), the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000), the Terrorism Act (2000), the Criminal Justice and Police Act (2001), the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (2001), the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Extension Act (2002), the Criminal Justice Act (2003), the Extradition Act (2003), the Anti-Social Behaviour Act (2003), the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004), the Civil Contingencies Act (2004), the Prevention of Terrorism Act (2005), the Inquiries Act (2005), the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (2005), not to mention a host of pending legislation such as the Identity Cards Bill, the Coroners and Justice Bill, and the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Inconceivable.

And those laws say:

Sleep, you stinking cowards
Sweating as you dream of rights and freedoms
Freedom is too hard for you
We shall decide what freedom is
Sleep, you vermin
Sleep, you scum.

Philip Pullman will deliver a keynote speech at the Convention on Modern Liberty at the Institute of Education in London tomorrow

Let the pregnant lady rant

I consider myself to have been very lucky in my pregnancy. We conceived very quickly, the first month of trying; I had no real morning sickness to speak of; I've had no problems with any of my routine tests; I've had no piles or constipation; very few stretch marks, and those I have I really don't mind; and I've gained very little weight. My only two physical complaints are lack of sleep since about 20 weeks; and fainting.

The sleep deprivation is exhausting and frustrating. But I'm living with it and only really complain to my loving husband who is always there when I'm tossing and turning.

The fainting... now that is scary. Each time it had happened I was lucky to be sat down and have warning that it was happening. I would get nauseas, then dizzy with an extreme thirst, followed by a dulling of the senses, primarily echoing hearing, like being under water. Then everything would go black for a few seconds and the world began to come back into focus. I would find myself sweating and shaking but otherwise fine within 30 seconds.

On each occasion I have had someone with me, although on the second occasion it was two Virgin Media engineers who were installing our cable TV and broadband! I felt it begin and quickly phoned my mum, asking her to get over quickly, which she did, shortly after I had blanked while sat at the dining table, the engineers oblivious. Although alarming each time it happened, I had mentioned it to my midwife and GP, had my blood pressure checked and that was fine, I showed no signs of anaemia in my blood tests at 28 weeks and was advised that it probably just a normal feature of pregnancy for me.

After it had happened four times I felt almost expert in it and it didn't worry me much before or after the fact, but that didn't stop it being frightening while it actually happened though.

The fifth time, the most recent, it was a bit different. The normal "rules" didn't apply. I had been stood queueing in the post office for about twenty minutes and despite the snow on the ground outside I had a sudden hot flush. I'd heard my pregnant friends laughing about their hot flushes and when offered a seat I declined it, saying I was fine. Andy and I then drove up to the Co-Op a mile up the road to pick up cat food and as we got out of the car I even expressed the fact that I felt very thirsty, but didn't think anything of it.

We dashed through the busy supermarket to pick up the food and I decided I had to have chocolate, so we went in search of it. While trying to choose between Co-Op own or Divine I suddenly felt the usual signs, nausea and dizziness and I reached for Andy and told him I needed to sit down. But we were in the middle of the shop, with no handy stool or staff member nearby and as I took a step to go in search of a seat I dropped to the floor. Andy had hold of me, so was able to guide me down and I wasn't harmed.

My senses returned and I was slightly surprised at being on the floor, Andy was rubbing my back and telling me to breathe. I was very frightened. I had never collapsed like that before, having always already been seated and I felt I was going to cry. I just wanted to get back to the car. People were looking, but no one came forward to show concern and I felt hurt at that.

Andy got me to my feet and reluctantly gave me the car key and let me go on my own while he paid. I was fine in moments, but still shaken by the experience.

When we got home I posted the events for my "bump buddies" to read, I got a fairly typical response: concern and well wishes. Apart from one poster, who instead chose to joke that she would faint at co-op prices too.

This joke stung me on two levels, firstly the utter lack of concern for my feelings; this experience was frightening and not something I consider to be a laughing matter; but also on a less personal level. A slight on one of my favourite shops, one of very, very few in the country deserving of respect.

So here begins my rant.

I can't honestly lay blame at the door of the average British consumer. Although some do turn a blind eye to things, most are blissfully ignorant and in a way I envy them. They don't look too closely at what they are buying, don't think too much about where their purchases come from and look mainly for the best bargain. And I don't blame them. We live in expensive and uncertain times, although the current financial crisis is a new development and most people already had firm shopping habits that have barely changed in the last six months.

No, I lay the blame at the door of the supermarkets and big brands for perpetuating the myth that food is cheap.

Every consumer has a budget and there is a supermarket in this country to suit every budget. People shop where they feel they can afford to and for the vast majority of people in the UK this means Tesco or ASDA. In these stores the average consumer shows firm brand loyalty, buying the same products week in, week out, the cheapest option, or the most well-known option. People blindly pick up a jar of Nescafe, a bottle Coca-Cola and their 2-for-1 supermarket own brand offers.

Consumers go on in the assumtion that this is what their shopping costs and they don't like it when prices increase and they really don't like it when faced with an alternative store that charges more. "It's a rip off!", "How do they justify those prices?!", "I'll stick with what I know, thanks."

They don't realise the real cost of luxuries and even the basics.

For as long as Andy and I have lived, and shopped together (about 8 years) we have always only bought fair trade varieties of certain products; coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate and bananas and whenever we see a major store selling a fair trade cotten garment we buy one, to show our support for their effort to introduce the concept to the British public. To us, these prices are normal, not high, they are realistic. I don't begrudge paying £1 for a big bar of chocolate when I know that no one is being exploited for my indulgence. Some products are luxuries, despite how commonplace they are in this part of the world. Products grown and shipped in from far flung places so that we can have them all year around; and sadly, most consumers don't realise that the prices they are used to paying come at the very great expense of the people who produce the goods, just so we can have our fix.

It isn't just luxuries though. The price of bread has doubled in the last ten years because there is a massive international wheat shortage. The price of rice has similarly sky rocketted in recent years also because of shortages. Bottled water comes at a high premium thanks to the exploitation of the sources by the big corporations. And we don't have to look to the majority world (Asia, South America and Africa) for exploitation of the producers by the supermarkets. We have a failing agricultural industry in this country, that is heavily subsidised in order to prop it up, because of the stupidly low prices that farmers are forced to sell at in order to compete.

The British meat and vegetables people buy, comfortable in the knowledge that they are eating the right things and within their budget too (!) are crippling a valuable industry here at home. If only the supermarkets would pay a fair price for these products and pass that cost, in part, on to the consumer so that everyone has realistic expectations of the cost of their groceries.

The rather disturbing truth is that the big supermarkets can actually afford to eat the real cost of these products, without passing a single penny on to the consumer. £1 in £7 pounds spent in the UK is spent in Tesco. The global financial crisis does not seem to have dented their record profits.

ASDA is owned by American giant Walmart. By shopping there you save £££, while the staff are afraid to take a single sick day or make the smallest whisper about the fact that they do not have a union without fear of dismissal. Never mind the conditions that the manufacturing of George clothing imposes upon the Chinese factory workers, many of whom are little children.

I can't claim to be a saint. We shop at Sainsbury's, a company that scored a mere 3.5 out of 20 on Ethiscore, compared to the highest scoring supermarket, Waitrose, who still only managed 8/20. We try, but aren't totally cruelty free in our house. I know our toothpaste is tested on animals; this is in part because of my extreme fussiness in the taste of toothpaste! But also as a compromise, the alternative is to mail order a cruelty free product. What would that do to our carbon footprint?! But we boycott the worst offenders; Unilever, Glaxo Smith Klyne and Johnson & Johnson, all of whom not only test on animals but also have appalling human rights violations to their names.

I won't even start on the activities of Nestle or Coca-Cola. My main rant on this ocassion is aimed at the irresponsibility of the supermarkets in misleading consumers as to the real cost of their shopping. Fair trade options across more product lines, such as meat and vegetables would be a good start, although at present this can't change as the governing bodies, FLO-CERT and FLO International will not certify anything produced in the EU on the rather misplaced assumtion that EU producers always get a fair price for their goods. But the supermarkets don't have to wait for this to change, there is nothing to stop them paying their suppliers a fair price anyway.

The truth is that the more people who buy these products, the more everyone benefits; producers, stores and consumers. The more the real cost of things is accepted, the better off we all are.

6 years and all done

Well, I got my final course result and it was a very comfortable PASS! I have my degree! I have graduated with a 2.1 in Religious Studies :-)

I still can't quite believe that it is all over. After six years I finally have no coursework to do, no big qualification to aim for. It's weird and a bit scary. What do I do now? I have no idea.

The big question right now is will I make it to my graduation ceremony? It's on Saturday 28th March... the baby is due on the 12th March, so I think I might be a bit busy!

Victory in Europe

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of two men who took their case to them after the UK government refused to removed their DNA records from the database. The two men were arrested, one was acquitted, the other had his charges dropped, but their records were kept, according to current procedure.

That the ECHR has ruled in favour of these men is a huge step for liberty in this country. The decision was unanimous from the 17 senior judges appointed to the case. They found in favour of the men on the grounds of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Although there are no immediate changes this will set a precedent for future cases of innocent people's personal data being stored and will be a severe spanner in the works for Labour's disastrous ID Card campaign. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has snubbed the ruling, in typical fashion for this government when faced with criticism of the DNA database.

To find out more about how you can help stop the government robbing us of our privacy visit http://www.no2id.net/ and to read the whole news story visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7764069.stm

X Factor?

I'm no fan of the show, not by a long shot and for the most part I manage to tune out all the fuss each year. But now I live back near my family and my parents are fans. Seeing them almost every day has made it much harder to ignore the show this year and I must admit that one contestant has caught my eye.

Diana Vickers is an extraordinary talent and a surprise to see on a show designed to find a spark of talent and stomp on it until it resembles every other manufactured pop blah out there. With the notable exception of my parents, of course, the audience of X Factor is not known for its ability to recognise and acknowledge genuine musical ability. So I see from all of the vitriol I have noticed online about Diana that despite never appearing in the sing-off, this girl has a tide of anti-support.

It seems that the fans of the show are incensed by the inclusion of a singer with personality, talent, individuality and the very real and scary potential to become a credible recording artist. It does make me wonder whether the show ought to change its name. The producers of it are basically looking for someone who will sell records, fine. They are also attempting to present a show that will draw viewers, the lowest common denominator, I'm sad to say, is NOT looking for anything interesting or unique. They are looking for another pop tart.

Is it wise to name a show after a quality that neither the producers or the audience are actually looking for?

This year's winner will release a cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, one of my favourite songs of all time. I don't normally expect X Factor winners to do justice to great songs like this one, but Diana Vickers stands a real shot of recording a very respectable cover. What I find amusing is one blogger's view that this is a suitable Christmas number 1! It begs the question of why the song was picked by the producers. Is it purely about the current popularity of the song? Leonard Cohen's current sell out world tour? Do they genuinely think it's an appropriate song for Christmas?

I wonder if they have listened to and understood the lyrics. Yes, the song contains the title word a hundred times, and yes, it does contain biblical references, but the context of those references does actually matter in considering the meaning of the lyrics. It is hardly a song of praise to Jesus Christ (written by a Jew), and the lyrics point vividly to sexual references.

Is this really a suitable song for the season? Is it really a suitable song for a manufactured pop tart to sing?

No.

But could Diana Vickers record a beautiful and inspirational version that would go multi-platinum? Probably.

One more thin gypsy thief

I won't attempt to write a full review, words fail me. All I really have is... wow.

I am of course talking about seeing Leonard Cohen at Birmingham NEC on Saturday. Two and a half hours of genius and stunning, understated charisma. He's a surprisingly humorous guy and full of energy quite striking for the grand old age of 74.

Unlike many crooners of his generation, Lenny's voice has not cracked with age and drugs, he sounds as good now, if not better, as on his recordings from the start of his extensive career.

I feel privileged to have seen him live, especially as I had long given up hope of the opportunity after his 14 year hiatus from live shows. I know that it is an experience not likely to be repeated. The baby seemed to enjoy it too, I could feel it grooving away right to the end of the long set!

Anyway, 5 stars. One of the best gigs I have ever been to and certainly a moment I am likely to cherish for the rest of my life.

Politics on the Dancefloor

As a long time Strictly Come Dancing fan I couldn't let the events of this series go without comment. John Sergeant has pulled out of the competition yesterday due to the controversy surrounding his continued presence on the show. Prior to this news I was a little split on the issue. I agree with him that it is a television show and prime time Saturday night light entertainment. I agree that the viewers can vote for whoever they want to see dance again. However, I also agree with the judges that it is a dance competition. The challenge for the celebrities who agree to go on the show is to learn to dance.

Arlene Phillips described the situation well at the start of this week, that the competition was divided into the other contestants who were all competing on the basis of dancing to the best of their abilities; versus John, who himself admitted that he couldn't stay in the competition on the merit of his dancing and so he and Kristina must win votes by being entertaining. He was playing a different game and it was unfair to the good dancers who had to leave the competition before him.

Since he announced his retirement from the show I feel a little relieved. The whole issue had gotten out of control and was overshadowing the dancing to the detriment of the show, which is ultimately what John says was his reason for stepping down.

The judges are saying now that they don't believe the public would put John through to the final, that they would eventually start voting for the more deserving dancers. But I don't agree. While in the past public support for the comedy participants has waned in time for the most talented dancer to take the trophy, this year it felt different.

John was not another Kate Garraway or Julian Clary. They won public votes due to the rather disturbing tendency of the British public to enjoy seeing people humiliate themselves. That tendency runs its course in the end, people get bored. But John Sergeant is genuinely loved and respected by the public. People were voting for him on that basis, there were internet campaigns set up to get him through to the final, some people were honestly supporting him to win. This never happened with Kenny Logan or any other celebrity who stayed in the competition beyond their ability level.

The level of frustration felt by his critics (myself included) was spoiling the season and excellent dancing performances were getting lost in the debate. Had his continued presence in the competition not drawn so much press attention and criticism then I probably wouldn't have objected to his potentially winning. Had there not been six or seven other truly gifted dancers in it this year, had the competition not had such tension and excitement purely from the high standards of the other contestants, then I would have been fully supportive of John.

It is an entertainment show and Louisa Lytton is right when she says it's about having fun and raising money for charity. Maybe next year the producers could fill the show with celebrities who can all compete on that level?!

Back from a long break!

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. It's not as if life has been quiet the last four months! A brief summary of my liberal life goes something along the lines of:

Andy and I started trying for a baby in June, we got our Big Fat Positive in the very first month and I am now five months pregnant, expecting in mid March 2009. This wonderful news got work to my grandad's house going over August, September and October and Andy got headhunted! We moved to Yorkshire on 31st October (sadly leaving Samhain unmarked this year), Andy started his shiny new job on 3rd November.

We are now in the slow process of unpacking and getting furniture sorted out.

I stopped protesting in September, once I started to show, but have continued to lend my support to the Bristol crew. It feels like the global movement is slowing down, many Anons seem to have lost interest now that the weather has turned and the lulz are lacking. A few cases of Fair Game may have scared some away too. It's a great shame, but I think the core activists will keep going for longer. The protests may have grown smaller, but there are other projects going on behind the scenes that will probably keep going and have just as much impact on the cult of $cientology.

Unfortunately, despite the wonderful pregnancy and the move home, the year has not really gotten any better. There are some serious hard times approaching for my family (have they been Fair Gamed?) and the future looks very bleak and scary right now. What should have been a very positive move has been shrouded in a dark cloak.

Meeting Magoo and WBM

So the protests continue. We have now started raiding Bristol. Although there is no visible $cientology presence here there have been incidents here in the past, such as the suicide of Richard Collins in 1996. He jumped to his death from Clifton Suspension Bridge after being harassed by salespeople from the cult trying to book him onto new courses and prevent him leaving.

The Jive Aces, a $cientology swing band played a gig in Bristol recently, drawing some belated attention from Anonymous. We plan to hit their next gig here in September. The band are also playing at a summer party at St Hill, East Grinstead on 3rd August. Plans to protest the town and manor on that date are already in place.

We won't sit back and let Bristol become a recruiting ground for this cult. With the losses and disruption being caused by Anonymous worldwide, it would not surprise me to see the cult trying to put roots down in new territory that they believe to be free of Anonymous. If we make a lot of noise now they shouldn't get a chance.

At the last Bristol mini-raid on 5th July we got a good response from the public and managed to find a few new recruits for the main event on 12th July. The next Bristol raid is scheduled for 9th August.

London on the 12th was epic. Numbers were up from May and June, in no small part down to Anons flocking in from Brighton and further afield to meet Tory "Magoo" Christman and Mark "Wise Beard Man" Bunker who we flew over from California to be with us.

I was excited about meeting them, but never imagined I would end up going to dinner with them! They were in high demand all day and generously hugged all those who approached them, WBM even allowed people to stroke the beard! At the end of the day, after much nattering in the pub post-raid (I sat at a table with some Bristol Anons and Tory, as well as Anonyunderpants from York), we moved on to a rather nice Chinese restaurant. It was slow going, due to poor Tory's bad feet and there were about 25 of us, so we couldn't all be seated together.

I ended up at a table with my parents, a rather nice cult researcher, some Bristol/South West Anons and the celebrities. It was slightly surreal, but excellent fun and an experience I'm not likely to forget!

Six Month Review

At Imbolc I posted an entry assessing the year ahead. It wasn’t a very positive outlook. We’ve just passed the Summer Solstice so I thought it appropriate to have a mid-year review. I’m afraid that my negative comments in February were not without foundation and the year has really only gone downhill since then.

Only a week or so after that entry, my very excellent grandfather on my mum’s side, Jack Besley Arter passed away, aged 99 years. It hit me fairly hard, even though he had been ill for a long time and we all knew that it was coming.

The decision was made to relocate back to Yorkshire, to be near my family, but progress on that has been very slow so far, thanks to the heel-dragging of insurance companies, mortgage lenders and so on. I have had no luck job hunting and feel very disheartened about that right now, although things look better on that front for my OH.

And this morning my paternal grandmother, Barbara Lyne passed away after a fairly rapid decline in the last couple of months. I was more prepared this time and I went through a period of grief when I first learned how ill she was a few weeks ago. I had automatic negative thoughts about my inability to make her proud of me, my failures as a grand daughter and so on. Talks with my dad helped me to come to grips with my feelings and memories of my relationship with her and I understand much better now that I had never been close to her because my dad wasn’t close with her. I can accept that anything I perceived as a lack of interest in me on her part was largely down to the generation gap and absolutely nothing personal. I am much better equipped to cope with her passing, now that I have worked out my feelings about our relationship.

My thoughts go out to those she leaves behind; my great aunt Connie and my one remaining grandparent, granddad Jim. They will struggle now, I think and I can only send them my best wishes and hope that their remaining years will not be too lonely. My parents, aunt and cousins are all on hand to help over the coming weeks and months, although I know my aunt will grieve badly too.

I wonder if that is the end of the difficult period. I hope that the remainder of 2008 is more positive. I have significant life changes to throw myself into, I have to grab control of my life again and make the most of these next few months to ensure that I get all I want from life. It’s in my hands, not the gods’.

Something in the air?

Gig - The New Root - Saturday 31st May 2008 - The Croft

Maybe there was something in the air at last night's New Root gig. Waiting in the bar before the bands started, Dave told me he was feeling nervous. Fresh from the band's second UK tour and having performed countless times by now, this was a little surprising. He explained the feeling he had that in Bristol there is more expectation from the crowd than when they play in other parts of the country where they are still relatively unknown.

I can certainly see how after a string of performances around the country to smaller audiences who have no idea what to expect from TNR, a packed gig at The Croft could have that effect on experienced performers. There may well be a high level of expectation from their Bristol fan base, however, I explained to him, their loyal fans will enjoy the show tremendously no matter how well they feel they have performed afterwards.

TNR's material is so exceptional now, after an extended period of creativity that has brought a richness and depth to their set quite beyond their youth. Well, it stands on its own. And Trish performs with such natural, but understated charisma that they very rarely need to be concerned about pleasing the audience. A few technical problems or the odd lapse in cohesiveness will largely go unnoticed by the crowd, or if they do notice, they likely won't care.

I can only speak for myself, but generally I care less about a perfectly polished performance from a band and more about how they engage with the audience and how their material sounds live. These are two things that TNR manage every time I see them.

But there was something even more potent about last night's gig. I came away feeling incredibly emotional. Songs I have heard a dozen times or more moved me in new ways, Crazy had me in tears and Sick of Me fired me up almost to combustion! It hit me as we were congratulating them on an awesome show and heading home afterwards that Andy and I may not be able to see TNR as regularly as we're used to soon. Though their tours are taking them to Sheffield and Hull these days, so I'm sure we will see them in Yorkshire and I don't doubt that we will visit Bristol occasionally when they have big gigs here, but our special place at the front of the crowd won't be ours any more.

More than this, of course is how much I will miss two very dear friends of almost ten years when we move away. With ex-Root bassist Craigos moving to London this certainly feels like the end of an era. My hope is that these moves will open up exciting new doors for TNR with the opportunities for more touring and the fans we can introduce from our new locations. Those that we have introduced in Bristol will undoubtedly continue to attend the gigs without us and there are whole other groups of friends, old and those yet to be made, just waiting to be inspired by this incredible band.

What's Happening?

Here's what's been going on in my life:



And:

Although numbers were down this month due to exams for so many Anons, hopes are that June, July and August will be beyond EPIC. The $cientologists are getting visibly more touchy about these protests. They have reached the point of complaining to the police about every little thing in order to disrupt the protests. Unfortunately, the City of London police are pretty well under their control (see here), which makes the protests at Queen Victoria Street a bit risky (see the 2nd video above). Luckily the Met are much more hardy against corruption and bribery and give us a pretty loose leash at Tottenham Court Road.

See you 14th June: Operation Sea Arrrgh!

Demonstrating the Point

On 15th March, I took myself to London, somewhat spontaneously, in order to join the Anonymous protest against Scientology.

It was one of those things, I had been wondering about going for several weeks but not got it together to find out anything much about it. On the Wednesday beforehand I just decided to do it. And what's more, I went unmasked and alone.

I am so glad that I did though. I met an Anonymous person on the tube, unmistakable by the dark suit, red tie and gas mask on his face. Plus, he got out some posters with various recognisable slogans on them and held them for other passengers to see.

I approached him and asked if I could follow him as I didn't know where to go once getting off the train at Blackfriars. He offered me a spare mask from his bag and I took it, but as we walked to Queen Victoria Street I decided not to wear it. I just wasn't afraid of being identified. I had travelled by train from another city and figured it would be pretty hard for them to ID me just from a photo. But once I got there I decided to wrap my scarf around my face, simply so that I didn't stand out so much!

I got myself a spot at the barrier and watched the whole thing gather pace. A prize moment came when two mounted police came along the road and a chorus of "That's a horse! That's a cult!" sprang up. Another choice event was a double decker bus driving past with a dozen masked Anons in the back.

But in general, it was quiet and uneventful and I was reasonably glad when the protest picked up and set off to the next location. The ride on the underground was a sight to behold, hundreds of masked, sign weilding figures on the escalators and packed into the trains. I boarded with a lively bunch who had a stereo pumping out loud music and couldn't help grinning at the sight of this underground train packed tightly with dancing, chirpy people in party hats. What's more, none of the regular passengers seemed to mind!

It was at Tottenham Court Road that the atmosphere kicked up a notch... or twelve. The street was heaving, our side of the road completely packed so all pedestrian traffic had to cross over to get by. This did rather throw them into the path of the Scientologists stood outside to hand out leaflets of their own.

Every time someone took a leaflet from them, cheers of "Rip it up!" rang out from us and a few people took notice, ripping up the fliers, much to the annoyance of the poor souls dishing them out.

Since the last protest I have become much more engaged with the online discussions and am encouraged to see so much planning and committment from so many people. I am looking forward to going along on 12th April with friends this time and with signs and fliers of my own.

What do you want?

Good old B5. Asking the hard questions. This one seems easy at first, but really think about it, don't just say the first thing that pops into yur head. What do you really want from life?

Are you happy? Did you settle for something because your dreams seemed impossible to reach? If you could be anywhere and do anything, would you still be where you are now?

Some people reach for their dreams, and even if they have to struggle, they go on reaching, because if you don't extend your hand, how will you ever grasp that dream?

Some people don't reach out. For whatever reason, be it a loss of faith in themselves, or a loss of faith in the world, some people withdraw their hand and put their head down to get on with a "normal" life. But are those people ever really happy?

A New Year?

Or same old story?

On the plus side, Gordon Brown is showing signs of bowing to public pressure in pushing back the ID scam (er, I mean scheme, yeah right) by two years. On the down side, I am job hunting again.

In roleplaying news, our Werewolf: the Forsaken campaign, Echoes of the Past, has come to a pause on one heck of a high note. I am a little sad today as in last night's climactic game we had a huge and awesome battle, in which a much loved NPC was taken down and we go forward into 2008 not quite sure what is going to happen with the game.

Tomorrow is Imbolc, the festival of light. It is the first stirring of spring and newness, a time when we notice the days getting longer and a time for spring cleaning and celebrating the coming season of life and birth. I pause on the cusp of this day to wonder if 2008 will be any different to 2007. In the grand scheme of things, not much seems to have changed compared to this time last year. A month ago, as we entered this year I was full of hope and optimism for a fruitful year. Yet I find myself again looking for work and still promising myself that I will get in shape.

2007 was a great year for me, financially, socially and academically and I fear now that this year will only bring disappointments. But still, I mustn't let myself think that way, the only way is up, as they say.

Big thanks to Seagull Strange for linking to my blog from their website. They are playing on Saturday 16th February at the Cooler. Come and see them, it could change your life.

No More X-Factory!

The time has come, people to say "No!" to the string of X-Factory no-talent-one-Christmas-hit-wonders. There is a campaign in full swing to get this song by Malcom Middleton to the number one spot for xmas. The former Arab Strap member has released this fantastically rebellious little ditty, in the same vein as The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl Fairytale of New York.

Even if you have never bought a music download before, I urge you now to do so, even if just to say to future generations "We did not all worship Idle Telly!". Because that is what that show is, cheap TV made by people too lazy to create an original idea and spoonfeeding the population one version of what music can be.

Rebel, go crazy, spend 79p to send a message to Simon Cowell, future generations and the mass media of today.

Gigs - VNV Nation

Tuesday 11th December - Thekla Social, Bristol

I had never been to a gig at the Thekla before, so didn't really know what to expect from the venue. But I had high expectations from the band, having seen them earlier this year at Infest, where they blew my mind and gave my OH an epiphany regarding glow sticks!

The support act, Kloq, made a good go at warming up a tough crowd, who only reluctantly gathered around the stage and barely even tapped their feet along to the catchy synth rhythms. I enjoyed them, but confess I was impatient for the main attraction - VNV Nation.

My friends and I managed to get ourselves right up front as soon as Kloq left the stage and we waited as the crowd pressed in behind us. Glow sticks at the ready, the crowd broke into hysterics waiting for the band to come on stage. One girl off to our left kept screaming, and I mean, horror movie, lung-ripping screaming. The crowd began telling her to shut up, but every couple of minutes she would let out another great scream.

The audience were not disappointed when one of the first things Ronan said was to tell this girl to cut it out.

"It's funny... once. After that it's just annoying."

I had been struck on seeing VNV previously how funny Ronan is as a frontman. He engages the crowd with anecdotes and moments of wit to rival the best stand up comedians in Britain, but more than this he is an expert at getting the crowd involved. He encourages movement and singing along, he covers the stage thoroughly and being up front as we were, we were treated to regular grins from him as he towered right over us. At one point he saw me holding my camera up and made sure to pause long enough for me to get a clear photo of him.

VNV have produced some incredible tracks over the years. Anthemic dance tracks as well as heart-felt ballads and as at Infest, where they dedicated 'Illusion' to Sophie Lancaster, I was moved to tears during this powerful slow track from their latest album, Judgement.

A technical problem forced the band to leave the stage and the crowd waited patiently for the issue to be resolved. Great relief swept over us when the band returned to play another few songs and we were treated to a standard encore after that.

Knowing the latest album significantly better than when I last saw VNV certainly heightened my enjoyment of the gig, which is saying something. Exhausted though I was by the encore I couldn't help but dance with all the energy I could muster and I found myself the following day barely able to walk; my back was so sore!

A heck of a gig, here's hoping that VNV Nation return to Bristol often.

Gigs - Within Temptation

Birmingham Carling Academy

This was my third time at a WT gig. I have come to expect certain things.

1. A huge crowd
2. Epic sound
3. Brilliant charisma
4. To dance my arse off

I was not disappointed. I have mixed feelings about this venue. I have seen NIN there in the past and on both occasions I have had trouble getting to actually see the bands performing. The venue is simply too big for a standing only gig. The ground floor fills up very quickly and from about ten feet back from the stage all the way back to the bar there is no view. There is a balcony upstairs, but once there are about two rows at the railing someone of my height can see nothing.

On this occasion we took up position three rows back on the balcony for the support act, however, I couldn't see so found myself a comfy spot under the large plasma screen and watched the support act from there.

Once WT took the stage, however, I was not content to sit back and wandered off to find myself a better spot. I got lucky and managed to squeeze in by a pillar dead centre on the balcony, with a few rows in front of me but a little gap through people's heads afforded me an intermittent view! Andy joined me and we enjoyed the set from this position.

The thing that struck me about this gig was that it was evident that we were witnessing the tail end of the tour. When we saw them in Bristol in April the band were energetic, fresh and incredibly tight. That was lacking a little this time, Sharon took a good three songs to warm up properly and even then her voice wasn't as strong as I have heard it in the past.

The set was incredible with us being treated to a few older tracks as well as the usual hits from Mother Earth, The Silent Force and The Heart of Everything. Despite the end-of-tour feeling, it was a very good gig, full of great interaction with the crowd and a fantastic energy from the audience.

Next time we see them it will, hopefully be back in Bristol at a better sized venue. Here's hoping that they keep playing the smaller venues though and that their tour manager doesn't ditch those gigs.

Tonight: VNV Nation!

Getting a Point Across

I have observed, throughout my life, that when a person is unable to answer a question in a debate coherently, rationally and with due attention to previous discussion then they usually don't have much of a point to make. Either they don't understand the subject under discussion or they don't understand their own opinion on the matter.

Internet forums and message boards have made it possible for all manner of people to get involved in public debate that may not have had the chance were the internet not such a fantastic tool. People who have never been involved in a formal debate before are mixing with those who have. People who have never had to argue their opinion in a coherent manner before are mixing with those who have given their opinions careful consideration and discussed them openly many times.

I don't claim to be an expert at debate. I'm not. I represented my house in the school public debate competition once and not very well. I made a speech as part of mock-election week for the 1997 general election, which I enjoyed but my well thought out, pre-written and impassioned speech didn't go down too well with my a-political classmates.

On the rare occasions that I have gone up against those who are genuinely expert at debate (usually guys with quite forceful personalities) I have crumbled and utterly failed to get my own point across. Their arguments may be utterly abhorrant, they may only be arguing for the sake of it and not really because they believe the position they are putting across, but if they are well-practiced in the basic skills then I stand no chance.

But I, like many people, like talking about my own opinions and I do this on the internet with regularity. Mostly I find myself the superior debator, despite my lack of experience. I know some of the theory and I do give my opinions a lot of thought, therefore I often come to a debate well armed with my own, reasoned thoughts.

I do, however, tend to get passionate about the things I care about. And that gets in the way. I find myself falling out with people from time to time, simply because the discussion becomes personal.

But recently, I have been getting quite agitated by a long-running discussion because I have not become impassioned, I have remained balanced and rational throughout. However a couple of posters have taken my comments incredibly personally and have taken to slinging mud. No matter how upset I get in one of these discussions I never stoop to insults or "I know you are but what am I"- style arguing. If I get too involved, if I take offense I tend to withdraw and let the discussion go on without me.

I am farely knowledgable about this subject, it being one I have studied on my degree and in my leisure time. So it infuriates me when people come to the discussion just to throw insults and stamp their feet without any consideration for the rational, serious discussion taking place. They misunderstand, misquote and generally make themselves look silly and wind me up because I feel like I am doing a poor job of getting my point across.

But there is no rationalising with those people. They will never understand a point of view contrary to their own so I mustn't get stressed out about it. This blog entry serves as the venting of my frustration. Hopefully now I can get on with my life.

Gigs - The New Root

Allflaws/Red Vein/The New Root – 14th November 2007 – The Louisiana, Bristol

The night opened with rap-duo Allflaws, sadly not to this reviewer's taste. The second performance came from Red Vein, who provided a more inspiring set of lyrically and musically interesting tracks. They set the mood well for the main attraction; The New Root.

However, I find myself at a slight loss for words as I try to begin this review. What can I say that I have not said before? Am I a fool for having praised TNR so highly in the past? I ask that not because I have ever had any doubt that they deserved my praise, but because I find myself struggling to describe just how amazing they were on this occasion. Having given them such glowing reviews in the past there are very few more rungs on the ladder to go up to and in this case they really need more rungs.

I have always been a Rooter, I have always enjoyed their gigs; loved their songs, revelled in their performances and come away glowing with pride. But this night was different. This night they were headlining, they had a longer set and the biggest audience. There may have been nerves there, but I didn’t see them, all I saw was excitement and joy from the band. It was evident that they were enjoying themselves more than ever and that showed in their confidence and stage presence.

They opened their set with my old favourite, Cruel. This Rooter was overjoyed to see the return of this song to their set. It has been slightly rearranged, the acoustic guitar has been replaced with electric and Trish now plays the key part as well as singing, the whole song has a little more oomph than it did before, and it was always one of their more pounding songs, so that is saying something.

The treatment upon the band’s older material from newest band members Joel and Tony has brought a heavier, more edgy sound, more appropriate for moshing to than previous versions. And mosh we did. Regular Rooters took up position at the front and much vigorous dancing ensued throughout the set, with quiet pauses for Still Near and Crazy.

Other returning track Tell It Like It Is went down well as did their newest track with its irregular rhythms and slamming guitar. In a recent conversation with Dave and Trish Boothby, they said that they wanted to be able to take the audience on an emotional journey in their gigs and that certainly happened with this longer set. We were set up marvellously for the very emotive Crazy, drawing a tear from more than one audience member's eye and the set was brought to a fantastic climax with So Alive.

The Rooters weren’t going to let the band get away without playing crowd-pleaser My Truth, though and calls for an encore were, thankfully, given into by the venue, who gave the go ahead for another song.

Their would-be closing track says it all really, this gig made me feel so alive. I left the venue with friends, all bouncing merrily in the street, elated and exhausted at the same time from all the dancing. TNR have reached a new level in excellence. More confidence, I believe is the key, they pulled off a tight performance and were engaging to watch. As ever, I came away feeling very positive about the future success of the band.