My overwhelming impression of the media's handling of the new coalition government is that it wants it to fail. I have yet to come across a story that is not hinting at splits, or the impossibility of delivering manifesto commitments or indeed, the last gasp of those whose beloved party is no longer in power and believes, quite incredibly, that Ed Balls will save us.
All I know is that some of the worst excesses of the last lot are to be reversed, which to me is good news. HIPs for example, the universally despised Home Information Packs - an unnecessary and useless bit layer of expense tacked on to the buying of a house. It never delivered information that was going to displace buyer surveys, building society surveys or solicitor's questions. Instead, it created a sad bunch of mickey mouse jobbers who are now presumably looking for another job in the real world. So that, at least is good news for would be home buyers.
The BBC still cannot believe that the old regime is gone. Question Time still stacks its audience with braying and credulous liberals, whose shirts and shoes give away the fact that they owe their livelihoods to the Public Sector. On last night's show, they were all plainly in favour of protecting the human rights of avowed terrorists and of allowing them to remain here to plot more atrocities. What does the BBC think we are? Fools? The QT audience is sifted and stacked to reflect their own agenda. My only question is, will this change now that Cleggameron is in charge?
There are rumblings that Nick Robinson, the BBC's Political Editor may go soon. Laura Kuennsberg is up for it apparently. I love to watch her face when she reports. Her mouth seems to have declared UDI.
Older people like me are supposed to worry less. And do you know, it's true! A few weeks ago, when I had a problem with a neighbour who is now gone, I faced him off. Given that he weighs twice as much as me, is a foot taller, and behaves like a stereotypical truculent Scot, I came out of it rather well. As he literally held his bulging Cro-Magnon fluorescing head about an inch from mine, spluttering expletives and threatening mayhem, mostly at me, my overriding thought was one of mild disdain and curiosity. I was curious as to how this man lives the rest of his life and if he will make his new neighbour's lives a misery, as he threatened to do mine. (Never fuck with the Weasel. I have seen plenty off in my time. It is a skill, inherited from my awful father who in quiet moments was sweetly sentimental, like Kim Jong Il, and in drunken ones was a bit like Russel Crowe, but without the charm)
As for money, which I suppose we all worry about, even if we have lots (especially if we have lots) I have been around that block too many times to let it consume my life.
So, if you are under fifty, and worried about getting old, don't. It is quite nice really. The only thing I will say, is... don't mock old people for moving slowly. They move slow, not because they are infirm or stupid, they move slow to avoid accidentally bumping into things, which is, I am afraid, a bit more painful and damaging for an oldster.
This weekend, I shall mainly be buying a new motor and pottering in the garden. I managed to hit some concrete with the mower yesterday and now it vibrates like hell, which I suppose means a new spindle and/or a new blade.
I have to get my passport renewed. I only mention this because not having a passport makes me feel very uncomfortable, as if I will be severely inconvenienced when MI6 sends me my next orders, to see a man in a white suit, known only as Clive, at the Cafe Ouvre on the Boule Miche.
Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are, and don't forget the Sun Tan lotion.
6 comments:
Good post, but how about Camel-Egg instead of Cleggameron?
(It has the advantage of various jokes about humps, etc.)
The media's role is really to wind up Tory backbenchers about not having a ministerial job as they've been given to the Lib Dems, and wonder how in a coalition parties can cope with compromise. Most of the media are New Labour kids so they just want to play games & don't care about the country. It was sad though on QT last night, that Theresa May was bullied into saying gays should adopt, and some old lady in the audience was mocked for saying terrorists and illegals shouldn't be here. The new govt seems ok so far and have more common sense than the last lot. I think the BBC's wings would be clipped soon. Like Ed P, I think Camel-Egg sounds nice.
Have you Camel-Eggs never heard of Boccaccio? Does nobody get a classical education no more?
Ah, Clams, it obviously brings out the Italian in you. Boccaccio? only with a condom.
Camel-Egg? Don't geddit. I concur with SV that the media, in general, just wants to play games.
Cleggameron sounds like a collection of stories like the Decameron or maybe the Heptameron.
Once upon a time...sorry we had enough of that with the last lot.
I think we're still stuck with the equivalent of HIP's in Scotland ( home report or something). The SNP love them.
In fact ignore most of the reforms coming in with the coalition as they're not relevant in Scotland.
I see the BBC are going at it hammer and tongs trying to undermine the coalition. Jeremy Vine always calls it the ConDem ( geddit ? ) coalition and then has a wee laugh as if it's the first time it's been said.
I'd scrap the beeb outright and give us our £145 back to buy a Sky package or whatever..
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