The spirit of the Olympics is embodied in the pledge the athletes undertake to keep at its opening ceremony. Every athlete promises to play fairly and obey all of the Olympic rules. A single Chinese athlete took this oath at the Beijing Opening Ceremony on behalf of all athletes. She held a corner of the Olympic Flag while repeating the oath:
"In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."
The oath was written by Baron de Coubertin the founder of the Modern Olympic Games in 1920. Olympic officials also take an oath. While holding a corner of the Olympic Flag, one official from the host country repeats a similar oath on behalf of all the officials.
It is therefore sad and disappointing that there are questions hanging over the Beijing Olympics that must be asked. Although it would be churlish to deny the scope, scale and sheer majesty of these Games we do have to ask about the morality and ethics of their Chinese hosts.
This appears to be especially relevant where the judging of the event is subjective. By this we mean that a panel of judges rather than simply measuring the speed, height, length of a competition instead evaluates the quality of the competitors performance. Look at how well China has done in these subjective events.
Watching the last day of competition in the boxing competition there is no question in my mind that when the competition was close the Chinese boxers were given an unfair scoring advantage. The way scoring in this sport works is that there are four judges and each has a computer button to push for each punch one of the contestants’ lands on his opponent. Only if all four push their button within one second will the point register.
Therefore if you wanted to “fix” a close match all you would have to do is get to just one judge. I suspect that no one has any proof to this effect, but the distinct suspicion remains that this is happening. Perhaps such suspected corruption isn’t a money issue, but more to do with politically or personally favoring one country above another. But if you were to forensically examine the subjectively judged events you would be forced to conclude that there was a disproportionate amount of Chinese success. In boxing, in the bad old days, they used to call these kind of results, “home town decisions”.
Yesterday there was an attempt at an outrageously unfair piece of judging in the quarter final of the over 67kg taekwondo competition. Sarah Stevenson, the British girl was one point behind her two time Olympic gold medal winning Chinese opponent, Chen Zhang. With moments to go Sarah clearly landed a kick to Zhang’s head, thus scoring two points. Somehow this blow was invisible to the judging panel, no score registered. The British contestant and team, plus all neutrals were outraged.
For the next hour there was pandemonium behind the scenes as the British team protested volubly to the authorities. In the experience of all those who have ever observed the fate of such objections there was no chance for it. The shock was therefore enormous when it was announced that the result had been overturned. Sarah Stevenson was declared the winner and would fight in the semi-final. She did so, without any further preparation and lost to a feisty, excellent fighter from Mexico. Then, re-gathering her forces, Sarah won the bronze fight off. It is a great pity for Sarah that she suffered this fate, as she has, when properly prepared, beaten the Mexican twice previously.
Perhaps, during the final moments of the quarter final bout, let’s be kind, a judge was unsighted or just felt such intense outside pressure that he or she hadn’t dared score the British blow, but this simply should not happen. Why is there no video replay available for all the subjective event judging? These kinds of “mistakes” are easy to overcome. When in doubt, look at the disputed moment again.
Similarly some, if not all, of the gymnastic and diving scores are questionable for the same reasons. Discount for the moment that there are big questions still remaining over the eligibility of some of the Chinese competitors, and you begin to feel there are severe doubts about how China has operated its participation in these games, which are supposed to epitomize the Olympic spirit.
There was in these games, a feeling that the Chinese government, rather than their Olympic committee, was in total control. Take nothing away from the amazing Chinese results in almost all of the sports in which they participated and remember that just 16 years ago they won virtually no medals. From nothing to sporting superpower in 4 Olympics is a remarkable achievement that we must all applaud. But cheating is not permitted and there is more than a suspicion that some results were fixed.
Let us all learn from these events, and remember the oaths that are taken so that London hosts a great event, that is also demonstrably impartial in 2012. We want to move up from our own amazing fourth place in the Olympic medals table to an even higher position, but let’s do it fairly.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
MrVicePresidentialCandidate
Joe Biden is to be Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket for the upcoming USA elections. It’s hard to find anything particularly positive to write about this anodyne man who will, if Obama wins the race to the White House, be just a heartbeat away from the most powerful job on the planet.
Biden, who has twice run for President, remained out of public view at his home in Delaware with friends and family. The normally verbose lawmaker maintained a low profile. Biden is known to speak a great deal without saying too much. Selecting him is a demonstration of Obama picking someone to balance his ticket rather than excite the voters.
Most of us will remember Joe Biden as the man who plagiarized the Welsh windbag, Neil Kinnock’s speech for his own election campaign. You can understand borrowing brilliant words from someone whose writing is better than your own, but choosing Neil Kinnock as your role model is indicative of both cheating and bad judgment.
The 65-year-old senator was first elected to the Senate at the age of 29 in 1973. Biden brings to the potential position more experience in defense and foreign policy - areas in which Obama is rated relatively poorly in the polls compared with Republican Sen. John McCain. Biden is a man who will leave Barack feeling secure as he is perceived to present no threat politically but might carry some blue collar white voters with him to their ticket.
Hillary Rodham Clinton - who was Obama's closest rival for the presidential nomination appears not to have even been seriously considered. Although her omission was anticipated it will solidify many hard line Clinton acolytes against Obama.
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware was selected by Obama late Friday night to balance his ticket with the older congressional veteran well versed in foreign policy and defense issues.
Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator.
During his more than 30 years in the Senate, Biden served at various times as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues.
Obama's campaign team has arranged a debut for the newly minted ticket on Saturday outside the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill.
The selection of Joe Biden is yet another demonstration of Obama’s failure to do more than assert his middle of the road credentials. To win the Presidency he should be seeking to maintain his previously more liberal and exciting momentum with the American electorate. However all his actions seem to achieve are a design for him not to lose too badly.
Biden, who has twice run for President, remained out of public view at his home in Delaware with friends and family. The normally verbose lawmaker maintained a low profile. Biden is known to speak a great deal without saying too much. Selecting him is a demonstration of Obama picking someone to balance his ticket rather than excite the voters.
Most of us will remember Joe Biden as the man who plagiarized the Welsh windbag, Neil Kinnock’s speech for his own election campaign. You can understand borrowing brilliant words from someone whose writing is better than your own, but choosing Neil Kinnock as your role model is indicative of both cheating and bad judgment.
The 65-year-old senator was first elected to the Senate at the age of 29 in 1973. Biden brings to the potential position more experience in defense and foreign policy - areas in which Obama is rated relatively poorly in the polls compared with Republican Sen. John McCain. Biden is a man who will leave Barack feeling secure as he is perceived to present no threat politically but might carry some blue collar white voters with him to their ticket.
Hillary Rodham Clinton - who was Obama's closest rival for the presidential nomination appears not to have even been seriously considered. Although her omission was anticipated it will solidify many hard line Clinton acolytes against Obama.
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware was selected by Obama late Friday night to balance his ticket with the older congressional veteran well versed in foreign policy and defense issues.
Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator.
During his more than 30 years in the Senate, Biden served at various times as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues.
Obama's campaign team has arranged a debut for the newly minted ticket on Saturday outside the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill.
The selection of Joe Biden is yet another demonstration of Obama’s failure to do more than assert his middle of the road credentials. To win the Presidency he should be seeking to maintain his previously more liberal and exciting momentum with the American electorate. However all his actions seem to achieve are a design for him not to lose too badly.
Friday, August 22, 2008
ANiceDayOff
After having some “twilight” anesthetic administered to me yesterday there was no way I could write anything at all. You might sigh in appreciation of this fact, but to me this discipline is addictive. You can feel guilty if you don’t do what feels right.
My grandfather, who was a tailor’s presser, had to work, so did my father, originally an engineer, and latterly a businessman and wonderful film producer. I don’t mean they needed the money they earned; I mean that they needed to work for its own sake.
I used to think my father worked too hard. My father thought his father worked like a donkey without common sense. Even when my father had become very successful and wanted to help my grandfather take it easier in his old age the older man was virtually unable to do so.
Personally I had always thought they were both silly and anyone should be able to relax, especially when you were a little older and the blood didn’t run so hot. I had thought of writing nothing today, as I’m entitled to do, but then I decided I should write a blog about nothing. Then fate intervened.
I received a telephone call from a friend saying those words so irresistible to a writer, “I love your blog!” I am congenitally unable to resist the siren call when phrased in such an appealing manner. Immediately my reluctance to write and tiredness dissipated like snow in the Sahara. So here we are, ready to write and with a subject in mind.
This will be brief, I promise, and concerns people complaining without justification. So many people gripe at their fate when circumstances get a little tough that you cease listening to them.
Getting back to my grandfather, his answer to anyone’s question regarding how he was he met with the response, “Mustn’t grumble.” He meant exactly what he said. No one ever heard the tough little Polish man grumble and it didn’t matter what the world threw at him. The only time I ever saw him show weakness was when he faced me to explain that his wife, our precious Nana Dora, had passed away.
It wasn’t what he said, as he stood framed by the light coming into our hallway, it was seeing his proud face crumple that made me understand he was about to impart earth shattering news.
Today too many people complain that they’re having it tough at the first whiff of trouble. It’s miserable when the credit crunch bites, but it is not yet the end of the world. Compare it to the Great Depression or African people starving in the sub Saharan dust. It’s tough, dangerous and worrying that our soldiers are facing evil and trying circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it is nothing to the deprivation, danger and duration of the major wars faced by previous generations.
As I’ve written previously in these columns most of us are still in the midst of the most prosperous, peaceful and least hostile period in our entire history. Instead of complaining all the time, let’s enjoy the moment.
I admit to being a donkey much like all my ancestors, but at least what I do is a great deal easier than some of the tough jobs they endured. Adapting the words of Dick Cheney to my circumstances; the hours are good and the job involves no heavy lifting.
By the way, the small surgical procedure went off without a hitch. I shall, as the medics say, be able to buy a long-playing record with every expectation of hearing the last track.
My grandfather, who was a tailor’s presser, had to work, so did my father, originally an engineer, and latterly a businessman and wonderful film producer. I don’t mean they needed the money they earned; I mean that they needed to work for its own sake.
I used to think my father worked too hard. My father thought his father worked like a donkey without common sense. Even when my father had become very successful and wanted to help my grandfather take it easier in his old age the older man was virtually unable to do so.
Personally I had always thought they were both silly and anyone should be able to relax, especially when you were a little older and the blood didn’t run so hot. I had thought of writing nothing today, as I’m entitled to do, but then I decided I should write a blog about nothing. Then fate intervened.
I received a telephone call from a friend saying those words so irresistible to a writer, “I love your blog!” I am congenitally unable to resist the siren call when phrased in such an appealing manner. Immediately my reluctance to write and tiredness dissipated like snow in the Sahara. So here we are, ready to write and with a subject in mind.
This will be brief, I promise, and concerns people complaining without justification. So many people gripe at their fate when circumstances get a little tough that you cease listening to them.
Getting back to my grandfather, his answer to anyone’s question regarding how he was he met with the response, “Mustn’t grumble.” He meant exactly what he said. No one ever heard the tough little Polish man grumble and it didn’t matter what the world threw at him. The only time I ever saw him show weakness was when he faced me to explain that his wife, our precious Nana Dora, had passed away.
It wasn’t what he said, as he stood framed by the light coming into our hallway, it was seeing his proud face crumple that made me understand he was about to impart earth shattering news.
Today too many people complain that they’re having it tough at the first whiff of trouble. It’s miserable when the credit crunch bites, but it is not yet the end of the world. Compare it to the Great Depression or African people starving in the sub Saharan dust. It’s tough, dangerous and worrying that our soldiers are facing evil and trying circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it is nothing to the deprivation, danger and duration of the major wars faced by previous generations.
As I’ve written previously in these columns most of us are still in the midst of the most prosperous, peaceful and least hostile period in our entire history. Instead of complaining all the time, let’s enjoy the moment.
I admit to being a donkey much like all my ancestors, but at least what I do is a great deal easier than some of the tough jobs they endured. Adapting the words of Dick Cheney to my circumstances; the hours are good and the job involves no heavy lifting.
By the way, the small surgical procedure went off without a hitch. I shall, as the medics say, be able to buy a long-playing record with every expectation of hearing the last track.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
TheGlitterHasGone
First the disclaimer, I am no fan of Garry Glitter. He has never appealed to me as either a man nor as a musician. I always found him more than a little strange to watch during his very successful singing career.
Glitter has just been released from his imprisonment after serving his prison term in Vietnam. He is a man who is unwanted virtually everywhere.
The Vietnamese prison sentence followed a very similar incarceration for an almost identical conviction in Thailand. After his expulsion from Vietnam 19 countries are understood to have signaled that he is an undesirable to all of them and none of them will allow him in.
If he comes back to Britain he will have to register on the sex offenders list and be closely monitored for an extended period.
Glitter's sentence called for him to be deported on his release, and if he is returned to Vietnam, he will almost certainly be put back on a flight to London.
But Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, is fighting to remain overseas. "I'm not going back to London," he said on his arrival in Thailand. "You can't make me. I've done my time. I'm a free man."
The Thai government refused to force Glitter back on the plane, and the British police officer traveling with him admitted he had no authority to compel him to board the aircraft.
The British consulate in Ho Chi Minh City issued Glitter’s passport. His rights are the same as any British citizen, which means he is allowed to travel to any country that does not require a visa. But now that he’s been denied entry to Singapore and Hong Kong, his future is uncertain.
There are no outstanding charges against Glitter in the UK but the British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith said Glitter should not be allowed to leave the country if he did return to these shores.
"We need to control him, and he will be controlled once he returns to this country," Smith said.
His crimes are all linked to Glitter being a pedophile. Despite our very natural detestation of this sad man and his dreadful crimes, are we not making ourselves into a baying mob if we give in to our natural but reprehensible instincts to keep punishing a man who has already served his sentence?
Yes, Glitter is an evil bastard who has to be closely watched wherever he turns up. But isn’t this beginning to look more like the witch hunt of a sick man than a lesson in justice?
You feel as though there’s a ducking stool poised ready or a rack being polished for Glitter. Surely the days of our burning people at the stake should be over or have we learned nothing at all?
Glitter has just been released from his imprisonment after serving his prison term in Vietnam. He is a man who is unwanted virtually everywhere.
The Vietnamese prison sentence followed a very similar incarceration for an almost identical conviction in Thailand. After his expulsion from Vietnam 19 countries are understood to have signaled that he is an undesirable to all of them and none of them will allow him in.
If he comes back to Britain he will have to register on the sex offenders list and be closely monitored for an extended period.
Glitter's sentence called for him to be deported on his release, and if he is returned to Vietnam, he will almost certainly be put back on a flight to London.
But Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, is fighting to remain overseas. "I'm not going back to London," he said on his arrival in Thailand. "You can't make me. I've done my time. I'm a free man."
The Thai government refused to force Glitter back on the plane, and the British police officer traveling with him admitted he had no authority to compel him to board the aircraft.
The British consulate in Ho Chi Minh City issued Glitter’s passport. His rights are the same as any British citizen, which means he is allowed to travel to any country that does not require a visa. But now that he’s been denied entry to Singapore and Hong Kong, his future is uncertain.
There are no outstanding charges against Glitter in the UK but the British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith said Glitter should not be allowed to leave the country if he did return to these shores.
"We need to control him, and he will be controlled once he returns to this country," Smith said.
His crimes are all linked to Glitter being a pedophile. Despite our very natural detestation of this sad man and his dreadful crimes, are we not making ourselves into a baying mob if we give in to our natural but reprehensible instincts to keep punishing a man who has already served his sentence?
Yes, Glitter is an evil bastard who has to be closely watched wherever he turns up. But isn’t this beginning to look more like the witch hunt of a sick man than a lesson in justice?
You feel as though there’s a ducking stool poised ready or a rack being polished for Glitter. Surely the days of our burning people at the stake should be over or have we learned nothing at all?
SeismicShifts
Every so often, randomly arriving at our door through fate, not design, comes a seismic shift in our collective destiny. We are, in my view, living through the beginning of such a shift.
Not since the general collapse of the Communist world and ethos have such large cracks appeared in the global fault lines. This can, as in the case of Communisms demise, lead to a positive conclusion, but getting there can be fraught with danger.
The signals of the impending changes are gathering pace. These involve varying numbers of us presently, in certain locations, but the repercussions are bound to ripple out across the world. Such are the benefits and curses of living in a global economy. We get to share the pain as well as the pleasure.
For nearly one hundred years we have been used to a world where America has always been able to dominate economically and, to some extent, militarily. The end of the Soviet Union marked the high water mark. The American economy looked monolithic and invincible, as did its military and its culture. After a decade and a half fighting asymmetrically against terrorism in all its forms the military looks like its incorrectly configured. The economy is finding it hard to adjust to a world where its hegemony over finance is challenged from London and domination over manufacturing by the Chinese. Self sufficiency of raw materials, especially oil and gas is becoming an ever more distant memory and now Canada is the big winner in the supply of fuel to the USA.
Add to these negatives for America the near collapse of its mortgage business and banks, and the signs become yet more ominous. Yesterday it was predicted that a major American bank will shortly collapse, and should they survive a major Investment bank will fold. These things are beginning to happen and are not me being a doomsayer. Perhaps, the truth is, there are simply too many banks chasing too few deals and too little money and there needed to be slimming down of the banking fraternity. This may have all been triggered by the sub prime market collapse but has now grown far wider and deeper.
But this is a global crisis, not an American one. In China there are a record number of business bankruptcies reported. The central authorities have decreed their own, internal credit crunch and it has driven the non -governmental supported businesses to the financial wall. This has resulted in many thousands of these small to medium sized businesses seeking unofficial loans from financial sharks circling in search of easy prey. The Chinese official figures reckon the size of these types of loans already exceeds $14 billion. Many of these loans are already defaulting and this is leading to business and commercial tragedy on an increasingly gargantuan scale. The authorities, not normally known for their swift market reactions has seen the big dangers lurking ahead and did release more funding quite quickly, but it remains to be seen whether this will save their situation.
This problem is exacerbated by China’s recent incredible expansion being almost totally fuelled by Western consumerism. With our moving toward recession this demand has almost evaporated. The Chinese manufacturers servicing their burgeoning internal market can temporarily disguise this, but this has clear limitations. The world’s woes are about to be shared by China.
Add to this set of problems the very real issues regarding Russia’s new imperialism, the ongoing issues in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East and there are very rocky roads ahead.
These are the times when we need political giants to lead us and we only have Obama or McCain plus Brown, Sarkozy and Merkel. The line up facing them is led, in real terms by Vladimir Putin, and he is sharper, more focused and clearly has a plan in mind. He’s playing chess while we’re getting out our checkers board.
The methods Putin used to gain control over all aspects of the gas and oil industries demonstrated his total ruthless efficiency and a complete lack of morals and business ethics. The risk to our investments in Russia became clear when Putin’s minions behaved appallingly in their seeking to bully BP to give control to Russia of their half of their jointly owned and controlled company. When foreign capital was pouring into Russia they were happy to accept it, now that these enterprises have become profitable they want to take them. I am not an apologist for our big businesses, but if clear agreements are going to be breached the world economy falls under real threat.
However, we should seek a common denominator because we’re going to have to find a way to adjust and live together. Putin is as concerned as we are about Islamic fundamentalism and this is the area we should be working on, together. We should find ways to make Putin and Russia work with us on a common agenda that is centered on this common, major problem.
While we search for common methods to combat these common problems we also need to tighten up our EU ownership laws to disallow Russian ownership of our strategic assets. It is commercial insanity for us to entertain the idea of Russia owning sections of our power industry. Such negotiations took place over the last month and must be stopped.
Similar, financial self-defense measures need to be implemented against any ownership by any country that is at any risk of becoming our future enemy.
Not since the general collapse of the Communist world and ethos have such large cracks appeared in the global fault lines. This can, as in the case of Communisms demise, lead to a positive conclusion, but getting there can be fraught with danger.
The signals of the impending changes are gathering pace. These involve varying numbers of us presently, in certain locations, but the repercussions are bound to ripple out across the world. Such are the benefits and curses of living in a global economy. We get to share the pain as well as the pleasure.
For nearly one hundred years we have been used to a world where America has always been able to dominate economically and, to some extent, militarily. The end of the Soviet Union marked the high water mark. The American economy looked monolithic and invincible, as did its military and its culture. After a decade and a half fighting asymmetrically against terrorism in all its forms the military looks like its incorrectly configured. The economy is finding it hard to adjust to a world where its hegemony over finance is challenged from London and domination over manufacturing by the Chinese. Self sufficiency of raw materials, especially oil and gas is becoming an ever more distant memory and now Canada is the big winner in the supply of fuel to the USA.
Add to these negatives for America the near collapse of its mortgage business and banks, and the signs become yet more ominous. Yesterday it was predicted that a major American bank will shortly collapse, and should they survive a major Investment bank will fold. These things are beginning to happen and are not me being a doomsayer. Perhaps, the truth is, there are simply too many banks chasing too few deals and too little money and there needed to be slimming down of the banking fraternity. This may have all been triggered by the sub prime market collapse but has now grown far wider and deeper.
But this is a global crisis, not an American one. In China there are a record number of business bankruptcies reported. The central authorities have decreed their own, internal credit crunch and it has driven the non -governmental supported businesses to the financial wall. This has resulted in many thousands of these small to medium sized businesses seeking unofficial loans from financial sharks circling in search of easy prey. The Chinese official figures reckon the size of these types of loans already exceeds $14 billion. Many of these loans are already defaulting and this is leading to business and commercial tragedy on an increasingly gargantuan scale. The authorities, not normally known for their swift market reactions has seen the big dangers lurking ahead and did release more funding quite quickly, but it remains to be seen whether this will save their situation.
This problem is exacerbated by China’s recent incredible expansion being almost totally fuelled by Western consumerism. With our moving toward recession this demand has almost evaporated. The Chinese manufacturers servicing their burgeoning internal market can temporarily disguise this, but this has clear limitations. The world’s woes are about to be shared by China.
Add to this set of problems the very real issues regarding Russia’s new imperialism, the ongoing issues in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East and there are very rocky roads ahead.
These are the times when we need political giants to lead us and we only have Obama or McCain plus Brown, Sarkozy and Merkel. The line up facing them is led, in real terms by Vladimir Putin, and he is sharper, more focused and clearly has a plan in mind. He’s playing chess while we’re getting out our checkers board.
The methods Putin used to gain control over all aspects of the gas and oil industries demonstrated his total ruthless efficiency and a complete lack of morals and business ethics. The risk to our investments in Russia became clear when Putin’s minions behaved appallingly in their seeking to bully BP to give control to Russia of their half of their jointly owned and controlled company. When foreign capital was pouring into Russia they were happy to accept it, now that these enterprises have become profitable they want to take them. I am not an apologist for our big businesses, but if clear agreements are going to be breached the world economy falls under real threat.
However, we should seek a common denominator because we’re going to have to find a way to adjust and live together. Putin is as concerned as we are about Islamic fundamentalism and this is the area we should be working on, together. We should find ways to make Putin and Russia work with us on a common agenda that is centered on this common, major problem.
While we search for common methods to combat these common problems we also need to tighten up our EU ownership laws to disallow Russian ownership of our strategic assets. It is commercial insanity for us to entertain the idea of Russia owning sections of our power industry. Such negotiations took place over the last month and must be stopped.
Similar, financial self-defense measures need to be implemented against any ownership by any country that is at any risk of becoming our future enemy.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
RelativelyStrangers
Tomorrow I might just pop a few words down for my blog or I might not. I have to visit the medics for a little something at an unearthly hour and that will mean probable hours spent in rush hour traffic in both directions.
There’s nothing much wrong with me, I think and hope, but you can’t help but think of the dance eternal when you get within a few miles proximity of a hospital.
My mood was not enhanced with a phone call I received a day or two back. I come from a big, noisy and very lively continental type family. A cousin rang me to tell me that my late mother’s first cousin had died. The lady, who I hardly knew, was in her mid 90’s, but in our tradition, when you get the phone call in the morning, about such a relation being buried that afternoon, you attend!
I have to say that the eerie quotient was magnified by the fact that at the precise moment I received the phone call about the funeral, I was doing my final draft of a radio play I’m writing, set partly in a funeral.
I attended the funeral and found myself surrounded by a great many people I didn’t know, and just a few who are related but are, shall we say, relatively strangers.
It was years since I had seen this, now somewhat distant part of our family. There was a time when we were less sophisticated and much poorer when we got together in huge regular gatherings of the entire clan. That was when my grandmother and her several sisters and a brother were still all with us, and ruled the clan with charm, a smile and a will of iron. Now we barely recognize each other. My more distant cousins have clearly prospered, and keep company with similarly well-healed friends. There were more Bentleys in the car park than are found at a premier league football club’s training ground.
My closest male cousin, Ivor, stood next to me in the prayer hall; we tend to do this at these family events. As ever we find ourselves making jokes to relieve the seriousness of the moment. We’ve been doing the same thing since we were small boys; I suppose it gives us comfort, these little moments of humor. We might be getting a little older, but when we’re together we’re still those small boys who played together at our mutual grandmother’s home.
Ivor is starting a formal genealogy of our family and has a computer programme to assist with the task. When we discussed how difficult it was just to work out our connection to all the people attending the funeral we realized how hard it would be to chart our family. But it will be great to see the result. You understand your present, and can shape your future if you know your past.
The funeral itself was, as ever, a sad and emotional outpouring of shared grief. I looked at the immediate family of the deceased, and when their veneer of smart sophistication crumpled under the strain of the moment they suddenly looked very much like my late grandmother.
I do feel a bit guilty, but as soon as it was over I returned home to make some revisions to my radio script. I can’t help it, I’m a writer, and I’m confident that my family would understand.
There’s nothing much wrong with me, I think and hope, but you can’t help but think of the dance eternal when you get within a few miles proximity of a hospital.
My mood was not enhanced with a phone call I received a day or two back. I come from a big, noisy and very lively continental type family. A cousin rang me to tell me that my late mother’s first cousin had died. The lady, who I hardly knew, was in her mid 90’s, but in our tradition, when you get the phone call in the morning, about such a relation being buried that afternoon, you attend!
I have to say that the eerie quotient was magnified by the fact that at the precise moment I received the phone call about the funeral, I was doing my final draft of a radio play I’m writing, set partly in a funeral.
I attended the funeral and found myself surrounded by a great many people I didn’t know, and just a few who are related but are, shall we say, relatively strangers.
It was years since I had seen this, now somewhat distant part of our family. There was a time when we were less sophisticated and much poorer when we got together in huge regular gatherings of the entire clan. That was when my grandmother and her several sisters and a brother were still all with us, and ruled the clan with charm, a smile and a will of iron. Now we barely recognize each other. My more distant cousins have clearly prospered, and keep company with similarly well-healed friends. There were more Bentleys in the car park than are found at a premier league football club’s training ground.
My closest male cousin, Ivor, stood next to me in the prayer hall; we tend to do this at these family events. As ever we find ourselves making jokes to relieve the seriousness of the moment. We’ve been doing the same thing since we were small boys; I suppose it gives us comfort, these little moments of humor. We might be getting a little older, but when we’re together we’re still those small boys who played together at our mutual grandmother’s home.
Ivor is starting a formal genealogy of our family and has a computer programme to assist with the task. When we discussed how difficult it was just to work out our connection to all the people attending the funeral we realized how hard it would be to chart our family. But it will be great to see the result. You understand your present, and can shape your future if you know your past.
The funeral itself was, as ever, a sad and emotional outpouring of shared grief. I looked at the immediate family of the deceased, and when their veneer of smart sophistication crumpled under the strain of the moment they suddenly looked very much like my late grandmother.
I do feel a bit guilty, but as soon as it was over I returned home to make some revisions to my radio script. I can’t help it, I’m a writer, and I’m confident that my family would understand.
Monday, August 18, 2008
DejaVu
When you watch the Russian tanks rolling over Georgia the only humanity in the scene comes from the faces of the soldiers and the bystanders watching.
The former group looks more mystified than triumphant, confusion clear on their faces. They don’t understand why they’re not being greeted with friendship and fraternal greetings.
The look on the faces of the bystanders is one of horror and terror; clearly they can’t believe what’s happening or cope with the consequences. I remember that look; I have seen it before.
I was in Czechoslovakia in 1968 when the Russians invaded that country putting an end to freedom that would imprison those wonderful people for another 21 years until the velvet revolution.
I was there for that first hopeful Spring that promised so much, but then resulted in a further quarter century of misery for Eastern Europe.
That invasion was supposedly about Communist solidarity but was all about the continuation of the Russian empire, and this invasion is exactly the same.
Now the Russians have confirmed to the representatives of the European Union and others that by today at noon the Russian troops would withdraw from Georgia to the semi-autonomous region of South Ossetia.
More ominously the Russians have stated that they are conducting a phased withdrawal of their soldiers and replacing them with “peacekeepers”. That sounds very much like an Orwellian euphemism. My grandmother’s description of old time cowboy films is apt, “same men, different hats!” she would laughingly shout.
As this article is written the Russian government spokesman announced that the French foreign minister had misunderstood their negotiations. The Russian forces would be withdrawing, but not necessarily by today at noon. The Russian actions become murkier, more worrying and worse with every passing hour.
Meanwhile the people of Georgia visited their churches on Sunday and prayed for a future free of their Russian occupiers.
The former group looks more mystified than triumphant, confusion clear on their faces. They don’t understand why they’re not being greeted with friendship and fraternal greetings.
The look on the faces of the bystanders is one of horror and terror; clearly they can’t believe what’s happening or cope with the consequences. I remember that look; I have seen it before.
I was in Czechoslovakia in 1968 when the Russians invaded that country putting an end to freedom that would imprison those wonderful people for another 21 years until the velvet revolution.
I was there for that first hopeful Spring that promised so much, but then resulted in a further quarter century of misery for Eastern Europe.
That invasion was supposedly about Communist solidarity but was all about the continuation of the Russian empire, and this invasion is exactly the same.
Now the Russians have confirmed to the representatives of the European Union and others that by today at noon the Russian troops would withdraw from Georgia to the semi-autonomous region of South Ossetia.
More ominously the Russians have stated that they are conducting a phased withdrawal of their soldiers and replacing them with “peacekeepers”. That sounds very much like an Orwellian euphemism. My grandmother’s description of old time cowboy films is apt, “same men, different hats!” she would laughingly shout.
As this article is written the Russian government spokesman announced that the French foreign minister had misunderstood their negotiations. The Russian forces would be withdrawing, but not necessarily by today at noon. The Russian actions become murkier, more worrying and worse with every passing hour.
Meanwhile the people of Georgia visited their churches on Sunday and prayed for a future free of their Russian occupiers.
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