Good afternoon all – I hope you are well and looking forward to Christmas – I know this coming week may well be very hectic for people – so please remember to look after yourselves – Hands, Face, Space!
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You may be surprised to hear that, more often than not, as I sit down to commit these pearls of wisdom to paper, (or, more accurately, to a screen) I don’t have the first idea what on earth I am going to write about – and sometimes I know exactly! This is a ‘not a clue’ week so we’ll explore it together and see what happens!
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You may be shocked beyond belief to hear that I am not a political animal, particularly when it is local politics and squabbling. However – credit where it’s due – I am so impressed with the current Mayor of Havant Prad Bains. No idea which party he represents and it really doesn’t matter – he represents the Borough in such a positive way. Whenever there is something happening, so matter how inconsequential, he turns up (and not just for a photo opportunity like another politician we all know and many of us dislike!) and gives every impression that there is nowhere he would rather be. Children at school, older folk in care homes, faith groups of any persuasion. This morning I saw him after he’d left the Church Fair – and he was chatting away to a group of boys on bikes (who had just been riding through the crowded market – bonkers) as if they were the only people that mattered. In return, they were talking back to him. No photographer, no guards, just a man talking to young people and I thought it was brilliant. Well done Prad!
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Last Saturday, as I feared, I was at Havant Football Club watching the match. It was freezing cold and even though we had seats in the stands, the horizontal rain managed to drench us. First issue for me what working out which team was which. I said to the MM ‘what colour do Havant wear?’ ‘Blue’ he replied. Out came the teams – one in white and one in maroon!
There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours I suppose – although hard put to think of one – but the MM loves it so much and to see his excitement and pleasure when they scored not one but three goals and won the match was worth anything. Even I was forced to cheer “Wrighty” who had scored the hat-trick (please note I am picking up the correct terms!)
On Wednesday he wanted to go again but this time the Senior Girl offered to go with him, for which I was incredibly grateful. She sent me a text at half time to say that the MM had broken his glasses (or they had ‘just broken’ depending on which version you listen to). He managed to watch the rest of the game though.
That meant a visit to the optician on Thursday. A new pair was necessary as his couldn’t be repaired! Just the expense you need two weeks before Christmas!
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This week I watched a three part documentary about the Dambusters. It turned out to be much more interesting than I feared (presented by Dan Snow). Did you know that the Squadron Leader Guy Gibson was only 24 years of age and the oldest man in the squadron was 27 – some were only 20! After the mission in which 133 airmen took part in 617 Squadron, 53 were killed and a couple of others were shot down and captured. Guy Gibson was later awarded the Victoria Cross. One of the airmen at the ripe old age of 21 got married just a couple of weeks before the mission. In his diary he wrote that he was ‘a little nervous’ and feared he might not see his wife again but he would die knowing he had done his duty.
Today we so rarely hear that term and many people (I hesitate to say young people, but that is what I mean) have no conception of what it means. They are force-fed the idea that all that matters is your own happiness – a concept I think is wrong although I am aware that many people would disagree. I believe that people for whom you have a responsibility come first and self last – but that is probably very old-fashioned now!
Like a lot of us I always had a soft spot for ‘those boys’ Princes William and Harry and watched them grow up through all the ups and downs of their lives. Look at the difference now – William is driven by doing his duty to his immediate family, his wider family and the country – Harry is driven by his wife and cheerfully abandoned everyone and his duty to this country for his own ‘finding himself’ escapade.
Regardless of your personal feelings about the Royal Family, I think it would be hard to disagree when I say that the Queen has been an example of doing her duty throughout her life.
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(See I didn’t know that was boiling away in my head – turns out it was!)
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Have you noticed how sometimes you hear something, then over the following days you seem to hear or read about it all over the place.
This happened to me when I heard the term ‘Cultural Appropriation’ with reference to a white model pictured wearing a sari. The same day I read about a white school child being sent home because her hair was in ‘corn rows’ – not because it broke the school rules but because it was disrespectful to her fellow students who were black.
Then I heard on the radio about the part food plays in Cultural Appropriation – if it is a restaurant or food supplier who is white selling ‘Soul Food’ or ‘Ethnic Dining’ or whatever. It is OK for an Indian to open an Indian Restaurant but not if a white person does, particularly if an Indian is employed as a chef and not as front-of-house staff!
Where will this end? Will we still be allowed to buy and eat Pizza or pasta? Can we (if we have the money obviously!) wear French designer clothes?
Apparently we all need to be careful – one example was a white chef selling burritos, without giving any benefit to the communities that contributed to the food culture in the beginning. Another was ‘Asian inspired’ menus at restaurants not owned by Asian people.
Now, I’m not a great eater of foreign foods (except Chinese which we usually enjoy in a restaurant we know, where the owner and all the staff are Chinese!) so perhaps a lot of this doesn’t really affect me – but it would certainly affect some people.
Years ago (back in those far-off days when I was working) I was asked to go with the Headteacher to give a talk to mums at a Southampton school with a large ethnic catchment – and, when we arrived, we were asked to change into a Sari (hours of endless fun – I am neither tall nor slim!). After the talk there was a small buffet and drink – and a chance to mingle and talk. Without exception the sari-clad women there thanked us for our dress and said they regarded it as a compliment to their culture. I like to remember those remarks in case I am busy upsetting people, although my clothes are generally ‘working-class English’ – jeans and a top!
What do you think? Do we need to be more careful in what we wear or eat – or this another short-lived storm?
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I think this may well be my last blog until the New Year unless something dramatic happens and I can’t wait to share with you. In the meantime I wish each and every one of you a very Happy Christmas and I hope you continue to stay safe and well.
xxx
Random Ramblings 