Like many other people, I got to enjoy a day with my kids today because of the strike by the National Union of Teachers. They, together with several public sector unions took this action in the face of intransigence from the government over pension provision.
The government want public sector workers to work an extra 8 years, pay more each month towards their pensions (an average of £300 a month more) and still look forward to a reduction in the amount they are to receive.
Not only is it understandable that they are striking, but it is applaudable. Teachers in particular provide one of the most important functions to the nation, and all of us who pay taxes should value their vocation, and allow them to retire at a sensible age with some dignity.
The government feels that to strike is moral outrage, at the same time preparing to spend £76 Billion on a Trident nuclear weapons system, £6 Billion in Afghanistan and 'what ever the cost' of military action in Libya. I believe that it is far more moral to value the people who educate our children. My daughter held aloft her placard 'They look after us when we're young, we should look after them when they are old!'
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
The unrecognizable highstreet
TJ Hughes is finally to go, alongside Thorton's Chocolates. Bradford is slowly losing its famous high street brands. We didn't have a Habitat or a Jane Norman, so at least its only 2 empty shop fronts and not 4, but its still another blow. TJ Hughes saved the iconic Co-operative building, a 30's masterpiece, it would otherwise have fallen into sharp decline. Heaven knows what will happen to the building now.
During the 1980's there seemed an obvious trend on the high streets of England. Whereever you went, the shops began to all look the same, the same stores in every town and city, and the local shops were gradually being wiped off the face of main street.
Now those same stores are increasingly looking precarious, from Mothercare to HMV. Many of these shops aggressively located near to local stores selling similar things, putting them out of business. So now we are left with a vacuum, which nobody can afford to fill. Will it be a short blip in capitalism, or are we in for a long period of empty shopfronts? whatever happens, the English high street is about to undergo the biggest face lift in recent history.
I've recently taken to buying everything I can from the city centre. It may cost more, and is a little trickier than buying online, but I would prefer to see at least one or two shops left in Bradford city centre!
During the 1980's there seemed an obvious trend on the high streets of England. Whereever you went, the shops began to all look the same, the same stores in every town and city, and the local shops were gradually being wiped off the face of main street.
Now those same stores are increasingly looking precarious, from Mothercare to HMV. Many of these shops aggressively located near to local stores selling similar things, putting them out of business. So now we are left with a vacuum, which nobody can afford to fill. Will it be a short blip in capitalism, or are we in for a long period of empty shopfronts? whatever happens, the English high street is about to undergo the biggest face lift in recent history.
I've recently taken to buying everything I can from the city centre. It may cost more, and is a little trickier than buying online, but I would prefer to see at least one or two shops left in Bradford city centre!
Monday, 27 June 2011
100 days and nights of bombing Libya
Have we got very far in the last 100 days? At first it all seemed so wonderful; 'protecting civilians from a massacre!' - but like all lies, it all soon fell apart. And like all lies, the lies just got bigger. To cover up the mess we are in, the propaganda just keeps on coming.
100 days after the outbreak of Nato bombings, the International Criminal Court finally announced the warrants of arrest for Gaddafi and one of his sons. But of course, all war is crime. All those who feel that force will sort out the problems are deluding themselves. They are part of the problem.
We all want Gaddafi to go. He is another mad, bad dictator that we happily shook hands with and sold arms too. But it matters how we choose to rid ourselves of these people. It must come out of the efforts of the region itself. It must come about with diplomacy, sanctions, and primarily through non-violence.
But the bombing continues, innocents continue to die, and the two sides will grow in hatred, sowing the seeds for violence to flower in the coming years. The West has spent Billions on the war effort, Britain already wasting £250 million that could have been spent on struggling public sector projects. Imagine a different world. Imagine how we would feel if we were celebrating 100 days and nights of relentless peace making....
100 days after the outbreak of Nato bombings, the International Criminal Court finally announced the warrants of arrest for Gaddafi and one of his sons. But of course, all war is crime. All those who feel that force will sort out the problems are deluding themselves. They are part of the problem.
We all want Gaddafi to go. He is another mad, bad dictator that we happily shook hands with and sold arms too. But it matters how we choose to rid ourselves of these people. It must come out of the efforts of the region itself. It must come about with diplomacy, sanctions, and primarily through non-violence.
But the bombing continues, innocents continue to die, and the two sides will grow in hatred, sowing the seeds for violence to flower in the coming years. The West has spent Billions on the war effort, Britain already wasting £250 million that could have been spent on struggling public sector projects. Imagine a different world. Imagine how we would feel if we were celebrating 100 days and nights of relentless peace making....
Can Murray finally do it?
Don't get your hopes up! You know where this will end! Why do we do this to ourselves every bloody year? AAARRRRRRGGHHHH!
The Biafran War is over.
I have finally finished reading 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the terrible tale of the ill fated Biafran war of independence against Nigeria. The war was fought between 1967-70, but was ultimately very one sided, and the Biafran people suffered horribly, many dying of starvation while the world looked on.
I am ashamed to say I knew nothing of the conflict before I read this book, and I am grateful that the author has opened my eyes. War is often told from the viewpoint of the victors, but Adichie comes from the losing side, and the inevitable Biafran slide from national certainty to utter collapse is delivered with no holds barred.
Loyalty, infidelity, rape as a weapon of war and many other themes are dealt with honestly and with brutal clarity. It was not a fun read, but I'm glad I stuck with it till the end. I tried not to look away, as we often do with war. The Biafra-Nigeria conflict may be over, but there seems to be no end in this world for the appetite for war.
I am ashamed to say I knew nothing of the conflict before I read this book, and I am grateful that the author has opened my eyes. War is often told from the viewpoint of the victors, but Adichie comes from the losing side, and the inevitable Biafran slide from national certainty to utter collapse is delivered with no holds barred.
Loyalty, infidelity, rape as a weapon of war and many other themes are dealt with honestly and with brutal clarity. It was not a fun read, but I'm glad I stuck with it till the end. I tried not to look away, as we often do with war. The Biafra-Nigeria conflict may be over, but there seems to be no end in this world for the appetite for war.
Friday, 24 June 2011
'Walk for Justice'
21 of us managed to make the long trek from Bradford to Leeds, a 'walk for justice' as part of Refugee Week. The walk was undertaken by sanctuary seekers and their supporters, and took in the regional 'Asylum' courts in Thornbury, on the outskirts of Bradford, and the 'Waterside Reporting Centre' in Leeds.
On the way, the conversations were optimistic but sometimes heartbreaking. I spoke to a woman from Africa who had not seen her children for 9 years, and I met someone from Iran who had been forced to report to the centre for nearly 10 years, not being able to work for a decade until he finally won his case to stay.
This walk, and any acts of solidarity with those who have gone through the hell of seeking sanctuary, is vital to demonstrate solidarity with those who arrive at our shores. On arrival at the courts in Leeds, we were refused the dignity of being able to use the toilets and the security guards even chased after a retired Methodist minister who had accidentally parked in the wrong place.
The immigration service is a tough one to work in, but if they worked on the basis of hospitality and care rather than mistrust and hostility, I would begin to feel that I lived in a more civilised society!
On the way, the conversations were optimistic but sometimes heartbreaking. I spoke to a woman from Africa who had not seen her children for 9 years, and I met someone from Iran who had been forced to report to the centre for nearly 10 years, not being able to work for a decade until he finally won his case to stay.
This walk, and any acts of solidarity with those who have gone through the hell of seeking sanctuary, is vital to demonstrate solidarity with those who arrive at our shores. On arrival at the courts in Leeds, we were refused the dignity of being able to use the toilets and the security guards even chased after a retired Methodist minister who had accidentally parked in the wrong place.
The immigration service is a tough one to work in, but if they worked on the basis of hospitality and care rather than mistrust and hostility, I would begin to feel that I lived in a more civilised society!
Dealing with depression
In my book, I talk about the problem of 'burn out', and talk about the importance of prayer, time out and solidarity (circles of support and friendship). I've really struggled to make use of these tools over the last week or so, as I have had to deal with a sudden wave of depression.
It's been hard to blog, or do much really, though superficially one has to keep on going whatever, even when feeling down. I rarely suffer from 'being down', and am normally fairly bouncy, but after a series of knocks, even I got worn out.
Firstly, the Treehouse Cafe, the world's first fairtrade cafe, situated in 'Desmond Tutu House' is really struggling. Much worse, when our church offered to help out, some members of the Treehouse refused as their militant atheism overcame the desire to keep the cafe open. It was hugely frustrating, and a realisation that as progressive as our church is, atheists can often reject working with us simply out of dogma. Ironic really.
The reason it really bothered me, was because in the same week I learnt more about the 'review' Desmond Tutu house is to go through to see if it is 'viable'. The review was partly triggered by the debts that the Treehouse Cafe had run up in utility bills. The thought that the project I have developed over the last 6 years might be under threat really knocked me back.
Then I learnt that my wife had not had her contract renewed at the University. Losing her job after 8 years was a terrible blow, and is part of the terrible dismantling of the world renowned peace studies department. The European wave of cutbacks finally came home to our family.
Friends have rallied around my wife and I, and I'm sure all will be well eventually. The Desmond Tutu House project will survive, even if some in the Diocese cannot see it's value - but its been a tough week or so. If you pray - hold us in your heart. If you're suffering from depression - hang on in there; 'This too shall pass'.
It's been hard to blog, or do much really, though superficially one has to keep on going whatever, even when feeling down. I rarely suffer from 'being down', and am normally fairly bouncy, but after a series of knocks, even I got worn out.
Firstly, the Treehouse Cafe, the world's first fairtrade cafe, situated in 'Desmond Tutu House' is really struggling. Much worse, when our church offered to help out, some members of the Treehouse refused as their militant atheism overcame the desire to keep the cafe open. It was hugely frustrating, and a realisation that as progressive as our church is, atheists can often reject working with us simply out of dogma. Ironic really.
The reason it really bothered me, was because in the same week I learnt more about the 'review' Desmond Tutu house is to go through to see if it is 'viable'. The review was partly triggered by the debts that the Treehouse Cafe had run up in utility bills. The thought that the project I have developed over the last 6 years might be under threat really knocked me back.
Then I learnt that my wife had not had her contract renewed at the University. Losing her job after 8 years was a terrible blow, and is part of the terrible dismantling of the world renowned peace studies department. The European wave of cutbacks finally came home to our family.
Friends have rallied around my wife and I, and I'm sure all will be well eventually. The Desmond Tutu House project will survive, even if some in the Diocese cannot see it's value - but its been a tough week or so. If you pray - hold us in your heart. If you're suffering from depression - hang on in there; 'This too shall pass'.
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