
Dolores O’Riordan: was she right?
As I was walking down the slope into the small valley I could hear voices ringing out and the heavy sound of machinery. This was unexpected. Gradually the sounds quietened. It got me thinking about what a surreal dream we all inhabit – bordering on a nightmare. I’ve mentioned this before but it came to me so clear. What exactly is going on? I was thinking about how we are becoming afraid of our fellow beings. Mind forged manacles indeed – now we are not simply ‘isolating’ ourselves but imprisoning our minds. I carried on and dropped still further to a stream. There stood a man, alone, looking at the waters flowing. It was an encounter. Briskly I continued and as he turned and walked to me I gave him a wide smile (the only form of ‘reaching out’). He seemed perturbed. Maybe this was just my interpretation – but it felt awkward. I said ‘hello’ (‘bonjour’) and he replied in like. After crossing the stream I watched him climb the slope I had previously come down. His trousers were salmon pink in colour – I have this fanciful idea that he came from the stream and took human form! What better time for another species to tread warily into human society. They must never have witnessed us so scared and vulnerable.
The way from the stream is a fair climb – but with rocky outcrops on the path to aid the ascent. I could feel my heart beating and my lungs filling with breath and subsequently exhaling. My legs moved with the will of my mind – thankfully they have the strength to do my bidding. We are physical as well as mental creatures. We need to move. It’s inbuilt. By the time I reached the top, I was panting but I could see back down towards the valley. The trees are clothing themselves and soon the ‘clear-season’ and its sights will be fully clothed and veiled. Dare I say it, masked! From the heights, I felt stronger – mentally and spiritually. But what is going on? What is happening to us? Will this nightmare become but a thing half-remembered, to haunt us only in future fears and anxiety?
Everything we think we know comes to us through a screen. Even if others speculate upon this theory or another, their information has also come from a screen. Well, I suppose there must still be some of us reading non-virtual newspapers! It is speculated that the virus might have come from one of Wuhan’s infamous wet-markets (which apparently are beginning to re-open!); others maintain it has come either deliberately or by accident from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (manslaughter or mass-murder); others think that the problem lies with 5G (and its towers/masts) and that the coronavirus is simply – dare I say it again – a mask. As a result of the virus there are others who point out possible dangers via enforced vaccination (that might well carry a chip too – so all of our movements would be tracked not simply car journeys); the linking up of our minds (and bodies) with A.I.; a cashless society – whereby we all become slaves of the banking system. The latter reminds me of the proposed UBI (universal basic income) – maybe that will be used as a ‘sweetener’ to gain our compliance? But it might also mean that everyone is reduced to a slave wage with JUST enough to survive. I mean if you tie all these in together – it’s harrowing reading. The image of humans linked in to an artificial web – food for thought, or food for an emerging spidery elite?
Is it more important to share and live a spiritual rather than materially based life?
I could go on. But I’ll spare you. You get the drift.
So – what’s it to be folks? Or is it a question of ‘wait and see’ (hopefully not followed by ‘hide and seek’)? Is it a question of looking at the chessboard and guessing our opponents next three moves? Or are we all on the same side? And this is where I can only re-iterate: reality presents itself through screens! I really don’t know anything. Absolutely nothing for sure. I wait. I watch. I listen. I think. I ready myself. This spectacular BLIP in the history of ‘Our kind’ might just be that – a BLIP! A nasty blip nevertheless. Once we’re through the looking-glass and then back again into ‘reality’ it might be as if it were all just a bad dream. No technocracy; no crashing of the economy; no mass unemployment; no One World Government – but rather families, extended-families (and Nations) getting on with their lives anew. A major spiritual change moving across the still, silent oceans and passing over the towns and sprawling cities of the World. A return to deeper and simpler ways of living. Can we be trusted with FREEDOM?
Time will tell.
By Tim Bragg
Tim Bragg is the author (amongst many books) of Lyrics to Live By – Keys to Self-Help Notes for a Better Life available from Amazon
Image by Antonius Ntoumas from Pixabay.
I should have been ‘banging’ the drums with a Big Band at this time; two weeks of playing throughout each day, with more informal playing during the night. But, as with everything else, the reaction to the virus forced its cancellation. Undoubtedly I would have enjoyed this as I have done in previous years but I am also content being outside my home reading. And thinking. And listening — as some magpies shout in their vulgar, guttural fashion. Have they noticed the change we are all experiencing? And now I am inside writing.
My mood is good and I wonder how much of that is due to blue sky and nascent sun. How much are we creatures of the weather we live under? How much of our thought and language and even culture is tied to temperature and scudding clouds? The flora and fauna that surrounds us is surely a product of our seasons — the weather of our particular part of the world. I can feel spring rising. And what must spring think of these times — less noise, less pollution, fewer humans out and about. There is palpable silence at times in an air that seems clearer and sharper. Maybe this is fancy upon my part. I am lucky for sure.
My imagination (and I trust empathy) reveals situations others must find themselves in. Perhaps YOUR situation. This is a time we are forced to confront ourselves. How many people love to ‘go out’ to escape themselves and their life? Perhaps it is only in silence that we can evolve spiritually. How can we evolve if we don’t know ourselves and how can we know ourselves in a world of noise and confusion? But now we are turned in and this might be both positive and negative. We must evaluate every relationship we have (human or otherwise) — be that a mother, alone with three young children; an old person alone peering from a bedroom window at an empty park opposite; a husband and wife quarrelling over lack of money; a young man desperate for the company of his friends…We have to assess our inward and outward life. Others, of course, are still ‘out there’ doing invaluable jobs — their time for reflection will come later.
It’s odd in that it feels as if a sky-sized shroud has been lowered upon the earth. This shroud allows the sun to penetrate — it both warms and freezes us. It is a comforting blanket and a winding sheet for the dead. This shroud has deadened sound but in its fibres also carries the deadly virus. The world is enfolded by and with this danger. Thankfully the great majority of us will be there to see it cast aside and thrown away as we are resurrected from this collective experience. The Everyman corpse will rise and — I hope — greet its new world with a different attitude and approach. But for the moment we rest in peace — or not.
For those of you encountering deep boredom be rest assured that boredom always gives way to creativity. We ALL have this potential no matter how simplistic. It’s good for children to be bored — because that boredom will become the mother of invention. We live in an age of passivity. It wasn’t always like this. We also live in an age of passive and individual entertainment. Many of us are tied to a ‘smart phone’ that is a magical box of potential. Yet this spring of knowledge allows us only to drink alone for the most part. There ARE things we can do in communion — but we really need to restore equilibrium and have connexion with our fellow beings. Okay, normally I am content alone — but that includes listening to great artists and reading books. The latter is NOT a passive act — it requires commitment and re-imagination as my mind translates printed symbols created by another’s mind to enter my own where I ‘magically’ translate these symbols into the most beautiful or complex of ideas. The greatest minds lie dormant on my bookshelves until I breathe life upon them as I take them down and open their pages. It is TRULY wonderful.
Once confined folk have grown irritated by a succession of films or a diet of fast-food television then perhaps their creativity might shoot along with those of spring. It’s simply a matter of activating our brains into ‘action’ rather than ‘reception’. But it’s also, perhaps, a matter of tempering the passions of our brain. I’m not advocating acceptance here but rather restraint that can lead to creativity. Imagine a fully blind person whose concept of the ‘outside world’ is limited to the extent of their body (including hearing and smell). They live in a constant interior world. For the moment we are tied to dwellings — houses that can become homes. Families that can become fully connected. Relationships that can become fully honest. This is our time to change.
Confinement is not without risk and we could feel ourselves tethered and chained both mentally and physically. It is our relationship with these tethers with which we must come to grips. You’ll notice that the generic title for these thoughts is Co-Void 19. Co represents: cooperation, coexistence, correspondences and Void — that which we encounter. We are being given the potential to refill this void in a new way. We stand at its periphery and gaze inwards in uncertainly. But the void is filled with everything we exude. Every thought and action. Every creative act.
The world as was, has been voided. Even if this experience is shortened quicker than anyone might think and with fewer folk dying or being affected than we might have projected — something tangible has happened. The void we stare into is potentiality. Maybe as creatures brought to life again through a great shock we might slump back into our old ways. The void then instantly becomes but a shared hallucination and the old world is revealed to our tired eyes. But maybe not. We can step into this void with courage and common-sense and re-imagine and re-furnish our existence anew.
‘Spring Steps’
https://youtu.be/6FBpppYulmg
By Tim Bragg
Tim Bragg is the author (amongst many books) of Lyrics to Live By – Keys to Self-Help Notes for a Better Life available from Amazon
A controversial new work from Blake Nelson
Blake Nelson’s latest adult novel The Red Pill (2019) describes how a liberal advertising exec is slowly sucked into alt-right circles after accepting dating advice from his truck driving brother-in-law, Rob. Martin Harris, newly divorced at 40, is an advertising exec with roots in New York. However, hapless Martin has been out of the dating scene for a while and now has trouble meeting women in the current feminist ‘me too’ climate. Martin fumbles about the dating pool and when Tinder fails, he cautiously accepts advice from his Trump-supporting brother-in-law, Rob. Martin is unconvinced by these ‘go-for-it’ dating strategies, however, he soon finds that his dating life is improving as he starts to utilize the techniques set out by Pick-up Artists in the ‘manosphere.’ Martin thrilled in his new successes, soon finds that Trump’s astounding victory in the elections is putting a damper on his newly found dating successes. The Red Pill addresses the chasm between feminism and the sexual revolution of the past.
Blake also addresses what it means to be ‘Red Pilled’. Red Pillers prefer the gritty, painful, ugly truth; and a popular theme with this crowd is the idea that men who want sex should “just go for it” set against a world of resistance and ‘me-too’. The red pill sector tends to be more radically right.
So much for Martin’s clumsy attempts at dating. Martin himself is offended by the blogs as he begins to peruse these for dating techniques. The Red Pill term describes a loose group of political activities with extremist leanings that focus on men’s rights, and this is the world Martin stumbles into. This community feels oppressed by the left-liberal society and sees feminism as a myth. Sat at his desk at work, he quickly turns off the computer and clears the browser history, trying to make sure that all offensive material has been erased. Once he is sure it is clear, he feels he can safely leave the room and heads to the loo to wash the stench off. Martin’s social life then gets thrown a spanner in the works due to the recent conflict between Left-liberal feminism and Trump’s America, and it is this conflict that results in his world view becoming no longer sustainable in his own mind.
Martin falls deeper and deeper into the manosphere where he is making gains sexually by employing their techniques for dating and leans ever further toward right-wing views from this predominantly male blogging community. Juxtaposed with this is the radical left-liberal feminism of the young women, he is attempting to connect with, particularly predominant in a place like hipster Portland. Blake balances this dissonance, against the backdrop of the Trump Presidency, which threw a large proportion of the left feminists and other ultra-liberal groups into full panic mode, depression, anger, and shocked disbelief as they stood on the precipice of this disturbing abyss. It is this split that occurs very much down male/female lines, where the majority of women, angrily stand hand in hand, dead set against Trump’s misogynistic worldview.
While Nelson normally writes in the young adult genre, generally locating these stories in or near Portland, a city he is well acquainted with, this book is more focused on adult themes. It perceptively addresses dating in the current socio and political climate in a society that is very divided. This fiction is based on the hostile socio-political world of Trump vs the ‘Woke,’ which Martin is drawn into and affected by, ultimately to his cost.
You can buy The Red Pill here.
The Havering Post. Double-sided A4. Colour. March 2019. Available in pdf form from Facebook/Independent Havering: https://www.facebook.com/groups/499768197023360/
THE HAVERING POST is a local publication produced in support of several Residents Association groups & independent parties in the London Borough of Havering. Havering would have been part of Essex before it was transferred to London by the London Government Act 1963. This same act effectively created what is now known as Greater London as it abolished the administrative county of Middlesex and also absorbed parts of Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire.
The Facebook site of Independent Havering – https://www.facebook.com/groups/499768197023360/about/ – informs us that it is ‘a pressure group campaigning to maintain and improve our borough’s quality of life. It aims to lobby and hold national and, especially, local Government and bodies to account for their actions. In the event of a future independent/RA Council it would aim to work closely with them to ensure promises are delivered but also have their ‘back’ if so.’
The Independent Havering group appears to be very well organised with lots of local ‘grassroots’ support. In fact, the last local council elections (held in May 2018) nearly saw them sweep away 17 years of Tory rule in the borough. Bizarrely four Residents Association councillors, who were elected on a anti-Tory ticket, later jumped ship to support the Tories. One later went on to join the Tory Party itself. Even more bizarrely, all Labour councillors seem to support the Tory administration!
It should come as no surprise then, that issue 1 of the Havering Post (HP) examines the question of ‘democracy denied’ at both a local and national level. Refreshingly, however, as well as pointing out how democracy can be turned on its head, it also notes that future issues will ‘look at Proportional Representation, a ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option on ballot papers, Referendums, Preferendums and Voter Recall.’
As noted above, the Havering Post (which is written to a Daily Mail standard) looks at national and local cases whereby the electorate has been cheated.
As its national example it cites the case of what used to be known as The Independent Group (TIG). It was founded earlier this year when disgruntled pro-EU Tory and Labour MPs quit their respective parties. Counter Culture readers may recall that, at the time, these MPs came across as very ‘high and mighty.’ However, as the HP notes, despite being elected as Labour or Tory candidates they ‘all refused to resign their seats and intend to stand as candidates for TIG in any subsequent by-elections. In doing so, they have shown that they have no morals or honour.’
The paper then looks at the denial of democracy in Havering itself. As described earlier, several Residents Associations (RA) and Independent groups had united under the ‘Independent Havering’ banner and were really giving the Tories a run for their money. Thus began the political shenanigans. As the Havering Post notes:
‘Things were so tight that the local Tories had do some horse trading. It appears that some Residents Association and Independent councillors were approached by the Conservative Party and were offered positions to help them to set up a Havering Council Administration. In the event, four of them jumped ship. Known as the ‘Back Stabbers’, they are Michael-Deon Burton (who even joined the Tory Party), Brian Eagling, Martin Goode and Darren Wise.’
The rather thoughtful (and insightful) remarks of one local voter are also quoted. In part, he or she declares that:
“It’s not like they defected half way through their term, but on the first day. This cannot continue – some judicial review needs to be put in place to stop councillors swapping sides. I am totally disgusted. They have no morals.
I find it a personal insult to hear that some people in the RA and Independent coalition feel it is OK to lie to us, your electorate, by way of selling their soul to the Conservatives, just so they can form a majority party to lead our council.
I can assure you I will personally do my best to make sure that the people in those wards know full well what they voted for. If we the electorate wanted to be lied to, we would vote Labour or Conservatives.’”
The idea of some legislation being brought into place (to stop elected officials jumping ship) is interesting. The HP declares that those who switch sides ‘are guilty – at the very least – of betrayal and bad faith. Some may say that they’re also guilty of deliberately deceiving voters.’
Whatever the case, those with honour ‘would do the right thing’ and promptly resign their seat and fight a by-election under their new colours. To date, none of the Havering ‘Back Stabbers’ nor the TIG MPs have done so. Depending on the circumstances, it sadly doesn’t really say much for the calibre of those elected officials who turn their backs on their policies, manifestos and the people who campaigned so hard to get them elected. Is it any wonder why so many people feel disconnected from the political system?
To sum up, the Havering Post provides a robust defence of real democracy. It highlights the failings of democracy (giving local and national examples) but presents a well-argued case for more – and not less – democracy. This is particularly apt given present circumstances whereby the establishment ignores the democratic will of the people, if it goes against the interests of the establishment – à la Brexit!
Hopefully issue 2 will be in the offering soon. No doubt it’ll concentrate on local affairs, but as stated earlier, future issues ‘of the Havering Post will examine other ways in which we can make both national and local politics more representative of the people. Thus we’ll look at Proportional Representation, a ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option on ballot papers, Referendums, Preferendums and Voter Recall.’ What’s being proposed here seems to be a purer form of democracy based on participation as opposed to representation. Here, popular participation (a form of personal self-determination whereby voters exercise action and responsibility) will replace the current system of handing over power and responsibility to others. With the political air full of doom, gloom and negativity, it’ll be refreshing to read something that’s extremely positive and forward looking.
Reviewed by John Jenkins
Edinburgh Little Theatre
At: Hill Street Theatre.
12:25pm until 25 August.
“And They Played Shang-A-Lang” is a rip-roaring musical comedy that takes us through life, love, and death with a musical soundtrack from the 1970s.
It opens with a young woman mourning the untimely death of her uncle and turning to read the memoirs of his childhood. The uncle then appears as narrator and takes the audience through a roller-coaster account of his growing-up during a decade well remembered for its music. We experience such landmarks as the school disco and nativity play, girls and boys going through the awkwardness of asking for a first dance, family gathering at Hogmanay and how we lose those family members over time. While at times poignant, the overall feel of this show is vibrant and happy and the music and energy of the cast easily got members of the audience clapping, tapping their feet and singing along to numbers by groups including Queen, Abba, Sweet, and The Bay City Rollers.
Not everyone will be old enough to get the references to Argentina 1978 or the food and drink of those times but that should be no barrier to enjoying this production!
The actors in this show deserve praise for a fine performance which encompassed acting, singing, and dancing.
If you are looking for a lunchtime show this Fringe event should be high on your list.
Reviewed by David Andrews
#edinburghfringe2019 #edinburghfringe
You can buy tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/w…/and-they-played-shang-a-lang
CALIFORNIA SON, Morrissey’s twelfth studio album, is a collection of covers including a few familiar old classics and some maybe lesser known American protest and social justice songs from the 60s and 70s. Morrissey and his band never shy away from imaginative musical arrangements, often seeking out unusual instruments, and there are influences here from New Orleans, the old-time crooners and a touch of Broadway. No doubt this is a nod to his recent sell-out residency at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City (NYC).
The album opens with Morning Starship, the 1973 song by Jobriath. Morrissey has talked about covering this song for many years, and his version does not disappoint. He strips back the glam rock just enough to emphasise his wide range of vocals. It is an uplifting track and was well received when he sang it live on Broadway.
Next up is his version of Joni Mitchell’s Don’t interrupt the Sorrow, a song about women standing up to male dominance from her 1975 The Hissing of Summer Lawns album. Originally a folky song with lots of hand drums it is given the full Morrissey crooner treatment. Now in his 60th year, Morrissey seems to be embracing the role of modern-day crooner and it is a sound that repeats on several tracks throughout this album, not least on the very good Wedding Bell Blues on which Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong adds backing vocals.
Morrissey is never one to shy away from a song with a powerful message and chose to include the 1964 Bob Dylan song Only A Pawn in their Game, written following the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. The message in this song is that the killer was as much a victim or “pawn” of the elites in power as was his victim. The song was sung at the rally where Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech. It’s an interesting choice, as is his excellent cover of Days of Decision. This is taken from the 1965 Phil Ochs album Ain’t Marching Anymore, with its lyrics: “you can do what’s right or you can do what you are told.” Maybe in these choices, Morrissey is encouraging the listener to look at the lessons of history and to question things a little more?
Buffy Sainte Marie’s Suffer the Little Children is given the full Broadway treatment with big instrumentals and hand clapping. Buffy, in an interview, said she loved it.
There are very good versions of Carly Simon’s When you close your eyes and Dione Warwick’s Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets. Gary Puckett’s Lady Willpower is also very well done. Tim Hardin’s eulogy to his friend Lenny Bruce, Lenny’s Tune is perfect for the melancholic signature sound of Morrissey, and whilst this version is not as haunting as the Nico cover it does justice to the original.
Roy Orbison’s It’s Over stays true to the original and is one of the best tracks on the album. He closes with Melanie Safka’s 1971 Some Say (I got Devil). The vocals here are excellent and the addition of instrumentals on what was originally an acoustic guitar ballad gives the song new depth.
There really is not a bad track here but the real gift of this album is that it brings to a new generation a selection of protest songs about freedom, social justice and liberty that have a message relevant to today. It encourages you to seek out the original recordings and the stories behind them. Morrissey is not afraid to try new genres, or of working with material that others might now find too controversial. It is why his music endures despite the controversy, the bad press, the lack of radio coverage and the constant personal attacks. He has already recorded an album of new material for release later in the year. Retirement does not appear to be on the horizon just yet.
Reviewed by Jacqui Cosgree
CALIFORNIA SON, Morrissey’s twelfth studio album, is a collection of covers including a few familiar old classics and some maybe lesser known American protest and social
justice songs from the 60s and 70s. Morrissey and his band never shy away from imaginative musical arrangements, often seeking out unusual instruments, and there are influences here from New Orleans, the old time crooners and a touch of Broadway. No doubt this is a nod
to his recent sell out residency at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City (NYC).
The album opens with Morning Starship, the 1973 song by Jobriath. Morrissey has talked about covering this song for many years, and his version does not disappoint. He strips back the glam rock just enough to emphasise his wide range of vocals. It is an uplifting track and was well received when he sang it live on Broadway.
Next up is his version of Joni Mitchell’s Don’t interrupt the Sorrow, a song about Women standing up to male dominance from her 1975 The Hissing of Summer Lawns album. Originally a folky song with lots of hand drums it is given the full Morrissey crooner treatment. Now in his 60th yeapeats on several tracks throughout this album, not least on the very good Wedding Bell Blues on which Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong adds backing vocals.
Morrissey is never one to shy away from a song with a powerful message, and chose to include the 1964 Bob Dylan song Only A Pawn in their Game, written following the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. The message in this song is that the killer was as much a victim or “pawn” of the elites in power as was his victim. The song was sung at the rally where Martin Luther King gave his“I have a dream” speech. It’s an interesting choice, as is his excellent cover of Days of Decision. This is taken from the 1965 Phil Ochs album Ain’t Marching Anymore, with its lyrics: “you can do what’s right or you can do what you are told.” Maybe in these choices Morrissey is encouraging the listener to look at the lessons of history and to question things a little more?
Buffy Sainte Marie’s Suffer the Little Children is given the full Broadway treatment with big instrumentals and hand clapping. Buffy, in an interview, said she loved it.
There are very good versions of Carly Simon’s When you close your eyes and Dione Warwick’s Loneliness Remembers what Happiness Forgets. Gary Puckett’s Lady Willpower is also very well done. Tim Hardin’s eulogy to his friend Lenny Bruce, Lenny’sTune is perfect for the melancholic signature sound of Morrissey, and whilst this version is not as haunting as the Nico cover it does justice to the original.
Roy Orbison’s It’s Over stays true to the original and is one of the best tracks on the album. He closes with Melanie Safka’s 1971 Some Say (I got Devil). The vocals here are excellent and the addition of instrumentals on what was originally an acoustic guitar ballad gives the song new depth.
There really is not a bad track here but the real gift of this album is that it brings to a new generation a selection of protest songs about freedom, social justice and liberty that have a message relevant to today. It encourages you to seek out the original recordings and the stories behind them. Morrissey is not afraid to try new genres, or of working with material that others might now find too controversial. It is why his music endures despite the controversy, the bad press, the lack of radio coverage and the constant personal attacks. He has already recorded an album of new material for release later in the year. Retirement does not appear to be on the horizon just yet.
Reviewed by Jacqui Cosgree