No Interest In Conflict Resolution, Just In Conflict.

Claude Cahun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Cahun

All day BBC radio 5 has been broadcasting on location, about the evictions at Dale Farm, in Basildon, Essex of the travelling community that live there.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2011/sep/18/dale-farm-eviction

Ten years ago local councils stopped providing sites for travellers; Basildon Council encouraged the group to buy their own land.

So they bought a piece of land, which had a scrap yard on it, they cleared this up and the group started to live there, they even got planning permission for half of their land.

Giving their children a good education was the reason the community wanted to settle, but from the minute they got there they had to put up with a lot of abuse.

 Blind, unthinking prejudice against the travelling community is evident in England, just as in other countries around the world.

I am continuously amazed that there is so much prejudice and discrimination against them and there are never any legal sanctions taken to stop this or punish people.

Racial discrimination laws do not seem to cover discrimination against travellers, if people treated any other group of people like they treat them, stiff sanctions would be imposed.

The travelling community are not allowed to live according to their traditions, as they want; they can travel but can’t park up anywhere as they will get moved on instantly.

Before the election last year, The Dale Farm residents were close to reaching a compromise with Basildon Council, since the Coalition Government is in power the talk is only of eviction.

The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have no interest in reaching any compromise; they have no interest in conflict resolution, just in conflict.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2011/sep/19/dale-farm-evicitons-

             

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My Interest In The World I Live In.

The Golden Egg, 1967.
Victor Reinganum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Reinganum

Beautiful sunny day, we both woke at 11; not surprising as we stayed up late and watched an archive program of The Old Grey Whistle Test.

A concert by Ian Drury and The Blockheads; what a wonderful performer Ian Drury was, really mesmerising

I remember seeing him on BBC 2 in the late seventies, I was just leaving to go to the pub when the program started, I nearly missed the pub.

I fell in love with Ian Drury that night, seeing him last night made me feel the same. 

He was good, I remember how good it was, that he sung in his own voice and not in the usual bland transatlantic voice so many others sang in.

It was a real breath of fresh air to hear Ian Drury singing in this own authentic Essex voice; I believe it encouraged many other bands to do the same.

Many songwriters were given encouragement to sing in their own voices with lyrics about their lives.

Bands like Madness also sung in their own voices, it was good to listen to them telling their own stories.

Telling my own story is what I try to do everyday, I do not only write about my MS, as that would not reflect my interest in the world I live in.