And Start West: January 2013

Monday, January 28, 2013

Snowmageddon

Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow...No. Sometimes I think the UK media is close to realising its power to manipulate the population, but like a hive of bees or nest of ants it finds itself too unwieldy to exert its true power to transcend its existence and evolve to a higher form. This month I have noticed, despite being really busy, that the UK has had some snow (as I believe it had last year, and certainly did in 2010 and 2009. In fact I believe snow has occurred with some regularity, going right back to the last ice age ). You would expect that after a few years of significant winter snowfall that the novelty would wear off, that airports, councils and traffic agencies, like most private companies , would have been prepared for it. In the main it seems they have; football matches went on unabated, the country did not come to a grinding halt, but wait - on facebook many people in the UK seemed to feel the need to post that it was snowing - like it was something hugely exciting and out of the ordinary. This tendency was apparently stimulated by a similarly overexcited media reporting that people should all 'stay indoors, and only travel if it is absolutely necessary' like there had been a chemical leak or something. Ian Hislop blamed the media for creating 'snowmageddon,' and he was not wrong, like a feeding frenzy the media take up the idea and run with it for as long as possible. Countries that often have snow, like Switzerland, certainly enjoy it, and enjoy a certain amount of childish excitement about it, however their response is measured and reasoned, they have cars with a specific 'snow' setting, they go out prepared for what can happen with snow, they are respectful, and most of all their Cantons take the clearing and gritting of roads seriously, with the knowledge that the people expect everything to carry on pretty much as normal, with the exception of extra precautions and care taken. Another key factor is that Swiss roads, pavements and drains are professionally constructed, to a much higher standard than the pothole ridden, poorly maintained highways of the UK. Swiss roads and pavements are flatter and tougher and are much easier to clear of snow with snowploughs and periodic gritting, even at temperatures at -20. Media reporting of snow is kept to the weather report, and off the main news and discussion programmes, as it is no big deal. The UK should learn a lesson. It seems the problems are caused by a culture of people not wanting to take responsibility, extra care or precautions in a snow environment, so blame can be apportioned. The media gets sidetracked by its childish glee, forgetting its social responsibility and the effect it has in creating panic and irritation. Like an ant colony that has found some honey, it cannot and will not be stopped. But I find that the UK public on the whole should understand that their media cannot be trusted any longer (post-Hutton report, post-phone hacking, post-Saville) and start taking more responsibility for their own lives. And actually go out and enjoy the snow properly rather than sending their crappy photos of snowmen in to crappy TV shows...
See:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/21/why-is-europe-still-so-unprepared-for-snowmageddon/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/21/snow-school-closures-travel
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21195257

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

And Start West

Ireland. The Emerald Isle. The home of stereotypes, potato blight, leprechauns, lucky charms, stout and the colour green. Thoughts of Irish culture recall Swift, Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, Beckett, Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, Therapy?, MBV, and Father Ted. Unfortunately Riverdance, Colin Farrell, Westlife, Boyzone, U2 and Susan Boyle are there too. More recently there is the Rubber Bandits:

who seamlessly manage to blend all these elements into one unpleasantly catchy whole.

My first week in Cork, the Republic of Ireland's second city, located on the south coast to the west of Dublin has been okay. It is winter and when you are near the coast, in damp air, it feels colder - I was out in minus 20 in Switzerland and it feels worse here at minus 2. Houses are poorly built (unlike Switzerland, and a little worse than the UK it seems), our rented house has no loft or cavity insulation so it acts like a big fridge. It doesn't help that electricity and gas prices are super-high too. Post economic crisis everything is super expensive, worse than in Switzerland for a number of reasons as I see it: 1. Infrastructure: There is no effective train network here, the bus system is hampered by a bad road system and is overpriced. 2. Everybody drives - more so than the UK even, despite a road tax system that penalises emissions, a car is required if you want to travel anywhere conveniently - therefore there is no drive to improve public transport. 3. Tesco's. Tesco has a monopoly on out-of-town, 'low-cost' supermarkets, so their version of 'low-cost' means competing on some lines with Aldi, with everything else priced however they want it to be - no Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose or Morrisons here. Also, quality is poor too, as it is generally with Tesco's in the UK, and totally unlike the great quality of the cooperative supermarkets in Switzerland. Luckily there are numerous health-food shops in Cork so being a vegan is not a drag, though is super expensive, despite this nascent competition.

My first record shop experience nearly made me cry. I was taking my daughter to a lunchtime family cinema screening of a french film (The Life of A Cat) at the local art centre - a beautifully converted church, that has a record shop incorporated: 'Plugd'. Walking up the ramp with my daughter the record shop guy actually acknowledged me and my daughter, saying how great it is to have all theses kids coming in the shop, he then approached me and my partner and daughter, being friendly and asking what kind of music we're into and where we had come from. I checked out the selection - Tortoise, Trans Am, Ox Scapula, Don Caballero, Rudimentary Peni - just some of the great LPs I picked out. Very emotional. In the UK a record shop guy usually sits behind the desk staring at his feet while playing some ultra-hip god-awful rubbish, and responds to questions either with grunts or a sneering, cynical look like your question about an Amon Duul II record was like you farting loudly in their direction. Not so here, and I look forward to my next visit...must check out the book shops too...