SevenMinutesToMidnight

I started watching tonights tv drama about Margaret Thatcher's last days as PM but , as I expected , I just could'nt take Lindsay Duncan seriously as MT : Far too young .

Last night I watched the action/thriller movie Taken , starring Liam Neeson as a former FBI agent who goes to Paris to rescue his 17 year old daughter from the Albanian gang who've kidnapped her , to sell her as a sex-slave .
A lousy script and  completely unoriginal plot , it's well enough paced , with well enough choroegraphed action sequences but shallow characterisation ,  I began to lose empathy with our bulletproof hero as the number of bad guys he kills relentlessly mounts up , and it unnecessarily includes a nasty sequence of him torturing one of them . He kills and tortures out of anger and revenge as much as of necessity .
Although we know that  people-trafficking psycopathic criminal gangs exist , and that police and security services seem too tied up trailing suspected would-be terrorists to be able to effectively tackle them .
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We all discriminate in our minds . It's part of our inbuilt survival-instinct .
And it's only human to have likes and dislikes .
We can never eliminate all irrational and unpleasant prejudice , but Britain has come a long way , in the past 30 or so years , in terms of most of us deploring blatent displays of nasty racism , and other prejudices singled out as being particularly unacceptable .
And in general I think that most of us are more sensitive about such things now than most were 20 + years ago .
It is rightly considered by most reasonably intelligent white-British people unacceptable to nastily , hurtfully , irrationally discriminate against people of a darker skin colour , or homosexuals .
And it's refreshing that the loud chorus of those of us who have no problem at all with the charming CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell , who was born with her right arm extending not beyond its elbow , has drowned out the tiny minority of 'moaning minnie' parents who seem to think that she should hide away , for fear of upsetting them .
So it's also considered not okay to discriminate against those with physical differences / disabilities . At least if  they are pleasant looking young women .
Is it any less not okay to discriminate against the rich , the unemployed , the young , the elderly , the mentally ill , the mentally handicapped or brain damaged , or people with facial disfigurements or speech impediments ?
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So the latest transient  'villain of the moment' is the former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin , on account of his £693,000 pension .
At least presumably he worked hard , despite his misjudgements .
For me , still  no wage or pension deal tops the obscenity of the untalented , unlikeable , unfunny , pompous vulgarian Jonathan Ross continuing to receive £6M a year from the publicly funded BBC , for two or three programmes most weeks  , which are'nt even at peak-viewing  or listening time , and do'nt even attract a huge audience .
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Should the labour peer Lord Ahmed really have received a custodial sentence for having accidentally hit and killed a drunken driver , who was standing in the road having crashed into the motorway's central rail , due to the aggravating factor of Lord Ahmed having sent a text whilst driving two minutes earlier ?
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Whilst writing last night of Gordon Brown's moving words in parliment yesterday , following the sad loss of David and Samantha Cameron's handicapped son , I failed to spot the irony , which Brown himself neglected to realise , of his words  " Every child is precious and irreplacable and the death of a child is an unbearable sorrow that no parent should ever have to endure " , when judged against the sickening massacre of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan , supported by Blair , Brown , and Cameron .

I have more sympathy for David and Samantha Cameron , having lost their profoundly disabled six year old son last night , than I have for Jade Goody , stricken with terminal cancer .
The Cameron's represent traditional Britain , and the tragic but annyoying , tasteless and talentless Ms Goody is at best an ephemeral minor-icon of vulgar , self-centred , materialistic , loud , brash modern Britain .
She's already a millionaire through her and her publicist's exploitation of her faintly amusing inarticulate persona .
Does she really need to earn more money , for her sons ?
Of course not .
Do the Rolling Stones , and Tina Turner really need to keep touring and performing ?
No . They enjoy it . It's what they do .
And being in the public-eye , and famous for being a famous nobody is all that Jade Goody has known for the past several years .
It's not about 'class' . Plently of not amazingly intelligent people from humble backgrounds have acheived a great deal .
I'm not heartless  , and I normally have a weakness for  'damsels in distress' , and  though I've never taken any interest in her I was sad to hear of her terminal illness , as I would be for almost anyone .
And her forcing herself into the public consciousnesses by paying her publicist to get her onto the front page of all the red-top-tabloids every day does'nt really harm anyone , I do'nt have to buy them and I do'nt .
I'm no snob but I do have a traditionally British aversion to what I regard as vulgarianism . But  maybe that's just one of my problems .
I would'nt want or expect the Cameron's to keep milking their personal tragedy for public prurience or sympathy .
And Gordon Brown's heartfelt words spoken in parliment today were moving and poignantly appropiate .

Jefferson Starship . From 1976 I think . I can't credit it properly as I've mislaid the details but it's on the Jefferson Airplane/Starship Best Of double cd , that's available from Amazon and elsewhere .
I just love this beautiful celebration of young love .

It was on my previous blog here , and , incidentally , my incineration of that is not anything I regret , and was not the first time I'd deleted an entire substantial 'blog .

First the criminalisation of smokers in all enclosed public places . Which , as a non-smoker , I must admit , suits me .

Now , according to yesterdays 'Mail :  " Big Brother CCTV cameras are to be fitted inside shops and supermarkets on the orders of the state to keep track of anybody buying alcohol . A law is being quietly pushed through Parliment giving councils the power to order licensed premises to fit the surveillance cameras . 
The footage of people innocently buying a bottle of wine in a shop or a pint of beer in a pub must be stored for at least 60 days , and handed over to the police on demand . "

Why ? To deter licensed premises from knowingly serving alcohol to under-age customers , we presume .

And soon to come , the ' Intercept Modernisation  Programme ' , storing details of all of our phone calls , text messages , emails and visited internet sites .

Why ?  Is this really about tracking  terrorist plots and drug dealers , by treating all of us as potential nasty criminals ?
Or part of some sinister unstoppable process of increasing surveillance and encroachment of basic civil liberties , which  will surely continue whoever the next Prime Ministers are , with mandatory carrying of compulsory government issued ID cards , bearing we know not what information about us , available to we know not whom ?
Not that anything like all of our phone calls will be listened in to and recorded , or emails read , but I suspect that most of us would be shocked to learn the extent of that secretly already happening .
And the incidence of most crimes keeps rising . Apart from post 7-7-05 UK based terrorist attacks . So something must be working right .
Although the former Director of Mi5 Dame Stella Rimington has accused the government of exploiting fear of terrorism to bring in legislation curtailing civil liberties , and said : " ID cards may be helpful in all kinds of things but I don't think they are necessarily going to make us any safer . "

So why our Labour government's ( though I would'nt expect the conservatives to turn back this tide ) delight in giving unelected officials more and more power to snoop into the lives of all of us ?

So I tried again , at a yearly Greenpeace gathering , not more than four minutes walk from here : I was sitting with and buying drinks for a young lady who'd arrived with her Mum but stayed on alone : Not to my surprise she eventually went off for a cigarette and did not return .  It's okay , she seemed a bit beset by problems which is probably why I affinitised with her . I just hope she found my attention in some way flatteringly reassuring , despite not choosing to or not feeling able to repay it with ongoing friendship .

My friend who has a partner , though she did'nt appear to be with him , greeted me warmly affectionately  , but I was'nt going to inappropiately 'hang around' her .

I do'nt get drunk . I'm too used to lager / beer to be able to if I wanted to , unless I were very silly and suffered for it .

The bands were okay , entirely justifying the £5 admission fee . Murphys Lore do celtic style folk-dance-rock very accomplishedly . As I very recently said to a commenter here , you can force yourself to act contary to your nature , but you can't change your nature .

I recall , about 30 years ago my then class teacher saying to me on a class 'holiday' in Yorkshire that if I went for 'available' , 'easy' girls , as opposed to 'unavailable' , less easy to get to know ones I might have been more successful .

Since returning from Africa I've been a bit more daring with more spiced-up food , which sometimes I get away with , so far as stomach pain is concerned , sometimes not .

One mildly entertaining little diversion on a recent flight was how a gay male cabin crew member kept stopping to talk to , and generally grovelling around , and offering free extra food and drink to a black guy who I do'nt think is gay at all , but who took the attention lavished on him very equably .
Later in the week I asked the lovely travel company rep Becka if she knew why so many male cabin crew and travel reps are gay : She did'nt  .  . 
On that same flight I watched , without listening to some of 'Mamma Mia' , and thought : this looks so damn awful that it's probably excellent  !
Having watched it properly tonight I would say that it's terrible and excellent in equal measure , but as it's obviously not meant to be taken seriously and has zero  pretensions of profundity I'd say that it's as camp as a field-full of pink tents , and that despite some dreadful singing it's actually a lot of fun , beautifully filmed , funny ,  almost quite brilliant  !

The repugnant moron , the Rev Fred Phelps of Kansas , and his mad preacher - daughter , whose entire religion consists of : We hate , and we say that God hates 'fags' ( male homosexuals ) have been banned from entering Britain , which they planned to , to , as they have in the U.S ,  picket performances of the play 'The Laramie Project' , about the appalling homophobic torture and murder of  student Matthew Shepard , in Laramie , Wyoming , in 1998 .
In the U.S these loathsome loonies , with other members of their 'church' , have demonstrated outside the funerals of military serviceman , claiming their deaths in combat are retribution from God for the U.S tolerating gay men .
Why the Baptist Church has'nt excommunicated them I do not know .
The gay rights activist turned human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell thinks they should be allowed here , so they can discredit themselves .
The 'radical islamic preachers' who have been allowed into , and to stay in the UK would no doubt approve of the stance of the crazed lunatic Phelps family .

There appears to be a real chance that Britain's  £200000000000  National Debt ( figures from the independent Office for National Statistics )  could spiral into bankrupting us all .

If you're aged below about 33 or if you're not British this may mean nothing to you : Just part of an old , pre-bliar 'Labour Party' puppetry lesson . .

So how shall I celebrate my fiftieth birthday , in three and a half years ? Shall I hire a hall and book The Damned to play ? Ha Hahr , they'd be the only guests ! Should I , sometime , go alone to New York for three nights ? Judging by previous ill-judged trips abroad I'd miss all the highlights of the city , feel lonely , go to bed early and find the whole experience extremely tiring , not to mention expensive .

I do not drive , and I have no friends . Although I'm clean , presentable , alright looking , 6ft tall , slim , and , judging by recent experiences in West Africa , not entirely unattractive to all women  .

I'm understanding , trustworthy and caring etc , and  have very occasional shouting-swearing  moments , but am usually  very calm .

Sometimes I get stuck on and stammer over certain words , though not when I'm really relaxed .

I sort-of have friends , most of them  older than me , who I see from time to time .

Join a class , join a club , join an internet dating agency . . . Hmmm , yeah , maybe , though I'm not really asking for advice , I'm just pointing out how unattractive self-pity is , which is why I do'nt usually fall victim to or seek solace in it  .

I loved 'The Brits' award show a year ago , presented by The Osbournes , but am I alone in having found tonights show absolutely dire , and utterly unwatchable ?
I love U2 , who opened it , but I think their new single 'Get on your boots' which they performed is  awful ; I do'nt know if they're  trying to be 'ironic' or what .
I've cancelled my pre-order for their new album , though I may still buy it if I get to hear and like other tracks on it .
I like Kylie Minogue , who presented it , alongside two insufferable men , though it appeared that their not even faintly funny 'comedy routines' were all pre-scripted .
And I like some music by Duffy , the Pet Shop Boys  and others who performed tonight , and I could'nt bear to watch all of it but what I did see was utter rubbish I thought .
Like the Bafta's it's shown 'as live' but not : Who cares if a few F--- words are broadcast ?
It's not clever , but we've all heard that  hundreds of times before , and will hundreds more times .

( It was so damn naff , I'm almost surprised that it did'nt include Jade Goody presenting an award to herself as the greatest humanitarian since Princess Diana . )

Credible allegations are being made that the 'Alfie the 12  year old Dad' news story has been scammed up by both sets of parents of the young parents , who have received many thousands of pounds from The Sun and other media outlets , and that the 15 year old mother , Chantelle , was told to say that Alfie is the father , and to deny also having  had sex with other boys , because  'baby faced father' is the more lucrative story .

Though it's possible that those allegations may be founded on the jealousy of neighbours , and we've already had greedy boys , after money from trash-newspapers , plausibly claiming that they too could have fathered baby Maisie .

If red-top-tabloids are gullible enough to be scammed , never letting the facts get in the way of controversially salacious stories then I have no sympathy for them .

We know there's more teenage pregnancies in the UK than in any other western european nation , and more than there used to be , nevertheless most schoolgirls do'nt become pregnant , and it's not necessarily a tragedy if  they do .

We also know of the propensity of The British for genuine or fabricated fits of moral outrage at anything pertaining to teenagers and sex , and clearly sex between under-age schoolkids must never be encouraged , though to my mind a more disturbing aspect of what the Conservative Party meaninglessly labels ' broken britain' is the lethally out of control minority of lads who think they have a right to attack , or murder anyone who they do'nt think is showing them sufficient 'respect' , or  who happens to be 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' who they feel like beating up or stabbing for bravado and for fun , and the soft - sentences they know they'll receive if they are caught , which is also rather more alarming than is the problem of idle idiots trying to scam scummy newspapers .

From the same gig , 'Magic Potion' . . .

The Damned : Would you be so hot ( if you were'nt dead ) , live in Manchester , from their 2004 MGE 25th anniversary tour dvd .

Which kind of makes me think , something about someone in the news at the moment , which it would not be 'tasteful' to expand upon .

Last night I watched part 1 of Jeremy Paxman's exploration of Victorian Britain  through the eyes of artists , which provided a rare occasion of my being able to say about a BBC programme that it goes some way towards justifying the tv licence fee .
Tonight I watched Panorama : A rather wishy-washily diluted attempt at addressing issues relating to the proportion of  Muslims living in the UK who either overtly favour terrorist mass-murder , or passively refuse to condemn it , and / or insist on believing that all terrorist atrocities blamed on 'radicalised' Muslims have been committed by Governments and security services , to stir up hatred against and to justify persecution of their community .
Then I watched the C4 programme about the Labour politician Tom Driberg and the Tory peer Lord Boothby having ( literally ! ) 'sucked up ' to the monstrous Kray gangsters , in 1950's and 60's London . Much of which I'd heard before but  is worth hearing again , for the sake of realising how money and power tend to ferment more money and power , and how 'the establishment' have ways of protecting their money , power and reputations .
I then watched the C4 'dispatches' programme of several  days ago  about the Ipswich murders , a couple of years ago . Very sad and tragic , and leaving likely to remain unanswered questions about why the killer , who had previously been known to and considered trustworthy by the local prostitutes , suddenly went on a two-week killing spree .
I do'nt know Ipswich very well , but the programme was called 'Killer in a small Town' , and , though it's not officially a city , a  'small town'  it is'nt .
I can't always think of much to write about here , but , inspired by the example of a compatriot 'fellow-blogger' , if you'd like to request me to write a post about any subject do feel free to . I can't gaurantee that I'll publish a post about it , but I will if I can .

I think the point that I meant to make last night is , why all the publicity about the 13 year old father , does'nt it usually take two to create a baby , or has the young mother sold her 'story' to another trash-newspaper , I wonder .
'The Sun' used to sometimes feature sixteen year old topless 'page three girls' . Or maybe they still do .
What hypocrites .
And David Cameron , giving free publicity to that paper spouting on about 'Broken Britain' : It's in the news because it's  rare .

I've never taken much interest in Jade Goody , but how bizarrely terrible that her story should end so awfully , with her being terminally ill with cancer .
She's determined , for her sons ,  to keep making money the only way she can , by inviting the media to intrude into her life : Can we bear to watch ?

Today I had a chance to speak to someone who I've seen around and who I'm interested in the possibility of getting to know , and , yes I could have 'forced' myself to say something , but I'm glad I did'nt : I could only have done so awkwardly which could only have been offputting .

On days like these when I have significant stomach pain I need distraction , escapism .
For 90 minutes tonight I found that through watching a dvd of The Damned , their 2004 tour celebrating 25 years since their Machine Gun Ettiquette album .
I saw them , Horatio . . .
Five times .
Their line-up has changed a few times , always at least including their lead-guitarist  clown Captain Sensible , and singer Dave Vanian , who looked and sounded damn good , in a black leather shirt as opposed to Edwardian Frock Coat as I remember him in .
Another clown , 'Monty Oxymoron' was on keyboards , with Stu West on bass guitar , and the 'Rat Scabies' resemblant Pinch , on drums .
And what a finely honed  punk-metal-psychadelic-goth sound they so professionally expositised  .
With Neat Neat Neat seamlessly transmuting into The Doors' Break on Through , then back again .
And I loved in it tracks I'd never heard before , such as Magic Potion .
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And so , And So , What are we to make of the fertile baby-faced  12 , now 13  year old boy , who produced a baby within a 15 , or was she then 14  year old girl , then got paid , presumably tens of thousands of pounds by 'The Sun' , for his  exclusive story , ?

If it were the other way around ,  a 15 year old boy with a 12 or 13 year old girl we'd get the vociferously moronic immoral majority bleating on about how he should be locked up for committing an 'adult crime' , and 'a leopard does'nt change its spots' and all that .

The propensity for enjoyment of sexual acts is arguably a 'Gift from God'  .  I wish I'd started early   , though 12 does seem exceptionally young .
There are too many aged  Catholic spinsters , such as  Ann Widdecombe MP , in positions of influence in our country who would no doubt argue not only that all contraception is sinful , but that teaching schoolchildren of  it is ultra-sinful .

A 'Special Report' by Barbara Davies in todays D/Mail : 'A few clicks of the mouse , and internet porn destroys yet another middle-class marriage . . . ' .
And yes , typical of the 'Mail to bring 'middle class' into it , and surely most addictions run across the social spectrum , but ,  however much you may dislike The Daily Mail , and however much of a 'freedom of choice' libertarian you are , you can't deny that the internet has brought the easy availability of pornographic material into most peoples homes , which some find irresistably seductive , to the point of their addiction to the titilating escapism of viewing it taking up  large proportions of their lives , to the point of that fatally damaging their relationships with their spouse or partner , if they have one .
In the marriage which the article is mainly about , the wife understandably felt hurt and confused by her husband's addiction to secretively viewing and saving pornographic images , whilst at the same time becoming colder towards and less communicative with her and their daughters . She ended up  giving him the choice of getting rid of the computer or going to live elsewhere , and he chose to move out , with the computer .
I know there are internet sites which store huge numbers  of 'adult' images which can be viewed for free , though you'd  need to thoroughly sweep your pc for spyware etc after accessing them . Not to mention the vast number of pay-sites catering for every sexual variation  , most of them legal in most countries , although as the article points out there are so called 'barely legal' sites , which blur the boundaries .
I have viewed amateur 'adult'  photos , of 18+ year old women , which have found their way onto the internet , and I can see how that can be more about escapism than gratification , though there's no way that I could be bothered to stay on such sites for several  hours at a time , as some people apparently do .
And of course plenty of women view and enjoy 'pornography' , though I suspect that for some reason men are more susceptible to addiction .
12% of all websites , 25% of all search engine requests , and 35% of all downloads are 'pornographic' .
We cannot disinvent the internet , or 'internet porn' , any more than we can disinvent alcohol , drugs , prostitution or gambling .
If you feel able to tell us , what are your experiences of viewing , or of someone in your household viewing 'internet porn' ?

From The Album : Listen Listen : An Introduction To Sandy Denny , the talented folk singer with a beautiful , haunting voice , who died , age 31 , in 1978 , which can be downloaded from Amazon for about £3 : No End : Lovely orchestration too .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/may/06/popandrock

My Mum was trying to update her diary .
Leo ( cat ) had other ideas . . .

If you missed tonights BBC1 Panorama , a report from Gaza and Israel by Jeremy Bowen , it's available to watch on the BBC website and is highly recommended .
The outrageous conduct of the Israeli State in their recent genocidal attack on the people of Gaza is graphically and upsettingly documented , and , The Palestinians had more than enough cause for anger against Israel before that , but , I wonder , what on earth the Hamas leadership ever thought  could be positively achieved  through the provocative firing of rockets into Israel .

The Nicky Campbell phone-in between 9 and 10 on Radio5live this morning , inspired by the news that a record number , 13,237 ,  of children called ChildLine (  0800 1111  )  in 2007 - 2008 to report sexual abuse - More than a 50% increase over three years - and only 4% reporting abuse committed by a stranger , was asking whether this is because more UK children are being sexually abused , or just that victims are feeling more ok about reporting it .

The Official ChildLine explanation seems to be that a recent  EastEnders storyline has emboldened child-victims to report their abuse .
I loathe that programme so much , I would no more watch it than I would knock a nail into my head , but perhaps the storyline in it that I heard of ,  about a man befriending a single mother in order to   'groom' her 15 year old daughter into agreeing to sex with him has done some good , by making some young teenage girls aware of how manipulative some older men can be .

Although the 'age of consent' ( I'm talking here about heterosexual activities , as , I do'nt want to overcomplicate this by comparing laws related to homosexual ones ) , 16 in Britain , is 15 or 14 in some other european countries , and , most surprisingly , or not , is only 12 in Vatican City ( if you've been near The Vatican in Rome you've been under the jurisdiction of Vatican City ) , and 15 where there's a significant age - difference .
( At least according to a Wikipedia article . ) .

In the late eighties , when ChildLine began , and coincidentally when we were first made aware of the danger of AIDS / HiV , there was suddenly a lot of publicity about sexual abuse of children within families .
Which surely was a good thing , since  , as we all know , it had always happened , but previously there'd been something of a culture of denial , disbelief , and shame about speaking of it .

Of course it should be spoken of , but , I just wonder , if  all the publicity about how previously unimaginedly widespread the sexual abuse of children by adults is , might  just have tipped a few men with such latent tendencies into outbalancing their previous self-control  because they knew that , there's already so much of it already going on  . . .

It should be known of , but  there's something about the UK which I do'nt think applies to many other countries , which could be described  as almost an obsession with 'stranger-danger' , when in most other countries  there's no fear of being accused of paedophilia simply for conversing with  friendly children who one may encounter , or helping injured or distressed unrelated to oneself children , so long as there's nothing unusually furtive about ones behaviour .

Although of course the overwhelming  majority of adults are not paedophiles attacks by strangers are not unknown , and all sensible , realistic precautions and advice should be taken and given , and I do'nt envy parents having to juggle with balancing risks vs the freedom to enjoy a hopefully happy and not overly restricted childhood .

' Hey ho - who is this , no one but me my dear ,
Please Come , say How Do ,
The Things I'll give to you
A stroke as gentle as a feather , hey ho -
I am here , am I not young and fair ,
Please Come , say How Do ,
The things I'll show to you ,
Would you have a wondrous sight ,
The midday sun at midnight , Fair Maid ,
white and red , comb you smooth and stroke your hair . '

The Sneaker Pimps , How Do , from their 1996 Clean Up Records Ltd album BECOMING X , as featured in the film Hostel .

Britt Eckland is credited , on the album sleeve , with the vocals , although my friend Tom ( Seaside Man ) says it's not her voice .

In any case , on this day of celebrating the best of British Films , The Wicker Man , from which 'How Do' is sampled , would surely be on most people's lists of Top 20 Best British films ?

I know it might be easy
To think of them as cheesey . . .
But The Corrs are accomplished musicians and oh how I love this exhilarating fusion of acoustic and electric traditional Irish dance music : Toss The Feathers , from their 1995 Atlantic Records album Forgiven , Not Forgotten .
Also featured in their Live At Lansdowne Road dvd .

Yes , the first record I ever bought ( so did I even then have an incipient 'melancholic temperament' ? ) : R Dean Taylor : Indiana Wants Me , ( c ) Motown Records , 1970 .

In todays news :  some Catholic Monasteries and Convents in the UK are  offering 'taster' weekends to potential aspirant Monks and Nuns .
In 1982 there were 217 novice Monks and Nuns in the Catholic Church of England and Wales : In 2007 , 29 .
The Abbott of Worth , Christopher Jamison , said :  "  This is a rivetingly exciting life . I put it this way : Modern life often looks very exciting from the outside ,  but like some glitzy magazines there's not much in it . Whereas here in the Monastery it's the opposite - The outside is very calm , but what's going on inside is pulsating with life " .    ( ! ? ) 

Of course it's a genuine , interactive community , in which everyone plays their part , some enclosed religious communities are more easygoing than  others , and there are Anglican and other ones as well as Catholic .
The least that anyone seriously considering such a vocation can expect is a regimented , seven day a week life of prayer around  five times a day from early morning , periods of mandatory silence , no personal possessions  other than basic clothing and toiletries , restricted if any access  to television , radio , newspapers , telephones , computers and other contact with the outside world , and of course the solemn vows of obedience and chastity they will have to swear and adhere to .

The benefits ? I would imagine a reassuringly ordered , calm , peaceful , spiritually meaningful existence , and a sense of belonging and of serving God through prayer and devotion , hopefully to the benefit not only of the enclosed community but also the outside world , in some cases leading to going out into the world to do much needed work , perhaps in 'third world' countries , as some Monks and Nuns do .

The down-side ? - Having to turn your back on , and have very limited contact with loved ones , possible annoyances with others in the community , and , of course , how to practically deal with the vow of chastity , i.e having no sexual contact with anyone , and whether Monks and Nuns are officially or unofficially allowed to have a quick , furtive , self-pleasuring fiddle to relieve tension I would not know .

Could I successfully become a Monk , if I so wished ?
At the moment , no , I'm too attached to living here , and to the hope of more but If I really felt I had nothing left to lose I might  consider it , though I doubt that my faith , or my self-discipline and capacity for subjugation would be strong enough to make me  a very good monk , and I would miss the contact , or at least the hope of contact with not unattractive women .
I could , if I had to , give up most possessions ,  the internet , etc . , in return for one loving partner but as for a spiritually devotional community of men , I'm not sure , though I  respect devout , sincere Monks and Nuns , who make those sacrifices because they feel compellingly called to by God for the greater good . I'd  consider a short break at some religious 'retreat' , and secretive , enclosed worlds are always interesting to learn about .

Dependant on your instictive emotional responses to certain things there's a choice of vantage points from which to view the overblown 'Carol Thatcher Golliwog' affair .
If , as according to those who were with her in the BBC studio ' green room ' at the time , she did refer to a black tennis player as " that golliwog " then , although it was said off-air , I think it's fair to say that people who hold such abhorrent and outdated attitudes should not be employed by any publicly funded organisation .
Friends of hers , who were not there , maintain that she simply , innocently and jovially likened the tennis players hair to that of the black-faced 'golliwog' figures who used to appear on Robertson's Jam Jars .
Some ever-loyal admirers of Carol Thatcher's Mother , the former Prime Minister , say  that the BBC sacked her for her 'innocent' , off-air remark to 'settle scores' with her Mother : In that case why would they have offered her work , as a co-presenter of the pointless 'One Show' , in the first place ?
More pertinently , comparisons have been made with the BBC's tolerance of various offensive and smutty remarks made by their 'six million dollar ( pound ) ( per year ) man' Mr Ross , who was only , belatedly , suspended for three months after the Mail on Sunday picked up on the obscene phone calls to Andrew Sachs , broadcast on Radio 2 a week earlier .
But in  modern 'politically correct' society  ,  which The BBC forms a major part of the axis of , almost anything and anyone is considered fair-game for puerile would-be humourous cruel taunting - So long as they are not Black , Asian , Muslim or Homosexual.
Several years ago when Jonathan Ross , presenting the comedy awards , attempted to attempt to be humourous by referring to the then known to be seriously ill Frank Sinatra not needing next years calendar , a relative of mine remarked that Sinatra had more talent than Ross had in his little-finger .
I agree . Though so far as the buffoon Carol Thatcher is concerned , I'd say that J/Ross has more talent than she has in her little-finger , and that Ms Thatcher only succeeds in getting dribs and drabs of media work on the back of  the curiosity / novelty  value of who her mother is .

BBC Radio 5live's Victoria Darbishire ( 10am - 1pm , weekdays ) just loves to talk about child , baby and family issues , and when obliged to talk about anything else her lack of interest is usually palpable .
The first hour this morning was taken up by the curious case of the parents of a 16 year old boy , who say that he is definitely in a sexual relationship with his 13 year old girlfriend .
Apparently his mother is crying about that every day and night , and the Father is terrified that his son will end up in serious trouble , ruining his life and his girlfriend's .
So much so that , bizarrrely , he's repeatedly been to the police and social services to inform them of the situation , then he and his wife contacted Victoria Darbishire to request going on her national radio programme to talk about it .
As they did , although , to protect the identities of the two young people , their words in the pre-recorded interview were broadcast spoken by actors .
They say that the girls grandparents , who she's living with , are unconcerned .
And thirteen is very young , and their sons relationship is of course for him technically against the law , although , as some callers pointed out , the police and social services have far more urgent matters to deal with than consensual sex between two young teenagers , especially if no complaint is made , and the girls family have made no such complaint .
In his desparation to end the relationship the father  has taken two mobile phones from his son , which sounds like theft to me , and is trying to stop him  from having access to money .
This seems to be counter-productively making them all the more determined to continue the relationship , and , short of permanantly restraining the 6ft tall son at home , which would rightly be  illegal , what can the parents do , other than sensibly advise their son ?
Another caller suggested the parents including the girlfriend in such as family outings , so that their son's relationship with her will not be based entirely on sex .
As a result of the broadcast interview this morning , police child and family  liason officers will be visiting the parents today , and I just hope that , in their obsessive desparation to end their sons relationship , they do'nt end up causing what they say they are afraid of , leading to an irreperable rift with their son , and splitting their family apart .

Here in Southwold all the timber that washed up onto the beach has been taken away , and I heard that , after having been in salt water for some time , it's unlikely to be suitable for building with , though I heard of a skateboard ramp going to be made with some of it .
The breif heavy snow very soon melted away , although  more could be on the way .

I so appreciate all the comments in response to my most recent post here , of last night .
I will always feel a certain affinity with Africa and Africans , who are generally so much more relaxed , accepting and friendly than europeans .
The practicalities are that I am not very well psychologically suited to travelling very far or for very long alone , and that , although when talking face to face with Gambians it's usually possible to take time to understand and be understood , over the phone with M , or via email  (though I'm not sure that it's her who sends them ) , it seems impossible to get anywhere .

Also , which does'nt bother me as it's a nicer name , she often calls me Matthew , instead of Martin !

No , I'm not stupid , and , though it's not the poorest African Nation there is so much need there , and , although I'm unfortunately nowhere near as 'well off' as they like to believe I'm still prepared to do what I can although I'm as certain as I possibly can be that I've been lied to which I do not respond well to , and , nothing at all against the country or its people but I found one week there alone - although sometimes relaxing and enjoyable - often muddlesome and exhausting , and ,  the more I think about it , the more I seriously doubt that I'll go there or anywhere else very far from home for very long again , unless with  a good friend to travel with . 
However  I'll continue to support charitable projects , as far as I can .

So do I really have any friends ?
My Gambian friend Marie phoned me yesterday , and due to language incompatabilities , and to her being with several other talkative people , and possible 'gremlins' on the telephone line  it was imposible to have any sort of even semi-coherent conversation .
Today she emailed me , or rather , more likely one of her sisters did , as I'm not sure that Marie can read or write much ( which , with no free education there , not all Gambians can ) , nearly all about if she could afford this , and if she could afford that  . . .
When with her I tried to explain that , as I so seldom go on holiday I can afford to spend quite a bit when I do , but that there's no way that I could afford to spend anything like that every week , but that I'll be delighted to continue to be helpful to her and her family , as and when I can .
In fact  , without being asked , I said I'd probably send some money to her every month , though I did'nt say how much , and , to send a modest amount by Western Union , unless urgently needed is hardly worth it , as it's so expensive to transfer it , and then they make it more fiddly with all their 'anti-money-laundering' security checks .
I tend to feel so flattered if any at all likeable person  , especially any young-ish woman who I like seems to like me , that I'm inclined to reciprocate with offers of generousity , which I'll do my  best to keep to , so long as I'm not pestered or lied to and so long as no one attempts to become intimidating , and , I think that , whatever age we are , we all still have some 'lessons to learn'  - ?
Unless I got it wrong I'm sure Marie told me that both her parents are sadly no longer alive .
Then in the email purportedly from her , a mention of her Mother being sick in a village , and her not being able to afford the fare to visit .
I do'nt lie to anyone and normally if anyone  lies to me I withdraw from them , but I know that to compare the prosperous UK to  'third world' Africa  is not comparing like with like .
Last week I mailed a baby sleep/play suit to Marie , for Sainabou , which , I hope, she'll let me know when she receives .
I still feel  fond of Marie and Sainabou , and will continue to do what I feel I can to make life slightly safer and more comfortable for them , and I may  return to The Gambia and meet them again , especially if I still have no real friends here in several months time .
So do I really have any friends ?
Well I  know a few likeably decent older than me people , some of who may be  willing to be friends with me in which case I accept , although , to my way of thinking , I'm still not sure if  I have any 'real' friends .
And , if  only I could be  a bit more socially confident in my home country , I'm sure there are  possibilities of friendships with people of a similar or younger age to myself  .
And of course I love all my 'blog friends , although the only 'blog friend I've ever met very unexpectedly soon became no longer a friend .

What I generally do'nt do here is  simply to republish mainstream , or other media stuff without  taking  time to work out and express my own personal slant on it .
And I aim to avoid becoming too influenced by non-partisan media reportage , or by what seems to be  'public opinion' .
But I make no apology for referring to todays D/Mail front page story about Community Nurse Mrs Caroline Petrie , 45 , who is a devout Christian , having been suspended from working and threatened with being permanantly sacked or even 'struck off' for having kindly offered to pray for an elderly patient who she paid a home visit to .
The 79 year old lady , herself a Christian , for her own reasons said ' no thank you ' but did not officially or even unofficially complain , she simply mentioned the offer of prayer to another nurse , which led to Mrs Petrie being suspended , and threatened with disciplinary action .
A source close to the case told the 'Mail : " Caroline Petrie is being disciplined under equal opportunities and 'diversity' policies , and there is a growing tendency to use such policies to single out for attack our own Judaeo-Christian customs and culture .
Christians are now becoming the most discriminated-against group of people in our society . It's getting quite frightening and out of hand . "
Mrs Petrie was ordered to attend an 'equality course' . Do Muslims not pray ? 
It seems that what this is about is the extreme 'political correctness' of some non-muslims in positions of power who fear that Muslims might be upset by a Christian offering to pray for them . 
Although Mrs Petrie said that she would not offer to pray for anyone who appeared to be of a different faith .
This calls to mind  the Heathrow check-in worker Nadia Ewieda , who in 2006 was banned from wearing a small cross around her neck at work .
A mutually friendly and tolerant multi-cultural society is a spendid ideal , which becomes hideously twistedly-counter-productive when people of no faith seek to appease the non existent distress of immigrants of non-Judaeo-Christian/Anglican/Catholic faith at Britain having traditionally been a largely Christian country .

Two recent articles by the Daily Mail's Peter Oborne are worthy of wider exposure I think :

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1131243/PETER-OBORNE-Five-years-Hutton-STILL-havent-told-truth-war-based-lies.html

about the LIES told by the Blair / Brown / Campbell government to drag us into Bush's 'war on terror' , and the almost certain MURDER of Dr. David Kelly ,  and  , 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1132802/PETER-OBORNE-Betrayal-finest-Britain-Obamas-poodle.html

about Brown being about to become President Obama's poodle by agreeing to send many more British troops into Afghanistan , and for what purpose exactly ?
It seems that no one can supply a sensible answer to that .

It seems to me that every U.S President , and every British Prime Minister glories in notions of going down in history as a 'great War Leader ' , and that , more often than not , war helps to win elections , and that every UK Prime Minister is always desparate to be the best buddy of whoever the U.S President is .
And that although of course Obama is  preferable to Bush , like Bush he's in no danger of being assassinated ( which so many have oh so not so cleverly predicted ) , because he's not honest , radical or stupid enough to put himself in that danger .

Yesterday ( 31st ) was my Mum's Eightieth birthday : She had about 35 of her friends round ( many , but not all at the same time ) , and a good time was had by all .

I hope I did a good thing by taking surplus sandwiches round to a family I barely know .
Hopefully they were pleased , and in any case obviously I meant well , and I really did'nt want to have to chuck nice , fresh food away .

It nearly always helps me to fall asleep in bed to mentally compile lists .

No television in my Mum's youth , and we did'nt always have one  in mine but one thing I sometimes think about in bed is my memories of 1970's television : The good , the bad and the abysmal .
The Sweeney and The Professionals for example are just unwatchable now , and there's plenty more  programmes I enjoyed at the time which would just seem  so feeble today .

I'm not thinking  of kids programmes of  the early 70's , but of adult , and general entertainment ones from  '76 to '79 .
Bearing in mind that there were just three channels , and no video or dvd players or recorders . On Saturday night , BBC2 in the school summer holidays there'd be a 'double bill' of one 'hammer horror' and one 1930's black and white  horror flick .
And at least three or four of the itv 'Hammer House of Horror' dramas stand the test of time .

For a while , on itv , there was a game show I liked called 'Tell the Truth' , in which one truthful person and two imposters would make a statement about themselves , and the panel competed to figure out the genuine one .
That format could work now , as could that of 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' : Awful title , but , unlike 'Top Of The Pops' which was just Top 30 singles , OGWT catered for the slightly older and  more sophisticated popular music fan , with sessions from contemporary bands , and , bizarrely , tracks set to visuals from  1930's and 40's cartoons .

I never really 'got' Morecambe and Wise ( comedy double act ) , and I can rewatch Fawlty Towers whenever , on dvd .

If you are old enough , what were your favourite 70's tv programmes ?