27 Days

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Guthlac

Recently my son asked a question about where the north south divide is in England.  This is not a uniquely English question as many countries old and new have some form of catological/social divide:  In the latest incarnation of Germany there is both a North/South divide, similar to the England/Scotland divide as well as an East West divide;  In the United States they have a line on a map, the Mason/Dixon line but in England it is a lot more complex – just where does the North start?   The easiest answer is the River Trent – anything north of the Trent is in the north – quite simple really.  Another way of dividing the country is distance from London:   By train I can get to the centre of London in just over an hour – does this mean I live in the south?   If it does then there are many places in the commuter belt live in the north!   Academic papers have been written about this and one of the most recent placed Birmingham in the North.

Of course in this Brexit obsessed world another way of judging an area is whether they voted for Leave of Remain.  If this is applied then the north is all over the place.

So is Birmingham in the North?    I haven’t got the first clue but to me it certainly doesn’t feel as though it is.  What the city centre does feel like is one huge building site with massive new office block sprouting up all over the place as well as the HS2 railway station.  The 2022 Commonwealth games are being staged there too which no doubt is adding to the building mania.

Does this all matter?   Well in one real sense it does because of the huge gravitational pull of London.  If you are caught in that gravity well then you can expect to find the brightest young things being pulled towards the World City.  If not too close then you can resist it but for only so long.  Whether we or the EU like it or not it London, afterall, is the most dynamic and vibrant city in the whole of Europe.  Where that leaves Birmingham is anyone’s guess but they certainly appear to be trying to do their best to maintain whatever distance they can from London – for now.   Should HS2 ever get built then I am not sure that would continue.

As with all things Brexit there is that word again IF.

Posted in 100 Days, Brexit, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

And Now For Something….

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Guthlac

I took my iPhone for a bit of a walk around Birmingham today.   This is the first batch I will post some more soon once I have worked on them.

Posted in 100 Days, autumn, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

29 Days

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Guthlac

An early and cold start…memories of the summer are fast fading  and we have to brace for the winter to come.   Only this isn’t the whole story here – this is the second large flooding episode in the past two months and in all the years I have lived here (more than I care to admit to) I cannot recall anything like this before.   Things are changing and we appear to be getting a lot more rain.

There are still people out there who do not believe that Global Warming is real or at least it isn’t part of the natural cycle.  This is just wrong and the science is just too strong to dismiss – it won’t stop people from doing just that though.

I am not a great Greta Thurnberg fan but she is right about one thing – her generation will be the one that will feel the full force of the changes that have been brought about by Global Warming and it is our generation’s responsibility to do as much as we can to ameliorate those changes.  The planet’s climate is going to change as a result of man’s activities and we are all going to have to get used to that.

Compared to this Brexit does seem to be a pointless exercise.

Posted in 100 Days, autumn, Brexit, Jubilee Park, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

30 Days

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Guthlac

 

This morning, whilst walking by the newspaper stand in my local foodstore, I noticed one paper claiming that a government of national unity is in the process of being formed.  I have to say I think this is a bit of a long shot but given everything else that is going on at the moment you should never say never.  So if this were to happen what would happen?

First I think the current non-government government lead by Boris Johnson would try to hang on even if they lost a vote of no confidence.   However, I suspect as with everything else to do with the Boris Johnson lead non government this will fail and we will truly be through the looking glass  of minority governments that have to negotiate their way through every policy they try to come up with.  In short, I suspect it would lead to a government of small incremental changes rather than eye catching policies that never work out.  However, I suspect the first thing that the new government will agree on is a series of referenda:  The first to try and settle Brexit once and for all (fat chance of that but there we go); The second would be indyref two to take place sometime after the Brexit referendum and the third referendum would be the Border poll in Northern Ireland on whether Northern Ireland wants to become part of the republic.   I suspect to do this they will try and enact a Referendum Act that would set out how referenda would in future fit be run and how they would fit into the representative model of democracy that Britain has evolved into over several hundred years.   If this were the case I suspect they would ask the EU for a much long extension – perhaps 12 months to allow the formation of the legislation and the completion of the first referendum.   If this were granted then it certainly would be an interesting constitutional experiment for Britain as this would be a European style government for the first time in Britain.

Would this work?  In theory yes but in practice…well it is a long shot to say the least.   As for the Conservative party well I suspect should this scenario take place then they would collapse and slowly a new right would reform around a much more clear cut right wing agenda which would be much more to the right than the modern Conservative party up until now has been.  I welcome this because it would give the electorate a clear choice rather than the old broadchurch approach that probably David Cameron destroyed over Brexit.

In this scenario you would also have a significant rump of Brexit MPs who will feel that they were denied Brexit, assuming the second (Or third depending on how you count these things) referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union come out in favour of remaining, along with a significant chunk of the electorate.  How this combustible mix responds to this brave new world is anyone’s guess.

Would this government make it to the 8th June 2022?   I can’t see it but again never say never but it might suit they new right wing party, let’s call it the Rebirth Party to allow this to take place as it gives them time to reform and then come out fighting.

This all sounds like a fantasy to me but so did losing the Brexit referendum to David Cameron and look what happened there.

Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps.

 

Posted in 100 Days, Brexit, Conservative Party, European Referendum, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Photography, Scottish Independence | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

32 Days

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Guthlac

Autumn is here in full force!   Several days of constant rain is forecast to add to the gloom I am feeling about all things Brexit.    I suspect I am one the dwindling number of remain voters who think that the referendum result should be honoured.   However, I don’t believe that a no deal Brexit is in Britains short or long term interest so whether that makes me a traitor or not is for other parts of the internet to judge.  I also don’t believe that the current MPs are traitors and they have as much political legitimacy as the result of the referendum. Lord Sumption summed it rather well I thought – the referendum said we should leave – parliament should decide who we leave.

I cannot think of a better description of how a referendum fits into our system of democracy.

Posted in 100 Days, autumn, European Referendum, Photography | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

34 Days

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Guthlac

Are these the end times?   Is the rapture about to start?   I haven’t got the first clue although I have just been listening to a podcast about the rapture and it is possible to suggest that Britain leaving the EU as a sign that this isn’t the end times. (I am not a theologian and find it hard to understand the teachings of John Darby but I am sure should a follower of Darby read this they would be able to explain.) .  Does this count as a good news story?  These days perhaps it does.

Anyway I have been asking myself why it is that Boris Johnson is using such inflammatory language at the moment?   One reason of course is that he is under immense pressure and that is getting to him – hence the language being used.  Another view may well be that this is all part of the great plan intended to provoke the Jeremy Corbyn to give in and support a general election before the 31st of October.  Perhaps this is the case but like every other leg of the great plan at the moment this doesn’t appear to be working as conceived.

However, there is a second audience that most commentators seem to have been ignoring – the European Union.   What seems to be forgotten in all this is that the only way that Britain can guarantee it will not leave the EU on the 31st of October is to revoke the article 50.   If that doesn’t happen then any extension relies on the unanimous agreement of all the other EU countries.   If this is not forthcoming then we are out and this is the audience I believe Boris Johnson is trying to influence.  What he saying is that give me a deal I can sell or don’t give an extension because this chaos is going to continue and you, the EU, are going to be paralysed by it.

The one person who looks like he may well agree with Boris Johnson is the French President Emmanuel Macron.  He sees his grand plans for the future of the EU collapsing in front of his eyes because of the British crises and although he might be the leader of one of the countries  most affected by a no deal Brexit might consider that a price worth paying to save the his plans and therefore the EU. Macron is also big enough within the EU not to be bullied by the Germans into not agreeing with them.

Is this the case?   I have no idea and we’ll all have to wait until after the event to find out.  I guess it is bit like the rapture in that sense.   You have to have faith.

Meow.

Posted in 100 Days, Brexit, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trying Something New…

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Guthlac

You are never too old to try new things.  The other day I was watching one of my favourite camera guys on YouTube, Jared Polin, taking the new iPhone 11 pro for a spin and this got me thinking – should I start to use my iPhone in a more serious way?  I was especially impressed by the images he was able to capture using the Adobe Lightroom app, something I have but have made precious little use of.   So today I decided to take the plunge and not take my normal camera but rather use my iPhone with the Lightroom app at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.   I have to say I am impressed with the freedom that using the Lightroom App gives me over the default Apple photos app – especially when I can save the file as DNG rather than JPEG.   I still have a lot to learn but I do like the result from the first outing.

Posted in 100 Days, autumn, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

35 Days

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Guthlac

I give up with them all.   The idea of having a general election on the run up to a major turning point in this country’s post second world war history is just nuts but there they were all the Tories baying for one.   It is senseless to anyone who has had to introduce a major time sensitive system change – you need senior management buy in, availability  and time to overcome the many problems between now and then.   This is something you will not get if hold a general election now.   I don’t care if you want Brexit or not surely this is self evident?   Who am I kidding – myself I think.

Every nation gets the government it deserves.   What did we do to deserve this lot?

Posted in 100 Days, Brexit, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Photography | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The V&A Dundee….

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Guthlac

I have been thinking about this a lot and what I am about to write is probably not fair and it could be argued that I am comparing Apples with Oranges.  This being said,  I don’t think the V&A at Dundee is that good (This is hard for me to write as I had travelled over 350 miles to visit the institution).   The building is superb – a striking statement on the side of the wide Firth of Tay as you dive across the bridge towards Dundee.  When you walk in it is just as breathtaking as there is this vast space tapering out all around you like an upturned pyramid.   The cafe at the base of this space is really good and ticks all the environmental friendly boxes.

You can take the stairs or the lift, if you can the stairs are by far the best way of ascending to the exhibition space as it allows you to really appreciate the size, scale and grandeur of the main hall.   This all adds to the rising excitement as you get to the first floor – the exhibitions and the space in which they are held  must be something special if the main halls is anything to go by.   Then you realise that there isn’t much space on the exhibition floor and what there is is poorly utilised.   To be fair to the V&A they were in middle of replacing one temporary exhibition with another so you can only view the permanent Scottish Design galleries and a small area devoted to fashion design (Studio Nichols Daley).   Unfortunately the Scottish Design area is way too small and all the exhibits are crammed one on top of the other that gives little space for each item to breath.   I left there feeling rushed and somewhat cheated because there were a number of very interesting items I would have loved to spend a lot more time with but couldn’t because of the lack of space. .   The most engaging and engaged with item on the whole floor was a mechanical arm that was making bubbles.

Even with the new gallery open there really isn’t that much exhibition space for such a large building.  On the way back to the hotel whilst discussing this with my wife I came to the conclusion that the best way to sum up the experience of visiting the V&A at Dundee is the Not the 9 o’clock news spoof pop video…Nice Video, Shame about the Song.

 

It has been nearly a week since I visited the V&A at Dundee and haven’t changed my mind.   The failings of the V&A at Dundee came into greater contrast today after I visited the National Space Centre at Leicester.

You have to pay to get into the museum but you actually get a far better experience.   Of course the subject is always going to be an exciting one when compared to the aesthetic of design but there is one fact that I think sums up the failing of the V&A when compared to the National Space Centre:   There is only c1100 sq metres  of exhibition space at the V&A compared to the c4900 sq metres at the Space Centre.   Of course a lot of the space is used up with exhibitions aimed at children (the school kids going around the museum today seemed to be really engaging with the exhibitions) but that is not a bad thing.   The National Space Centre has a much more workaday feel compared to the V&A but I don’t think that is a bad thing – in fact compared to the refined atmosphere it was positively refreshing.

The building itself is not as architecturally accomplished as the V&A but does that really matter?  The most important thing is the lasting lessons that you come away with and perhaps it is just me but I came away feeling I got value for money from the National Space Centre whilst I felt short changed by the V&A.   I feel really sad writing that sentence but that is the way I feel.   Perhaps should you visit or have visited the V&A you may well feel differently and there is nothing wrong with that.

Posted in 100 Days, autumn | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

42 Days

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Guthlac

 

Once upon a time the best way to travel from one centre of power to another was by boat.  Of course this was before there was such a thing as Scotland or England but rather smaller kingdoms, in this case the Kingdom of Northumbria.  (For all you Game of Thrones fans this is The North.   The wall that George R Martin must have been thinking about was the Antonine Wall rather than Hadrian’s.   If this is the case then that makes Edinburgh must have been Mole Town – not sure the good burghers of Edinburgh would be happy about that!)  Funny how times change but the sea still sits there and now is part of the Brexit conundrum.

Posted in 100 Days, autumn, Brexit, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment