Dunces and Muppets - Do Politicans Live in the Real World?

From time to time when I’m out and about, and usually when there has been yet another negative news item affecting the local population, I will hear someone say ‘Do councillors and politicians live in the real world?’
My immediate, and perhaps rather trite response, is usually ‘No, of course they don’t.’
What I really mean though is what do we understand by ‘the real world’?
We are all living daily with our own sense of reality, which will naturally be different for each and every one of us.
For many single parents their reality is how to make ends meet, juggling the finely balanced line between the need to work and finding affordable, reliable childcare.
For someone facing the loss of a loved one it is waking up each morning to face the day, acknowledging the awful realisation that their daughter, son, mother, father, spouse or partner is no longer there, and never will be except in their thoughts and memories.
In the case of youngsters, who for whatever reason are struggling at school, or trying to find a job, it is meeting the challenge of gaining academic qualifications or handling the consequences of unwanted peer pressure. Their reality may be coping with feelings of inferiority, not being able to live up to the expectations of others, or failing to meet the seemingly impossible high standards they have set for themselves.
There are many other examples, but what I think is really meant by the original comment is ‘to what extent do our elected representatives, at local or national level, have a ‘real understanding’ of the daily difficulties the man on the street faces in coming to terms with the increasingly complex society in which we now find ourselves?’.
Should our politicians, many of whom come from privileged backgrounds, know the price of a pint of milk or a loaf of bread; the standard white sliced variety consumed by the majority of the population, rather than the expensive ‘designer loaves’ at 10 times the price (not that I’m knocking such scrumptious hand crafter edibles)? I believe they should know what we're up against. It is when those that represent us become out of touch with what is going on in our lives it must surely result in key decisions being taken without due regard for the ‘real’ impact.
The cynic in me suspects, as we witness the entirely unsavoury spectacle of the leaders of our two main parties name calling each other like spoilt brats in the school playground, that many headline grabbing decisions are taken with the London centric ballot box in mind.
Given that less than half of those eligible to vote choose to do so, one can quite reasonably ask ‘Do our poiticians live in the real world’, or do they choose to be selective in their appreciation of another’s position?
One would hope not, but I fear this is certainly the case, so I stand by my original statement.
Sadly I believe that many who are elected to represent us do not live in the real world – as the rest of us know it.

Why We SHOULD Discriminate

For some time now, in large part due to the continued rise of the politically correct brigade, we have been told that to discriminate is wrong. I disagree.
When as individuals, or as a nation, we no longer feel comfortable in exercising our ability to discriminate, we lose much of what we used to value, that we as a nation once had a long standing reputation for - quality.
Yes, of course we should be accepting of others, their values, beliefs, colour, gender and the multitude of other specifically protected characteristics relating to showing negative or positive preference, but does that mean that we should then turn a blind eye towards other factors regardless?
It is when we lose the ability to be able to discriminate, to recognise and differentiate quality, taste and value, that we open ourselves up to abuse of a different kind.
For example, when money becomes the sole arbiter, the barometer by which we set our standards, we fall into the trap of no longer being able to discriminate and make those important judgements about whether or not we are really getting what we pay for. This is as true in politics as in anything else.
As a result of enforced efficiencies we continue to pay the same in council tax, and much is made of this, but we are increasingly getting less and less for our money. Companies placing advertisements for job vacancies will more often than not give no indication of the salary offered, in an effort to get labour at the cheapest possible rate, without always having due regard for the value of someone who by their experience and skills may well warrant a higher salary and produce better results.
Every time we succumb to buying cheap ready meals we are subjecting ourselves to the subterfuge of the power wielded by the big supermarket chains, enabling them to force the prices paid to their own suppliers down to a level where survival is on a knife edge, all the while reducing the quality of the ingredients used, and substituting them with dubious additives in a clear effort to deceive.
Cheap meals offered by some of the major pub chains are often nothing more than re-heated processed pap, and the beer and wine on tap is so cheap because it has been bought in bulk as it nears the end of its useful life. Our failure to discriminate leaves us constantly open to being conned.
I am not immune to the temptations myself. A pair of knock down bargain basement shoes, recently purchased, lasted no more than a couple of weeks before they disintegrated, and the cheap summer dress that looked the height of fashion lasted just a few washes before it started to literally fall apart at the seams. I'v found that you usually get what you pay for. Other clothes, purchased at a time when I was able to afford it, have lasted 20 years or more. The same goes for good old solid wood furniture when compared with cheaper more modern fabricated items. This is why nowadays almost everything I buy is second hand, stuff that may not be new, but has stood the test of time, and does provide good value for money.
Most of us now need to think seriously about guarding our precious pennies each week, balancing the decisions we make about what we purchase against what we’d like the freedom to do, but unless we retain the ability to be able to discriminate, and weigh up the choices available to us, we will continue to fall prey to those who do not have our best interests at heart.
We open ourselves up to becoming the victims, and they the victors at our expense.

WHY SIZE REALLY MATTERS

When it comes to size, I believe we are to all intents and purposes being conned
It has come to my attention recently that we are increasingly being short changed, particularly by large companies, and getting less and less than we are paying for.
I have noticed that this applies to chocolate in particular, one of my favourite things, as my expanding waistline shows. Where so called special offers or bumper packs are concerned; once you open them, they now reveal not quite the contents we might have expected to receive. I find this extremely irritating when there are no longer enough sweets to go around.
Take Quality Street as an example; a popular and relatively inexpensive present to give one’s colleagues at the office. The price has stayed pretty much the same but the size has sneakily decreased downwards from 1kg. to 750 grams, with little difference evident in the dimensions of the container, except if you are planning to re-use it as a cake tin, where nowadays it is just that little bit too shallow to transport a decent sized Victoria sandwich cake. There is also the issue of the purple ones, my preference, with the hazelnut in the centre; as one of the more expensive ingredients used in the mix they offer, I have noticed that there are fewer of them these days. Mars bars and other similar snack bars have gone the same way. Where once they were keen to ensure we were all buying super sized packs, the size, but not the price, has begun to shrink. The same goes for boxes of cereal and similar foodstuffs, in addition to cosmetics and many other items; the list is endless.
There is of course the argument that too much chocolate is not good for us, but these canny and deceptive operators have been able to establish that there is a price point beyond which, especially for impulse buys, many of us will not go, especially when we have limited funds available.
When it comes to local government and the NHS the situation is pretty much the same. In an effort to ensure that council tax does not increase (a mistake to my mind) something has had to give, and in this case the result is an ever-shrinking service provision and stretched and stressed staff; those that haven’t yet been made redundant. That’s all well and good, and there has to be a general acceptance that we are reaping the results of spending and borrowing beyond our means.
However we were not all irresponsible although we are all suffering as a result; the price we pay for democracy and the concept of shared responsibility.
It is however those without a voice that are likely to suffer the most as the public sector faces increasing pressure from central government to down size. There is a certain point at which the level of cuts can no longer be sustained without irreparable harm to our long-term future.
Whilst it is encouraging to see that the economy appears to be on the up, with house prices showing a slight rise, where will first time buyers find the money to be able to afford to own their home, once the dream of us all?
This, along with the aim for a college or university education, where graduates are unable to find work and get left with huge student loans to pay off, will only serve to foster an increasing sense of disillusionment, and the realisation that when it comes to looking forward to the future, size really does matter when we no longer have the resources or finances to enable our hopes and aspirations to be realised.

Being Given Enough Rope to Hang Yourself

It was only after I had scaled 100ft. down ‘C’ Block of County Hall, along with many other willing volunteers, in support of fund raising efforts on behalf of the victims of the recent flooding, and the SCC Chairman’s two chosen charities for the year, the National Autistic Society and the Somerset Trust For Arts & Recreation, that I began to think about the importance of the length of rope down which we had all abseiled.

There are those who would consider such activities as being quite a risky undertaking, but I felt absolutely safe, knowing that the team of handsome firemen up on the roof would have done all the necessary checks to ensure my safety. They did after all have their own jobs and reputations at stake.
That same morning I had been speaking to the boss of one of the companies I work for, and for whom I have high regard, about the concept of being ‘given enough rope to hang myself’; literally having sufficient freedom in carrying out my duties to enable me to eventually, on a fairly regular basis, get into enough trouble for me to have to be literally ‘hauled back up’ into line.
During my lengthy and varied career I have had many different jobs, and have worked for many different people; some, like Sir David Hannay, who to my mind is an exemplar in every sense of the word, and others where I couldn’t wait to leave and put their appalling behaviour firmly behind me before moving on.
At a time when things are tough for many businesses, whether it be in the commercial, public or charitable sector, and with staffing levels down to the bone, I believe that there has been an increased tendency for ‘micro managing’, as ever fearful of their own position, poor managers are constantly on the lookout for someone to blame when things go wrong, as they are very likely to do eventually. It is then of course expected that heads will roll as a consequence, but frequently it is not the perpetrator who ends up in the firing line.
My point is, and yes, it has taken me some time to get there, that if we all become too risk averse, as I know I have in recent years, we will be too afraid to push the boundaries that restrain us, often imposed by others, and miss out on discovering new and exciting ways to develop, both personally and professionally. Rather like standing back to allow your child to make mistakes when they take their first wobbly steps
I know that my own preference for being managed is to have clear boundaries and expectations and then being left pretty much on my own to produce the goods, which by and large I always manage to achieve. That is not to say that my career path has not had its ups and downs, but it is in being given the freedom to push the boundaries and make mistakes that I have been able to learn just how far I can go.
One thing that innovators and discoverers throughout history have shown is their ability to challenge established thinking; without Columbus we may all still believe that the earth is flat.
Like the rope used during our abseiling efforts, sometimes you just have to be allowed to go for it, hoping and trusting that there will be someone there to provide that all important safety net should it be needed.

Daring abseilers raise cash for charity

As featured in Yeovil Press:

http://www.yeovilpress.co.uk/blog/2014/04/08/somerset-news-daring-abseilers-raise-cash-for-charity/

Wines for your wedding

Planning a wedding can be a minefield, as I know only too well, having experienced two of my own, so far. It doesn’t matter how much planning and preparation goes into making it your own very special day, you should always be prepared for the unexpected, and sometimes it is the unexpected that brings a smile to your face long after the event.

One thing you can control however, as long as your guests aren’t responsible for bringing their own booze, is what you serve your guests to help you celebrate the nuptials, and just how much.

Couples now often hold two separate parties, inviting close family and friends to the wedding itself, with work colleagues and more distant relatives invited to a shindig later in the day.

You can opt for a full bar, as wine might not to everyone’s taste. Quite the modern thing to do nowadays is to go down the sausage and mash route (a la Kate Winslet) with a pint of local brew, or cider to wash it down. It can be fun, and certainly you couldn’t get better bangers than at local butcher Bonner’s, who incidentally also does a fine hog roast. 

For most of us though, no wedding would be complete without a decent bottle or two to go with a sit down meal, and some bubbly for the toast; although I have heard that some couples now opt for a ‘dry wedding’, quite unimaginable for a wine lover like me.

With a decent budget I’d go for champagne every time, or course. Do also remember that most venues will allow you to bring in your own beverages, and charge you corkage, which can still be cost effective if you wish to serve quality wines, without the usual mark up.

If providing your own alcohol there will be a fine balance between having enough, and yet not so much you’ll still be swimming in it by the first anniversary. Good wine suppliers will usually allow you to have wines on a sale or return basis, and will often include free glass hire too.

I would recommend having wait staff no matter what type of wedding you plan to have, even if you just hire the offspring of friends. They will be glad of a bit of pocket money, and you can then relax, just looking your radiant best.  Having drinks served on trays by waiters will also cut down consumption considerably.

It helps to have an idea of serving sizes when buying your wine. A standard bottle will provide 4 x 175ml. glasses, which is plenty large enough. For spirits, you should aim for about 18 servings per bottle. If having a full bar, plan on a ratio of 20% spirits, 15% beer and 65% wine.

Unless your guests are binge drinkers or alcoholics in training, work on one drink per hour on average. Some will drink more and some will drink less, or have the misfortune to be the designated driver.

For an evening wedding reception lasting 5 hours, and with 100 guests allow:- 30 bottles each of champagne, white and red wine, and 100 beers.

The time of year you are planning to hold your wedding will also determine not just what your guests’ preferences will be, but also the quantity they imbibe. White is of course more popular in the warmer summer months, as is beer, whilst people drink more red in winter. Guests tend also to drink less red wine at lunchtime, and more of anything going if it's really hot, they don’t have to go to work the next day, or have flown out to witness the event at some exotic foreign location.

If you feel your budget can’t run to a decent champagne, you are almost always better off serving a good cava or Prosecco, or even to offer a champagne cocktail. It really just boils down to knowing your guests.

If you want to impress go for champagne, a decent Bordeaux or premium new world red, and a good white burgundy, but to make it truly memorable just please yourself and choose a wine or other beverage that means something to you. It is your wedding after all.

Failing Adult Literacy

A recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed how in England 16 to 24-year-olds scored among the lowest results in the industrialised world in literacy and numeracy tests, coming 22nd for literacy and 21st for numeracy out of 24 countries.

What this demonstrated, sadly, is that when weighted with other factors, such as the socio-economic background of those taking the test, England is the only country in the survey where results are going backwards. Shockingly this means that one in six adults in the country is functionally illiterate.

In recent decades we have nurtured a society where gaining qualifications is seen as important, but is not linked to an increased level of ability or basic skill attainment.

There remains an enormous stigma, especially amongst illiterate adults, in being able to admit the absence of these key skills and then to seek the help they need.

As an adult education functional skills tutor I was keen to witness the commons debate, in which MPs took part in a Select Committee focusing on literacy and numeracy.

The overwhelming feeling I had as representatives of no less than 12 different agencies made their pitch, was that they were all keen to ply their trade, in competition with one another. On several occasions, in response to committee questions, there would be cries of ‘We want to help, but we still have to sell our materials.’ Too many fingers in the pot.

I have long been well aware of the extent to which government funding is available to supposedly raise standards in these key basic skills, but what has happened, as organisations across the country bid for a share of the multi-million pound cake, is that companies keen to be seen to support workers will sign up their employees for courses but with little thought as to the real value; and certainly no allowance made during working hours to enable them to partake in a meaningful way.

I believe, from my own experience, that one of the key barriers to this is the rigid set piece of the requirement to jump through hoops to qualify for funding, which to all intents and purposes results in a tick box exercise. This is not real learning.

In order to learn anything the learner must be motivated to do it; to understand and appreciate the personal benefits the additional skills will bring. It has been proven that good literacy and numeracy is the best protection against low wages, and contributes towards to emotional health and well-being. The connection between this failure and the increasing demand for increased skills in the workplace is a serious problem. As a country our economic future development is inextricably linked to ensuring our work force has the necessary skill base.

Personally, I think that the advance of technology is largely to blame. I have long refused to use a satnav on my travels, as I believe that map reading is a key skill, and one we will quickly lose. In using computers, where once pen and paper would do, the easy option is to resort to the spell checker, which does not take into account the context in which the word is used, and calculators are now the norm for even the most basic sums.

At a local level we can all help to improve standards, without necessarily resorting to official involvement; one example of this is the Rotary Club of Ilminster’s engagement with local schools to assist in reading. Learning should have a practical purpose, and like life, it should be fun. Why read a ‘set book’ if your interest lies elsewhere?  Reading anything must be better than not reading at all.