Coming Back One Day Soon...

Thanks to all those who have e-mailed or commented on my recent bout of throwing my rattle out of my pram.

I have become very despondent about the whole issue of parity for England, and the rapidly progressing and highly undemocratic EU project which makes everything so much more difficult, but I am beginning to get my act together and think that I will start writing on here again in the not too distant future.

In the words of Wyrdtimes, "Every little helps..."

I'm not going to be writing anything just yet, but today I'm off to catch up on Tommy English, Toque, The Blog Of Kev, The England Project and Wonko's World - to name but a few.

Thanks again.

Goodbye - At Least For Now

Thanks to those who have e-mailed and/or commented. I'm taking a week or two off before making a decision about the future of this blog.

The Celts Were White, Thatcher Was Yonks Ago, There's No Excuse...

After my last post, I've been putting my views in order, trying to sort out what it is that's pissing me off...

Here we go...

1) Suggestions around the blogosphere that the Scots had a bloody awful time under Thatcher, so somehow health apartheid, the West Lothian Question, etc are justified. Well, I think Thatcher was a cow - but the fact is it doesn't matter - the 1980s were such bloody yonks ago it doesn't matter if she was twenty cows - and there was such an uproar then I don't know quite what went on or how the Scots were affected. I do know that the 1970s were no bowl of cherries at the time, and that harping on about how the "70s were great" and the "80s were evil" really pisses me off.

And, whatever happened, it's no justification for now. We never had health apartheid then.

2) The "Celtic" thing: many English bloggers are keen on calling the Scots, Welsh and sometimes the "Cornish" "Celts". That's crap. There's doubt that the Celts ever actually got here en masse, but, even if they did, to suggest that certain UK nations are white and ethnically pure is bloody racist. I also abhor the way some Scots, Welsh and "Cornish" bloggers use the "Celtic" crap to try and gang up against the English and to proclaim themselves longer standing inhabitants of this island and to suggest they have more "right" here. It's racism, pure and simple. The "Celt" thing needs challenging.

It's no better than the BNP.

3) It pisses me off that the so-called "Union" is considered so important by the likes of the CEP. People at the bottom of the economic heap in England are having a particularly bad time, we're the ones must affected by the UK Government's anti-English stance. Stuff the "Union"!!

4) Boiling under... CCTV cameras, the DNA Database, Community Police Officers, apathetic smug twats all around me, the BBC, Radio One - more vapid than it was in the Simon Bates era, Radio Two - more vapid than in the Jimmy Young era, people watching TV soaps with sick story lines to get their jollies, people watching Big Brother to get their jollies...

I've just had a gutful. I don't think this blog is going any where, I don't think the campaign to gain parity for England is going anywhere, and I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!!

Closedown...

I'm thinking of ending this blog.

I'm sick to bloody death of the namby pamby attitude of the likes of the CEP.

I'm sick to bloody death of the way certain English bloggers pander to Scots and Welsh racists by backing the myths that they are "Celts" and that their nations are "Celtic". So, you mean WHITE do you? - because that's what Celts are/were.

England has still got its head stuck up its own arse.

We're going nowhere.

Fast.

Alan Duncan - Ignoring England, Backing Regionalisation...

EVERY economy has its regional differences. From the prosperity of the wool industry in the 18th century West Country, to the smooth production lines of the Midlands in the 20th, certain English regions have often been immediately identifiable with certain trades.

So says Alan Duncan, Shadow Trade Secretary.

So, England has always had regions, has it Mr Duncan?

He continues:

But dig a little deeper and the picture becomes much more complex. Yorkshire's industrial past has been extraordinarily varied: textiles from West Riding, steel from Sheffield, coal from Doncaster.

But isn't Yorkshire a COUNTY?

He then goes on a lot about the "UK":

But we still need to do more to target areas of the UK that are failing to keep pace with the rest of the country.

The UK - a country? Surely it's a Union of countries? And aren't the RDA's he discusses only in England?

When last I looked, the Tories were opposed to the regional project. So what's going on now? And is Alan Duncan very educated on his subject matter?

No Democracy In England - Nuclear Power Stations, A New Generation...

Nicked from Waking Hereward - with thanks!

Here's how it works. Our non-elected, no mandate PM, who represents a constituency in Scotland which won't be having any new nuclear power stations, but will use power from those in England, has told us we MUST have a whole fleet of new nuclear power stations in England.

If you want them, fine - if not, TOUGH, because the Scottish Raj denies you a voice. Even planning procedures have been "streamlined" so that protests can be ignored.

That's how things stand under the Scottish Raj today in England.

Waking Hereward has more.

Ginsters Of Cornwall - Another Anti-English Company Banned From The Weekly Shop!

Our shopping habits have changed. Over the last few years we have drifted further and further from the major supermarkets - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, the Co-op and Marks And Spencer's, each with a Scots and Welsh racist appeasing anti-English flag display policy - and to our local market. Lovely, fresh, affordable, clearly marked English produce abounds there.

Today we're totally banning another anti-English company - Ginsters of Cornwall, who make pasties, sandwiches, etc, from our fridge and cupboards. Personally, I have to watch my middle-aged tum so don't indulge, but my wife was always slightly partial to Ginsters. Not any more. Ginsters - with your Cornish flag display on each of your products - you are BANNED.

Why is this? Well, regular readers of this blog will know that we favour a referendum for Cornwall on the subject of whether it's part of England or not. Until then, companies like Ginsters could at least refrain from featuring national flags (unless it is British) on their products, or pleasing all by featuring both English and Cornish flags. We have friends in Cornwall who regard themselves as English and Cornwall as part of England. And until a referendum decides otherwise, it is.

Regular readers will also know that we are fiercely opposed to the racist and fake notion that the people of Cornwall are "pure Celts" - which lays behind quite a lot of this flg waving. It's insular racism, pure and simple.

So goodbye, Ginsters - be "Cornish" if you want to be, but as we are English, don't expect us to have any loyalty to your products.

The NHS - Infected By An Anti-English Disease Curtesy Of The Scottish Raj

From the BBC:

Doctors have urged England to follow Scotland's example in avoiding the use of the private sector and competition in the NHS.

British Medical Association chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum said the health service in England was being run like a "shoddy supermarket war".

Doctors at the BMA's annual conference voted for the NHS in England to only use private firms as a last resort.

Officials said the private sector was only used when it could improve care.

Ministers have tried to create an NHS market by using the private sector and encouraging hospitals to compete for patients. About one in 10 elective operations are now done by private providers.

Meanwhile, successive administrations in Scotland have preferred to use private health firms only as a last resort when the NHS cannot provide the treatment.

England's approach has led to quicker progress on waiting times with hospitals closing in on an 18-week waiting target by the end of the year compared to the deadline of 2011 in Scotland.

But Dr Meldrum, who was born and trained as a doctor in Edinburgh, suggested the market reforms were an "English disease" which had not improved quality or efficiency, and fragmented services.

An "English disease"? Surely that's a little rich, considering that Gordon Brown, PM, represents a Scots constituency, that Foundation Hospitals were foisted on England by MPs representing Scots constituencies and that the Barnett Formula ensures more funding for the Scottish NHS than the English NHS? Dr Meldrum, surely an educated man, seems to be carefully avoiding stating certain very pertinent facts.

Sadly, Dr Meldrum seems unable to avoid the instinctive Scottish habit of taking a swipe at the English, when the reality is that the current state of affairs is largely being created by biased and uncaring Scots politicians, wreaking havoc in England.

In an article featured on the CEP News Blog, Dr Meldrum displays disturbing elements of racism: “Devolution has always been portrayed as the three Celtic nations breaking away from England. In the case of the NHS, it’s been the other way round. England has broken away from the rest of the UK.”

"Three Celtic nations"? Northern Ireland is a province, not a nation, and surely being full citizens of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland does not depend on being white and bigotedly deluded about your origins?

Is this man really fit to be head of the BMA?

Wonko Gets A Load Of Old Claptrap From Anti-English Welsh Auntie BBC Regarding Dr Who...

"Stiff upper lip, chaps! Remember you're ... er... English!"

I wrote to Auntie Beeb regarding the bile-filled slur on the English in a recent episode of Dr Who and heard nothing back. Perhaps it was because I pointed them to my original blog article on the subject and informed them that any replies from them would be published.

But Wonko has been... er... luckier. Auntie Beeb has favoured him with a load of claptrap which does not address the issue at all: how, in a programme which religiously refers to "Britain" and "British" are the English suddenly singled out when it comes to pointing the finger of negativity?

The letter as it appears at Wonko's World:

I was sorry to hear that you were not happy with Episode 11 of ‘Doctor Who’, which was broadcast on 21 June 2008.

I can assure you there was no agenda in either the development or execution of this episode to besmirch the English or promote any kind of anti-English agenda. We wanted to look at the kind of world that might have been created, within the universe of Doctor Who, should the Doctor and Donna have never met. Within that story, England endures catastrophic events, ranging from closed borders, housing, and food and fuel shortages to nuclear holocaust. Within this landscape, the global economy has collapsed, America cannot send aid and the Earth is facing extinction. Within those extreme circumstances, it is very possible to suggest that a nation would begin to turn inward looking and seek to isolate those it considers to be foreign. In the episode, France has likewise closed its own borders. We may not like the behaviour of the nations in this moment - certainly not - but it is a truthful proposition within the story we’re telling.

The reason I believe the series is loved by so many families, is that the stories encourage children to examine the world around them. It allows them, within a safe, fictional world, where they can hold the Doctor or Donna’s hand, to feel loneliness, fear and sadness. Mr Colosanto’s removal to a labour camp does have echoes of events in the Second World War, but within the parameters we set for 7pm Saturday night and within the story we’re telling, that is surely no bad thing.

‘Doctor Who’ is written, directed and edited for a family audience to enjoy. The production complies with stringent editorial policy processes within the BBC. Decisions are made carefully, across every episode, about how far to show human suffering or danger. These decisions are made at script stage, on the production floor and in the edit. Nothing said or shown in the Episode failed to comply with our editorial standard policies or troubled our judgement, as producers, within the rigorous parameters we set in making the series.

Thank you for taking the time to contact the BBC with your concerns.

Yours sincerely

Julie Gardner

Executive Producer, Doctor Who

As Wonko points out, it's one of those cut and paste jobbies, sent out en masse and it does not answer the original question: why was "English" suddenly subsituted for "British" in a programme normally awash with "Britishness" when it came to a nasty bit of finger pointing? And remember the original book title was "BRITAIN FOR THE BRITISH". This was consciously altered by the Beeb.

Also, how come England is suddenly a nation? The BBC usually refers to the "nations and regions of the UK", echoing Gordon Brown's mantra, with the "nations" being Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the regions being the country formally known as England. There are also occasional references to the UK or "Britain" as a nation, but NEVER England alone.

Wonko says he's getting on the blower to Auntie tomorrow. Go for it!

Auntie trying to taint innocent young minds with her anti-English venom is simply not on.

Meanwhile, it strikes me that there was a bit of an OTT interest in who will be the new Doctor on the political blogosphere last night. Grow up, boys. Keep it for the playground, eh?

Why Won't David Cameron Speak Up For England?

There are votes waiting to fall in his lap, huge wrongs to be righted - we have never lived in a so-called United Kingdom where health apartheid runs rampant for instance - but all David Cameron does is tell us how important the "Union" is. And Ken Clarke's Democracy Task Force proposals solve absolutely nothing.

So why won't David Cameron speak up for England?

And politicians are elected (or not, in some cases) to safeguard our freedoms and basically be caretakers of our parliamentary system. So why does David Cameron make half-hearted bleats about the huge freebie give away of our government to the EU and then accuse detractors of "banging on about Europe"?

The 1970s - Let's Make Them Seem Important...

Interesting post on Looking For A Voice:

What was the seventies like ? a question posed by my sixteen year old. Well a time of political and industrial turmoil, but at least the political classes were turning their fire on each other Left against Right, Trades Unions against big business, and we were relatively free. Once the Trades Unions were defeated by Thatcher, by the late eighties/early nineties the State started directing its fire against the people, until as my son said 'The Man is on everybodies back'.

Other benefits of the Seventies...

Hmm. "Political and industrial turmoil" - surely that was far more prevalent in the 1980s? As for "benefits" of the 1970s... well, Bowie began his chart career in 1969 and was clearly going places then, so I don't see any. There were left-over 1960s fashions. Rampant inflation. Power cuts. A sense of grey trudging. Punk reflecting the anger and hopelessness of the era. Retro 1950s fashions... retro 1930s fashions, like platform shoes... 50s and 60s music revivals - and a ragbag of 60s hippie leftovers infesting our record player turntables.

The Unions and the bosses had gone too far - the Unions no longer seemed to be about the dignity of the workers. It was battle for battle's sake in the 1970s. I remember cases of workers striking because they couldn't keep cats on the premises as staff pets! I felt that the workers really wanted to be like the bosses. I hated that.

And it was very much State against the people. According to my reckoning the referendum on the EU (or "Common Market" as it was called then) was not handled honestly. In fact, the whole of our entry into the EEC, with Ted Heath reassuring the electorate that entry would mean no loss of sovereignty (he admitted in more recent years that he knew it would) would have done credit to today's politicians. Our entry into the Common Market was something that was a genuine 1970s innovation. But I won't celebrate it.

The election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 was, of course, in retrospect, highly important. But if Ronald Reagan hadn't been elected American President in 1980, I don't think she would have survived beyond the "Falklands Factor" of 1982/1983.

I don't think Looking For A Voice and I lived through the same 1970s.

As for sixteen year old posing questions like "what were the 70s like?" that worries me. A lot of it seems to come from pure hyping of the decade - like the BBC's "I Love..." series, which poured 60s and 80s pop culture into the 70s, and basically did an awful lot of bullshitting. There are far more interesting decades to enquire about, surely?

Mind you, I collect newspapers from the 1970s. They put me off rewriting it as too important - or indeed that memorable. Now, if you're talking about the 1960s or the 1980s - that's different. The 70s were simply a sore foot shambles between the two.