Thanks for the invite, Mr Cameron

In a news article David Cameron urged the general public to celebrate the Royal Wedding on the 29th April:

"My message to everyone who wants to have a street party is: I'm having one and I want you to go ahead and have one too.
"The truth is that this is a great chance for communities to come together and celebrate.
"So go on - bring out the bunting and let's make this a day to remember. For everyone."

Really good of him to spend the money of the population in advance like this. Quite a few angry voices on facebook and twitter already commenting on this. I especially liked Essex Boy's tweet:

All invited to No 10 street party great idea

and one reply:

Why not all drive [to] Downing St [and] clog city pi** Cameron off!

This kind of pronouncement from Cameron confirms my prejudice that the Royal Wedding is providing a wonderful smoke screen for all the ills of the country and turning the 'lower orders' thoughts away from the terrible cuts that the Coalition Government are inflicting on them. Surely we are not going to be taken in by this?

Supermarkets - without an eye on profits and simply out of the kindness of their hearts - are selling all sorts of tat to make sure the street parties go with a swing so if you fancy eating your spam sandwiches off a Union Jack plate rush on down to your nearest sales point before they sell out.

In a facebook discussion, it was pointed out that 28th April, the day before the Royal Wedding, is Workers Memorial Day which, to quote the website:

The purpose behind Workers' Memorial Day has always been to "remember the dead: fight for the living" and unions are asked to focus on both areas, by considering events or memorial to remember all those killed through work but at the same time ensuring that such tragedies are not repeated. That can best be done by building trade union organisation, and campaigning for stricter enforcement with higher penalties for breaches of health & safety laws.

Workers Memorial Day is commemorated throughout the world and is officially recognised by the UK Government.

This year the Union movement will also be reflecting on the effect the cuts 'in HSE and local authority resources, and the lack of inspection and enforcement activity will have on working people.'

Please click on the website link and find out if your union will have any events near to you. And if not please light a candle at 5.30pm in memory too.

And yes do lets have another great big street party in London to celebrate US. Actually we had a rather good one on 26th March when 500,000 of us marched to Hyde Park. I took our own sandwiches which Other Half and I sat and ate with a couple of Unite union members from Norfolk with whom we had palled up. We all had a good time and it was all very friendly and happy, lots of our friends were there but the crowds were so big and peaceful that we couldn't find one and another.

Of course you may not have heard about this because the newspapers and media didn't report an awful lot about this, concentrating instead on some yobs who did damage in Regent Street who oddly enough didn't get arrested whilst 145 peaceful protestors from UKuncut in Fortnum and Mason did. To offer support to those peaceful protestors please follow the link.

The photograph? Well it shows celebrations in the early 1930s of some of my family [including the original Elizannie] at the wedding of one of them. It is in the part of Essex now included in a London borough and although no-one had a lot of money, all clubbed together to make the dresses, 'do' the flowers and catering and the street provided part of the arena for the celebrations. Working people have always known how to have fun!

Dedicated to Lyn Costello and all her friends and all who do the excellent work at MAMAA

The World Turned Upside Down [3]

Picture taken from the UKUncut website: http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/ Click on the blog title above to go straight to their website


When I couldn't sleep last night I got to thinking:

I thought about a world where big UK firms are being for chased for the tax they owe and are legally avoiding as reported on Newsnight - yet the press the next day seem more interested in reporting Paxo's slip of the tongue during the item.

I thought about the suggested cuts in the BBC World Service - which has been the 'voice of freedom' to so many including Aung San Suu Kyi during her house arrest in Burma for all those years. Not to mention all those ex-pat Brits and early risers here in the UK.

I thought about the proposed cuts to the NHS by the part of the Coalition whose leader - David Cameron - when in Opposition declared:

We [the Tories] are the party of the NHS

I thought about the way the NHS saved my life twice when an op in a private hospital went wrong due to the discovery of my rare genetic blood disorder and hope the NHS will still be around to help my children out in the same circumstances.

I thought about the news of so many libraries closing. Here in East Anglia places have already been announced and I thought of the hours spent in local libraries, studying for my degree, taking my children to reading clubs rung by the excellent staff, running blookclubs and reading to groups of children myself. Does this government want a literate population. Perhaps just a rich one?

I thought about the announcement of cuts to the coastguard services all around the shores of this Island nation. We already have a charity running our Lifeboat service. And a proposed privatisation of our Search and Rescuse service. If this was a plot for an Ealing Comedy no-one would go to see it or laugh.

I thought about the current threat in cuts to the budgets in policing, fire services, social services, welfare services,all the Benefits and more.....

I thought about the spiteful decision to make cuts and changes to the Disability Living Allowance.

I thought about John McDonnell MP sitting for six hours in the House of Commons yesterday hoping to speak against the Tories' privatisation of NHS but not called to speak. I thought about him putting down Early Day Motion in Parliament calling on the Home Secretary to launch a public inquiry into the police use of CS gas on UKuncut protestors in Oxford Street on Sunday.

I thought about the fear that our ancient woodlands and forests were going to 'privatised' and we would no longer be able to ramble and enjoy their peace.

I thought about all the pensioners who have suffered because the firms/insurance companies with whom they have been relying/saving for their old age have gone into administration or 'lost' their investments. 

I thought about the pensioners and those on benefits waiting at night in the supermarkets, waiting for the out of date food to be reduced.

I thought about the future students who will be too worried about the debts they will incur to apply for university places. I thought about the 'right to education' and realise that right will only be available to those with the financial ability not necessarily those with the educational ability.

I thought about Marx' 19th century slogan

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need[s]

which to this 21st century Coalition government seems to have been rephrased to

From each according to his least financial ability, to each according to his least need

I remembered my hippy days in the '60s when we thought that Peace and Love could win the day and Justice and Equality would naturally prevail. And it still could.

And then I thought about all those young people, middle-aged people, older people who are banding together to fight these cuts. And I especially thought about the young people in UKUncut [click on the blog title to go straight to their web site] like Ellie-Mae and Tony who were so eloquent in the film and in the discussion on Newsnight and I really thought maybe we do have hope.

We all have to work together to protest about all these cuts and unfairness.




Apologies to the following songs and songwriters praised at:
The World Turned Upside Down [1]http://rephidimstreet.blogspot.com/2010/06/world-turned-upside-down-1.html
The World Turned Upside Down [2]http://rephidimstreet.blogspot.com/2010/06/world-turned-upside-down-2.html