After 17 years blogging is as easy as it is hard

Kinds of stage fright

Give me a microphone and no matter how well planned out my speech is, whether written and prepared over many agonising editions of content, context, meaning, intent, concision whilst pertinent and relevant or unscripted, my voice begins to quaver, I have a kind of stage fright, I am not naturally a public speaker.

This blog and the day was going to be dedicated to another to celebrate 17 years of blogging, it is important to me because apart from my career this is a personal venture I have continued under my own steam, following my own rules and expressing my own views, from the silly to the serious.

We can all blog

Maybe through practice or sheer force of will and it is probably the latter, I will say to anyone that blogging is easy. We then to overthink and get overwrought which then overwhelms us that we lose that flow, the ability to express ourselves, the simplicity it entails becomes a complexity insurmountable, just like when my trembling voice is amplified to me hearing by a microphone. I am a better conversationalist than witnessing me in that setting will suggest.

Yet, I believe everyone has stories to tell and there is no one better to tell your story than yourself, that is why I encourage blogging for it is your perspective, how you are affected, what is your experience and your full control of the narrative – it is amazing how an authentic relation of ideas, events, or experiences can resonate with others in ways the writer might never have anticipated. It is always to the cause of our shared humanity.

As we grow old

Last year, I asked Brian, my boyfriend then and fiancé now to help write a commemorative blog for completing 16 years of blogging, I could not have had a better person to give that platform. We are getting married and I do hope to have more of his contributions to my blogs, he might well become the custodian of this compendium of 3,333 blogs.

He also started blogging in March of this year, he writes quite beautifully, we just have a fright of the audience, him of writing and I of my voice, I think we will find a way to fix it for each other and get better it.

Blog - Brian's Point of View

I hope to celebrate many more years of blogging and write celebratory blogs on the 8^th of the December, I have been blessed and I am thankful for readers, contributors, skimmers, browsers, commenters, and supporters who have visited my blog over the years, your patronage is both kind and encouraging. To another milestone in blogging.

Thought Picnic: Participation begets the victories in life

Battlefield victories

Listening to the radio this morning, there was a discussion on humour and laughter that brought opinions and viewpoints from many perspectives of culture, gender, location and experiences.

In one of the exchanges, a comedienne of mixed heritage was chatting to her mother who had had a severe stroke with the likelihood of imminent death. Even under the strain of the ordeal, she could still communicate though quite laboured.

The comedienne asked her if she was afraid and her mother answered that she was not afraid and was never afraid in her life, then conveyed a lesson in life that resonated with me in the first hearing without the need to rewind the broadcast. “You don’t get to speak of victories if you have not been on the battlefield.”

Missing nothing

In that statement was a story and a life of experience that we have to be careful to learn attentively. What you have neither tried nor participated in cannot give you experience. Yet, I do realise that when people say to me, “You don’t know what you are missing.” Usually, to persuade me to do what I am not inclined to do, my retort is, “I can’t miss what I do not know or don’t want to know anything about.” What I am not persuaded of, I will not be persuaded about.

Then again, in life, there are things that require our participation because circumstances compel us, or the need arises to progress or to just to save or redeem ourselves. It would not work to be defeatist before we have been tried or tested. If we are a defeated, there are lessons for the next trial and if we are victorious, we have the opportunity beyond the lessons learnt to advance to the next challenge.

Temporary setbacks

In a conversation with my cousin that lasted nothing short of 3 hours altogether from learning of the demise of a close relation to the ennoblement of another, other topics composed of reminiscences going back over 4 decades, one other nugget of wisdom that has helped me in my toughest times was recalled. “An opportunity once lost can be regained after a temporary setback.” This was shared with us one evening by a tenant who I learnt had since passed away.

We were taught that in antiquity that an opportunity once lost can never be regained, as if everything and all was lost and we should sink into despair, be lost in the defeat from which we can never recover.

Making heroes

The truth is life is rarely like that, we have guts, we have nerve, we have chutzpah, we have verve, we have hope, we have spirit, we have than never-say-die drive that one defeat or even many failures are just hurdles. We review, reassess, realign, retry, redo, rejig, repeat, we determine that we would rather die trying than never to have tried at all.

In battlefields, many do die in the cause, in fact, many do die for their country and they are considered heroes. Then one general said to his troops, “It is noble to die for your country, but we are in this battle to make the enemy die for their country, in their becoming heroes we gain the victory even if we are not celebrated as heroes after winning.” Somewhere in this is another perspective to life’s challenges, the need to challenge traditions for different and better outcomes.

Coronavirus streets in Manchester - XXIII

Things looking normal

After we came off the national lockdown into Tier 3 last week, I did not go out for my early morning walk on Wednesday but did for Thursday and Friday, long before the city had woken up. Yesterday, however, I left it until the late afternoon where my walk was part of my visit to ethnic shop for foodstuff and condiments.

Through Arndale Centre shopping precinct, it was a beehive of frenetic activity, people were out, buskers making music and the big shops had queues at the entrances. Something fearfully suggesting a kind of normalcy had returned when everyone should be more aware that things are not as normal as they should be.

Changes getting noticed

As my trek reached Bury New Road, the melting pot of humanity from all corners of the world with the Indian subcontinent more represented than most, it was bustling and lively. I walked on the quieter side of the road to the right knowing that my return route would be a different course.

In Tier 3, we still have many restrictions, though the gyms are open, the hotels are still closed and I the only restaurants open were serving take-out food only. I even availed myself of a Deliveroo service on Friday, for the first time this year.

I cannot say if the prospect of a vaccine is already beginning to change attitudes to social-distancing, close contact, closed spaces, or crowds, but I do see a lot more people donning masks. A building complex that had its cordons and hoardings taken down a few weeks ago was being outfitted for an office and I could not help but notice the early starters on Friday too, there were 3 staff at their computers and it was not even 7:15 AM.

A timely renewal

My walk today in much broader daylight though colder than usual took me by one of the pedestrian bridges over the River Irwell from Peel Park that had been closed for repairs and refurbishment from the first week of October, it was under a completely enclosed white canopy which had now been removed to reveal a newly painted bridge in navy blue from avocado green. The scaffolding still needs to be taken down and it initially was to be open yesterday until another week was added to the schedule.

I am hopeful that we would begin to put the worst of this pandemic behind us, not so much for the efforts of our government but for the community we live in understanding what is at stake. Having breached the 60,000 deaths to COVID-19 mark this weekend, I will not be giving this government a pass, by the ballot box and by posterity, they will not escape being held to account. I believe we have the resourcefulness and ingenuity to come through this situation, that is the strength of our humanity.

Verbal comma

Two words

I wondered what it might be, I am a bit confused, the meanings of words or is it the misplacement of words for which I can receive no further helpt than to exhibit a furrowed brow and let thoughts race through my mind searching for the significance in the context of what might or might not be intended.

This is the confusion of words that one experiences in conversations about random things formed out of the mundane to the serious, intercourse of hearts, souls, and sometimes bodies. The flows and pauses give tense and tension to the moment. Yes, I am left asking myself, what really is a verbal comma, I am not sure I know what I heard to understand what was said. So there. The comer is paused with a comma lest they lapse into a coma.

Repeated patterns of wonder

The rhythm of nature

We live by rhythms; some we are entirely in tune with and others we are completely oblivious of. Finding one’s rhythm in life and endeavour allows us to operate at our best in any undertaking. It rocks you and puts you into the flow opening you to amazing experiences.

Each person has rhythms unique to themselves that could then be rhythmically synchronised with that of another, the way like minds work together to bring ideas into reality or hearts are in tune in the expression of love.

I listen out for rhythms to bring calmness and peace from the nature that surrounds me. The chirping of birds or the beauty of birdsong, the roar of a river over cataracts or the bristling as it runs over or around obstacles. People out speaking to each other or laughing as they catch the bliss of their communities.

We sway in the comfort of the breeze that blows into our faces as a smile envelopes those cheeks when a memory slips into our consciousness. We must live by the rhythm for out of it a story gets told.

The UK: Vaccines are no substitute for government competence

With some healthy scepticism

I have already alluded to my concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, fundamentally, I belong in the cohort of people who will be considered for early inoculation. Just a few weeks ago I had both my influenza and pneumonia jabs. For travel purposes, I need to have certain vaccines, but I cannot take live vaccines like the Yellow Fever vaccine.

When the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) decided to authorise the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 yesterday, I thought we were too ahead of the game where the US and Europe had not even progressed that far. Our ministers got quite excited about the prospect of a vaccine and even suggested Brexit allowed our alacrity. Well, that is not really true. [BBC News: UK vaccine approval: Did Brexit speed up the process?] [NewScientist: Everything you need to know about the Pfizer/BioNTech covid-19 vaccine]

There’s always a stupid minister

Then, we could rely on our Secretary for the Department of Education, Gavin Williamson to say something crass and stupid. “I just reckon we’ve got the very best people in this country and we’ve obviously got the best medical regulators – much better than the French, much better than the Belgians have, much better than the Americans have. That doesn’t surprise me at all because we’re a much better country than every single one of them.” [The Independent: ‘We’re a much better country’: Brexit not the reason UK approved vaccine first, Williamson suggests]

Now, we have every reason to be proud of our country, but hubris, superciliousness and exceptionalism are very unhelpful traits that becloud the ability to be reasonable and smart, especially in these uncertain times. More than ever, we need global cooperation to tackle this pandemic, and eradicating it requires its eradication everywhere. We cannot afford to have clusters of infection lurking in a corner of the world ready to be unleashed on us again.

They seek a talisman

Having a vaccine will help, the vaccines are as a result of human ingenuity in the face of global adversity, the deployment and notably if widely efficacious will allow us all to return to a kind of normal that was all but lost for most of the year 2020. However, there are reasons other countries or regional blocs have not been that forward with authorising vaccines and I do not think it is just red tape.

Then, my view is the UK government sees the vaccine as a talisman, a kind of gamechanger, the possible exculpatory activity that might just absolve them from the rank incompetence and ineptitude that we have witnessed to date in their handling of this pandemic, the PPE logistics was a sham, the releasing of infected people into care homes at the onset of the pandemic cause avoidable carnage, the testing regime was a numbers game without the track-and-trace element to ensure the virus was kept in check and we have the most number of deaths in Europe at 59,699 and are ranked at the 5^th globally. [COVID19Info.live]

Not in their abilities

Any government with that abysmal track record would love to put all that in the rear-view window with the talisman and panacea of a vaccine. Unfortunately, the government has not demonstrated they will pull this off.

I am not the only one with this view, Tobias Ellwood, a prominent Conservative Party MP, had this to say, “No.10 is overwhelmed… These are friends of mine, but they are not trained in crisis management and strategic planning or indeed in emergency response.”

Pretty damning assessment of Johnson's Government from Tory MP @Tobias_Ellwood:

"No.10 is overwhelmed... These are friends of mine, but they are not trained in crisis management and strategic planning or indeed in emergency response". pic.twitter.com/90w3sfwvGL

— Adam Schwarz (@AdamJSchwarz) December 1, 2020

In other words, there will never be a substitute for competence, many vaccines, a magic wand, a wishing well, or the jingoistic bombastic bluster of our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson with his war cries of vacuous optimism will not make up for the catastrophe the Coronavirus pandemic became of the United Kingdom, especially England. I will eventually have the vaccine, but now is not the time.

Home and away with József Szájer

25 men in the buff

The amiable and extroverted József Szájer from Hungary would easily have been unknown to me or many other people until he broke the lockdown rules in Brussels and that would have meant nothing, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and should have gotten a get out of jail free card with his diplomatic passport.

However, with a slightly closer look at this matter reveals that Jozsef has been a very naughty boy, he apparent clambered down a gutter from the window of a first floor apartment, which apparently was above a gay bar, but let us not jump to unfounded conclusions, but it was where a party of 25 naked men had gathered for everything left to our imagination.

A big boy about

When the police apprehended Jozsef, he had on himself, a rucksack full of narcotics that he avers he did not use, and I believe him, quite absolutely. If there was anything to spice up this story, he has been married to Tünde Handó, a jurist since 1983 and they have a 33-year old daughter, Fanni Szájer, whose paternal grandmother is Edit Kiss. All names that might travel well in Hungary but will run the gauntlet of humour you cannot squelch from an English perspective.

One can assume that 25 nude men in an apartment are just admiring who is the bigger boy along with discussing the physics, chemistry, or even the biology of piston mechanics. That anyone would implicate these fine men in activities of a lewd or sexual nature would be beyond the pale.

Saint at home, a sinner abroad

Yet, one must not overlook that Jozsef of a right-wing persuasion helped make the life of people who are not heterosexual unbearable, intolerable, impossible, threatened, and precarious in Hungary whilst living free to explore all sorts of proclivities in Belgium. It is not like he had committed a grievous sin until it appeared that he might have been living a double life, one at home in Hungary and another away in Belgium, and by all respects, this looks a bit hypocritical if not downright atrocious, for which, very little sympathy will be present and forgiveness is far from view.

As so, Jozsef quite suddenly and almost quietly, immediately resigned his posting to Brussels and sought to put it all behind him, but not that easily, on the part of his family, he does need to mend relationships, but for the others that have suffered for his politics and policies, he will walk the path of notoriety, ignominy and infamy, and much more besides. Shame on him. Maybe the title of the blog should have read crudely, Homo and a gay with József Szájer.

[The Guardian: Right-wing Hungarian MEP resigns for attending 'sex party' that broke Belgian lockdown]

[EuroNews: Brussels 'sex party': Hungarian MEP József Szájer fled along a gutter with drugs in backpack]