Dreaming of Freedom

I only have two weeks left of my poetry class and I’m feeling very sad about it. John Stammers is an interesting teacher and a good poet so it’s been an honour to attend his class. So good in fact that I might have to go back to City Lit for more of their quality education!

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If you happen to be in London on Friday or indeed selected Fridays over the next few of months it might be worth going to Somerset House for one of their free poetry readings. Dates and poets are listed. Somerset House is great place to go between 10 and 2 on a Monday because The Courtauld Gallery is free to visit.

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As popular demand dictates so I must blog!!
I seem to have been very busy over the last couple of weeks. I have indulged in a stream of visitors namely Mum, Will and Rich and in an abundance of museum visits. I have been patronising the British Museum, The National Gallery, The V&A and the Tate Britain all of whom give free tours and talks such as delight a person like me ever in search of quality free stuff.

Apart from my forays into the centre I’ve been getting ready to move out of our flat and so have been busy recycling the mountains of papers that result from a life of teaching! Spring has sprung for sure and there are blossoms all over the streets so I’ve been cycling around breathing in the warm spring air. The lighter mornings are particularly nice! I’m off to my contemporary poetry class tomorrow so I’m just about to start reading some more delightful poetry. My latest favourite is called The Emperor of Ice-Cream by Wallace Stevens and if you can bear poetry it’s worth a read.

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I’ve just had the pleasure of reading George Monbiot’s thoughts on careers. It’s quite a good article and particularly nice to read if you haven’t taken a traditional career choice route and you’re feeling like a bit of failure. It’s interesting that he says that people encourage you not to specialise in journalism because I’ve always found that it’s my lack of specialization that holds me back. I always thought that everyone else knew all about specialising and they were busy doing it while I was drinking tea, chatting and make modern art with handy disposable things in student kitchens. My favourite part of the article has to be the end when he says:
“you have only one life. You know it is a precious, extraordinary, unrepeatable thing: the product of billions of years of serendipity and evolution.”
‘Serendipity and evolution’ - doesn’t it sound magical!! The words remind me of the Brights movement.

I passed a wonderful hour in the National Gallery earlier today. I have discovered that they run free tours every day and today was my first experience. There seem to be many free things to do at the National so I have resolved to take advantage of them and do as many as possible.

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I’m saddened to see that Terry Eagleton faces the sack possibly because of his public argument with Martin Amis. Amis it appears made a rather nasty comment post 11th September:
“There’s a definite urge - don’t you have it? - to say, ‘The Muslim community will have to suffer until it gets its house in order.’ What sort of suffering? Not letting them travel. Deportation - further down the road. Curtailing of freedoms. Strip-searching people who look like they’re from the Middle East or from Pakistan.”

It was really quite stupid particularly considering the proportion of terrorists to non-terrorists is extremely large and the reality of racially or religiously motivated attacks on ordinary people increasing. When university professors justify state repression it gives it legitimacy. It also bolsters mob mentality, which is very dangerous in the current climate. Since 1999 the number of racist incidents has risen in Britain. In 1998/9 the figure stood at just over 22 000 by 1999/2000 it was over 47 000 and by 2005/6 the figure was over 60 000. The number of racially or religiously aggravated attacks rose by 12% from 2004/5 to 2005/6 according to Ministry of Justice figures.

Amis comment was irresponsible in the extreme. A society that tolerates prejudice has rejected cooperation. In the face of rising racism Eagleton’s rebuttal was necessary but possibly motivated by his own belief in Christianity. Prejudice and violence should not be tolerated but a fair and reasoned criticism of religious beliefs should be heralded as progressive - Eagleton fails to do this. His criticisms of Dawkins have not found their way into my favour. His claim that Dawkins has no right to comment on theology rankles - such elitism is reminiscent of times past and has no place in my world world. If you haven’t read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins go and get yourself a copy.

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I tootled off to watch The Verb being recorded on Friday night. It was all quite exciting and something I would suggest you do if you’re around London. The tickets are free which is nice. I then spent a very pleasant Saturday in Chiswick. I popped into Maison Blanc for a delicious breakfast/lunch moment. It’s a nice French ‘boulangerie-pâtisserie-chocolaterie’ and lovely to spend an hour or two in. I’ve been reading Terry Eagleton - How to Read a Poem. It’s quite good and has produced more than a few chuckles from me which is always nice if you’re reading an informative book. I’m listening to the latest album from Cats on Fire. The Province Complains is the best thing they’ve done yet in my opinion.

As it’s Shrove Tuesday I’m indulging in a pancake moment. K very bravely flipped a pancake or two after he’d seen me survive unscathed from the experience.

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The Cooperative Bank rock. Apparently in 2005/2006 they turned away £10 million of profit because it compromised their ethical code. It’s hard to imagine a bank with any kind of principles but it’s refreshing to feel that the Coop is trying. Without change in the banking world there is too some extent little hope for serious change globally. Banks invest in the arms trade and other noxious things that need to be stopped.
The fundamental principle a bank works on is trust. We trust them to look after out money (if we have any) but we also trust them not to do evil with that money. This second trust is not something we think about much. I doubt when people put their money into Barclays Bank that they think about their involvement in apartheid in South Africa nor their involvement in the Mugabe regime. Every high street bank invests in things you may not like - maybe animal testing, nuclear power, GM food, companies that show no concern for the environment or their employees and the list goes on. If anyone is dreaming of a better world they need to think about changing their bank account. At the moment I think the Cooperative Bank is the only ‘ethical’ high street bank but there are other alternatives online.

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