Sitting at home with a collapsed vertebrae or two is depressing enough but I've been depressing myself further about the state of the local music scene.
It's not the bands - there are plenty of them - it should be thriving.
The problem is the collapse of many of the best venues and with that the loss of a way of looking at things.
So, last weekend (according to 'London Stone's facebook page) someone turned up on a motor bike having driven all the way from Roumania hoping to spend the night at the legendary 'Hob'.
Sadly, all that's left of The Hobgoblin and it's music is the legend. The London Stone (too ill to visit them so far) has replaced it with a trendy, designer, clean, quiet and probably very nice home for the fashionable new crowd who are filling it out these days.
No more music. Just shiny happy people.
I'm not knocking it, it's just not me.
The Horns in Watford is different too - more safe tribute acts and less cutting edge stuff.
Locally, The Cave at Addlestone is increasingly taking the place of The Hob but it has noise problems and isn't so easy to get to.
Otherwise there are a dwindling collection of Pubs - all concerned to be as safe as possible and a small number of depressing working men's clubs; outdated and not really catering for the working men and women of today.
It's all got a bit dismal.
On the plus side Mick Moriarty is now on his third annual festival at Bisley; every September there is an amazing three days of Punk, Ska and Reggae. I can never plan on being well enough to get there but the acts range from big names to local groups and it's a triumph to create a festival out of nothing, virtually single handed.
Otherwise? Everything is shrinking and getting too safe for words.
If there weren't any bands or no one turned up, I could understand it.
It's time something exciting happened.
Meanwhile in the election campaign, everything has gone very quiet about the NHS too.
This is the issue that matters most to people and the one that really worries them.
After five years of scandals, the party's plans for The NHS are something that everybody should be debating.
I will be! Again, it's time something happened.
Neil Harris
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Thursday, 2 April 2015
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Cameron's cunning plan for the NHS.
Election fever continues….except there is no excitement at
all. Not surprising really; all the parties are trying to be the same.
Two days ago the Tories announced that their NHS policy was
to bring in 7 day a week hospital working by 2020.
With no costings and no indication where the money was coming
from I was very sceptical.
The British Medical Association has costed it at £8 Billion
and that kind of money doesn’t grow on trees.
It’s good to know that Cameron’s erstwhile buddy and
coalition partner for five years Nick Clegg helpfully pointed out yesterday that
this £8 Billion hasn’t been funded in the Conservatives plans for the NHS.
It hasn’t.
Well, they have promised not to increase taxes and they are
going to reduce the level of debt – where’s it coming from?
The only possibility is that it will be funded from within
the NHS budget – a budget that is already sagging with debt.
The answer?
Wholesale privatisation and Private Finance Initiatives.
The way these complex financial instruments work is actually
quite simple. To get rid of debt or to apparently reduce costs works like this;
Recently Hounslow Borough Council replaced all its ageing
streetlamps with brand new, ecological and efficient LED Lamps and it didn’t
cost us a penny.
Except, through the Private Finance Initiative, a private
profit making company installed them in return for an agreement that the Borough
would pay rent every year for a long term (usually 30 years).
During that time we taxpayers pay for the electricity and
replacing lampposts ourselves while the company maintains them in return for
large annual fees. There isn’t much to maintain on LED lights – the problem
comes when the technology becomes outdated or when the contract ends.
The Borough never owns its own lamps any more, has lost its maintenance
department and their expertise and in the meantime has paid over many, many
times the value of the street lamps.
It’s a rip off.
It’s likely that the Tories unspoken plan is to cast off
great swathes of the NHS to private speculators to finance their big plan.
Or rather we will be financing it by paying through the nose
for the next 30 years.
It’s an election – we ought to know where the money’s coming
from.
Shouldn’t we?
Neil Harris
(a don’t stop till you drop production)
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
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