A view from Down-Under

OK, in common with several other Charioteers, I no longer have a vote in the UK – my citizenship counts for naught, except taxes.

And agreed, I am a long way away from the action – but I have read extensively on the subject and Boadicea remains close to the debate, as one would expect from a Doctor of Economic History from the LSE.

I have been impressed by the standard of debate on the Chariot, which has been streets ahead of the scare tactics and downright lies promulgated by many senior UK functionaries who really should know better.

But –

There is a limit to the applicability and validity of too much analysis – one can easily lose sight of the big picture by searching too assiduously for the devils in the detail.

So here is the summary of my conclusions –

Everyone should vote to leave the EU, because a vote to remain betrays the individual as either corrupt (cherchez l’argent) or terminally stupid.

I’ll get my hat.

Stay or Go – Immigration

Uncontrolled immigration is  a bad thing.

You English Southrons are, comparatively,  living cheek by jowl  with a population density of 413 per square kilometre. Yet again, we Celts are holding you back from being right up there, c by j-wise. To be fair, you could never hope to compete with top of the table Monaco and  their 25,718.12 psm. Continue reading “Stay or Go – Immigration”

Good in parts

Our beloved country is a curate’s egg. (Consult google if in doubt.)

We have a parliamentary democracy (good?) that regularly disappoints (bad?). Be honest, when did we have a competent PM unsullied by dishonest proclamations?

More importantly, we have sports teams that make inconsistent look unbeatable! Today Wales are the best, England are their usual inscrutable (and Scotland?). Come on, N Ireland!

Milk and sugar, Vicar?

 

We are all Radiohead

Good evening, all you old rock ‘n rollers, it’s the resident music editor here with all the gen on the latest in the world of rock. The experimental rock band, Radiohead, have released their ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, to much admiration from the critics. Radiohead’s jagged alternative music with its subliminal lyrics, nasal singing and robotic humming reference points has always left my ears unamused. I’m going to play the irony card: they’re too cheery for me. Yet, the hypnotic quality of the sounds draws me back to them time and time again. There must be something in the grooves.

Now onto serious matters. The name of Radiohead can be added to the list of victims in this age of terror. Those of you that follow the news will have heard of the Radiohead fans that were attacked by Islamists in a record store in Istanbul while they were listening to a stream of the new album. These fundamentalists didn’t like that the fans were drinking alcohol and listening to music during the holy month of Ramadan. There you go, you’re not even safe in the secular state of Turkey.

A much less serious problem concerns the video for their new single, Burn the Witch. The inspiration for this animated film was an old TV programme for children. The creators of the original work are unhappy that their copyright was used without permission. They weren’t chuffed either with the dark tones of the story. It could end in court. The video also pays homage to an old horror classic. I’ll let you watch to find out what it is.

Play it loud and prepare to be hypnotised.

 

 

Moratorium

With the whole world now revolving around the times of 3pm CET, 6pm CET and 9pm CET important duties have to be sandwiched between the Euro 2016 games or discarded altogether. Discarsions, for me, have included no trampolining practice or parkouring. Other pieces of business have to be rushed. Blogging has been put on the Croatian flares backburner.

Then a window of opportunity presented itself. Right now.

Pass the open window
For it bodes ill
The sash could break
Your neck on its sill