Saturday, July 09, 2005
"Getting on with it"
July 7th, 2005 was my thirtieth birthday. Far from ruining it, the terrorist pigs gave me a reason to be proud. I am honoured to call myself English, and have nothing but admiration for the way the people of London conducted themselves in the face of tragedy... but then, Londoners have always had a remarkable capacity to "carry on" in the midst of adversity, haven't they?
One day after luncheon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kingsley Wood, came to see me on business at No. 10, and we heard a very heavy explosion take place across the river in South London. I took him to see what had happened. The bomb had fallen in Peckham. It was a very big one -probably a land-mine. It had completely destroyed or gutted twenty or thirty small three-storey houses and cleared a considerable open space in this very poor district. Already little pathetic Union Jacks had been stuck up amid the ruins. When my car was recognised the people came running from all quarters, and a crowd of more than a thousand was soon gathered. All these folk were in a high state of enthusiasm. They crowded round us, cheering and manifesting every sign of lively affection, wanting to touch and stroke my clothes. One would have thought I had brought them some fine substantial benefit which would improve their lot in life. I was completely undermined, and wept. Ismay, who was with me, records that he heard an old woman say: "You see, he really cares. He's crying." They were tears not of sorrow but of wonder and admiration. "But see, look here," they said, and drew me to the centre of the ruins. There was an enormous crater, perhaps forty yards across and twenty feet deep. Cocked up at an angle on the very edge was an Anderson shelter, and we were greeted at its twisted doorway by a youngish man, his wife, and three children, quite unharmed but obviously shell-jarred. They had been there at the moment of the explosion. They could give no account of their experiences. But there they were, and proud of it. Their neighbours regarded them as enviable curiosities. When we got back into the car a harsher mood swept over the haggard crowd. "Give it 'em back," they cried, and "Let them have it too." I undertook forthwith to see that their wishes were carried out; and this promise was certainly kept. The debt was repaid tenfold, twentyfold, in the frightful routine bombardment of German cities, which grew in intensity as our air-power developed, as the bombs became far heavier and the explosives more powerful. Certainly the enemy got it all back in good measure, pressed down and running over. Alas for poor humanity!
Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Volume II: Their Finest Hour
July 7th, 2005 was my thirtieth birthday. Far from ruining it, the terrorist pigs gave me a reason to be proud. I am honoured to call myself English, and have nothing but admiration for the way the people of London conducted themselves in the face of tragedy... but then, Londoners have always had a remarkable capacity to "carry on" in the midst of adversity, haven't they?
One day after luncheon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kingsley Wood, came to see me on business at No. 10, and we heard a very heavy explosion take place across the river in South London. I took him to see what had happened. The bomb had fallen in Peckham. It was a very big one -probably a land-mine. It had completely destroyed or gutted twenty or thirty small three-storey houses and cleared a considerable open space in this very poor district. Already little pathetic Union Jacks had been stuck up amid the ruins. When my car was recognised the people came running from all quarters, and a crowd of more than a thousand was soon gathered. All these folk were in a high state of enthusiasm. They crowded round us, cheering and manifesting every sign of lively affection, wanting to touch and stroke my clothes. One would have thought I had brought them some fine substantial benefit which would improve their lot in life. I was completely undermined, and wept. Ismay, who was with me, records that he heard an old woman say: "You see, he really cares. He's crying." They were tears not of sorrow but of wonder and admiration. "But see, look here," they said, and drew me to the centre of the ruins. There was an enormous crater, perhaps forty yards across and twenty feet deep. Cocked up at an angle on the very edge was an Anderson shelter, and we were greeted at its twisted doorway by a youngish man, his wife, and three children, quite unharmed but obviously shell-jarred. They had been there at the moment of the explosion. They could give no account of their experiences. But there they were, and proud of it. Their neighbours regarded them as enviable curiosities. When we got back into the car a harsher mood swept over the haggard crowd. "Give it 'em back," they cried, and "Let them have it too." I undertook forthwith to see that their wishes were carried out; and this promise was certainly kept. The debt was repaid tenfold, twentyfold, in the frightful routine bombardment of German cities, which grew in intensity as our air-power developed, as the bombs became far heavier and the explosives more powerful. Certainly the enemy got it all back in good measure, pressed down and running over. Alas for poor humanity!
Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Volume II: Their Finest Hour
Sunday, July 03, 2005
I watched the Live 8 Concert yesterday... yes the whole thing. I just spent two weeks in Spain and the splendour of the Canadian Summer is lost on me at this point.
Altogether, a mixed bag. Some bands were as good live as I expected them to be, some surpassed my expectations, and some should never be permitted to play live again, because their offensively poor performance may risk turning public opinion against the cause they are trying to help.
I'm fairly certain that some of the acts were not entirely sure of what the point of Live 8 was. You could tell by the way they spouted vague inane cliches between songs: Come on, people, we gotta do the right thing! We need justice! We need to make those leaders understand! We have the power!. I think one moron from A Simple Plan spouted something about "Your Vote"?
Did anyone else also notice that each of the concerts, while offering a variety of acts, seemed to be centred on a particular type of music?
For instance:
Toronto (yeah, actually Barrie, but who outside of Canada has heard of Barrie) featured:
ClassicRock/fogey music - BTO and Deep Purple, who were both great; Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot who were, um, themselves.
Can Con - Simple Plan (derivative wannabes playing generic pseudo-punk); Les Trois Accords (some Quebec band that nobody has ever heard of); Two dreadlocked Quebecoises who I found obnoxious; Brian Adams; The Hip; Barenaked Ladies; Celine Dion, who is better off in Vegas: She was boed in Barrie, but the Vegas crowd loved her.
80s Hard Rock - Could anyone else understand what the hell Vince Neil was singing? I figured he couldn't remember the lyrics to the bloody songs!
Philly
Hip Hop - Will Smith (formerly known as the Fresh Prince, before he became an actor)
Hip Hop and Rock - Jay-Z and Linkin Park, who tore the mother down
Hip Hop featuring members of the Marley family - The grossly-overrated Black Eyed Peas
Did I mention Hip Hop? - Kanye West
London
Legends - Sir Paul, U2, Pink Floyd (those three alone worth the price of the DVD)
People who think they are legends, but ain't - Robbie Williams (know outside the UK as "Who the fuck is that?"; Coldplay and Richard Ashcroft; Madonna (looking pissed-off at the crowd); Sir Elton John (OK, he's a legend, I just don't like him)
Paris
Terrible music - cuz that's what the French like!
Berlin
Current Rock and Punk - Audioslave, Green Day
One-hit wonders - A-ha (man, did they look uncomfortable!)
Moscow
Gay acts from the eighties - A very mellow and grey Pet Shop Boys
Tokyo
Strictly B-listers - Good Charlotte, anyone?
Rome
Country music, naturally! - Faith Hill
Johannesburg
Music destined to never be televised - Various African acts
I seem to recall there being one more city, but I'll be darned if I can remember it!
Altogether, a mixed bag. Some bands were as good live as I expected them to be, some surpassed my expectations, and some should never be permitted to play live again, because their offensively poor performance may risk turning public opinion against the cause they are trying to help.
I'm fairly certain that some of the acts were not entirely sure of what the point of Live 8 was. You could tell by the way they spouted vague inane cliches between songs: Come on, people, we gotta do the right thing! We need justice! We need to make those leaders understand! We have the power!. I think one moron from A Simple Plan spouted something about "Your Vote"?
Did anyone else also notice that each of the concerts, while offering a variety of acts, seemed to be centred on a particular type of music?
For instance:
Toronto (yeah, actually Barrie, but who outside of Canada has heard of Barrie) featured:
ClassicRock/fogey music - BTO and Deep Purple, who were both great; Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot who were, um, themselves.
Can Con - Simple Plan (derivative wannabes playing generic pseudo-punk); Les Trois Accords (some Quebec band that nobody has ever heard of); Two dreadlocked Quebecoises who I found obnoxious; Brian Adams; The Hip; Barenaked Ladies; Celine Dion, who is better off in Vegas: She was boed in Barrie, but the Vegas crowd loved her.
80s Hard Rock - Could anyone else understand what the hell Vince Neil was singing? I figured he couldn't remember the lyrics to the bloody songs!
Philly
Hip Hop - Will Smith (formerly known as the Fresh Prince, before he became an actor)
Hip Hop and Rock - Jay-Z and Linkin Park, who tore the mother down
Hip Hop featuring members of the Marley family - The grossly-overrated Black Eyed Peas
Did I mention Hip Hop? - Kanye West
London
Legends - Sir Paul, U2, Pink Floyd (those three alone worth the price of the DVD)
People who think they are legends, but ain't - Robbie Williams (know outside the UK as "Who the fuck is that?"; Coldplay and Richard Ashcroft; Madonna (looking pissed-off at the crowd); Sir Elton John (OK, he's a legend, I just don't like him)
Paris
Terrible music - cuz that's what the French like!
Berlin
Current Rock and Punk - Audioslave, Green Day
One-hit wonders - A-ha (man, did they look uncomfortable!)
Moscow
Gay acts from the eighties - A very mellow and grey Pet Shop Boys
Tokyo
Strictly B-listers - Good Charlotte, anyone?
Rome
Country music, naturally! - Faith Hill
Johannesburg
Music destined to never be televised - Various African acts
I seem to recall there being one more city, but I'll be darned if I can remember it!
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