Write On

A few hundred words a day doesn’t seem that much.

Well, when I say per day, I mean two or three times a week. Unless I’ve something better to do.

But as I’m mostly busy doing nothing (working the whole day through/trying to find lots of things/not to do) right now, I have decided to put index finger to keyboard on all that interests – or appals – me. It will be a mixed bag: politics, business, culture, social history, maybe some indulgent creative writing, and sport. Especially sport, and most particularly football, where all the other categories can collide in both a beautiful diversion or crassly ugly train wreck from time to time.

Right now 500 a day feels a bit daunting. A little bit Jack Torrance in The Shining…sitting in front of his typewriter bashing out the same ominous line time after time as his muse and mental well-being go flying out of the window.

OK, maybe I’m not quite that bad. So note to self: hyperbole, cliches and tropes should be avoided where possible.

And let’s face it, there’s plenty to write about just now. In business, globalisation has produced as many headaches as sinister oligarchs, whilst the financial services sector from where I’ve mostly earned my crust is in all sorts of moral trouble.

In the domestic political arena, the leading lights of our 3 main parties seem rather too similar and neo-liberal to me, but the opposition to austerity away from the Westminster village – from other philosophies and movements – is mostly floundering, disconnected from the masses, and down on its knees.

Culturally, we’ve have some amazing high spots in TV drama, massive challenges presented to old media by the new digital age, but nowhere near enough excitement or interesting innovation elsewhere.

Social history might teach us a thing or two about our current community ailments, with the divide between the haves and have-nots (disgustingly translated as strivers and shirkers by the haves) seemingly heading back towards the bad old days before the welfare state and a sense of social fairness being in the interests of all.

And in sport, we are seeing obscene amounts of money sloshing around at the pinnacle, whilst playing fields are neglected or sold off, and many local amateur clubs struggle to engage many beyond the wealthier types who can afford the subs for themselves and their offspring.

So here’s me in a nutshell: fifty-two; in decent health; sitting asset rich in a lovely late Victorian home with a decent income but still feeling cash poor; a lovely wife I’ve known for 30 years, a teenage daughter I’m proud of, a dopey chocolate labrador dog, and a massive maine coon cat; independent socialist tendencies of the champagne variety that sits a bit awkwardly in my comfortable middle class neighbourhood; a happy working class upbringing; prefers BBC4 and broadsheets to ITV and tabloids; long-suffering “little” Leyton Orient fan; likes a good walk and a pint of ale; prefers a fry-up to posh or healthy food yet knows it’s only good for the soul and not the body; loves a good read of both book or online trivia.

So they’ll be no personal complaints or white-whines based on envy in this blog. Just views on the news, and mostly for myself. But you’re welcome.