A remarkable day
Reflecting on the departure of Tony Blair as PM is extraordinary – it’s one of those days which I‘ve known is coming, which I thought I had adjusted to … and yet now it has happened, it seems so strange!
I remember how strange it was, back in May 1997, to hear him referred to as “the Prime Minister”, after 17 years during which that had inevitably meant a Tory, and usually Margaret Thatcher. And now “the Prime Minister” is Gordon Brown, or as Nick Robinson of the BBC called him this afternoon – even after he had gone into Number 10 to begin forming his government – “the Chancellor”! It’s not just me who will have difficulty adjusting!
A strange day, too, in that – as happens all too rarely – it revealed the human side of our political life. You can’t help but reflect what it must be like for Tony Blair and his family, leaving the pressurised and surreal world they have inhabited for so long. You can’t help but wonder at Gordon Brown’s feelings, as the moment he must have thought about for so long finally arrived. And those remarkable scenes in Parliament!
Were those indeed heartfelt and generous tributes? Did they – just for a few moments – put aside the pantomime roles and recognise the service Mr Blair has rendered to the country, and what it has cost him and his family? I think so. It certainly seemed like it!
If only our public life would continue in that vein! But probably not ...[!] Days like today are rare exceptions. But they are just a glimpse, a mere suggestion, that behind it all, there are genuine people, struggling to do their best in public service. Didn’t the (former) Prime Minister say as much, as he left the despatch box for the last time?
Labels: History, Politics
Catching up!
I knew I hadn’t blogged for a while, but I was surprised to find my last entry was back
in the middle of March! It’s been busy since then, but surely not
that busy?!
What have I been up to? Well, 17 March was the
first anniversary of my Dad’s death, and as you can imagine, there was a whole lot of emotion around that time. But I don’t know if I can really reflect coherently about that. As with other bereavements, I’m very much
up and down. The biggest things I can sometimes carry off, whilst the smallest things “get me”! A familiar pattern.
I have taken on some responsibilities within the
Diocesan Readers’ Association, including a role in
our Archdeaconry, which is interesting and stimulating, but demanding too.
Sometimes I don’t cope so well with “demanding”! It is literally years and years since I took on a new job!
Of course, there has been
Easter – and
Easter holidays! We managed a few days in London, including a trip to the theatre to see
Stomp! I also managed to see the
Cabinet War Rooms again – I’d been wanting to see the new
Churchill Museum there, which is excellent, but I had
seriously underestimated the time I would need to go round it all, so I ended up rushing. (Those who know me would probably say that one can
never underestimate the time I take in museums …!) Actually my best trip to London was an indulgent day to see
Richard Schiff – yes,
Toby in
The West Wing – in a one-man tour de force
Underneath The Lintel. I even got to hang around at the stage door and meet him after the performance! (I
know …!)
My wife arranged for a group of us to see
African Snow at York Theatre Royal, so I’ve been to the theatre more times in the last couple of months than I usually manage in years. That, too, was a remarkable presentation. I have been
greatly affected by what I have learnt around the anniversary of the Abolition of the
Slave Trade Act. In reality, that whole era of slavery is
a Holocaust we British are responsible for – I’d never really thought about it before. We saw
Amazing Grace at the cimema too – a superb film, well worth seeing.
What else? In football, Free Agency and the NFL Draft, of course.
The Packers are still re-building – no big acquisitions and some impatience from us fans – and from
the franchise Quarterback too, by all accounts. And looking back, it’s surprising how many
friends have dropped in – or attempted to – which rather makes me wonder why I sometimes feel isolated, happy as we are in our “new” place.
So, that’s a
very quick sketch – am I up to date? Haven't even mentioned the prospect of a
new Prime Minister, the
replacement of the England Cricket Coach … What have I been thinking about all of that??
As for blogging - must try harder!
Labels: American Football, History, Ministry
A revisionist view of Suez
Anyone who has been following the analysis of the
Suez Crisis 50 years on might be interested in
Andrew Roberts' re-assessment here. It is clear from this that
Mr Roberts is
no champion of "high-minded liberal internationalism", but it's intersting to read a view so
radically different from the one I grew up with.
For example,
Mr Roberts contends that "[US President] Eisenhower himself years later admitted that not supporting [British PM] Eden over Suez had been
his greatest foreign policy mistake."
He also states:
"
On the eve of victory, just as General Hugh Stockwell telegraphed Downing Street to say that within 48 hours the entire Canal Zone would be in British hands,
Eden was stabbed in the back by a cabal of unscrupulous Cabinet colleagues, short-sighted allies and a small and unrepresentative group of Tory liberal internationalists.
"It is undoubtedly true that Suez tragically proved that Britain was no longer a Great Power, but this was
their fault, not Eden's. "
I enjoy reading
Andrew Roberts' "counterfactual" history - it might be
a little harsh to place this in the same category!
Andrew Roberts' full Suez articleAndrew Roberts' websiteBBC's "Remembering Suez" section - a more conventional viewpoint
Labels: History, Politics
One day in my history
You may know that the
History Matters website is encouraging people to contribute to
"One Day In History". We are all asked to post our own accounts of one day - Tuesday 17 October - to provide a kind of electronic time capsule for future generations.
Well, you might know that I couldn't resist adding my 650 words - though even on an "ordinary" day I had difficulty keeping within the word limit. That shouldn't really surprise anyone either ...! ;-)
So, here is my contribution ...
Today has been a fairly
ordinary, uneventful day! My wife and I have a wonderful 14-year-old son. She is a
parish priest in the Church of England. I suppose
women clergy are a new historic trend in the CofE. I am a
Reader – effectively a volunteer worker for the Church.
My day begins at 7.25 am.
Start negotiations with our son about him getting up. Kettle on –
cup of tea essential! Make breakfast and packed lunch for son, then cereal for me. My wife joins me in front of Breakfast TV – I have my daily moan about how little real news there is on it any more.
Son finally up and out to school. I shower and shave.
Got to write a talk for the service at church tomorrow, so now begins the
desperate search for
anything else to do, rather than knuckle down to work! The Internet – always good for prevarication!
Read my emails, some related to my role as a Governor of our local
Primary School. Governors’ Meeting last night – for me two overriding impressions remain. Firstly, the continual need to raise academic standards; and secondly, I don’t know how our Head-teacher copes.
Heads these days have such demanding jobs! I must admit to feeling gloomy about the whole thing – and I am only on the very fringes!
Since I am feeling down, it occurs to me that
I ought to pray! Need to get some
perspective on things – and God might even have something he wants me to say about
St Luke – it’s his day in the Church’s calendar tomorrow, and I still haven’t thought of anything. Conclude in a better frame of mind, but
without inspiration on the subject of Luke!
Then, just as I almost get down to work – the phone rings!
My brother ringing from his home in France. Our
Dad died only a few months ago –
Mum died 13 years ago – and we are trying to keep in touch. I feel strangely “out on my own” without our parents there to provide the “glue” holding us together. Now we really must make an effort to keep in contact, especially since we can hardly pop round for a chat. On the history theme,
both Mum and Dad were involved in World War 2: Dad was captured at
Dunkirk and a
prisoner of war; Mum in the
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force – a wireless operator.
What a remarkable generation – we have so much to be grateful to them for.
After the phone call, I declare an early lunch. My wife is “in” today, so we can eat together – a real benefit of her working from home. When we both went out to work, it was always difficult to make our lunch hours coincide.
The afternoon is spent
reading, reflecting and writing about St Luke –
see, I finally got round to it! Only one interruption: when our son gets home from school I take him to our doctors’ in the town for a
booster inoculation. This is a multiple “jab”: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella.
He faces the jab in his arm like a man; I have to look away – I know I get queasy about such things, so
no point trying to impress anyone! We both survive OK! We take our healthcare for granted, but any one of those diseases would have been a threat not many years ago.
I’ve almost run out of words for my ordinary day –
don’t worry, I don’t go on like this in church! Cooked dinner, then watched a film on DVD with my wife – unusually she wasn’t working this evening. Our son spends his evening upstairs on his computer. Then off to bed. Finished the day with a few pages from ex-President
Bill Clinton’s autobiography – I love my modern history. Now President Clinton would
never have been lost for words, even on St Luke!
Labels: Blogs, History
