More Big Banking Nonsense

If you've read Wednesday's post here's a little something that I stumbled upon and thought I'd better share with you. I'm very concerned about our coalition government's antics. Also the proposed closing of libraries and selling off of our woodlands are in my opinion two very bad ideas indeed.

SFTW ~ Here's One I Made Earlier

Here's a nice recipe you might like to try at home, H/T Jack.

The Banking Debacle & Quaker Capitalism

I have been puzzled by something for what must be at least a year now, and it concerns this economic mess, in the midst of which we find ourselves currently. At first when things started looking a bit dodgy (remember the queues of people outside branches of Northern Rock bank demanding their savings, 1930's German style?) I think none of us really had any idea of what had been going on inside the banking business. I certainly hadn't. Things seem to have moved on apace since then. We've been through a change of government and you and I [tax payers] are now propping up major high street banks. Whole nations (Eire, Greece, Portugal etc.) are almost bankrupt.

I think that the most galling thing for me about this situation is that it seems that running a bank, being a bank, looking after the money, however you choose to define it, is not exactly operating in a competitive market, being dominated by just five big banks. With that in mind it really ought to be a most profitable business, although particularly disadvantageous to the consumer. How have these banks failed us so badly and continue to do so despite being propped up with billions of pounds of taxpayer's money? O.k. this is of course a bit of a rant, but not without good reason. In January our rate of Value Added Tax rose to 20% in the U.K. in order to mitigate the effects of the huge debt foisted upon us by the banking sector's misadventure. This will affect us all, rich and poor significantly as V.A.T. is pretty much an unavoidable tax (unless of course you run your car on custard and choose to wear children's clothes!). The central question I suppose I have is why on earth are we not aiming to recoup the billions of pounds lost from those who are responsible for the loss in the first place? After all they seem to me to be the very highest earners in society and therefore most able to put back into the system as it were.

What I think could in part be going wrong is, at some fundamental level, and over several generations the very nature of our capitalism has changed. It has to be said that what I truly think is we need some seismic shift back to the kind of principles central to those Quaker capitalists like Joseph Rowntree and George Cadbury. These men were brilliant entrepreneurs by any standards but unlike today's business leaders and bankers (who see no harm in pocketing huge personal profits while their companies collapse) were disciplined and far sighted, guided by their Quaker principles. For these men I'm sure the idea of wealth creation for personal gain would have seemed offensive and to whom the very catalyst of our current financial crisis (i.e. reckless & irresponsible debt) would have been shameful. It's easy to dismiss such principles as antiquated isn't it, when today's measure of one's success is purely projected by material objects. It would be hard to imagine the CEO of one of the afore mentioned banks building a huge financial empire whilst writing ground breaking papers on poverty, or campaigning against a multitude of human rights abuses, but, that's just what the likes of George Cadbury did.

I was amazed to learn that in the nineteenth century Quaker families in Britain ran seventy-four banks, and I'll bet they were not for the benefit of shareholder dividends or bosses bonuses! I guess what I feel really strongly is once again we need this kind of leadership to replace the rampant greed at the centre of our banking industry we have today. It may seem naive, but tweaking taxes ever upward is not going to solve a great deal for the debts of our wider society, it's high time the bankers started putting something back into the system that, like it or not, they are now indebted to themselves.

A New Decade 2011

So friends a new year begins, and a new decade for that matter. We're entering 2011 with our artistandtartist glass half full as is our wont and would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and peaceful new year. What has 2011 in store I wonder, adventure? intrigue? excitement? in order to find out I thought I'd consult that tried and tested oracle into events yet to come, from the mystical far east via my Christmas cracker, the 'Fortune Teller' ~ Miracle fish.





So I placed the little red cellophane visionary upon my open palm and would you believe its head and tail began to move.



These particular movements according to the guide on the reverse side of its packet indicate 'In Love'. What a result! I hope you will all be entering 2011 with hearts that are full.

In The Bleak Midwinter

Well, we've reached that midwinter point again, the Winter Solstice, the shortest day, the longest night.



Somehow this song from Sting just resonates with me both musically and lyrically on this our longest night...

"Ghost Story"

I watch the Western sky
The sun is sinking
The geese are flying South
It sets me thinking

I did not miss you much
I did not suffer
What did not kill me
Just made me tougher

I feel the winter come
His icy sinews
Now in the fire light
The case continues

Another night in court
The same old trial
The same old questions asked
The same denial

The shadows closely run
Like jury members
I look for answers in
The fire's embers

Why was I missing then
That whole December
I give my usual line:
I don't remember

Another winter comes
His icy fingers creep
Into these bones of mine
These memories never sleep

And all these differences
A cloak I borrow
We kept our distances
Why should it follow I must have loved you

What is the force that binds the stars
I wore this mask to hide my scars
What is the power that pulls the tide
I never could find a place to hide

What moves the Earth around the sun
What could I do but run and run and run
Afraid to love, afraid to fail
A mast without a sail

The moon's a fingernail and slowly sinking
Another day begins and now I'm thinking
That this indifference was my invention
When everything I did sought your attention

You were my compass star
You were my measure
You were a pirate's map
A buried treasure

If this was all correct
The last thing I'd expect
The prosecution rests
It's time that I confess: I must have loved you

A Winter Trip To Orford

The tartist and I have just returned from yet another rather splendid few days away in Orford, a favourite nearby spot up in Suffolk. It's strange really as it is relatively close to home and very similar in it's landscape etc. but to us it seems quite far from our every day hustle & bustle. We stayed at the Crown & Castle which overlooks the old castle in Orford built by Henry 2nd in 1170'ish (the castle, not the hotel!). It is a great place for a few days unwinding with tastefully designed rooms plus an excellent 'unfussy' restaurant with a lovely menu on which there is always locally landed fish which suits us both really well.



Orford Castle through the bathroom window of our room.


Reed Beds at Snape

The bitterly cold weather, snow & ice was a feature of this particular visit and on a couple of days out I tentatively drove us on the icy road a few miles through Tunstall forest to Snape.
At Snape the old maltings have been converted into a concert hall and visitor centre with an art gallery, cafés and shops but one of the real beauties of Snape for me is the vast area of reed beds that surround the maltings. Despite the cold I went out walking with my camera (it really was too bitter for sketching this time) under very leaden skies between blizzards, meeting up later with the tartist for hot chocolate & cake. I'm pleased to say I have returned with some very interesting reference material of the snowy, muddy, windswept reeds.

On our way home we once again stopped off in Woodbridge and spent rather more than we ought to have on books in Browsers bookshop & café, where the coffee is pretty decent and the cakes are all homemade from recipes taken from books available for sale in the shop (a simple and brilliant marketing rouse on their part). As I've mentioned before in a previous post this part of Suffolk is really well worth a trip out even if it's just for the day. I can guarantee we'll be returning soon.

The Shuffling First 15 Meme...

'The Hottest Day, Feldy Marshes' ~ Watercolour

I've not indulged myself in one of these 'memes' before, but this one from 'Banksy Boy' had me intrigued. Here's what to do...

1) Turn on your MP3 player or music player on your computer.
2) Go to SHUFFLE songs mode.
3) Write down the first 15 songs that come up–song title and artist
–NO editing/cheating, please.

1/ 'Oxford Comma' ~ Vampire Weekend
2/ 'Carraroe'/'Out On The Ocean' ~ Dennis Cahill & Martin Hayes
3/ 'The Meeting' ~ XTC
4/ 'Contusion' ~ Stevie Wonder
5/ 'Sunrise Over Sea' ~ John Butler Trio
6/ 'Come On Let's Go' ~ Los Lobos
7/ 'Brown Eyed Girl' ~ Van Morrison
8/ 'Me And Mr. Jones' ~ Amy Winehouse
9/ 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' ~ Paul Young & Q-tips
10/ 'Fool Who Knows' ~ Nick Lowe
11/ 'Needle & Thread' ~ Richard Thompson
12/ 'Two Dancers' ~ Wild Beasts
13/ 'Nzaji' ~ Mario Rui Silva
14/ 'A Sigh' ~ Crowded House
15/ 'Indian Queens' ~ Nick Lowe

So, this is what I get from a random snapshot of my i-pod, I don't quite know what to make of it as there is simply so much more variety on there that could have cropped up. Only two really contemporary artists there, Vampire Weekend plus the weird and wonderful Wild Beasts. Still an interesting little exercise. Give it a go friends...I'm curious to see what you get on yours!