The Tories very deliberately pitch themselves as the thinking voter’s party. The party of the head, not the heart. So why is it that many indicators suggest that those who are proactively engaging in the democratic process – with their heads, not their hearts – lean left?
A fantastic case in point is this screenshot from the voteforpolicies website.
(more…)The Tories very deliberately pitch themselves as the thinking voter’s party. The party of the head, not the heart. So why is it that many indicators suggest that those who are proactively engaging in the democratic process – with their heads, not their hearts – lean left?
Weaning has been a bit of a journey. Of all the many challenges one faces as a parent, few offer so many highs and lows, or introduce so much parental anxiety, as the process of ensuring your child develops a healthy relationship with food whilst trying to get enough balanced, healthy calories into the kid before his patience runs out. Luckily for every tantrum there is a giggle and one realises quickly that meal times are the perfect time to get to know the little person who is developing in front of you.
The wind today blew us around a little. Our first walk of the day was a battle, with rain driving into us on gusts of Atlantic breath. Later it softened a little and we braved the huge expanse of Woolacombe’s beach. Bare feet, rain pocked sand, bitingly cold water, white cloudy skies. It was beautiful. Walking south. Talking a little; observing a lot. The grasses on the dunes shivered in the wind, giving life to the land; hairs on the back of a cold, slumbering giant. We paused at this small formation of rocks – a lone landmark in an ocean of sand. Looking back to Woolacombe village the sea spray fogged the view of the distant buildings; cosy boxes under a featureless grey sky.
Today we were sad to have to watch as the wonderful cultural and community hub of Battersea Arts Centre was ravaged by a violent blaze. Initial reports at the scene were that nobody was injured. Here’s hoping that the centre can rebuild quickly.
These were taken on 22nd December 2014, days before Christmas. The sky was grey and unremarkable but the English channel drove wave upon wave of cold, dark water onto the pebble beach of Bexhill-on-Sea. Just days later we enjoyed a swim in calmer waters with the winter sun in our eyes.
Every week Lucy and I look forward to a delivery of fresh, organic produce from Riverford. The company has impressed us with its quality of produce and variety of recipes, with its customer service and reliability. Above all we value the company’s credentials as a small but significant force for good in a world where food production or scarcity represents one of the greatest threats to the wellbeing of individuals, and of the world in which they live.
Riverford push a short letter through the mail box with each delivery, always interesting, and this week Guy Watson’s words resonated so deeply with me I felt I really couldn’t have articulated my thoughts better myself.
“All this serves to illustrate that managing [ones] environmental impact is a minefield of personal and collective culpability; sadly I have almost no hope for leadership from the Government, so it lies with individuals and businesses.”
Guy goes on to compare the reaction of the automotive industry to environmental challenges to that of the farming industry.
“…in an industry that should essentially be about capturing and harnessing sunlight, environmental impact has spiralled out of control. It is thought that [farming consumes] ten calories of fossil fuel for every calorie of food produced, while mercilessly raping the planet’s soil and wildlife. Don’t blame population increase; modern agriculture should hang its head in shame.”
I’ll admit it. I’m a serial abuser of perfectly good bicycles. I ride them into the ground giving them very little TLC; the bare minimum of maintenance. I’m hopeful this time will be different, but don’t hold your breath.
I’ve got myself a Fuji Track 2.1, an aluminium version of their very popular Track. I’ll be running it fixed for the time being and am in the market for some pedal straps.
My last trip to New York was an analogue affair. I set out each day with my old OM10 slung over my shoulder loaded with HP5. Not for a long time had I carried a film camera with no digital counterpart tucked away in my bag (where it couldn’t damage that oh-so-fashionable retro camera look). And the anxiety I felt! It took some time to identify the cause of the deep unease I felt as I explored the island of Manhattan.
With less than 50 frames to shoot and a whole city to explore my early captures took far too long as I fussed over composition, exposure, focus. I soon got into the swing of things however, and this shot somewhat makes up for the fact that I was wandering lost, unable to decide whether to commit to the trip over Brooklyn bridge as the biting wind tested my inadequate clothing.
