Chris Whiteside's Blog

  "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick

"When society gives censors wide and vague powers they never confine themselves to deserving targets. They are not snipers, but machine-gunners. Allow them to fire at will, and they will hit anything that moves." Nick Cohen

One of the pieces available again now that the Cumbria Chronic website is back up and running is a piece which surgically dismantles and interview given to the News and Star by the Labour leader of Cumberland Council, Mark Fryer. It was first put up at the end of last year but frankly in the past six months the criticisms made in the article only look more prescient. You can read the full article at: COUNCIL LEADER TALKS GIBBERISH – The Cumbria Chronic Here is a flavour: "Discussing Crumberland Council’s disastrous budget for next year, the Labour leader had this gem to offer readers of the Carlisle newspaper:. “But again, sort of variations in that because of rural settlement grant and you know, being taken away. “So, we think that will a net of around, maybe £2 or £3 million or something like that.  “But uh we still have to make some significant savings.” It’s worth re-reading again. It’s either a series of typos in the transcription or Cllr Fryer is barely making sense."

No apology for repeating, not for the first time or, probably, the last, one of Thomas Sowell's insights which I think is particularly powerful in a whole host of spheres, not just economics and politics. It is very rare indeed- though when such an opportunity does come along, it should be grabbed with both hands - that you can improve something with no negative consequences at all. Most opportunities to improve one thing come with a cost in terms of something else. The challenge is to ensure that you pick the trade-offs where the benefits outweigh the costs - and do your best to limit the damage in those areas where you lose out.

A brilliantly clever parody of "I want it that way" by the Backstreet boys.  Words and music written and performed by Weird Al Yankovic.  Video, which someone put a huge amount of effort into, posted by The Andrew Ward Fiasco

 

Once apon a time this piece, "The Monster Mash" used to be regularly heard on the radio.  I had absolutely no idea until I found this performance on Youtube that the singer, the late Bobby Pickett, was also a master of facial expressions so flexible as to make Jim Carrey look like he's on botox. If you've never seen Bobby Pickett perform or film of him, this video is  worth at last one watch in order to see what incredible things a master comedian can do with the human face. And I write that as someone who was once a judge at the World International Gurning championships.

Cumbria's MPs and councils may be disappointed to learn, but everyone else should cheer, that the Cumbria Chronic is up and running again.  This website is almost the only news organisation in the county which dares to ask difficult questions or publish reports which show signs of actual journalism much beyond reprinting Labour party or Council press releases (they give all the other parties a kicking occasionally too, not just Labour.) Their first report relates to the fact that the Labour-controlled Cumberland Council is again late with the publication of their accounts and not unreasonably ask:   Who is responsible? Why are the accounts late again? What’s the impact on Council transparency and trust? What’s the repercussions of missing two legal deadlines? Is anything vaguely resembling a consequence on the cards? POSTSCRIPT - Cumberland Council, "Wokemoreland and Farcical Council" and all Cumbria's MPS and panjandrums can breathe again. The Cumbria Chronic is now ...

 

Steeleye Span collaborated with the late Terry Pratchett in producing "The Wintersmith" based on some of his books. I think of "I shall wear midnight" as the band's moving tribute to the much missed Sir Terry.  

"A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to." Dr Laurence J Peter

 

Our present Prime Minister has clearly absorbed some of the lessons of Blair's New Labour.  Sadly there is one of New Labour's messages which he was happy to parrot before the 2024 election but has completely ignored while in government - that if tax rates are too high you will harm the ability of business to invest and the incentives for people to work hard and save. There is a serious rival to Margaret Thatcher's comment about society which I quoted last week for a British political quote which is nearly always taken out of context, destroying much of it's meaning. It is easy to find Lord Mandelson's quote about New Labour being "intensely relaxed" about people being "filthy rich." It is much, much harder to find any reference to his next seven words - " as long as they pay their taxes." But those words are absolutely critical, because what Mandelson got - and Rachel Reeves clearly doesn't - is that if you really want to get lots...

This graphic shows the percentage of votes in this parliament that MPs representing each the five national UK parties turned up and voted in. MPs from four of the five parties turned up for well over half of all votes. MPs from the remaining party turned up for significantly less than half of votes. Next time supporters of that party tell you that if they were elected to form the next government they would do so much better than any of the others, ask them why you should take them seriously when their existing MPs can't even be bothered to turn up and vote.

 

 

 

 

 

I was sorry to learn just now, that Dorothy Graham, a pillar of the Whitehaven community, died this morning. A more detailed obit will follow, but she helped many people in many ways and she will be missed. Rest in Peace.

Here is a famous - or perhaps infamous - saying in it's full context. All too often one is only presented with the first seven words, which, ripped from that context appear to mean almost the exact opposite of what was actually being said. The truncated quote is often presented as if Mrs Thatcher was saying that people should not care about one another, when what she actually meant was that they should, and cannot depend on some abstract concept labelled "society," (or worse, depend on the state) to do it.

Today is Trinity Sunday, which gave a great choice of suitable music.  This morning at Selby Abbey, for instance, the choir performed the  Tchaikovsky, Hymn to the Trinity  which is a lovely piece of music. Popular Trinity Sunday hymns include "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty by Richard Heber. However, my all-time favourite Trinity hymn, - which qualifies because it ends with a prayer to the Trinity and Unity, although it starts with a reference to a vision of God by the Prophet Isaiah which was described in the 6th chapter of that book of the bible (Link:  Isaiah 6 KJV ) - is "I saw the Lord" by John Stainer. It was once described in my hearing as a "Magnificent musical battle" as it requires a double choir, e.g. two complete groups of Soprano/Treble, Alto, Tenor and Bass voices who sometimes sing together and sometimes in unison.

Performed by Steeleye Span, inspired by the works of the one and only the late Sir Terry Pratchett.