Thoughts on the week's going's on (is that correct English?)

Well, I am sure that someone will correct me if it isn't. English was my favourite subject at school but that was a long time ago. The other night at Toastmasters I had to clarify what 'alliteration' was. I was the Grammarian. I always got 10/10 for spelling at school but was pretty mediocre at everything else.

Mediocre is a word that springs readily to mind when thinking of the political events of the last few weeks in the U.K. My obviously somewhat misguided impression was that politicians are public servants. The money that they get paid, both in salary and expenses, comes out of the taxes that most of us pay. Obvious, I know, but you would think there would be some humility about these people. Of course, it would be wrong to tar them all with the same brush. Vince Cable, for one, comes out of it all with a good deal of credit. I suppose it helps in my opinion of him that his son and daughter-in-law are wonderful opera singers, although I'm not particularly into opera. I only mention that because I heard Vince Cable on Desert Island Discs a few months ago and he played one of his son's opera songs and one of his daughter-in-law's as two of his Desert Island Discs. The one his daughter-in-law sang made me cry, like all my very favourite music does.I can't remember what itwas called, but it was spectacular.

My low opinion of politicians might be coloured slightly by the stories I have heard (and witnessed) about the Honourable (some mistake, surely) members (or, should I say Members) that have represented the city where I live since I have lived there. I moved here in 1991 - the member of Parliament for this city at that time has since been ennobled and now sits at the top of the tree of one of the great sporting institutions in Britain.

In 1997 I was one of the people who thought the world, or at least the U.K., might change, when we elected the first Labour government since 1979. Perhaps the world did change after 1997, but not in the way that I would have liked. I was hoping for more equality, more opportunity. More humility from people who were elected to serve their constituents. What I got was a local M.P. who, the first time I met her, was more interested in what I could do for her than what she could do to help me. On the two subsequent occasions that I saw her, she was drunk in a local hotel. Still I voted for her, because the alternative was even more unpalatable to me.

I even voted for her at the last election, because I couldn't bring myself to vote for the alternative candidates. Then, one of the alternative candidates was elected. I was resigned to the fact that my local city had returned to its normal habits. Despite having quite a large 'underclass' population, my adopted home city has traditionally elected Members of Parliament who may not have the interests of a majority of the population at heart. Maybe that's because 'underclass' people don't vote. Whatever the reason, the opposing candidate was returned at the most recent election.

I'm informed that the current local M.P. was on hand at the recent parade to celebrate the elevation of our local football team to the Championship. I am also informed that there was a large proportion of the audience who did not know who he was. This is despite the fact that he is alleged to live in a 475k. house less than ten minutes walk from my house, which is 15-minutes walk from the centre of the city. We are told that he claimed some money from the Fees Office in order to have someone come over and tell him how to 'work' the swimming pool at his house in this adopted constituency.

Now, I'm not saying that M.P.'s should live on nothing. Currently, they live on around 65k, which is more than twice what I earn. I would like to earn half as much as they do, then I would have a great lifestyle, by my standards. My standards are those of someone who has spent a night, homeless, sleeping on Victoria Station in London. Anything better than that is a step up!

Since my night on Victoria Station, which was 34 years ago, I have 'graduated' to a three-bedroom semi-detached ex-council house which I almost own. If you could average out everyone in the world, it is my belief that there is enough resource in the world for everyone to live like I do. Financially, I mean. I woudn't expect everyone to live by my standards in any other way!

Enough for a Friday night!