Liberal Burblings

Archive for February, 2007

I really never thought I would live to see the day when The Times actually prints such a question on its front page.

Furthermore, Matthew Parris continues in the same vein in his article inside (the front page question is a trailer for that article):

Why do women leave lavatory seats in the “down” position? I am getting increasingly fed up with this inconsiderate behaviour. Hygiene and common sense dictate that “up” should be the default option and everyone should leave the seat lifted, to keep it unsplashed next time. Public toilets should have sprung seats, returning automatically to up.

There are some colourful comments below the Parris article. Bruce Tucker of Cambridge comments:

Matthew Parris wants the seat left up. I like the lid left down for hygeine reasons to prevent spray. My Wife wants the seat left down for convenience. My Grandaughter needs the seat left down for speed. My Grandsons need the seat left up for speed. Please advise.

I realise the eccentric irony in the article, bearing in mind Parris‘ elevation nowadays to FNTS (Full National Treasure Status – I well remember his article saying that people should be encouraged to eat out-of-date food).

But to find such a question on the front page of The Times is remarkable. Do they not want any women to read their paper anymore? It is a question asked only once by a male in female company – once bitten twice shy. Such a question could only be asked by someone who has not experienced….ahem….the remarkable and fulfilling voyage of compromise which is long-term domestic partnership with a woman.

It is good news that Michael Meacher has confirmed that he will fight Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership. Although John McDonnell was always going to ensure that there would be a contest, at least now there is something of a middleweight, if not a heavyweight, to stop the thing being all but a coronation.

Much as I could launch into a BenEltonesque rant about the “evils” of “The Thatch”, I can’t help feeling that the unveiling of her statue in the House of Commons’ lobby is right and proper. It is nice that it has been displayed while she is still with us.

When Paddy Ashdown took a party of us from Newbury around the houses, he pointed to the empty lobby corner and said in tones of respect: “Some say that a lady with a handbag will take her place there in due course”.

This unveiling marks a rare moment of near political unanimity. Even Labour MP Paul Flynn said the unveiling of a statue of “one of the four giants of 20th century politics” was a “very happy event”.

One of the reasons for such unanimity is perhaps the fair, I might even say PR-like, way that the four corners in the lobby have been allocated. Clem for Labour. Lloyd George for us. Thatcher for the Tories. And then there is Churchill who is a sort of three-way split between Liberal, Conservative and everyone.

By the way, before I become too soft, I would point you to a balancing comment from Danny Angus:

Lest we forget; She may have been Britain’s first woman prime minister, but don’t lets let that statue rewrite history. She was a sociopathic megalomaniac who spent much of her term in office removing our freedoms and pandering to the yuppies and reactionaries of middle England. It is too soon to gloss over that.

Danny goes on:

I can only hope that they didn’t pay for it with my money, if I were dead I’d turn in my grave.

Good point. Who paid for this statue?

I really never thought I would live to see the day when The Times actually prints such a question on its front page.

Furthermore, Matthew Parris continues in the same vein in his article inside (the front page question is a trailer for that article):

Why do women leave lavatory seats in the “down” position? I am getting increasingly fed up with this inconsiderate behaviour. Hygiene and common sense dictate that “up” should be the default option and everyone should leave the seat lifted, to keep it unsplashed next time. Public toilets should have sprung seats, returning automatically to up.

There are some colourful comments below the Parris article. Bruce Tucker of Cambridge comments:

Matthew Parris wants the seat left up. I like the lid left down for hygeine reasons to prevent spray. My Wife wants the seat left down for convenience. My Grandaughter needs the seat left down for speed. My Grandsons need the seat left up for speed. Please advise.

I realise the eccentric irony in the article, bearing in mind Parris‘ elevation nowadays to FNTS (Full National Treasure Status – I well remember his article saying that people should be encouraged to eat out-of-date food).

But to find such a question on the front page of The Times is remarkable. Do they not want any women to read their paper anymore? It is a question asked only once by a male in female company – once bitten twice shy. Such a question could only be asked by someone who has not experienced….ahem….the remarkable and fulfilling voyage of compromise which is long-term domestic partnership with a woman.

What is Lent? This is a question which has been on my mind for the last few days. I am glad of that, and I think it is healthy to ask this question as a prelude to the actual Lent period. I had to prepare a reading and commentary for a group of which I am part. As this took place on Shrove Tuesday, “doing” Lent seemed a no-brainer. The discussion went on to the subject of fasting. We (Christians in the West) don’t seem to do it much, although we do give up chocolate or alcohol of something. Yet, other faiths, notably the Islamic faith, do fast.

This line of thought led me to this is a commentary from the Bishop of London:

Giving up chocolate, only to resume the habit in a great binge on Easter Day, does little good and even can fill us with an unhelpful sense of spiritual achievement. Fasting with prayer, however, is the fresh and ancient discipline of the Church, which is being rediscovered in our own day. Fasting with prayer can make us more profoundly aware of good as a gift from divine love rather than fuel for insatiable craving. Joy and a greater sense of freedom should be amongst the fruits that follow.

…Lent is the time for fasting and prayer, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays in solidarity with the whole Christian community living and departed. This communal effort saves us from thinking of our own ascetic heroism.

In the past, my lenten activities have been confined to the Christian Aid’s Count your blessings. It is a wonderful sheet which gives you a little theme to pray on each day, and a way of totting up some money to give to good causes. For example, today’s item is:

Every year 1.6 million of the world’s poorest people die from respiratory infections, aggravated by smoke from open fires. Give 5p for every radiator in your home and 10p for every fireplace

This year I will am thinking about expanding my lenten activities. As a start, I have made a momentous decision to do something I have never tried before. I have decided to follow my father’s example and abstain from alcohol for lent. So far this has lasted all day today!

By the way, Wikipedia defines Lent as:

In Western Christianity, Lent is the period (or season) from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. In Eastern Christianity, the period before Easter is known as Great Lent to distinguish it from the Winter Lent, or Advent (known in Greek as the “Great Fast” and “Nativity Fast”, respectively).

Call me a nostalgic old fool, if you like, but I just feel like wishing actor Mr Sidney Poitier a very happy 80th birthday. As the NewJersey Star Ledger says of him: