Category: culture

culture, Uncategorized

Glastonbury 2025 – too much of the same old

bruceandholly
Photo by Wendy Wei on Pexels.com

We talk a lot about diversity. But when it comes to popular music, there seems to be none. This year’s Glastonbury Festival looks to me like too much of the same-old. When I switched on my television, the first act I saw was a slightly overweight young lady singing and dancing in a leotard. The audience loved it. So perhaps it was just me.

Don’t get me wrong. There were a couple of acts I did enjoy watching, like the two rap singers and Gracie Abrams, an interesting artist who I hadn’t seen before. Then it was back to the same old. Look! I want to be entertained. Not listen to someone giving me a message.

Then there are the headliners. Usually bands I’ve never heard of. That’s not to say that there are some artists whom I would gladly make time to watch. Like Dua Lipa, Blondie or Robbie Williams, who appeared a year or two back. This year I believe it’s Rod Stewart, whom I last saw live at the 1973 Weeley Pop Festival. So maybe I’ll spend an hour watching Rod

crime, culture, religion, sex

The Hendrix-Joplin Community – If you join, you will never escape

bruceandholly

After 35 years of writing nonfiction, this is my first fiction book. The idea arose from the massive geopolitical changes since Trump took office just over 100 days ago. In writing the book, I have assumed that everything Trump says he’s going to do, actually happens. So the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America. Greenland and Canada are now America’s 51st and 52nd States. Just for good measure, I have also chucked in the former UK, now New Alaska, as America’s 53rd State, in return for signing away what remains of its oil, gas and mineral assets. It really was a no-brainer.

Caught between tariffs from both the U.S. and Europe. Having outsourced all of its manufacturing to China, and having closed down what remained of its industrial landscape, the former UK was no longer economically viable as a nation-state. Add to that Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from NATO and the Ukraine-style neutrality pact offered to former NATO members in its place.

Don’t worry about climate change. That has already happened. New Alaska is now a silent snow-scape punctuated only by the distant rumble of the extraction plant.

The story focuses on a Waco style cult church, which you can join but never leave. A charismatic hippie pastor who doesn’t only want your money. He also wants access to your wife. Yes – there really are communities like that. But it all turns to bloody murder when someone steals the source of his power.

business, culture, London, society

Post Office Blues

bruceandholly

Earlier this week I took delivery of a letter-scale. It joins my laser printer as well as my scanner; computer monitor; headphones; wired mouse and keyboard. I bought it because I just can’t be bothered to stand in line at our local sub post office behind a long queue of people spilling out of the door and only one person serving. It’s never used to be like that. There were always at least two people behind the counter and the queue moved quickly. Not anymore. And I also read in the news of plans by the post office to close its remaining crown post offices in city centres

I had a letter to post. It was not valuable. It did not require a signature. But it was bulky because it contained a book. So I went to a couple of local sub post offices because I wanted to hand it over the counter and pay the correct postage. In the end, I gave up. So it sat on the shelf for a week whilst I decided what to do with it. Anyway, the scale arrived and I was able to calculate the postage myself and put on the required number of stamps and drop it into the nearest pillar box. Job done.

I had thought about trying the post office’s advertised door-collection service. But I didn’t fancy waiting indoors until the postman arrived. Though maybe I’ll try using it if I have a recorded delivery letter to post.

The long and short of it is that I won’t be going to my local post office anytime soon. In fact, if things carry on as they are, I’m sure that the next official announcement will be the closure of the remaining local sub post offices.

Like everything else in the UK, it’s all gone down the pan. And after the scapegoating Horizon computer scandal, who would want to be a sub postmaster?

crime, culture, Law, Uncategorized

1920’s Prohibition Revisited

bruceandholly
Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com

Haven’t we learned anything from 1920s prohibition? When stupid politicians voted to ban alcohol consumption across the United States, and in so doing, created the model for organised crime, which still exists today, and lives on In the drug cartels of South America. So shouldn’t we be de-criminalising instead of criminalising otherwise lawful social activity? But here we go again, with Starmer’s plan to ban tobacco smoking in pub gardens and parks, where it does not affect anyone except the smoker.

Sunak started all of this nonsense with his talk about raising the smoking age every year, so that generations going forward will never be able to legally smoke. He did it to take away attention from the housing and cost of living crisis which his government had created.So are we going to see police officers frisking down young people, just in case they are hiding cigarettes? That’s going to be great for community relations! Now Starmer has picked up the reins.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a smoker. But I don’t like to see anyone being put out of work just because someone wants to make a political point. Nor do I wish to see the creation of a new criminal underground. Haven’t we got enough criminals already? Or police chasing round after kids and pub- smokers, when they should be catching burglars and shoplifters. If Starmer wants to ban something, he should ban online gambling.That causes much more psychological damage and addiction. As well as family breakups.But no one seems bothered about that. In fact, I’d guess that if you’ve got the wit and the know-how, anyone could start up a gambling platform from their own back bedroom.You wouldn’t need to employ anyone. And you wouldn’t need to rent any premises.You just pay for the software and the marketing.Then sit back and watch the cash roll in. It almost seems too easy.

career, culture, jobs, medical, mens health, relationships, self improvement, society

Signs of Getting Old

bruceandholly
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com
  1. When every time you make eye-contact with someone, they offer you their seat.
  2. When you celebrate every birthday with another tablet.
  3. When you eat less but put on weight. Like the 70’s rock band who decided to reform, looking like they’d just walked off a building site.

Things to Do When you are getting old.

  1. Make a will. It goes without saying.
  2. Make that extra effort to keep in touch with friends and family – especially the younger generation.
  3. Make a Living Will or Advance Direction, so you are in control of your own destiny, when it’s time to say goodbye.

Things not to do.

If you love your job and are at the top of your game, whatever you do, don’t retire, even if you’ve reached state pension age. Yes – take your company pension. You’ve worked for it and paid in to it. But don’t let it stop you working. And you don’t have to. Go freelance if you need to. You may also discover that your earning potential has never been higher. Because you will be getting your pension – PLUS – what you get working. And if you are past state retirement age, you won’t be paying any NI. What a great tax-break that is! So let someone else walk up and down a golf-course or kill time on a bowling green.