September 6, 2008 by wapentake
For trips to the UK, always start with the Lake District.
Wait for me.
Check the walls.
Typical northern dwelling and evening fayre 
It’ll need a big coil ‘oil…
Hallowed be thy game.
Scraping a pre-season 2-2 draw against the mighty Glossop North End.
The masses have braved Woodhead Pass for this feast of football.
Should probably take the kids to the smoke. St. Pancras has scrubbed up well.
Interesting use of space. But is it art? No, it’s just the way in to Tate Modern.
Nice doggy.
Crossing the river in 45 minutes. Feels like a millennium.
Is Liz back?
Just one more visit.
South Yorkshire.
It’s a state of mind.
Posted in Travel, Yorkshire | Tagged ambleside, Barnsley FC, buck house, castle museum york, glossop, ingbirchworth, lake district, loughrigg fell, natural history museum, oakwell pilgrimage, tate modern, what rain?, yorkshire - it's a state of mind | 6 Comments »
September 1, 2008 by wapentake
The UK government is worried. The chancellor sees the country’s financial plight as “arguably the worst” in 60 years.
A draft Home Office document fears an increase in support for “far right extremism and racism”.
In addition, a surge in “acquisitive crime” is expected. Presumably, that scourge of a booming economy – gratuitous property offloading (GPO) will experience a sharp decline. No more waking up to a house mysteriously filled with other people’s unwanted high-end electrical products then.
Worse still, the Home Office fears the nation’s cultural bedrock is cracking under the strain.
According to the Guardian, “Jacqui Smith, the home secretary … WARNS that a downturn may lead to”:
“a FALL in the use of cocaine and LESS drunken disorder in town centres unless drinks companies respond to the downturn by aggressive price cutting.”
Odd government warnings these. Perhaps plummeting cocaine use would trigger a cabinet crisis of confidence. or even a full-blown crash.
As for warning that less drunken disorder would be evident on the streets, this is easier to explain.
A sober and fully aware populace always presents a clear threat to government stability. There are obvious political gains in 24/7 drinking laws and the carpet-bombing of town centres with liquor licenses.
More drunken disorder = good. More civil disorder = bad.
Work may be the curse of the drinking classes, but, for leaders in peril, sizeable numbers in the latter can be a merry blessing.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged acquisitive crime, down on their uppers, gratuitous property offloading, inquisitive crime, it's got to be gordon's, jacqui smith, merry blessing, neither up nor down, up on their downers | Leave a Comment »
