Better or worse?

We’re fond of saying that life is better now than it was X decades ago, and aren’t we lucky to be living today? But are we?
 
I’ve always rejected nostalgia on the basis that it idealises the past and overlooks all the things we disliked.
 
But when I look back at the sixties and seventies, when I was growing up, actually a lot of things were better than they are now.
 
Everything was a lot simpler. Instead of having to navigate complicated and frustrating websites, you could ring someone up and they’d help you out. Rents were more affordable. There were more jobs available. Salaries were higher. You didn’t need dozens of passwords and login details. You didn’t have to worry about scams and cyber attacks.
 
People say, but what about all the racism and sexism and homophobia? There’s a lot less of all that than there used to be. Well, yes, they’ve declined but they’re still very evident. If anything misogyny is on the increase, with social media full of the most horrendous abuse and hatred.
 
I doubt if many of today’s young people would say life is better than it used to be. They’re having to negotiate very tough circumstances, and their mental health is suffering. Nostalgia is totally understandable.

Giddily elated

The latest controversy to involve the Royal Family is a splendid example of how irresponsible and sensationalist the media can be.
 
We’re told that in an excerpt from his new book, Diana’s brother Earl Spencer claims that after Diana’s death Prince Charles seemed “giddily elated”, sounded like a lottery winner and said “We’ll forget her soon enough”.
 
Apparently this was part of a conversation that Earl Spencer had almost thirty years ago. Can a thirty-year-old memory really be reliable?
 
This damaging claim has been splashed all over the media as if it’s the truth, but nobody has confirmed his account and the media aren’t pointing out that it’s highly contentious and possibly total nonsense.
 
Presumably the media are splashing this dubious accusation because they know their readers love this sort of wild gossip, especially if it concerns the Royal Family. Personally I have no time for the Royal Family but I don’t see why they should be subjected to such casual slander.
 
People may say Oh, but if you’re a member of the Royal Family you have to expect abuse and vilification and you just have to suck it up. Well, I disagree.

Willing recruits

A lot of the world’s conflicts could be ended quite quickly if it wasn’t for all the willing recruits who for one reason or another are prepared to join up and fight.

Why are they willing to sign up? Why are they ready to be cannon-fodder, ready to risk their lives for some dubious objective?

All sorts of reasons are given for joining up. It’s their patriotic duty, it’s an important cause, it’ll make a man of them, they’ll be looked after, and so on.

I’m very thankful I was born too late to be conscripted. I would almost certainly have been a conscientious objector.

Even if they aren’t killed, they could end up seriously disabled and unable to enjoy life as they used to do. What can be worth that outcome?

Over half a million Russians have died in the cause of territorial expansion. Just think of all the grieving families they leave behind.

Furthermore a lot of veterans are virtually ignored after “serving their country”. They can no longer get the support they need but are left to rebuild their lives as best they can. They feel neglected and discarded. It's shameful.

Pants are okay

A victory for common sense etc. After the education minister had resisted the change for many months, girls in Northern Ireland schools are finally being allowed to wear trousers. The change will start from the next academic year.

It’s extraordinary that it’s taken so long to introduce a such a basic option, with politicians offering all sorts of dubious reasons for insisting on skirts.

I took part in the consultation on whether trousers should be permitted, and of course  I said that trousers are more practical in a number of ways.
 
Apart from anything else it should cut down on unwanted male attention, not just in school but outside.
 
Women’s clothes are subjected to constant comment, often negative, while men’s clothes attract much less scrutiny.
 
It’s amusing to imagine a reverse situation in which men had to wear skirts, and how angry they would get with any salacious reactions. They would soon be lobbying for a change in the dress code.

Ripped off

I knew that people habitually steal items from restaurants, but I had no idea it happened on such a huge scale.
 
Just about anything in a restaurant will be stolen sooner or later – cutlery, cups, glassware, plates, salt and pepper shakers, condiment bottles, soaps and lotions. Even tips left on tables can be stolen.
 
Well, Jenny and I are scrupulously honest and never steal anything. Partly because we would feel so deceitful and partly because we know restaurants operate on very tight margins and could do without the cost of replacements.
 
Why are people happy to indulge in such petty theft as if it’s the most normal thing in the world? They can easily afford to buy what they’re stealing so why steal? Do they just like the frisson of doing something they shouldn’t?
 
Not to mention the “dine and dash” types who have a hearty meal and then sneak out of the restaurant without paying. No doubt they entertain their friends with stories of how they got the better of extortionate prices. No doubt they could easily swallow the prices but fancy the cheap thrill of ripping someone off and being five-minute rebels.
 
No, I’m not being sanctimonious. Just a decent citizen.

People I admire

There are people I loathe. There are people I find baffling. There are people I don’t want anything to do with. But how about people I admire? For example:

• Greta Thunberg, for constantly stressing the need for urgent action over climate change.
• David Attenborough ditto. And at the age of one hundred!
• J K Rowling, for challenging the idea of sex changes and self-declared sexual identity.
• Surgeons, who perform the most hair-raising procedures every day.
• Nurses, for providing such excellent care for all the thousands of patients they come in contact with.
• Emergency workers in general who often work in very dangerous circumstances.
• Hannah Spencer MP for challenging alcohol-fuelled law-making in the House of Commons.
• Bonnie Raitt, for her always enjoyable music that goes back 55 years.
• Jess Philips MP for campaigning against misogyny and male violence.
• Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for campaigning for girls’ education.
• Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web.

There are no doubt many others whose names escape me just now. I’m sure you can suggest a few I’ve forgotten.