Today I got The Letter.
In August I become redundant. That is, the charity I work for can no longer afford to pay me. The work I do is still requested, but it's not chargeable because I advise charities and the Government has decided to put most of the advice online, making my job no longer feasible.
Doesn't bother me particularly - I'm practically at retirement age anyway, and I've been doing it for far too many years - but in a time when jobs are supposed to be something they're creating, why do they make so many jobs redundant? Machines to do manual work, the internet to do mental work, but none of it as well as humans used to do it (preen, preen!).
Machines can do the same job over and over again, but ingenuity and additional flair is way beyond their capacity. Information can be posted on the internet, but somebody is still needed to explain it to those who can't quite get it. Shame - they will never get it now unless they can scrape together enough money to pay someone to explain it.
And there's the rub. Charities used to do things free of charge, funded by the goodwill of those with money and social conscience. The present government (with help from the last half dozen) has made it practically impossible to do that. Charity will be abolished (sorry, God - they're not listening). Anything you do has to be paid for these days - if not, you'll be taxed anyway. And if you haven't ignored all the pundits and saved madly for the last few decades, you won't be kept in your old age either - you'll work till you drop.
I hope they sleep well at night. I will - but I'm one of the lucky ones.
Friday, 13 May 2016
Monday, 2 May 2016
Stars before the eyes
We had an amazing weekend.
We went to Nottingham to see Bellowhead on their final tour. We've been fans for some time, so we had to get to see them one last time.
Nottingham was a surprise - I haven't been since I was at college, and all I remembered was the Robin Hood statue (from a school visit), Yates' Wine Lodge and the Hole in the Wall pub... Great days!
Turns out there's a lot more to Nottingham than I remembered, so we're hoping to go back for a long weekend before too much longer and see some of the sights. There are great shops and eateries too - not what we're used to here. The waitress in Zizzi's didn't bat an eyelid when we asked for vegan options.
Anyway, the main event was definitely Bellowhead. The theatre was wonderful, and huge! The support act, Mawkin, were really good, but Bellowhead were on top form and absolutely amazing. You just get absorbed into the music and the crowd and all move together.
I do hope that was not their final tour - how could you give up the effect you guys have on a crowd? How could you never produce that amazing sound ever again? Nobody else can do it. Have a rest, then think again!
Bellowhead, stop reading here. We really enjoyed your show, honestly.
The crowd were great. Except one or two. Honestly, if you don't want to go to see the band, why on earth did you take up a seat that an enthusiast could have?
The one that most irritated me was just to my left and down a couple of rows. She was on her phone the entire time, with the backlight on maximum so it was quite blinding whenever it flashed in my direction - the stage lighting was either blue or red, so a bright white light was really distracting. Eventually she got up and left.
She wasn't the only one. Do they come with partners who are fans, or do they not know how to behave in public?
There's only one word for that kind of behaviour - rude! It distracts other audience members and is totally disrespectful to the performers.
Shall we set up a movement to tap these rude people on the shoulder and ask them to leave, or would it be better to ask an usher to do it, or to get one of the stage lights directed at them? No, the last one would totally ruin the show!
We went to Nottingham to see Bellowhead on their final tour. We've been fans for some time, so we had to get to see them one last time.
Nottingham was a surprise - I haven't been since I was at college, and all I remembered was the Robin Hood statue (from a school visit), Yates' Wine Lodge and the Hole in the Wall pub... Great days!
Turns out there's a lot more to Nottingham than I remembered, so we're hoping to go back for a long weekend before too much longer and see some of the sights. There are great shops and eateries too - not what we're used to here. The waitress in Zizzi's didn't bat an eyelid when we asked for vegan options.
Anyway, the main event was definitely Bellowhead. The theatre was wonderful, and huge! The support act, Mawkin, were really good, but Bellowhead were on top form and absolutely amazing. You just get absorbed into the music and the crowd and all move together.
I do hope that was not their final tour - how could you give up the effect you guys have on a crowd? How could you never produce that amazing sound ever again? Nobody else can do it. Have a rest, then think again!
Bellowhead, stop reading here. We really enjoyed your show, honestly.
The crowd were great. Except one or two. Honestly, if you don't want to go to see the band, why on earth did you take up a seat that an enthusiast could have?
The one that most irritated me was just to my left and down a couple of rows. She was on her phone the entire time, with the backlight on maximum so it was quite blinding whenever it flashed in my direction - the stage lighting was either blue or red, so a bright white light was really distracting. Eventually she got up and left.
She wasn't the only one. Do they come with partners who are fans, or do they not know how to behave in public?
There's only one word for that kind of behaviour - rude! It distracts other audience members and is totally disrespectful to the performers.
Shall we set up a movement to tap these rude people on the shoulder and ask them to leave, or would it be better to ask an usher to do it, or to get one of the stage lights directed at them? No, the last one would totally ruin the show!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)