BUSY

I'm busy busy busy

I don't have time for other people

Least of all you

I've got enough on my plate thank you very much

Look how in demand I am

See how precious my time is

My chocabloc diary

My colour-coded Outlook calendar

I wear my busy status as a badge of honour

It's a medal that I polish regularly

A measure of my self-worth

Or is it one-upmanship?

Keeping up with the Smiths and the Joneses

I'm busy doing nothing, sang Bing Crosby

Trying hard to find lots of things not to do

The ant pulling a guilt trip on the grasshopper

Perhaps it's a confession

An announcement to the world that I can't manage my time

Get busy living, said Red to Andy in Shawshank

Or get busy dying

TWO KINDS OF CLOUD

 

AGE OF CHAOS

A destructive wave of sameness sweeps everything in its path
Cloned Identikit houses, streets and developments
Country fields become shiny solar mirrors 
Groaning wind turbines stride along resentful ridges
Flood, storm and drought puzzle farmers and gardeners
We wonder where the bees, birds and butterflies have gone
Wherever something is wrong it is too big
A toxic alternative seduces those who have lost a sense of pride and belonging
The powerless and disenfranchised lob a bomb into the living room of their baffled masters
Exhausted dark-skinned people in flimsy dinghies wash up on our shores
They explain that they are here because we were there
Statues topple into the harbour to remind us that all lives matter
So many of us can't breathe
A plague has killed off many of our old folk and some of our young folk too
Shares in disposable plastic are at an all-time high
Shares in actors, singers and publicans are at an all-time low
Ministers are rewarded for their incompetence or having rich friends
They cry grade inflation as teenagers are punished for their hard work
None of the academic lenses seem to make sense of all this
We have lost perspective
Neither left nor right can protect what we love
Teenagers are depressed
Mums and dads are alienated
Grandparents are lonely
Nothing is sacred any more
God has fled
We cast around looking for someone or something to blame
China? Russia? Johnson? Trump?
As we mourn what we have lost

MY WORLD IN TEN IMAGES: #10

MY WORLD IN TEN IMAGES: #9

Cycling revolution

MY WORLD IN TEN IMAGES: #8

Birdlife

MY WORLD IN TEN IMAGES: #7

The moon and the sea

MY WORLD IN TEN IMAGES: #6

Art Nouveau

MY WORLD IN TEN IMAGES: #5

View from the mountaintop

THE MAGIC MONEY TREE (PART 2)

...Daisy rose from her desk, stared out of the window, and exhaled long and hard. This wasn't a fantasy any more, this magic money tree was real, and it was starting to drop more apples!

Turning back to her writing desk, Daisy opened the left-hand draw and pulled out a scruffy old notebook, brown with the stains of an exploded can of beer in a Singapore locker. Slowly, methodically, she began to compile a list of names. Dad. Her brother Dan in New Zealand. Jo in Bristol. Steve in Regensburg. Estíbaliz in San Sebastian. Sarah, wherever she might be right now! The ten people who Daisy was closest to in all the world but who had no contact with each other - especially not Dan and Dad. It was important that they were the spokes of the wheel and she was the hub. She didn't want any of her inner circle comparing notes...

Over the next few days, Daisy went to work. £100,000 was deposited in a bank account in Wellington, another hundred grand transferred to a Bavarian account. The same princely sums winged their way to the Basque Country and several UK accounts. Daisy smiled to herself. Only nine million quid left. Impending bankruptcy! She imagined what might happen next. It promised to be fun.

But a few days passed and absolutely nothing happened. In fact, the silence was deafening. Daisy called Dad for a chat, but he obviously hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Then, the following evening, the phone rang excitedly. It was Sarah. And from the tone of her voice, she had some dramatic news...

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Out today on Bandcamp
Twelve tracks
Forty-three minutes
Electric guitars
Acoustic guitars
Bass guitars
Keyboards
Drums and percussion
Cellos
Trumpets
Multi-tracked vocals
Songs that swim beneath the surface
Songs that get under your skin

https://fireseed.bandcamp.com/album/more-than-meets-the-eye

LEARNING IS EVERYTHING

Learning is...
home
kindergarten
school
college
university
lifelong
family
community
work
play
entering the arena
the school of hard knocks
developing critical faculties
making connections
joining up the dots
building a coherent picture
design, architecture and engineering
politics, economics and psychology
sociology, philosophy and anthropology
asking the right questions
not being afraid of difficult answers
hands-on
reading books
listening to podcasts
paying attention
cultivating empathy
readiness
a curve
dialogue and debate
making mistakes
acting on feedback
not making the same mistakes
vulnerability
taking risks
having the courage to fail
picking oneself up and trying again
cultivating curiosity
examining hobby horses
listening to new stories
going over old ground
being able to see in new ways
moving from A to B
or from A to Z
imagination
seeing further
digging deeper
reaching higher
not waiting for permission
a baby step forward
a quantum leap
a paradigm shift
patience
passion
perseverance
tenacity
grit

DICTIONARY OF CONFUSING CONCEPTS

Arena - The place where we lay ourselves and our work on the line
Art - The intention to share and display original work which is received by others
Aunthenticity - Unfiltered and unexamined behaviour [see Integrity]
Blame - The discharge of pain and discomfort
Clarity - Communicating intentions and expectations precisely, showing kindness and compassion for others
Connection - A combination of empathy and sonder [see Sonder]
Courage - A willingness to stare down fear and risk failure
Critic - A detached person who attacks from outside the arena while being unwilling to fight inside it[see Arena]
Dip - An inevitable but temporary loss of energy or enthusiasm in the middle of a worthwhile project or journey of personal growth
Empathy - The willingness to walk a mile in another person's shoes
Fatigue - An embodied response calling out for self-care and rest
Fun - A barely-remembered sense of play and enjoyment locked away in the distant past
Gratitude - The recognition of the essential contribution of others to our endeavours
Integrity - When what we believe, do and say are all in perfect alignment
Listening - Actively processing the words of another person without interrupting or formulating one's own response
Showing up - Regularly and consistently entering the arena, even in the most difficult circumstances [see Arena]
Silence - A tool for listening to others and holding space
Sonder - The moment of realization that other people are living a life equally as rich, vivid and complex as one's own [See the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows]
Sympathy - Feeling emotionally affected by the difficult emotions of others [see Empathy]

TENSION

Creating unhealthy tension
In the red corner
In the blue corner
Stepping on toes
Treading on eggshells
Ruffling feathers
Putting a foot in it
Putting the boot in
That sick feeling in the gut
Creating healthy tension
Prompting change
Using silence
Opening up space
Making a commitment
Investing time and money
Setting deadlines
Asking questions
How might I...?
Finding good in others
Taking a risk
Laying it on the line
Sharing work
Posting on Facebook
Writing a blog post

CHOICES

Being or having?
Learner or certificate?
Process or product?
Teaching or delivering content?
Uniqueness or conformity?
In context or decontextualised?
Personalisation or one-size-fits-all?
Centre or periphery?
Transformation or deficit?
Empowerment or marginalization?
Belonging or othering?
We or us and them?

BATTLE OF THE HEMISPHERES

LEFT BRAIN DOMINANT
Detail
Certainty
Closes down
Generalizes similarities
Explicit
Standardization
Disembodied
Breaks down into parts
Bottom-up processing
Building blocks of language
Literal understanding
Knowledge

RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANT
The big picture
Uncertainty
Opens up
Notices differences
Implicit
Originality
Embodied
Reassembles into wholes
Top-down processing
Idiom and metaphor
Humour
Wisdom

Which hemisphere will triumph?

WALKING IS A REVOLUTIONARY ACT

I used to think that cycling was a revolutionary act
Great exercise
Pollution-free
No sedentary commute to work for me
No - or at least less - road rage
Whooping for joy as I sailed downhill past a queue of static cars
The faces of their drivers locked into a tense grimace
I would often write some of my best songs on these journeys
Lyrics and music dropping unbidden into my lap
As I threaded my way along the dappled paths of Selly Oak Park
Feeling like a cipher for some higher musical authority
But two months into quarantine and my feelings have changed
It is walking that is truly revolutionary
To trundle along at three miles per hour in this turbocharged world
This seems like true rebellion
Instead of being a blur the ground is clear beneath my feet
The lens has been cleaned to help me see more clearly
No need to slam on the brakes to stop and inspect an interesting find
Easy to do an impromptu litter-pick
No problem navigating a steep path strewn with tree roots
Or taking a meandering detour through woodland terrain
Today I stopped to chat to my old neighbours on a grassy path through a meadow
On a bicycle I would never have struck up a conversation with Mick* the park attendant
Walking is showing the finger to the car industry
Walking fills my head with ideas
Walking is comfort to the mind
Walking is balm to the soul
Walking is a joy

[*Not his real name]

LAUGHING GAS

My early morning walk through the wildflower meadow
Has turned into an impromptu litter-pick
Beside an inadequate-looking receptacle
Overflowing with the excesses of a sunny weekend
I chat to my brand new friend, Mick*
As he bags up the cans and plastic bottles
The ice cream wrappers and the fast food cartons
The park attendant tells me he's just cleared up a chuckle of laughing gas canisters
Strewn across the car park where the Old Barn** used to be
Before it was set ablaze in an arson attack
Mick likes his job more than I was expecting
The Council is currently paying him full-time wages for part-time work
Mick's loving his long afternoons in the garden
Lying in a hammock with a beer or three
Courtesy of the UK taxpayer
This is especially interesting to know as England stares down the barrel of Austerity 2.0
Laughable really!

[*Mick's identity has been protected for obvious reasons]
[**The Old Barn was erected by the Cadbury family in the 1920s]

RECKONING

A time of reckoning is come
Minneapolis is burning
Brooklyn is ablaze
Los Angeles is on fire
Death is Detroit
None of us can breathe
Amid the acrid stench of smoke from smoldering tyres
Governors call in the national guard
Military police face off with protesters outside the Oval Office
The nation is convulsed with rage and fury
As it slumps into a second Great Depression
When the looting starts, the shooting starts
My eyes are still sore from the pepper spray
JJ got a nasty gash from a guardsman with a mean truncheon
He was stitched up by Jasmine
With no health insurance to pay for his hospital treatment
Saw a CNN cameraman hit by a rubber bullet
During the wee small hours
Trump's hollow tweets echo around cyberspace
Fomenting violence against black protesters
Even as the dying embers of his presidency crumble to ash
Among Twitter fact checks
His sycophants scatter like naughty schoolboys
George Floyd RIP
#BLM

A time of reckoning is come
A plague has visited these valleys
A wave of disease washing over our former pit towns
Poisoned by the Brexit well
Is this what taking back control looks like?
Thatcher's children become Johnson's parents and grandparents
Our narrow lives circumscribed by the arbitrary cruelty of Universal Credit
Blighted by social services on the cheap
Presided over by a gang of gutless stooges
It was mayhem again at the food bank today
Barely enough essentials to go round
The wife's had no new PPE for weeks now
She says it'll be a miracle if she doesn't catch it
Stay alert, they tell her, protect the NHS

A time of reckoning is come
The hourglass lies on its side
Time suspended
The aeroplane fleets are grounded
Resting on the melting tarmac like lazy seagulls
The cruise ships are unwelcome in any port
Plague ships, we call them
The rain forests burn
Smudging the deep blue autumn skies indigo
Our indigenous peoples are buried in mass graves
Our favelas are cesspits of disease and suffering
A madman has seized the reins of government
Oh Lord, why have you forsaken us?

INSERT IF THERE HAS BEEN A BEREAVEMENT

Dear Fireseed

Thank you for contacting me about Domino Comings. Also thank you for all you have done to observe the lockdown and to help us defeat the spread of the Covid-91 virus. I appreciate how hard it has been for everyone at this difficult time.

[INSERT IF THERE HAS BEEN A BEREAVEMENT] May I add my condolences to the recent loss of your family member.

I have taken time to look at this important issue, and take in all of the detail over the last few days. I listened to Mr Comings' statement and felt that this was comprehensive and sincere. The police concluded “there might have been a minor breach of the Regulations” and the case has been closed with no further action required as going to Durham was within the rules. I believe if a constituent in a similar position worried about who would take care of their child had sought advice from my office, I would have advised as per the guidance that they must do what they believe is necessary in exceptional circumstances.

I am very aware of the anger and frustration this has caused to many constituents. I am aware of the sacrifices people have made. I have made the Prime Minister’s office aware of their frustrations when I have spoken to them over the past few days. Representing our great local area is an honour and a privilege, and even when I disagree I am happy to represent my constituents nonetheless. I think that it is now time to draw a line under this issue.

Everyone has made sacrifices over these last few months that they could never have imagined, including not being able to see sick family and friends and even attend funerals. Some of the language in this debate however has been unnecessary and unpleasant. I feel deeply uncomfortable with the hounding that Domino's family have received and were receiving prior to the family leaving for Durham, accounting for part of the reason to leave.

Some of you may think that I am just ‘toeing the line’ but I want to assure you this is my genuine view. Many people have lost trust in politics and ask that politicians speak more candidly. As your MP I see it as my job to be honest and candid with you. My focus throughout this pandemic has been to use my role as an MP to offer support, guidance and help to people across the constituency. That is where my focus will remain.

Best wishes

Carrie Sandbank MP