Jim’s Blog

Thursday, 20/Nov/2008.                         Note #5.

 [Making a start now and it's only 18:00h]

 There was a remarkable program on Radio 4 this morning (11:00h) illustrating the affect of the current “credit crunch” on the people of Iceland. One man, only weeks before, had owned a good house , a new car and all the other accoutrements of modern life. Now he was living in a shed in a field. The amazing thing was that the people were so ashamed of what they saw as their country’s bad behaviour! Opinions were expressed that, when the redundancy money ran out – in about 2 months – the choice would be to fight or to flee. Icelanders are – perhaps unexpectedly – a very peaceful people (all 300,000 of them) but anger at their government and banks is mounting. Meanwhile there were orderly queues at Red Cross soup kitchens, with individuals careful not to take too much in case others received too little (what a Christian attitude – not often witnessed elsewhere in our modern acquisitive world). Those who thought the might leave, were not inclined towards Denmark – the equivalent of a colonial master with a questionable attitude towards Greenlanders. Some said they would be too ashamed to go to UK after the losses suffered there due to Iceland’s financial collapse. [Since starting this message, violence - on a relatively modest scale - has broken out in Rekjavik].

My own Herts. County Council made deposits in Icelandic banks in the hope of huge profits. So much for financial whiz-kids. Also, I believe my local St Albans council intended to follow the county council’s example but, fortunately, the had no ready-money to invest – squander might be a better word to use.

 Could we, a nation of about sixty million people, find ourselves in a similar predicament? How would we react? Would we feel a communal shame or would a search for a scapegoat lead quickly to serious violence and police brutality? Let’s hope we don’t have to find out!

 Jim Naisbitt.                          <jim_naisbitt@talk21.com>              St Albans.                20/NOV/2008.

[Posted on Sat. 29/11/08]

Wednesday, 19/Nov/2008.                         Note #4.

 Once again, it’s almost midnight and I’m sitting in front of my lap-top wondering what to write. Now, rather than produce a poor effort just to say I’ve written something, I’ve decided to be sensible and leave it until tomorrow morning. Anyway, I HAVE written something tonight!

 My excuse today is that, this morning, I was grappling with the strip lighting in the loft then carting a large quantity of garden waste to the tip – that’s about the only running my old “bima” gets these days. Then after lunch, we were on grandson-watch down in the Isle of Dogs (didn’t actually see any of them) so, what with all the football on the TV (my daughter has all that Sky), it was 22.30h by the time we got home – to find a message from Barcelona on the answer-phone. This concerned participation in a bid for an EU project in Turkey, Croatia and FYRMacedonia – another wild goose chase! I might make an effort to respond tomorrow – if I can’t think of anything better to do.

 Jim Naisbitt.                          <jim_naisbitt@talk21.com>              St Albans.                19/NOV/2008. [Posted on Sat. 29/11/08]

Well, it’s after midnight again so I feel pressed into writing just a short note while promising myself faithfully that this won’t happen again – not much!

I have decided that I must soon change from writing loosely structured notes to essays dealing in more detail with specific issues. For tonight however I will continue as before simply to get more practice at writing down my thoughts.

I realise that I now have the problem of having to remember what I have already written so that I don’t repeat myself. I suppose I must let the cat out of the bag – on this coming Saturday (22/11/08, St Cecelia’s day) it is my seventieth birthday. It‘s hardly surprising that my memory isn’t so good – but there again it never has been. I consider myself to be more of a thinker than a walking encyclopaedia.

For the past week, I have been an avid Euro-tracker. My wife and I are in the process of setting up a Discounted Gift Trust to help provide for our (really) old age and to minimise the dreaded Inheritance Tax. To this end, I have requested the transfer of a substantial sum from an account in Euros to one in Sterling. During the past week or so the Euro rose from about 77.5p to over 86p before the week-end then fell back to 84.4p (tonight). Unfortunately, the transfer cannot actually take place until probably Friday (21/11/08) so I’m hoping the Euro will have recovered again by then. We shall see. Anyway, it’s just money! – but I can see how those people in Canary Wharf came to sell their souls.

I recall another book I never wrote, If you are being ignored at a Reception Desk because the Receptionist elects to give preference to a telephone caller, just start pointedly to scribble in a note-book. The receptionist will eventually became curious and ask what you are writing. You reply “just making notes for a new book” which prompts the response “what’s it about”. You now check-mate with “1001 ways of wasting my time”. There again – and now finally – I thought of a great theme for a TV documentary series: “It seemed a good idea at the time” – the first episode could feature “the Internal Combustion Engine”! This leads nicely up to the buffers with a definition of the Second Law of Thermo-Dynamics:- “It’s easier to take a thing to pieces than it is to put it back together again”

Jim Naisbitt.        <jim_naisbitt@talk21.com>    St Albans.    18/NOV/2008.

I recall a cycling tour (Newcastle to Dover – I took the train back!) when I was a teenager. Starting the second day was the worst. Overnight, my backside had assumed that the ordeal was over so it was a shock to have to start again. On the following mornings, the pain was anticipated so seemed to be less severe. Well, that’s how it is with this “blog”. This second effort is a lot harder but hopefully, if I can register a reasonable stage, it might get easier from tomorrow? In fact, it is already “tomorrow” now but I did start before midnight. Anyway, I’m sure there will be many future days when miss a dead-line or fail to make any contribution at all.

One of the problems with our system of government is that (usually) only one political party is “in power” as they put it. In reality, we know that the real people in power (“pulling the strings”) are probably those who provide financial support – often to both major parties – as is the case also in our parent company, the U.S.A. The “ruling” party then associates itself with all governmental activities (performance of hospitals, schools, the military, etc) and feels obliged to defend and cover up short-comings in these services because they would reflect badly on that ruling party. Thus, the very people who are best placed to monitor performance have a vested interest in secrecy on the subject. On the other hand, “Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition” feels the necessity to drag up every little item of scandal in order to reflect badly on the “government”. How much better it would be if we did not have such political parties which no longer represent any identifiable economic or social movements. Lord Levy, formerly fund-raiser of the (New) Labour Party was interviewed recently on Radio 4 and stated that he didn’t think anyone would give serious money to New Labour as they had little hope of winning the next election (I think that was the gist of it). Well, of course, the message that sent to me was that these major subscribers were expecting to get something back for their investments!

My original website – which has now become this Blogsite – was started almost five years ago, just before I decided to contest the Elections for the European Parliament. In 2009, I think I would prefer to support some other like-minded (Independent) person, rather than stand again myself, as it proved rather expensive for me last time.

So, apart from reforming the political system – and finishing the loft insulation plus making a start with the secondary glazing – I think I have only one other significant outstanding task – I have that book to write. I have a notebook half full of titles but only once did I manage a few pages of text. Now I’m wondering if I have found my vocation at last – but can I fulfil it? If – in order to effect the Redemption of Mankind – Jesus the Christ was (necessarily) fully Man as well as fully God, then he must have had the characteristic of a man. We know of His compassion on hearing of the death of Lazarus and His anger on finding the money-changers in the temple but what about humour? I think that, if you had spent an evening in His company, you would not have experienced many belly-laughs but your fellow passengers might have noticed you smiling to yourself on the bus, on the way home.

Jim Naisbitt.         jim_naisbitt@talk21.com   St Albans.     Monday, 17/NOV/2008.

This web-site of mine has effectively lain dormant for several years now. I think it is time to revive it.

Today (Sunday 16/Nov/2008) is the penultimate Sunday of the Church’s calendar and the Gospel reading appointed for today is Matthew Chapter 25, verses 14 – 30, concerning the man who left three servants to look after 5, 2 and 1 “talents” (measures of silver, I think). He returned later to find that the first two had doubled the value of what had been entrusted to them but the third had buried his single talent and returned it as it has been given to him. That servant was chastised as “wicked and lazy” and was cast out into darkness amid “weeping and grinding of teeth”. At this point, I was alarmed to find that I was actually grinding my teeth – a bit scary? – but not weeping although I have very occasionally experienced that – for no obvious reason. Well, of course, the big mistake the third servant made was to state that he had heard that his employer was “a hard man, reaping where he had not sown”. That was not the best way to start an apology for his failure to be enterprising!

Frankly, I fear this parable because I see my behaviour as that of the third servant – but perhaps I have buried two or even five talents?

Next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church’s year, before the start of Advent. The theme for next Sunday will be the End of the World (Armageddon). I will always remember a priest preaching on that Sunday and saying that “the signs of the End of the World are the same today as they have always been – children will not obey their parents and everybody wants to write a book!”. That man rose in my estimation!

So, where do I come in – and you also (if there’s anyone out there)? Well, you know how sometimes you really think you have a good idea but you do nothing about it then later, you think “What a stupid idea that was. Thank goodness I did nothing about it”. But occasionally, you keep coming back to an idea and it always seems to be valid – sometimes, someone else will have done it and you rue having done nothing. Very occasionally, your idea is still there: it seems to be waiting for you. So, what is holding you back? If my project is for Good then the forces of Evil will discourage me and, unless I enlist spiritual help, I will never get started. Well, this brief note is my attempt to get started. I will try to post it on my web-site and see what (if anything) happens. As John Ebden used to say at the end of his radio broadcasts, “If you have been, thank you for listening”.

More tomorrow. Hopefully, I can tell you more of what I have in mind – and perhaps read your wishful thoughts, also.

Jim.        <jim_naisbitt@talk21.com>    St Albans.    Sunday, 16/Nov/2008.