The indoor critic and I, with Ruby the Dog for company, have spent the last couple of weeks in Scotland.
I am sure that the lack of a 3G signal will be at the very top of the incoming SNP Government's Agenda!
So my blog silence has been a result of no internet connection by 'phone, lap top or iPad unless, perhaps driving along by the side of a beautiful Loch or rounding the edge of a Munro or the sudden glimpse of the sea between the pines, but only on the Western Side, a beep, a buzz, a flurry of active noises, alerts you to 'a signal' and if you are lucky and are able to park, avoiding the passing places on the single track roads, suddenly you are 'in touch' and can download the Newspaper, catch up on Facebook or email friends and your investment in Apple's profitability will not have been wasted.
But the time has been well spent.
Sitting beneath Schiehallion it has been possible to reflect, without the constant interruption of background noise or hiss, on "What the Hell Happened"?
Well the Con-Dems are no more, the Dem part has been demolished.
We are left with the Con part.
It is remarkable that the Myth has been swallowed whole by the electorate that somehow the economy of a country is like any normal household budget.
I thought I saw the election slip away from Labour during the Question Time Election special when a member of the audience told Ed Milliband that if at the end of the week he had no money then he couldn't go for a pint, the analogy with a reckless Gordon Brown's profligacy as Chancellor and then PM.
Of course with hindsight, somewhere in the darkened room where he has been trying to quell his headache, Ed has been rehearsing all the responses that he might have given instead of trying to appease his questioner with Sure Start Centres built, Schools built and Hospitals built, not the least would be to have said, the economy of UK plc is nothing like your family budget, for a start we can borrow money for less than no interest instead of using credit cards, secondly we can print money if we need it and thirdly we own the bank not the other way round.
He might have pointed out that despite austerity the Con-Dems have increased the Debt rather than reduced it in any case.
So where next?
Well it's definitely back to the future with a vengeance, the children of Thatcher will make sure of that.
What's 12 Billion here and 12 billion there and of one thing you can be sure, as Ed might have pointed out, if things are a bit tight and you can't nip down to pub for a pint now, give it a year and you will not only be unable to nip out for a pint but in all probability having to nip to the food bank for a pint of powdered milk, just so you can get by.
It seems that Tony Blair thinks that the New Labour Message was the way forward, but if Blue Labour was the way forward then the emperor's clothes are now being worn by Blair's real heir David Cameron in his bid to replace the Welfare State with the Big Society.
The next five years will be bad, of that there is no doubt, we will all lose, and if we don't lose personally then somewhere along the extended channels of family and neighbours people we care about will be losing.
So I have relegated my Labour Party T Shirt to the back of the drawer and my Gladys Perry designed bag is hanging behind the bathroom drawer as a Laundry Bag.
Rather than spending its time electing a new leader or even resurrecting an old leader, Labour the party of working people, should be choosing from its midst, using magic chants, chicken bones or like the replacement of Judas, casting lots, although personally I would go for Diane Abbot, and then there needs to be a serious Big Tent Conversation with the Green Party Leadership and the Liberal Party Leadership together with the national parties of Wales and Scotland to form a big anti austerity, lets bring common sense back to politics and put an end to the current commitment to serve only the interests of what Steve Hilton has characterised the 'Chumocracy".
Let's work in the interests of the true wealth creators in our society, let's rethink the necessary alliances on the left and bring forward a consensus that can finally and permanently remove those who seek only to govern in the interests of their chums.
And, if they can organise their 3G signal or upgrade to 4G then Nichola and Alex can join in the conversations as they enjoy the beauties of their Highlands and Islands.
I am sure that the lack of a 3G signal will be at the very top of the incoming SNP Government's Agenda!
So my blog silence has been a result of no internet connection by 'phone, lap top or iPad unless, perhaps driving along by the side of a beautiful Loch or rounding the edge of a Munro or the sudden glimpse of the sea between the pines, but only on the Western Side, a beep, a buzz, a flurry of active noises, alerts you to 'a signal' and if you are lucky and are able to park, avoiding the passing places on the single track roads, suddenly you are 'in touch' and can download the Newspaper, catch up on Facebook or email friends and your investment in Apple's profitability will not have been wasted.
But the time has been well spent.
Sitting beneath Schiehallion it has been possible to reflect, without the constant interruption of background noise or hiss, on "What the Hell Happened"?
Well the Con-Dems are no more, the Dem part has been demolished.
We are left with the Con part.
It is remarkable that the Myth has been swallowed whole by the electorate that somehow the economy of a country is like any normal household budget.
I thought I saw the election slip away from Labour during the Question Time Election special when a member of the audience told Ed Milliband that if at the end of the week he had no money then he couldn't go for a pint, the analogy with a reckless Gordon Brown's profligacy as Chancellor and then PM.
Of course with hindsight, somewhere in the darkened room where he has been trying to quell his headache, Ed has been rehearsing all the responses that he might have given instead of trying to appease his questioner with Sure Start Centres built, Schools built and Hospitals built, not the least would be to have said, the economy of UK plc is nothing like your family budget, for a start we can borrow money for less than no interest instead of using credit cards, secondly we can print money if we need it and thirdly we own the bank not the other way round.
He might have pointed out that despite austerity the Con-Dems have increased the Debt rather than reduced it in any case.
So where next?
Well it's definitely back to the future with a vengeance, the children of Thatcher will make sure of that.
What's 12 Billion here and 12 billion there and of one thing you can be sure, as Ed might have pointed out, if things are a bit tight and you can't nip down to pub for a pint now, give it a year and you will not only be unable to nip out for a pint but in all probability having to nip to the food bank for a pint of powdered milk, just so you can get by.
It seems that Tony Blair thinks that the New Labour Message was the way forward, but if Blue Labour was the way forward then the emperor's clothes are now being worn by Blair's real heir David Cameron in his bid to replace the Welfare State with the Big Society.
The next five years will be bad, of that there is no doubt, we will all lose, and if we don't lose personally then somewhere along the extended channels of family and neighbours people we care about will be losing.
So I have relegated my Labour Party T Shirt to the back of the drawer and my Gladys Perry designed bag is hanging behind the bathroom drawer as a Laundry Bag.
Rather than spending its time electing a new leader or even resurrecting an old leader, Labour the party of working people, should be choosing from its midst, using magic chants, chicken bones or like the replacement of Judas, casting lots, although personally I would go for Diane Abbot, and then there needs to be a serious Big Tent Conversation with the Green Party Leadership and the Liberal Party Leadership together with the national parties of Wales and Scotland to form a big anti austerity, lets bring common sense back to politics and put an end to the current commitment to serve only the interests of what Steve Hilton has characterised the 'Chumocracy".
Let's work in the interests of the true wealth creators in our society, let's rethink the necessary alliances on the left and bring forward a consensus that can finally and permanently remove those who seek only to govern in the interests of their chums.
And, if they can organise their 3G signal or upgrade to 4G then Nichola and Alex can join in the conversations as they enjoy the beauties of their Highlands and Islands.
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