Covid Conspiracies - The Questions That Need Answering (before you're daft enough to believe in them)

Many of us look on in bewilderment at the spate of ridiculous Covid conspiracy theories out there, and spend an inordinate amount of time trying to defend the perceived wisdom.  It's time to get off the back foot and take the challenge to the tinfoil hat brigade.  Before anyone even starts to argue that there's some sort of conspiracy, the following questions need to be answered.

What?

What is this conspiracy?  What is its purpose?  If there is a conspiracy here, then clearly it's quite massive, and has taken a lot of time and effort.  So why would someone do that?  What did we have before that they didn't like which will have disappeared if this conspiracy is successful?  What will we have afterwards that we didn't have before?

If we're really being fed vaccines full of microchips, what exactly are they going to do with that?

How?

How has this been perpetrated on us?  How do you manage to bring the world to a halt, economies to their knees, travel to a standstill?  How do you fill the wards of hospitals with people who are not ill, and statistics full of new cases and deaths which aren't actually happening, without someone being able to very clearly and easily shows that to not be the case?

Who?

This is the biggie.  Who is involved and who is to benefit?  As far as I can tell, if there is a conspiracy, all of the following must be in on it, and with a united purpose.

1. Extremely nasty right wing dictators like Bashar Al-Assad of Syria, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea
2. Very right wing, nominal 'democracies' like Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.  Not particularly 'on message' with Covid, and currently playing catch up, but he admits it exists and is dangerous
3. Centre-right democratic leaders like Trump in the US or Johnson in the UK.  Again, not always as 'on message' as you'd like, but spending (for Trump, 'spent') billions, and curtailing freedoms in a way which doesn't sit well with their general political philosophy.  But they're still on board.
4. Centre-left democratic governments like those currently in power in France, Italy and Finland
5. Progressive left wing governments like Jecinda Ardern's in New Zealand.
   
6. Hard left democratic governments like those in Greece
7. Very left wing nominal 'democracies' like Venezuala
8. Extremely nasty left wing dictatorships like North Korea

And then there are the odd ones out like China.  What is that?  A communist, capitalist dictatorship?  And Iran.  A theocracy?

Let's not leave it there.  Look at opposing world views.  Israel's government and Hamas might immediately spring to mind.

What do they all have in common.  They all believe there's a threat to public health from Covid, to the extent that they've brought in unusual and extraordinary measures.  That's right.  The communists agree with the nazis.  The Thatcherites agree with the Corbynistas.  The Israelis agree with the Palestinians.  The religious Islamic leaders agree with the secular west.

Let's not stop with governments, what about the media?  Again, we might look at state controlled media in China, or North Korea.  Or we might look at media owned by capitalist, hyper-rich owners.  Or we might look at 'the mainstream media', which is, apparently, a bad thing.  And completely beholden to the establishment.

And yet this is the media who brought us Watergate, at the time of Nixon.  Who broke the news of secretly smuggling Cruise Missiles into Greenham Common in the time of Thatcher.  Or who railed against the MPs' expenses scandal.  Or who continuously scrutinise Boris Jonson's personal and financial affairs.  A media demonstrably NOT beholden to its leaders.

Outside of that, I need to go local with the UK here.  Any conspiracy, quite aside from the UK government of Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, would have to include the SNP in Scotland, Professor Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick Vallance, Jonathan Van-Tam, all of their subordinates, high-to-middle ranking health professionals under them, high-to-middle ranking civil servants, and thousands of administrators and scientists, not to mention the epidemiologists, virologists, and public health data collectors.

And what about the security services?  Where are the MI5/MI6/KGB defectors (and there are usually a good number) blowing the whistle?

What about the technology which controls our lives.  Apparently this has all been controlled by Bill Gates.  And yet it would also include the cooperation, not only of his old pals at Microsoft, but also his sworn enemies at Apple, needed to get the app on our phones.

So here's the question in short.  Why has this conspiracy happened, how on earth was it perpetrated, and who is responsible who had the power to cover it all up?

Because any conspiracy would require every single one of those nations, those politicians, those public officials, those scientists, those doctors, and those media to be involved, or at least consent to turn a bind eye...

...without a single one of them, anywhere on the planet breaking ranks.  Because none has.

None of those conspiracy theories has come from a country with a different political outlook to most others.  Or a genuine, proven independent reporter.  Or a high-ranking scientists.  Or any of the many tens, if not hundreds of thousands of credible voices which would have been potentially raised throughout the world had this all been a scam.

None of the conspiracies come from data officials in Belgium, or a team of doctors in Bolivia, or civil servants in Chad.

And here's the kicker.  I know that no one can possibly answer the massive, insurmountable weight of evidence I've offered here, but let's suppose they could.

That in itself would in no way prove a conspiracy.  It would only prove that a conspiracy were theoretically possible.  It would prove that it could be planned, perpetrated and hidden, but not that it had ever happened.  It's possible I'm in a conspiracy with Jeremy Corbyn, the manufacturers of Curly Wurly, and the bloke from the Go Compare adverts.  It doesn't mean it's happened.

And despite this lack of evidence, there are people out there prepared to believe conspiracy theories spread by Chuck, a 34 year old posting on FaceBook from his bedroom in his mum's house in West Virginia, who lives on a diet of delivery pizza and Cheerio's, and posts whilst sat in his soiled boxer shorts and t-shirt.

So, before you ever think about mentioning to me that there's any sort of a conspiracy about Covid, be prepared to answer all of the above first.

Why It's Important to Have a Covid Vaccine

When I first opened this blog, I said it was because the space constraints of FaceBook made it difficult to discuss some matters in the detail they require.  The necessity of having a Covid vaccine is one such instance.

It can be a tricky, emotive, and complicated topic, so I'll try to keep this as honest and simple as possible  So the following numbers are purely illustrative.  They're not be taken as accurate, pure science, but as an idea of why vaccination is important.

Firstly, let's look at a virus, any virus.  There's a lot of talk about the 'R' number.  That's just a measurement of how many people a person, on average, will pass the virus on to.  So, if a virus has an R of 1, what does that mean? It means that. if we don't change our behaviour (social distancing, etc.), if 10,000 people have it today, then 10,000 will have it tomorrow, and 10,000 will have it in a week, and 10,000 will have it in 6 months.

Some of the original 10,000 won't have given it to anyone.  Some will have given it to 3 or 4 people.  But, on average, each one person will have infected one other person.

But what if it's a nasty virus and the R number is 3?  That means that each of those people gives it to 3 more.  So now, those 10,000 people become 30,000.  That then becomes 90,000.  That becomes 270,000.  That becomes 810,000.  That becomes 2,430,000.  That becomes 7,7290,000.  That becomes 21,870,000.  And that becomes 65.5 million.  The entire population of the UK infected from a starting point of 10,000 people, in 8 steps.  Of course, it'd never come to that, but that's just to illustrate how fast things can change.

But let's say we could reduce that.  Let's say the R number was reduced to 0.75.  10,000 would become 7,500.  Then 5,625.  Then 4,219.  Then 3,164.  Then 2,373.  Then 1,780.  Then 1,335.  And then 1,001.  That's what we've done with the Coronavirus with lockdown.  We've not got R down to 0.75, but we've got it below 1 by closing the pubs.

So how do vaccines help?  Some say that there's no point in being vaccinated against a virus if it's not 100% effective.  Well, let's say vaccines reduce your chances of getting the virus by 75%.  3 people out of 4 who would have got the virus no longer do.  But 1 out of 4 does.  That means those 10,000 people, instead of passing it on to 30,000 people, will only pass it on to 25% of those.  Which is 7,500.  So the R number has come down from 3 to 0.75, because of the vaccine.  So for a virus with an R of 3, if the vaccine is 75% effective, it reduces the R to 0.75.  Instead of growing by x3, it's shrinking by a quarter.

But what it some people aren't vaccinated?  How many people do we need to be vaccinated to control that virus?  Well, we know that we need enough for the R number to fall below 1.  Remember, an R of 1 means the numbers are stable, above 1 and the numbers with it are growing, below 1 and numbers are shrinking.  We said that the virus has an R of 3.  So  200 people  give it to 600 more people.  If everyone were vaccinated with a jab that's 75% effective they'd only give it to 25% of those 600, so that's 150.  200 becomes 150, that's an R of 0.75.

But let's say a quarter of those 600 weren't vaccinated.  150 would get it from not being vaccinated, and 112 (25%) of those vaccinated would get it, that's a total of 262.  So 200 people pass it on to 262.  So if the virus has an R of 3, and the vaccine is 75% effective, and only 75% of people get jabbed, the R remains above 1.  And if we don't want the virus to spread, we need to keep the pubs shut.

Let's try some more sums.  If 90% are vaccinated, 60 of the 600 would get it because they weren't vaccinated, and 135 who were vaccinated would get it.

60 + 135 = 195.  200 people pass it on to 195.  The R has just dipped below 1.

So we would need 90% of people to be vaccinated to bring the R below 1.  Or alternately, keep some lockdown measures in place.

So that's a theoretical virus.  What about the Coronavirus?

It's very difficult to say with any degree of accuracy where we are with Covid, because we're nor completely sure of the virus's true R number, nor exactly how more infectious the new variants make it, nor exactly how much the vaccines prevent spread.

But we do know that the virus has an R above 1 (a long way above 1).  And we do know the variants increase this.  And we do know vaccines reduce your chances of passing it on.

And we also know that we've only been able to bring the R down to below 1 with some pretty hefty changes to our lives.

And we do know:

• The R number needs to be below 1
• This virus has a natural, unchecked R of way over 1
• There are only 2 ways to bring the R number down (a) lockdown measures, and (b) vaccination
• The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer lockdown measures are needed.
• The fewer people vaccinated, the greater the number of lockdown measures must remain

So if anyone thinks "I'm 25 and healthy, I've almost ZERO chance of getting ill, why should I bother getting vaccinated?" this is your answer.

If you want to go to the pub, or a gig, or on holiday, or visit your family & friends, or go to the shops, or see businesses re-open, or the government getting into greater debt, or return to a normal life, then we need enough people to be vaccinated to keep the R below 1.  If we don't get enough people vaccinated, we'll need to keep some lockdown measures in place.

Put another way, if enough people refuse to be vaccinated, the pubs may remain closed.

Avoiding and Treating Mosquito Bites

How to avoid mosquito bites is a regular topic of discussion for people visiting affected areas.

THE BLOG ARTICLE BELOW WAS UPDATED IN JUNE 2022 AFTER AVON REFORMULATED THEIR SKIN SO SOFT RANGE.

I was badly bitten in 2017 at Koukounaries on Skiathos, and almost chomped to death last spring on Crete. I decided to do something about it for my Skiathos holiday last autumn, and research things a little.

In the past I've simply not bothered with creams, and just stuck to taking my usual antihistamines.  I don't know why, when it clearly hasn't worked!  For this holiday I resolved not to suffer like I had in April.

But I didn't want to hear old wives tales, I wanted solid, scientific evidence as to what really works.

The Research

Firstly, the lotions/sprays/creams.  I've read quite a few online scientific/medical reports, and watched a few videos.

Here's a good one showing just how good DEET is.

That really does seem to work.  Reading a few articles in scientific/medical journals, the scientists appear to think DEET, PMD, picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus (NOT Lemon Eucalyptus (Essential) Oil) are all pretty good.  There's a story that the SAS use Avon Skin So Soft, which sounds bizarre, and old-wife-tale-y, but there's nothing secret or magic about it, it just happens to contain picaridin.  ** Please see the footnote about Avon Skin So Soft.

Looking at all of the tests combined it looks like DEET is maybe just slightly better than the others, though there's not a lot in it.  The % concentration of DEET in a product above 15% doesn't appear to make that product 'better', it just lasts longer, between 15% and 50%.  However, some people get rashes and other side effects above 30%, so that looks like the best bet if you think you might not react well to it.

I know some people say "Nothing works for me!", but when you look at the tests which have been done, I think anyone wearing 30% DEET who still gets bitten is most probably not applying it correctly, not applying it often enough, or applying it correctly but then inadvertently washing it off. 

The little buggers hate it, and I don't care how juicy and/or nice-smelling you are, they're simply not going to land on you if you apply that correctly and frequently.

Next up, toiletries.  To help not attract the mosquitoes, it's best to use un-fragranced ones.  There's no use wearing something which effectively negates the lotion.  So that's soap, shampoo & conditioner, antiperspirant and shaving cream.

Because it's not always practical to apply a repellent just before bed, or one that lasts all night, a plugin has been proven to help.  But one that emits a repellent liquid, not an electronic signal, or high-pitched whine.  They've been shown to be useless.

If and when you are bitten, antihistamine can help stop or reduce itching.  I know that already, but what I didn't realise is that there are different types of antihistamine, and that some work better than others when specifically reducing mosquito bite irritation.  Apparently cetirizine is best.  By the way, it's not as effective taking one AFTER you've been bitten - preferably start well in advance of your holiday,  As a hay fever sufferer I take one-a-day between March and October anyway.

Finally, when I'm bitten, I find applying AfterBite is a big help:

It stings like mad for a few seconds, but I always think that's a good sign.  It certainly feels like it reduces the itching.  Again, like the above, there's plenty of good science behind using it.

Anyway, that's the theory.  In summary:

- Take the antihistamine cetirizine daily.

- Cover exposed skin with a product containing 30% DEET (or up to 50% if you don't get any adverse reaction).

- Apply an ammonia-based insect bite pen if you're bitten.

- Use a plug in at night.

- Wear un-fragranced toiletries.

I decided to take the lot and see how it went.

Having looked at the science I decided to IGNORE:

- Garlic tablets

- Vitamin B1 and/or B12 supplements

- Marmite

- Plug-ins which emit an electronic signal or noise

- Wrist bands

- Citronella Candles

- Lemon Eucalyptus (Essential) Oil 

All have been tested, time and time again, and have been shown to have absolutely zero benefit.  Please note that, whilst Lemon Eucalyptus Oil/Lemon Eucalyptus Essential Oil are very poor, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus does work - check the labelling carefully.

What I Did

So, what did I do?  Firstly, I switched my daily antihistamine to the Cetirizine.  As the effect can be cumulative, I started a month in advance.

Secondly I switched my toiletries to un-fragranced ones.  Simple Pure Soap.  Simple Shampoo and Conditioner.  Simple Soothing Antiperspirant.  King of Shaves AlphaGel.

Thirdly, I bought a Jungle Formula plugin for the room.

Fourthly, I took to wearing a 50% DEET formula on exposed skin.  Superdrug brand.  DEET is DEET, you don't have to pay extra for a 'named' brand.  However, Superdrug's own brand appears to have been discontinued, so you might have to splash out a bit more for Jungle Formula.  I have now found that Sainsbury's Extra Strength Insect Repellent (50% DEET) is the best value, at only £4 for a 100ml ca, vs £7.49 for Superdrug's Buzz Off and £10 for Jungle Formula at Boots (though that is a slightly larger can, and they sometimes do a 'buy-one-get-one-half-price' deal.

Finally, I carried AfterBite for if/when I was bitten.

The Results

First night didn't go well, but all my fault.  I plugged in my plugin, and checked the light underneath to ensure it was on.  However, I was unaware that the plug, positioned underneath the room's large, back-lit mirror, turned on and off with the switch to the backlight.  Subsequently, when turning the light off for the night, I also turned off the plug in. Result - 3 bites on my left hand.  I sleep on my right, so it was pretty much the only exposed part of my skin, other than my face.

From then on, I ensured that the plugin was on every night, and that I always sprayed exposed areas with DEET before going out.  This involved moving it to a different socket.  The unit worked well, but it became apparent after a few days that it was dripping in to the carpet below, leaving a stain, so watch out for that.

The result was zero bites * all holiday.  Bearing in mind that I'm usually a mosquito magnet, and used to ending up looking like I've had a bad case of chicken pox (particularly on my legs) I consider this a triumph.

* Now, the one exception.  On the penultimate day of my holiday I went on a 4x4 jeep trip up into the mountains.  It was during a similar trip in April on the Crete holiday that I suffered worst.  Subsequently I decided to wear a long-sleeved shirt and long trousers, treated with picaridin.  That lasted for 5 minutes, I didn't even leave the room.  Just too warm.  So, I applied plenty of DEET, and ensured my shorts, socks and shirt were covered in a clothing-based repellent.

The results were spectacular.  I will not lie, I did receive 1 (one) bite to my right forearm, but that was it.  Why?  I can only guess that I either missed a bit when applying, or that part of my arm was rubbed at some point.  That aside I was completely bite-free.  I cannot express just how much this enhanced my holiday.

One more thing.  I regularly see people claiming that one of the proven fails (marmite, B12, realigning their chakras) 'works for them'.  Without being rude this information is of no use at all, and could be dangerous.  Firstly, without a thorough examination and controlled testing, there's really no way to say that the remedy genuinely does work for them.   Secondly, even in the unlikely event that it does indeed 'work for them', then if the science says it doesn't work in properly controlled tests, then it's almost certainly not going to work for anyone else, or at best for an extremely small minority.  Perhaps that wouldn't matter if we were discussing something else.  But if someone is genuinely persuaded to avoid a proven repellent, and instead slops on something shown to NOT work, that could cause a very nasty illness, and is quite likely to result in unnecessary discomfort spoiling your holiday, or at least taking the edge off it.  At worst, mosquito-transmitted illnesses can be fatal, and even in relatively low-risk countries like Greece.  You might want to Google 'West Nile Virus'.  So whilst I'm sure some people mean well, and some perhaps genuinely believe they're passing on helpful information, this really isn't something with which we should be playing a game of chance.  No offence intended.  Playing heavy metal might help you reduce your headache, but that's no reason to recommend it to others.

In conclusion, I can only say that my experience supported the research.  I thoroughly recommend that anyone who suffers from mosquitoes follows the expert advice referenced in this blog.  Whilst I've included my own experiences, but ultimately it's the science that counts.

**A word of warning about Avon Skin So Soft.  It USED to work.  It used to contain picaridin, which is a known, tested mosquito repellent.  However, Avon appear to have changed the ingredients, swapping out picaridin, and replacing it with cirtronellol.  Now, the latter does have some repellent properties  However, effectiveness isn't quite as good as DEET and lasts for a mere 90 minutes, so if you go to the beach at 10:00 and return at 17:00 you're looking at an initial application just before you leave the room, then top ups at 11:30, 13:00, 14:30, and 16:00.  That's five applications.  That's awkward and time-consuming, the multiple bottles required are bulky, and expensive.  Similarly, if you're out for the evening, leaving at 20:00, expect to be topping up at 21:30 and 23:00.  In comparison, the lowest strength DEET on the market (if you can find it this week) is around 6-7%, which will last you for 2 hours.  15% DEET is good for 4 hours, and 50% DEET will last you most of the day, and a reapplication all night.  That's 2 applications of DEET vs 8 of Avon Skin So Soft.  Four times as much.

One 100ml can of DEET will cost you £4 (see above), whilst a 100ml travel bottle of Avon costs £3.  But as we've seen, you'll need 4 times as much Avon SSS as DEET so that's £4 for the DEET vs £12 for the Avon, which isn't quite as good anyway.

To be fair to Avon, their site does say that ingredients may change.  Please feel free to let me know if you see a change in formulation.

Okay, that's it.  But don't take my word for it.  Rather than clog up this blog with numerous links, I've kept those elsewhere.

If you want to see the evidence behind all of the above, please follow this link.

https://theyorkshiremouth.blogspot.com/2022/07/avoiding-and-treating-mosquito-bites.html

Faith Brothers Discography 1978-1987

 

Circumstances have recently focussed my mind on Faith Brothers, and the lack of a complete discography.

I've seen one or two attempts, but never the whole thing.  So last weekend I resolved to create such a list.

Here it is, in its entirety.  I say 'entirety', I've focussed on the singles, and not included either of the two studio albums (Eventide and A Human Sound), nor any of the BBC live/sessions releases which have appeared over the last few years.

Please feel free to correct any errors or omissions, and I'll update this.

I'll try to add artwork and release dates when I get chance.

Scruff:

7” - Get Out of My Way/Rock ‘n’ Roll Woman

The Legendary Luton Kippers:

7” EP - The Sun Says/No Man’s Land/Fulham Court/Sunday

Faith Brothers:

Jammin’ 7” Flexi - Newtown

7” - Tradesman’s Entrance (early version)/Thrill of the Kill (early version)

7” - The Country of the Blind/Thrill of the Kill

7” Double Pack Country of the Blind/Thrill of the Kill/Eventide (‘7” mix’, ‘full band’ version)/Easter Parade (early version)

12” - The Country of the Blind/ Eventide (recital)/Thrill of the Kill/Easter Parade (early version)

7” – A Stranger on Home Ground/Fulham Court

10” - A Stranger on Home Ground/Fulham Court/Eventide (live)/Newtown (live)

12” - A Stranger on Home Ground/Fulham Court/The Country of the Blind (live)

NME Cassette – A Stranger on Home Ground (‘string version’)

7” – Eventide (7” edit)/Biko (studio version)

10” – Eventide (extended version)/Biko (live version)/A Stranger on Home Ground (live)/Doctor My Eyes (live)

12” – Eventide (extended version)/Biko (studio version)/Union Jack Robinson

7” - Whistling in the Dark (7” edit)/Easter Parade (live)

12” – Whistling in the Dark (Laughter in the Trenches 12” mix)/Easter Parade (live)/Doctor My Eyes (live)

Billy Franks

Saint of Contradiction mini album – Saint of Contradiction/Watershed/Already Mine/Before the Flood – August 6 1945/Sunday (Rebel Soul)/Free Man in Chains/Saintly

Faith Brothers:

7” – That’s Just the Way that it is With Me (7” edit)/A Different Kind of Wonderful

12” - That’s Just the Way that it is With Me (12” mix)/A Different Kind of Wonderful/A Letter to the Times

7” – Consider Me/Choose Something like a Star

12” - Consider Me/Choose Something like a Star/Soul in Crisis

 

General Points

I’ve not included the 2 album (Eventide and A Human Sound), as they've both been available on CD, and can still be purchased on digital download.

I’ve colour coded the rest of the tracks to indicate:

Green means it’s on the double CD reissue of Eventide, though that's unfortunately now deleted.

Amber means it’s not on that CD, but is available from Amazon on digital download.

Red means it’s never been officially available since the original vinyl release.

 

Unless there’s anything anyone can think of that I’ve missed…

 

Faith Brothers – Complete Non-Album Tracks 1978-1987

 

This is what a Faith Brothers complete non-album tracks release would look like.

All tracks are by Faith Brothers unless otherwise noted

 

1.     Scruff - Get Out of My Way (Scruff 7” a-side)

2.     Scruff - Rock ‘n’ Roll Woman (Scruff 7” b-side)

3.     The Legendary Luton Kippers – The Sun Says (Legendary Luton Kippers ep)

4.     The Legendary Luton Kippers – No Man’s Land (Legendary Luton Kippers ep)

5.     The Legendary Luton Kippers – Fulham Court (Legendary Luton Kippers ep)

6.     The Legendary Luton Kippers – Sunday (Legendary Luton Kippers ep)

7.     Tradesman’s Entrance (early independent single version)

8.     Thrill of the Kill (early independent single version)

9.     Newtown (Jammin’ 7” Flexi version)

10.  The Country of the Blind

11.  Thrill of the Kill (Country of the Blind b-side)

12.  Eventide (‘7” mix’ - ‘full band’ version - Country of the Blind 2x7” b-side)

13.  Easter Parade (early version, Country of the Blind b-side)

14.  Eventide (recital) (Country of the Blind b-side)

15.  A Stranger on Home Ground

16.  Fulham Court (A Stranger on Home Ground b-side)

17.  Eventide (live) (A Stranger on Home Ground 10” b-side)

18.  Newtown (live) (A Stranger on Home Ground 10” b-side)

19.  The Country of the Blind (live) (A Stranger on Home Ground12”  b-side)

20.  NME Cassette – A Stranger on Home Ground (‘string version’)

21.  Eventide (7” edit)

22.  Biko (studio version – Eventide b-side)

23.  Biko (live version – Eventide 10”)

24.  A Stranger on Home Ground (live version – Eventide 10”)

25.  Doctor My Eyes (live – Eventide 10”)

26.  Eventide (extended version – Eventide 12”)

27.  Union Jack Robinson (b-side – Eventide 12”)

28.  Whistling in the Dark (7” edit – Whistling in the Dark 7”)

29.  Easter Parade (live) (Whistling in the Dark 7” b-side)

30.  Whistling in the Dark (Laughter in the Trenches 12” mix – Whistling in the Dark 12”)

31.  Billy Franks - Saint of Contradiction (Saint of Contradiction mini album)

32.  Billy Franks – Watershed (Saint of Contradiction mini album)

33.  Billy Franks - Already Mine (Saint of Contradiction mini album)

34.  Billy Franks - Before the Flood – August 6 1945 (Saint of Contradiction mini album)

35.  Billy Franks - Sunday (Rebel Soul) (Saint of Contradiction mini album)

36.  Billy Franks - Free Man in Chains (Saint of Contradiction mini album)

37.  Billy Franks - Saintly (Saint of Contradiction mini album)

38.  Faith Brothers - That’s Just the Way that it is With Me (7” edit – That’s Just the Way that it is With Me 7”)

39.  A Different Kind of Wonderful (That’s Just the Way that it is With Me b-side)

40.  That’s Just the Way that it is With Me (12” mix – That’s Just the Way that it is With Me 12”))

41.                A Letter to the Times (b-side - That’s Just the Way that it is With Me 12”)

42.  Choose Something like a Star (Consider Me 7” b-side)

43.  Soul in Crisis (Consider Me 12” b-side)

Colour Coding:

Green – Available on the 2xCD Eventide Reissue
Amber – Available for digital download
Red – Currently not available

 

Please feel free to correct any errors or omissions.

I'm "wishing my life away", apparently...

I'll be retiring soon.  Not soon enough, obviously, but I'm far closer to the end of my working life than the beginning.

I have plans, dreams, 'bucket lists', whatever, and I think about these regularly, and often articulate what I think.

This has led to me being accused several times of 'wishing my life away', a charge which I fully reject.

To be fair, this is a concept with some immediate attraction, and not a little mileage.  Too many people spend their lives in humdrum jobs, and worse.  They spend their working hours waiting for the end of the shift, the weekend, the holiday.  They live their entire careers hating what they do for half of their waking lives (sans holidays & weekends), waiting for a few short hours of relief.  That's not living, that's a life wasted. Agreed.

But to leave the discussion there is short-sighted in the extreme.  And it fails to take into account any number of other factors.

Firstly, not everyone who looks to a brighter future despises the present.  Would I like to be on a beach on a Greek island, sipping cold beer?  Of course!  Would that be better than working?  Why, yes!  I don't think I'm the only person to think that, and I'm sure it doesn't automatically make me someone who despises every minute of his working life.  If your job is better than sipping beer on a beach then you're extremely lucky.  If it isn't, then not looking forward to the latter is not a negative character trait. If you're doing a job less pleasant than Hellenistic quaffing, but you're not looking forward to retirement, then there's something wrong with you, not me.

Secondly, I like thinking.  Fair enough, it's clearly not everyone's cup of tea, but it's right down my street, and this is usually not a character trait which is criticised.  Prefer heavy literature to airport paperback trash?  That's great.  Prefer QI to Coronation Street?  Fantastic!  Prefer Pink Floyd to One Direction?  Nice one!  Thinking, generally speaking, is applauded as being better than not thinking.  Thinking things through is better than doing things off the cuff.  Being 'thoughtless' is a criticism, 'thoughtful' a compliment.  If I think about my future as much as my past and present, I shouldn't be criticised for it.

Thirdly, isn't this something we all do?  Stop and think for a moment about all of the great times of your life.  Holidays, concerts, nights out with friends, whatever.  A large number of these will involve at least an element, if not a great deal, of looking forward.  There might be the odd person who books tickets to an event, then doesn't think about it until the evening of said event, and only enjoys the occasion itself.  But these people are surely just that.  Odd.

Fourthly, isn't thinking about the future the core of the self-awareness which separates us from animals?  And isn't a lack of this self-awareness in humans usually thought of as a kind of mental and/or social defect?  If you're not sure what this means, just google 'human self-awareness'.

And finally, there's a rather overly-simplistic idea that thinking about something nice in the future precludes a person from enjoying the present; an idea which I don't feel stands up to close examination.  I started to consider my retirement in real detail around 20 months ago.  In the time since then I've enjoyed nights out, holidays, friendships, concerts, and all manner of fun.  Indeed, I've probably enjoyed the last 20 months more than the preceding 20.  And, despite 'retiring' requiring giving up work, there are large parts of my job which I still love, and which I will certainly miss once gone.

But yes, I'm very much looking forward to retiring.  And yes, I'll continue to plan, and weigh up my options.  And yes, I'll continue to articulate my thoughts about this, just as I do about pretty much everything else. *

But as I sit here with a glass of beer in my hand, watching an old episode of Sherlock, and enjoying watching Mr. Biscuits (the hamster) scurry across the living room in her hamster ball (yes, Mr. Biscuits is a she), I'll reject any accusation that dreaming about the future prevents me from enjoying the now.  For the simple reason that it's clearly untrue.

And if you're that person in a humdrum job, then don't stop dreaming about the future.  Dreaming ("wishing your life away, apparently) isn't your problem.  The job is.

So the next time you hear someone use the phrase 'wishing your life away', pity the poor, unimaginative soul making the accusation, rather than the accused.

Now, where's my pension calculator spreadsheet...


* It strikes me that, when someone tells me to stop 'wishing my life away' when I'm discussing my retirement, they're actually just fed up with hearing me go on about it, which is fair enough.  But if that's the case, then surely that's how the criticism should be levelled.  If someone lazily chooses to wrap up their disinterest in a second rate cliché, then it's their own lookout for leaving themselves open to the critique in this blog post.





 

"I thought that this was supposed to be a democracy!"

Democracy.  Great, isn't it.

But what is it?

And why is it great?

Taking the second point first, it's great for all sorts of reasons.  They can be summed up like this.  Where else would you want to live, other than the UK (or US, if you're American)?  Chances are, you'll say New Zealand, or Canada, the Netherlands or Ireland.  Or somewhere similar.

You probably won't say North Korea, Russia, Zimbabwe, or Azerbaijan.

If you could choose anywhere from the past 50 years it probably wouldn't be Franco's Spain, Pinochet's Chile, or Mao's China.  And if you've said Castro's Cuba, you maybe need to do a little research.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/fidel-castro-s-human-rights-legacy-a-tale-of-two-worlds/

Why do we want to live in countries on the first list?  Well, what those countries have in common is that they're 'free' and 'rich'.  And by 'rich' I don't mean bathing in champagne, or having a gold plated Rolls Royce, I mean you never go to bed hungry, if you're ill there'll be a great health service to look after you, and you don't spend much of your life looking at any other country thinking "Why are they so much better off than me".  Because there aren't any.

And by 'free' I mean you can criticise the government without getting locked up, vote for whichever party you like, form a new party if you don't like what's on offer, and there's probably some party or pressure group already representing your point of view.  Meanwhile, you can behave pretty much as you like, as long as you're not hurting anyone else (admittedly, with some exceptions).

Rarely are other countries as well off, and when they are, they're nowhere near as free.

But some other countries do call themselves democracies.  You do get a vote of sorts.  So aren't they democracies too?

Yes and no.  Democracy started in ancient Greece - Athens to be precise.  In Athens, every citizen got to go down to the forum, they could speak if they wished, listen to others, and then vote on the issue at hand.

But that's not what we do.  We don't vote on issues.  We vote for people to represent us, and they vote on the issue.  And with good reason.  Most of us simply don't have the expertise, and certainly not the time to research, debate and vote on complex laws.  Similarly, the security implications of making everyone aware of all the relevant facts all of the time are too ridiculous to contemplate.

So we're not a direct democracy like Athens.  We're a representative democracy.  Like the US, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

And every now and then we hear of an election in some far off land where voters are intimidated, the opposition parties can't hold rallies, and the governing party censor the TV and press.  They're a 'democracy' in that everyone can vote, but their freedoms often stop right there.  In the same way that ancient Athens was a democracy of sorts, and Zimbabwe is a democracy of sorts, they don't tick all the boxes, even if they do 'go with the majority'.  So when someone uses the word 'democracy' they usually mean something more than just 'what most people want'.

Tell someone you're talking away a free press and they'll soon say "That's not a democracy", even if most people voted for it.

So when we say 'democracy' we don't just mean that we think it's the morally right thing to follow whatever 50%+1 of the population would vote for.  We mean that we like where we live, and where we live is a representative democracy which upholds personal liberties; a system which has brought us great freedom, wealth and security.

This may seem blindingly obvious.  But if it does, I'll set you a challenge.  Wait for the next time you hear someone saying "I thought this was supposed to be a democracy", and see if their use of that word fits the above.  Because it hardly ever does.

It usually means "There's been some sort of public campaign (often tabloid-fuelled, though not always) which appears to have received over 50% support in an opinion poll, and I don't care if it infringes on anyone's freedom, or that most people don't know what they're talking about.  Most people agree with me, so everyone else can shut up."

That may be a lot of things, but it isn't anyone's accurate definition of democracy.