* Paywall
Born nineteen forty-eight, baby boomer me
Petts Wood, north of Orpington, Kentish boy me
Mum, Leitrim to London, to nurse, 23
Dad Dulwich, Royal Air Force in the war he
Lifted off scales, my first memory
One of five boys (no girls we)
Next to last in class, Shortlands House, not too bright me
Failed the 11-plus, secondary mod me
Played lots of footie, right-footed me
Supporter of Sunderland, liked red white and black me
Turned into quite a swot, I surprised me
Went to seminary in Wonersh, proved unpriestly
Married a lovely lass, Czechoslovakian she
Moved to a rented flat, Ash Grove, Anerley
Then Ridley Road, Rochester, near River Medway
While working as a postman London SW1 me
Seven-week postal strike, but the bosses beat we
Then post office counter staff off Victoria Street me
Then deputy registrar in Gravesend, BM&D
Followed by Coventry, pukka registrar me
Douglas House flat, Hillfields, 1973
Then semi near the Charterhouse and the old cemetery
Three lovely lads (no girls), mum and dad we
Coventry Poly, administrator me
Helen joined St John Ambulance, helped out at the footie
Then worked at Walsgrave, theatre nurse she
Followed by freelance, aromatherapy
And teaching at college, anatomy
Faculty of art registrar in Birmingham me
Friends in Brazil, Belo Horizonte
Amateur artist, would-be new LS Lowry me
Interpreters translators Czech Portuguese we
Four grandchildren (one girl!), grandparents we
Helen’s got three allotment plots, fruit and veg she
Sent off several poems, serial rejectee me
Irregular heartbeat, boom boom diddle di
Indian summer, retirees we
Me learning Irish, Tóg go bog é
Helen’s learning Italian, Arrivederci
Herewith the end of my me-we CV
* Paywall
* Paywall
Ɖ Gardịn vy on ɖ lêtist snss: mapñ an evr mor dîvrs cuntri
(Transcription of a Guardian editorial of 29 Nov. 2022)
Ɖ public hv axptd ɖt Britn z nt jst popyletd bî ẃît ppl – n hv stopt imaɉnñ ɖt it cd evr b uɖ̇wz
Tyzde 29 Nvmbr 2022
In 1968, ɖ Cnsrṿtiv MP Īnoc Pǎl dlivrd probbli ɖ most inflaṃtri adres evr gvn bî a sīńr Britiś poḷtiśn. “Az I lc ahd, I am fild wɖ fōrbodñ,” h dclerd. “Lîc ɖ Romn, I sīm t si ‘ɖ Rivr Tîbr fomñ wɖ mć blud’.” Ɖ bludletñ, h antiṣpetd, wd b tecñ ples bcz v a reswor. Siyñ mîgṛnts arîv fṛm Britn’z formr coḷniz in ɖ Caṛbiyn, Africa n Eźa wz, Pǎl sd, “lîc woćñ a neśn biẓli ingejd in hīpñ p its ǒn fynṛl pîr”. Britn in ɖ haf snć̣ri sins hz rpydietd Pǎl’z resist proḟsi. Nonẃît imigṛnts n ɖer ćildṛn r nt an xistnśl ʈret t ɖs cuntri, bt rɖr ɖ sors v sm its most seḷbretd aćivmnts.
Brmñm, ɖ siti in ẃć Pǎl gev hiz “rivrz v blud” spīć, hz qaytli bcm amñ ɖ cuntri’z most dîvrs plesz. Alñ wɖ Lundn, Lstr, Manćestr n Lūtn, it z part v an ŕbn Ñgḷnd ɖt z fast bcmñ mor blac n brǎn ɖn ẃît. Abt for in 10 ppl in Miltn Cīnz, Notñm n Pīṭbra r nonẃît. Ɖ figr, acordñ t ɖ 2021 snss publiśt on Tyzde, z rufli wn in for in Bristl n Lìdz. Dspt ɖ bst eḟts v poḷtiśnz lîc Pǎl n hiz ilc t trn ppl agnst ć uɖr on ɖ besis v res n eʈniṣti, a mor multireśl, multiculćṛl cuntri hz bcm a fīćr v modn lîf. It z progres ɖt ɖ public hv oṿẃlmñli axptd ɖt Britn z nt jst popyletd bî ẃît ppl – n hv stopt imaɉnñ ɖt it cd evr b uɖ̇wz.
Resizm cntinyz t blot ɖ lanscep. Britiś Bangḷdeśiz r dwñ wel at scūl, yt ɖe fér wrs in ɖ jobmarcit ɖn ɖe śd, gvn ɖer qoliḟceśnz. Ɖ śemfl Windruś scandl, a rzult v ɖ Cnsrṿtivz’ hostîl-invîrnmnt poḷsi, sw Britiś sitiznz v Africn-Caṛbiyn dsent roñli dportd, dsmist fṛm ɖer jobz n dprîvd v srṿsz sć az NHS cer. Iniqoḷtiz rmen bect intu ɖ sistm: Covid mortaḷtirets amñ sm blac n Eźn grūps wr btwn 2.5 n 4.3 tîmz hayr ɖn amñ ẃît grūps, ẃn ol uɖr factrz wr acǎntd fr. Mnoṛtiz wr nt mor ssptbl bcz ɖe wr blac or brǎn, bt bcz ɖe wr mor lîcli t b pur.
Hymn cọxistns z nt īzi. Ɖ rīsnt dstrbnsz in Lstr, btwn grūps v Hinduz n Mŭzlimz, śo hǎ dificlt ʈñz cn gt. Bt prizrvñ Britn’z dîvrṣti rqîrz hard wrc az wel az gd intnśnz. Reśl difṛnsz nīd maṇjñ t brij dvîdz, nt wîdn ɖm. Ɖ trubl z ɖt rîtwñ poḷtiśnz hv fr tù loñ proḟtd bî scepgotñ ǎtsîdrz n stǒcñ a b’lif v s’pirioṛti in ɖoz ɖe hv nʈñ mtirịl t ofr. Pǎndśop Pawlîts olso fluriśt aftr Brexit, ẃć yoct tgɖr Yṛp n mîgreśn. Fr ol ɖ tōc abt hǎ Riśi Sūnac’s eḷveśn t prîm̦inistr śd b seḷbretd az evidns v a guvnmnt brōḍnñ its taḷntbes, ɖ truʈ z ɖt, wr it p t ɖ poḷsiz v ɖs guvnmnt, ɖr wd b no Mr Sūnac. Britn’z reśl modl z far fṛm prfict. Bt res, culćr n eʈniṣti z livd in a far mor cnvivịl we ɖn hǎ it z ofn ivoct p’liticli.
Liz Trus’z ‘groʈ, groʈ, groʈ’ spīć hecld bî pṛtstrz – vidio
Ɖ Gardịn vy on Liz Trus’z spīć: stǒcñ conflict in ples v arğmnt
(Transcription of an editorial published in the Guardian on 5 October 2022)
Ɖ prîm̦inistr’z masc hz slipt. Hr necid ces fr grīd n slfiśnis wl mc eṇmiz insd az wel az ǎtsd hr parti
Wnzde 5 Octobr 2022 2022
P’liticl spīćz cn inflụns votrz or MPz; ɖe cn onr îdiylz n seḷbret membrśp v a parti. Liz Trus ćouz nn v ɖz in hr adres t acṭvists at ɖ Cnsrṿtiv parti’z ańl confṛns. Ś prifŕd instd t dfnd hr unpopylr poḷsiz ɖt pṛmot groʈ at eni cost, n blem a deced v anīmic ic̣nomic xpanśn on ɖoz hu – rîtli – cǎnsl cōśn abt ɖ tred-ofs involvd. Ɖ prîm̦inistr’z spīć śoz ɖ xtnt t ẃć ś siz poḷtics az sivl wor, ẃr evrʈñ bôlz dǎn t loylti. Ɖ ny “eṇmiz v enṭprîz” z jst a Trusịn rībrandñ v ɖ toxic “eṇmiz v ɖ ppl” reṭric.
Mz Trus wontd t batl oponnts ǎtsd ɖ Tori parti, nt ɖoz wɖn it. Ś hz bn on ɖ luzñ sîd v ɖt fît ol wīc. Instd ś ćouz t dfîn hr eṇmiz in ɖ cuntri n sīc conflict wɖ ɖm. Bt Britn’z pur ic̣nomic pformns z nt dǎn t an “anti-groʈ cọliśn” v podcastrz, tredyńnz n ʈnctancs. Śrli f wn wonts t vy s’xes ʈru ɖ lénz v groʈ ɖen ɖoz gilti v felñ t pṛdys it wr sitñ in frunt v ɖ prîm̦inistr in ɖ confṛns hōl.
In a hlʈi dmocṛsi, opińnz nīd t b tstd in dbet. Ɖ trubl fr Mz Trus z ɖt ɖ Cnsrṿtivz d’nt hv winñ arğmnts – n ɖ public nz it. Dumpñ suij intu rivrz z nt jst opozd bî īco-pṛtstrz. Campenz r biyñ orġnîzd bî locl rezidnts. Strîcs bî tīćrz, doctrz, nrsz n fîrfîtrz r haṗnñ nt bcz public srvnts d’nt wont groʈ, bt bcz ɖe wont betr pe aftr a deced v flat wejz.
Sìn fṛm ɖs vantij pônt, bʈ cmpaśṇt cnsrṿtizm n Brexit wr p’liticl projects ɖt hlpt t blunt ɖ ćarj ɖt ɖ Tōriz wr jst abt inrićñ ɖ ilīt at ɖ xpns v ɖ rest n dstroyñ ɖ sns ɖt evrwn z in ɖ sem bot. Wɖ Mz Trus, ɖ masc hz slipt. Ś z dtrmind t priṿlij proṗti n śerholdr inṭrests ovr ssayti. Ɖt z ẃt hr groʈplan z abt. Lo-tax invstmntzonz ɖt xmt eriaz, includñ naśnl parcs, fṛm planñ n invîrnmntl reğleśnz òt t alǎ fr locl cnsnt – nt b ramd ʈru bî ministrz hu hîd bhnd a locl caunsl’z apruvl or a MP’z asnt. A poḷsi ɖt siz fracñcumṗniz poulñ rezidnts fr drilñ apruvl in xćenj fr muni z wn ɖt smacs v desṗreśn.
In a post-Covid wrld v rîzñ costs, ɖ cuntri nīdd t b bròt tgɖr. Mz Trus’z planz me d so, bt onli bî ynîtñ ɖ cuntri agnst hr. Ɖ prîm̦inistr sòt confṛnteśnz ɖt nwn wonts or nīdz. Cnsrṿtiv MPz si ɖt ɖer parti z biyñ incrisñli vyd bî ɖ ilectṛt az harś n uncerñ. Drîvñ ɖs z ɖ public’s pspśn ɖt Cnsrṿtivz r nt cmitd t ɖ impruvmnt v public srṿsz, bt r obsest wɖ taxcuts, ẃć Mz Trus sd wr “ɖ rît ʈñ t d moṛli n ic̣nomicli”.
Ɖ prîm̦inistr’z critics in ɖ parti r lîcli t b imboldnd bî hr duḅlñ dǎn. Mz Trus sīmz un’wer v ɖ ilectṛl baclaś ś riscs. MPz wl bgin t wuri abt ɖ Tori brand bcmñ asośietd wɖ grīd n slfiśnis in ɖ îz v ɖ public. An aproć wedd t prîṿt aflụns srǎndd bî public sqolr wl cnvins fy votrz, wɖ inevitbl consiqnsz fr mrāl wɖn ɖ parti n ilectṛl s’port ǎtsd it. Ɖ cuntri dzrvz so mć betr ɖn ɖs.
