Out Of Touch

Listening to the Conservative party conference today made me realise just how out of touch they are with the real people of Britain. They have no concept of what real people are going through, their wants and needs and what its really like in the towns and on the streets of this country. They seem intent on social division like no party has before, they seem even more hell bent on it than Thatcher did.

I'm not sure where all this is going to end up but it's not going to be good, a Neo-Victorian era awaits as the middle class seems to be collapsing and the gap between rich and poor widens.

The Thatcher Years and Me

Margaret Thatcher has died today. I grew up in the Thatcher years being then around 12 years old when she was elected, I was rapidly approaching my mid twenties when she was ousted ... by her own political party. 

In my early childhood days I was probably a little bit oblivious to it all though it my early teens it was evident musicians at the time had a strong dislike for her (Billy Bragg, The Specials etc) as did many of the comedians on tv, Ben Elton immediately springs to mind. There is no denying Thatcher is a cultural icon of the 1980s but maybe not in a good way. I'll always recall Rik Mayall's anti Thatcher quips on The Young Ones.

My family were working class and had mixed fortunes during the Thatcher years, I'd say they steadily improved but that was through the hard work of my parents and not the successive Thatcher governments. I called in to see my dad today and asked him what he thought of the Thatcher years, he replied flatly 'Our mortgage doubled in cost'.

Reflecting back I can only convey here what I really remember and that was leaving school and going on the YTS (Youth Training Scheme) as my parents couldn't afford to finance me staying on at school or going to college. The YTS of course was very low paid labour but fortunately I managed to get on a scheme working with computers which was more training than work. It soon became evident that promises of a job through the scheme were merely transparent, I became restless, somewhat rebellious (I was still young and naive) and left the scheme to join another hopeless one. Fortunately during this time my parents didn't charge me board and lodgings, stating they wanted me to get used to having some money of my own and encouraged me to save and budget for my own clothing etc. The YTS scheme was in reality smoke and mirrors exercise, few gained jobs from it, though I do know people that did, however its main purpose was to lower unemployment figures.

Later of course, when I'd got a relatively low paid factory job the Poll Tax (also known as the community charge) came into effect and I saw my earnings plummet to pay some stupid tax even though I was still living with my parents. I refused to pay, as did hundreds of thousands of others and rioting occurred in some towns. I went to court and stood there with scores of others who'd refused. It was either pay or face the consequences so many of us agreed to pay the bare minimum. Soon after it was replaced and Thatchers reign ended.

Of course I recall other instances throughout her time as Prime Minister. The Falklands war in which a nation suddenly realised we had tiny islands thousands of miles away even though hardly anyone had heard of them beforehand. At the time I was probably patriotic and I remember the vivid images of sinking ships, burnt soldiers and the news reports on tv. I also recall riots in London and Bristol in deprived areas. I remember the miners strike and being spat at whilst leaving school and called a 'scab' by Yorkshire miners who had come to picket Crown Farm colliery mine and were encamped in a nearby pub before causing chaos. I wasn't the son of a miner but both my grandparents were miners so I have a mining background and I'm proud of it too. Thatcher divided Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire miners, a rift that is still apparent today. The epilogue to the strike was the unions were crushed (always a plan of Thatcher) and whole towns and communities were ruined. Nottinghamshire miners were favoured short term by the Thatcher government but in time their mines became no more and the local miners although receiving a period of prosperity followed by good pay off's found that getting work after was very difficult. The end of the mines saw the town where I used to live wither and slowly die, after the mines went other industries toppled and promises of cash injections never really appeared. A once thriving happy town seemingly capitulated, I witnessed its death, it affected me, I was there, it should have never have happened. Before the miners strike there always seemed to be work even low paid work, after it declined rapidly.

Can I say anything good about Thatcher? A strong leader or bully? All I can say is I liked the way she stood up to Europe and the then early makings of the European Union, that's about it really. Its fair to say life in the Thatcher years wasn't all bad, as a family we slowly prospered though I know my parents had periodic tough times. I recall the era well probably because as Thatcher came to power I was reaching that age where I took more notice, went to school, left school, struggled to find work and saw many social changes and influences. The Thatcher years will be always etched on my mind and shape how I think today.

In closing I don't think her legacy is a good one, though many will argue otherwise. She encouraged privatisation and private health. She divided communities and further widened the north-south divide. She crushed unions without mercy and destroyed what they'd spent years achieving. Manufacturing went to cheaper firms abroad. The coal mining industry was laid to waste. Deregulation of banks, social unrest, VAT from 8% to 17.5% etc etc, I could go on.

She died today in the Ritz Hotel where of course only the rich can afford to die in.

Dog Ignorance

Dogs seem to be in the news again, and its not good news either. there was an incident last week in the town where I live in which one dog killed another in the town centre, today in the news its dogs killing a teenage girl.

I'm not going to lie here, I dislike dogs. This comes from having been once attacked by two large dogs whilst walking to work some years ago and being bitten once in the face by an Alsation breed of dog on another occasion. This has of course made me wary of dogs and with good reason.

I'm a libertarian in many ways when it comes to social freedoms but I really feel we need to start cracking down on dogs and seriously revising laws regarding them. It wasn't so long ago there was a call to clamp down and cull foxes for attacking a baby (lets remember they are wild animals) yet we remain complacent about dogs. I still recall watching a video last year of a dog attacking and seriously injuring police officers, it turned my stomach to watch.

We place too much emphasis and importance on 'pets' these days, especially dogs. People have dogs for many reasons but we have to admit many of these reasons are wrong. More often these days people have them for vanity, emotional needs, company, dog fighting, breeding for money or just to keep up with the neighbours. A person may have a dog for company, yet ironically be out at work all day leaving the dog alone. Many have dogs as family pets then realise they don't have time or inclination to look after them as burgeoning dog rescue centres can attest to. The sad fact is people take dogs for granted and thus over time we elevated them to be almost a fundamental part of our lives without even thinking about it. 

Now, I understand reasons why people have dogs, unless it is for fighting or breeding even more fearsome ones, this though has become seemingly a core part of many of the underclass, a dog is more a status symbol than a pet. Though it may sound harsh I think from a practical perspective that dogs should be ideally used for airports, police, rescue and farms etc. Outside of that if people want dogs then they should be licensed, chipped and costly. I hear people gasp but surely if you genuinely want a dog then you'd be happy to pay for it? In the same sense as if people genuinely want a type of car or expensive piece of jewellery they'll pay for it. The problem these days is that dogs are readily available. This causes problems as its going to be almost impossible to police. Ok, so the government are bringing in new laws to chip dogs but will this seriously be enough? People always say 'Oh my dog never bites anyone its a softy!' until of course it does then it's 'well its not like my dog, its completely out of character'. Lets be clear, dogs are animals and thus (surprise surprise) on occasion act like animals, especially with others when a pack mentality sets in, where other dogs will blindly follow a pack leader no matter how much its owners have it down as domesticated.

We have a massive ignorance towards a growing dog problem in this country and until we get tough on dog owners then it won't subside. We take dogs for granted, as a given right. I know the majority of dog owners are responsible ones, we don't see as much dog faeces gracing the streets as we used but that said its still around.

What the government needs to do to avoid attacks, dog fighting, dangerous breeds and such is to begin clamping down and introduce harsh sentences. On top of that it needs to introduce dog licences, a national dog database, chipping and urge sellers and breeders to sell them at a premium preferably taxable. If people genuinely wanted dogs then they'd do the above.

In closing I'm sorry if my views sound harsh but I can't help the way I feel about it, and that's very strongly.

In Search Of Gandalf

London, it's a strange old place. I've been going to there for quite a while now. Almost lived and worked there once, and truth be said I would have liked to have done so, for a while at least, not so sure nowadays. These days London still fascinates me yet alienates me too, it's a city of stark contrasts some of which draw me back and some that make me loathe it.

So anyway, London once again. This planned trip had been pulling me through the mundane days of the Christmas period. Friday the 11th soon came around and I was speeding towards the capital with fellow local online gamer and casual friend James to meet other online gamers from Lord of the Rings Online or Lotro for short. In truth it was only ever going to be a fleeting visit to meet, socialise and fit whatever we could in, so very ad hoc really. That said a loose plan of sorts was in place. 

As the patchwork of fields blinked passed I chatted to James in what seemed an almost empty carriage, an alternative ghost train being that is it was bereft of the usual hubbub of voices. Within no time the train was groaning to a halt at Kings Cross and after topping our oyster cards up we headed down to the underground and towards Oxford Street. The purpose of this was twofold, firstly I wanted to check out a pair of shoes from nearby Berwick Street in Soho and secondly were going to meet the third of our merry band of geeks called Alan who had travelled in from Cardiff. We soon chanced upon the shoe shop called 'Underground' though James spotted it before I did but my field of vision has never been wide. Whilst I tried a few pairs of 50s retro style shoes on James waited outside and was approached by a woman asking if he wanted 'ladies?', no shocks really as we were at the bottom end of Soho which is known for its seedier elements. Shoes bagged and I was a very happy hobbit, Alan had texted to say he'd arrived and as we were central we decided to hole up in a pub called The Blue Posts and await him. Two pints for very unremarkable beer wasn't cheap, £9 something as I recall but this is the heart of London so I expected nothing less, though was still quite taken aback. Alan soon arrived, greetings made and another pint and we decided to head over Shaftesbury Avenue and into China town for a cheap buffet meal before heading to the hotel. Passable buffet over we hit the underground and arrived at Southwark station which seemed quite new in appearance.

I've stayed in a fair few Travelodges in London but have to say this was the best so far. It was located down a quieter side street literally 3 mins walk from the underground, had a couple of pubs nearby though we only sampled one called 'The Ring' (very apt for Lord of the Rings fans). nestled underneath the Travelodge were a 24/7 convenience store and a very nice but reasonably priced cafe, so facility wise everything was good. The room itself was standard cheap hotel fare, clean and with a spacious walk in shower. 

That evening after a rest and freshening up we headed up to Camden Town. This was my idea but nobody had any other ideas and my logic being that Camden is a relatively small area with a good selection of pubs more suited to our age and not too expensive. In good spirits we moved from pub to pub starting at the Elephants Head before moving to the Hawley Arms and heading further down the High Street to a pub I thought was there but has either closed or been refurbed. Looking at old Google Street maps it's there as the Monarch which I visited with my friend Jane once. James quipped we were running out of Camden but seeing as he had no ideas himself we trekked back down the High street and decided to try a bar that looked ok from the outside and had comfy chairs. We were promptly stopped by a doorman who was asking a couple for identification and who seemed well into their twenties. I flatly refused to give my ID as I'm 40 something and a quick rack of my memory made me realise this was the first time I'd been asked my age since I was around 17, that being back in the mid 1980's. We strolled back down the street and my new shoes were beginning to chafe somewhat but a girl in her twenties shouted I was cute and also a 'teddy boy' (1950s rocker type) which made me smile, though I'm only the shoes were from that time period fashion wise. Next pub up was the Oxford Arms and we managed to get a table so stopped for a couple there, I had a hip flask in my pocket filled with Jack Daniels (for medicinal purposes!) so had a bit of a secret top up. Next we headed down Inverness Street to the Good Mixer, a perennial favourite of mine and a great lively pub. Alan was a gent and asked how my feet were holding. The Good Mixer was crowded to say the least and Alan remarked the name was very fitting as it was a very mixed crowd of people to say the least. James who usually drinks quite fast and then turns into a zombie seemed to be ok too, so all was well. We ended the night in Bucks Head where some guy was trying to wash his hair and then dry it under a dryer in a very cramped washroom. Then we got the tube back. At Southwark we noticed the station barriers were out of order so we couldn't check out using the oyster cards, so we got charged the maximum amount for the journey next day, not good. Arriving back near the hotel no local pubs were open which I found a bit of a shock being the capital and all that. So procuring a snack from the 24/7 shop it was time for some tv and then sleep, a good night had by all.

I was up early the next day and peering out of the window I noticed we had a good view of the new Shard building that seemed to reach skywards almost puncturing the grey clouds. I ached from the previous day, my joints reminded me London always takes it out of me. After a very good breakfast we headed into central London on foot to meet yet more geeks, one who was over from America called Jenna and her English friend Mark. The walk by the Thames cleared the previous nights cobwebs away and after a coffee in a very busy Starbucks we headed to Covent Garden station to meet the other two. Jenna came running out and greeted us all with warm hugs and we headed into Covent Garden for a stroll and chat. We browsed a few shops including Games Workshop and there was a good acoustic style band playing in one of the sunken sections of the market. Stomachs rumbling we weaved through some streets and ended up at a very old style pub called The Round Table where Jenna treated us all to some food, though three platters of mixed nibbles were barely enough to feed us all but would at least keep us going for a while. Part of our 'loose' plan was head over to the Limehouse area of east London to a pub called The Grapes which legendary actor Ian McKellen and Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings himself was part owner in (more here). We decided to head over there after the food and at this point James went into hyper mode conversation wise and wouldn't cease. Suddenly he was an authority in everything and even when the conversation briefly became contentious (it was about royalty) he wouldn't do the diplomatic thing and shut up. My thought being these were new people we were meeting and obviously had different views so I didn't really want to upset anyone or sabre rattle this early on. Eventually he stopped talking and we consulted tube maps for the journey eastwards. Some of the journey was on the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) and after a crowded tube journey in which Jenna saved me from hurtling down the train into other people by holding my hand tightly. It was a touching and thoughtful gesture as not being the tallest of people tube travel can be daunting when crowded.

At Limehouse Alan got a street map up on his phone and we soon found The Grapes down by the Thames. Walking towards it Jenna's friend Mark said he didn't know what to make of the area. He pointed out London is a collection of small towns joined together which ironically I'm sure my friend Pat also from London once said. Mark added that this area didn't seem to have an identity though some of this might be attributed to the gloomy weather. Personally it struck me as being a very affluent area with gated residential apartments, some with reception areas, that said I'm no expert on other areas of London that much really so I'm sure Mark has a relevant point. The whole area was quite nice and had canals and locks and a quite suburban feel. Characterless? well maybe a little but quite nice also.

The Grapes was a lovely little pub. A narrow dimly lit wooden affair with friendly bar staff but sadly no wizards in the form of Ian McKellen but then I knew the chances of seeing him were slim anyway. We settled in, drinks flowed nicely, James's capacity for talking hadn't ceased but we inter weaved with each other conversation wise as a group. A few hours dropped off the clock and it was a lovely place to pass the waning hours of an afternoon in getting to know new people. Jenna and Mark were lovely genuine people and I'm really pleased I met them, putting names to faces is always good. As afternoon slipped into evening we headed back into the Embankment area of London and after some indecision of what to do pub wise we ended up in a pub called The Sherlock Holmes which proved to be a good choice as it was fairly reasonably priced and the food was very good. The evening soon passed away, James continued to talk a lot but was slowing down a little and we said our goodbyes at the Embankment tube station after what was (ear bending aside) was a really good day.

On getting back to Southwark we had a final drink in The Ring pub near the hotel, said our goodbyes as we were heading back early the next day and then it was off to bed, I was tired after such an active day.

So Sunday came, up early and in no time back at Kings Cross and homeward bound. Alas the train broke down at Finsbury Park just outside of London and limped back to Kings Cross. James wasn't best pleased and berated public transport but I knew our tickets would be valid on another train back so didn't worry at all. They couldn't repair the train so after 30 minutes or so we were directed onto another. James stomped off and that was the last I saw of him. The platform was crowded and I had no idea which carriage he'd boarded, though I boarded pretty much the same one as indicated on my ticket. Soon London was behind me and I was disembarking back home walking up the quiet leafy road towards home.

All in all it was a welcome break that passed far too quickly, Jenna, Alan and Mark where lovely people and I'm really glad I met them. Next year perhaps? I'll even bring a ball gag for James!

2012

So that was 2012, personally an unremarkable year but not a totally wasted one either. When I reflect back over 2012 its been a year of highs and lows but neither at any great height or depth.

The low stuff? Well ongoing health issues, employment and love. Midway through the year I also hit a low patch, I wouldn't exactly call it depression and took no medication but there was a time when I struggled to be motivated and felt gloomy for a good duration. I think I only ever told a couple of people and I went around wearing a painted smile. It's hard to put into words how I felt but eventually I shook it off, I bounced back and now its behind me.

The highs? Becoming an unlikely male model photographed by a famous artist in London. Malta in spring. My Humanist blog, having the eye tattooed again and friends that made life ever enjoyable. There have been other good moments but the above are the ones that spring immediately to mind.

I think on the whole 2012 made me a better person inside. I certainly became stronger, absorbed more, became something of a rebel with causes yet remained balanced and able to realise when I was wrong and needed to re-align matters. Less beer has been consumed and more books have been read. Even when I momentarily glanced into the past I felt no emotion, a sure sign I'd moved on.

So what do I want for 2013, well apart from the usual health and happiness I want many things. I want to carry on building great friendships, I want to travel more and get my car back on the road. In these uncertain times I want stability (who doesn't!?) but I'm still going to speak out against issues many would rather avoid. Honestly speaking I don't have a concrete plan for 2013 but I've always liked to be flexible, I suspect the car being road worthy again and becoming fitter are immediate priorities though, then I'll take it from there.

So bring on 2013. I'm ready!

Of Facebook, Friends and Passions Bold

'Monsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.' 

Was written by Voltaire in a letter to M. le Riche, February 6, 1770. It's often misquoted nowadays along the lines of 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'. With that sentence said, and hopefully digested by anyone reading I want to write frankly about feelings, passions and that modern conundrum of social networking - Facebook.

I have to be honest and say I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. Like most human beings I'm inquisitive, so checking into Facebook regularly satisfies my thirst for knowledge and curiosity. Overall I think I like it mainly because it keeps all friends and associates alike in one place. I suspect some just have a large friends list to stroke their own ego though!

That said I don't always like what I see on there. I'll be candid for a moment and say I don't like a constant stream of updates by the same person. Then there's the things I have no interest in, babies, dogs, repeated posting of regurgitated imaged jokes that are still doing the rounds from Myspace and constant posting of music videos. 

BUT....

That said I have nothing personally against the person posting, because to be honest, if I had kids I'd be passionate about them, I'd be proud and want the world to know about them. If I had a dog, the same would apply, as would a favourite musical band, and on it goes. So even though I grind my teeth about some things I'd always defend peoples right to post whatever they want. What do I like to see? Well I enjoy witty comments, jokes, holiday photos as I love travel and links to interesting articles. So I guess the likes offset the dislikes and you have to take into account we're all different, we can't all like the same thing - fact.

The reality is on platforms such as Facebook is that people don't do criticism well, who does really? Criticism and things like ridicule come in different forms of course and can be constructive as well as negative but when we do either - we reason. I recently told a female friend I thought she posted too many status updates and many seemed mundane or irrelevant. This of course didn't go down well and I woke the next day to find myself deleted as a friend. Oh well, my timing wasn't perfect but my criticism was that if I was finding minutiae and tedium in her status's then others may do but of course I realise she has every right to post status's as much as she likes. I don't mind being deleted and obviously my comments hit a nerve but in all honesty her constant stream of comments pointed towards insecurity and a desire to be popular when really she was likeable enough in the first place. Sometimes people need telling and in some circumstances its for the right reasons or we care.

This is where Facebook is used as a weapon though, an emotional base tool akin to infantile playground psychology 'I've suddenly decided I don't like you and I'm not your friend anymore'. We may all remove people from time to time on Facebook for varying valid reasons. I've done it myself but the usual reason for me is I don't really know the person, or they are the type to add you then never speak when they see you in the street. Would I delete someone for disagreeing or criticism of me? Highly unlikely.

I often clash with people on Facebook because some of my views are controversial, I seemingly have a faculty to disenchant people with my opinions and critical thinking. I'm pretty sure some of this is because people don't want think critically, they are comfortable in their bubble and stepping out of it can be unnerving. They may also disagree with me because they have genuine logical and legitimate reasons to do so, after all people do think differently, which is why I like debate so I can see different angles on things. Though I may have strong thoughts and passionate opinions I am not afraid to be outwitted or proved wrong.

Take for instance a recent status of mine in which I openly voiced opinion against the Pope and Queen. People didn't like it, knee jerk reactions occurred and strong counter opinions were voiced, some however were in total concurrence. The person that didn't like my comments is an ex military sort, excellent morals and not a bad bloke at all, the queen and country noble sort you might say and we seem to share a passion for dark humour. The irony was though whilst he was happy to defend religion he has been open about his feelings on Muslims etc in the past, some of which I share, especially on immigration. So the obvious counter argument would be you can defend one faith yet not another? Christianity can be a comfort to millions yet Islam cannot? I don't like any organised faith, though more of that shortly. He actually backed a comment once that I did on immigration but probably believes Britain is still great. I'd say we are both patriots in a different way.

Personally speaking, I don't like the Monarchy, I feel we are descending into neo-feudalism where the cultural and rich/poor divide is getting bigger. So inevitably what we may be come is something like a quasi medieval society and the historically minded will all know how grim those times were. Just look at Henry VIII, he used religion to his advantage, used ordinary men in wars to acquire territory and wealth and gorged on lavish banquets when many had nothing. I'm not saying the current monarchy is the same of course but they have many, many faults and we shouldn't blindly put so much emphasis on them as we do in my opinion, the days of the empire are long gone, we need to modernise and not keep giving rich people even more money.

Moving to religion, well that would take an age to explain my complete and utter revulsion of it. The pope preaches love and peace in his Christmas message yet openly takes a swipe at gay people, a contradiction in terms. The papacy is an organisation that is seeing thousands die in Africa by telling them using condoms is against gods will. How in rationalities name is this good??

My views on organised religion are so strong that I have been writing a Humanist blog since March of this year. I am wholehearted and passionately opposed to it for countless reasons.

So going full circle. Passion for things is what drives us, you are passionate, I am passionate, you have interests, I have interests, you have causes, I have causes and we all have different humour. The stigma attached to shorter people like me voicing opinions is that we have 'little man syndrome'. Any person under 5'5" kicking off is seemingly labelled with it. No such condition exists of course but its often used to denigrate the more vertically challenged of us should we get uppity and dare to have an opinion. I understand the term of course, and in some ways I agree it can be applicable, but only in the sense of a short person with real anger issues actively seeking physical confrontation to prove something, that is just folly. Maybe in my late teens and early twenties I may have been more like that, trying to stand shoulder to shoulder in the big wide world but you soon find out big people hurt when they hit (physics!) but that's not to say little people can't hurt back, Mike Tyson was never the tallest of boxers I believe. Fighting in any form, though necessary on occasion, should be avoided, I'd go for debate and dialogue every time. I realise I am diminutive in physical stature, I'm happy with that especially in my more mature years, wit and words have to be my weapons because brawn cannot be, I just wouldn't want to be the big sort who clobbered someone because they disagreed and could do so through sheer physical force. I guess I'm the Tyrion Lannister sort, for anyone that watches the Game of Thrones series or reads the books.

My passions, my angers, my beliefs are done via the medium of blogging and Facebook, with words and reasoning, done with honesty and done so all can see. Anyone who really knows me, knows the real me as a person despite my rants, opinions and dark satire. On many occasions I cross swords on Facebook with another friend but we always chat about views when we meet and we appreciate each others brevity on certain things.

I'm fortunate to live in a democracy and have free speech. On some occasions though I've been wrong, certain criticisms of the Fox & Crown come to mind but these were things I felt passionate about at the time but reacted to in haste and by listening to people whom perhaps I shouldn't but I'm human and I make mistakes. I deleted my blog on the pub and spoke to the people concerned, admittedly I should have perhaps done that in the first place. I know all don't agree with me, I don't expect them to but I hope the bonds of friendship transcends differences in opinions and they are mutually respected. I just want to end with the fact if you don't feel happy about something then don't be ever be afraid to say!

As Mark Twain once said; 'Our opinions do not really blossom into fruition until we have expressed them to someone else.'

I may not like everyone's views or opinions but like Voltaire I would defend their right to have them. Social Networking and blogging may not be everyone's proverbial cup of tea but it gives millions a voice - 'Vive la social revolution!'

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

So there I sat, a happy little hobbit waiting for a film I'd always wanted to see, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey though the reality is this isn't an unexpected review!

*Warning the following review has minor rants and contains spoilers*

The film starts well with Ian Holm reprising his role as the original Bilbo Baggins alongside Elijah Wood playing Frodo in what is a nice little prologue piece linking the movie to the past Lord of the Rings trilogy via Bilbo's memoirs.

Then more back story follows regarding the Dwarven kingdoms of Erebor before Gandalf presents himself at Bag End and invites the new Bilbo (Martin Freeman) 'On an adventure'. So far, so good and it gets better when the dwarves 'come-a-knockin' at the shy hobbit's round door. The atmosphere is infectious, the dwarves are brimming with character and a couple of songs add to the proceedings and light heartedness. Peter Jackson's script writers have also injected some humour in there which works well and has the audience laughing along.

Bone of contention #1

I'm surprised that despite his eye for detail Jackson fails to explain how Gandalf and Thorin have actually met, to omit something like that didn't sit well with me. They both actually meet at the Prancing Pony in Bree before the main story begins and travel together to the Shire, both discovering mutual goals. It would have been so easy for Jackson to have inserted a brief scene of them meeting in Bree to explain things but no, you're left to work that one out for yourself.

Proceedings move swiftly on to the dwarven mission and off we trot seemingly with little deliberation for Bilbo except for a few moments of silence when he gazes around his empty hobbit hole but this is only a small gripe on my part.

Bilbo soon sets off and we are out of the Shire, which leaves me wondering why Jackson rebuilt the entire Hobbiton village again, because we see little of it, if at all, unless we see more in a future film.

So, onto the road we go, some more back story on Thorin from the excellent Ken Stott who plays the aged dwarven veteran 'Balin'. We were promised more of Middle Earth and I felt Jackson could have done a CGI Bree in the distance for a fleeting scene before the party enter the Lonelands. Suddenly its into the Trollshaws and the Trolls. 

Bone of contention #2

Balin mentions more of the back story of Thorin and the battle of Azanulbizar in which Thorin was wounded after fighting Azog (allegedly) but gains his name from using an oak branch as a shield. The film distorts this beyond belief. Page 1410, Appendix A, states that Thorin was wounded in the battle along with Thrain and there's a footnote to Thorin getting his name from the oaken branch but that's as far as it goes for Thorin in the battle, he's only a young dwarf then after all. Azog the orc is actually slain in this battle by a young Dain Ironfoot after Azog slays Nain his father. Dain despite his young years slays Azog and beheads him, he's shaken by it all but goes onto greater things, but the battle is won even though the dwarven loses are grievous (Return of the King, page 1411 appendix A). Despite all this in the movie Azog is alive and well and hungry for more despite having had his head hewn off and thrust on a stake in the book. So the stage is now set in the movie for Azog to be Thorins nemesis and for a purist like me its unforgivable. It will be interesting to see how they portray Billy Connelly who plays Dain in a later film but any credit of him killing Azog has been stolen from him by the meddling Jackson.

Moving on, we meet the wizard Radagast the Brown who is played very adeptly by Sylvester McCoy and isn't as irritating as earlier reports suggested, however...

Bone of contention #3

How does Radagast move so quickly from Rhosgobel in Mirkwood over the Misty Mountains and bump into the company? Its a good old trek and bumping into the company by chance? I think not, there's fate and good luck but come on! I'm not against Radagast's appearance in the film but in the books he barely gets a line or two and the movie embellishes his role above and beyond its need.

So the trolls dealt with we have Azog in hot pursuit and suddenly the terrain changes from woodland to barren hills in the blink of an eye, the company descend into the safety of Rivendell and we get more story distortions on the council of the wise meeting etc, though it seems to work ok.

Thorin isn't a happy dwarf and heads off as he's working against the clock mission wise. So off the party head again and set about traversing the Misty Mountains. Not a wise move but the interlude where the giants enter is vastly over emphasised and adds nothing to the movie, its not a bone of contention I just didn't see the point in mountains moving and theatrics. The party take shelter, Bilbo isn't happy and then the goblins capture all but Bilbo.

Andy Serkis returns as Gollum, steals the show again and the riddle scene is faithfully recreated. The we get Gandalf returning to rescue the dwarves and like the mountain scene an overstated scene of escape in which rickety wooden platforms and rope bridges look more like a Keystone cops caper than able dwarves escaping, it doesn't feel right at all, though Barry Humpries works well as the Goblin king and there's some chuckles in there.

Bilbo having unwittingly discovered the one ring realises that it makes him invisible and makes his escape from the now maniacal Gollum and rejoins the dwarves. Though...

Bone of contention #4

Bilbo having gave Gollum the slip actually escapes from goblins and rejoins the dwarves, The Hobbit, Riddles in the Dark pages 85-86 but this is a minor moan really.

So on escaping Azog once again gives pursuit to our unlucky band having had a seemingly easier journey thus far. The dwarves get trapped up trees just like in the book but...

Bone of contention #5

Azog and Thorin bump heads and get it on and Bilbo joins in the battle with the rest of the dwarves before they are all rescued by the eagles. They do get rescued by the eagles in the book but the skirmish never actually occurs and of course Azog shouldn't even be there!

So, that really concludes the film and I guess if you're reading this that I didn't really enjoy it. On the contrary I did but I can't abide Jacksons meddling when it isn't necessary at all, the book provides plenty of material and so do later appendices and references. On a more positive note, when the closing credits came down my friend Dominic turned to me and said 'It feels like we've never been away'. He was right, it didn't, the one good thing despite new technological innovations is Middle Earth still feels familiar and that's a boon for the viewer and casual Tolkien fan. New Zealand does capture the feel of Middle Earth well but I can't help musing what if some bits had actually been filmed here in England, it would have been nice. 

Despite the bending of the original story the film works well enough, the actors hold the film up well, Ian McKellen being especially excellent as a returning Gandalf. Freeman is a revelation as Bilbo and fits the role fantastically and the actors playing the dwarves are all very commendable too, though some get more lines than others, of course this may change. I really liked Ken Stott playing the elder Dwarf Balin. The film is a little protracted but I never really felt bored as the pace moves along fairly well with the odd pause, Rivendell being the main one.

In all honesty it felt good to be back in Middle Earth, I suspect greater things will come (well I hope so) in later films and the characters will grow even more. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey isn't an epic but its not shabby either, Peter Jackson has taken many liberties with it and some of it works and for purists like me some is just downright wrong. I can't judge a whole trilogy on one film but it isn't a bad start all said and done but its nothing earth shattering either.

I can't help wondering what another director would do with it all but I guess that will never happen in my time. If I had to rate it out of 10, then I'd give it a solid 7 but I can't help feeling a little disenchanted by Jacksons meddling. I'll go see it again in 48 frames per second I suspect. The soundtrack is also noteworthy and like the LoTR's trilogy compliments things well.

So, to end with, not a bad movie experience by any means, I'd recommend it and I'd see it again but I think it'll be better to judge it as a trilogy than a one off film at the end of the day.

Squander

I'm not going to lie, I don't like the Conservatives and never have done. In my opinion they have always been out of touch with the common man in the street. That said recent backing of gay marriages when a vote becomes available is to be commended by them. 

Anyway, the point I wish to gnash my teeth about is the fact the government is allocating £50 million to commemorate the centenary of Word War 1. I personally find it staggering that almost a 100 years on and in harsh economic times we are going to squander such a large amount.

Do I respect what the servicemen did during the great war? Of course I do, my great, great grandfather fought as a cavalry man in it but I think a war that was mainly about colonial powers jostling and bumping heads should now start to be committed to the history books more. Sure, have the memorials, remember the sacrifices, keep it alive in museums and classrooms so that new generations can understand and learn from it.

Let me put it in another perspective. Outside of Athens, just a short bus ride away is the site of the Battle of Marathon. On the shoreline graced with wooded pines is a triangular area with a hillock, inside that hillock Athenians citizen soldiery are buried that defended the fledgling democratic world from Persian dictatorship and tyranny. The battle of Marathon in 490BC is considered by historians as perhaps one of the most important battles of all time because of the implications of its outcome yet its dead lay in a simple setting and millions worldwide are unaware of their important sacrifice. 

Should we remember and honour our fallen, without doubt but we should also educate to classrooms the senseless slaughter and folly of that war too. We should have services and memorial ceremonies but seriously, in these dark times should we really be throwing £50 million on it? The government seems focused on bigging up Britain at the moment whilst the reality of what is really happening in the country is yet again glossed over.

I'm pretty sure the soldiers who died would want to be remembered and rightly so but they'd also want us to have a better country with money spent wisely.

I'm Only Happy When It Rains

Today the Olympic torch passes through my town. As I look outside the sky is dark and foreboding, it feels like night is encroaching instead of it being the middle of the day. There is the odd growl of lazy thunder, gloom stained rain clouds hang low and rain is steadily falling. I'm happy.

The reason I am happy is because people out there who are going to watch the flame will probably give a thought to millions displaced from their homes by past and indeed future Olympics.

I feel the real spirit of the Olympics has gone, it originated in Greece and should stay there in my view, Greece certainly would benefit from being host right now with the financial hard times they are having.

I heard last week of the horrific charges for refreshments during Olympic events from a friend who knows someone involved in the catering for it, the prices are staggering. Hotels in London have hiked up their prices, many doubling them, it's all greed based. Sport fans are in for an expensive and crowded London and they'll have to deal with its antiquated transport system - good luck to them!

Will the London Olympics be a great sporting spectacle, I hope so for sports fans. Will it be a good advert for London as a capital? I guess that remains to be seen. I'd certainly be interested in what visitors think.

Flawed Diamond

So here in Britain we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II this weekend, which is also a bank holiday. The irony is most of the populace are more interested in the extra days off instead of pondering the royal family and their alleged importance.

The media cover it relentlessly as the Queen shuffles from one public engagement to another and it's called 'public service'. I like to think I'm a patriot albeit in my own way but I cannot venerate a Queen that I no longer identify with. 

All this fuss by the middle and upper class to pay homage to someone that brings some extra money in via tourism. A woman that likes to race horses, watch Polo matches and does all the things the upper class revel in, has she really got anything in common with the average man in the street? Is she really representative of the total populace of this country?

The monarchy isn't really needed any more. People could argue that the royal family bring much money into the nation via tourism which states plainly to me she is more tourist attraction than any real use. She may visit places, she may cut ribbons and perform ceremonies and for that she gets paid far too much.

We need to wake up and smell the coffee, realise that the monarchy is a relic of the past and we no longer need it. As a nation we still have much to offer without them, hundreds of places of interest and beauty and we should look at promoting these over nostalgia of an empire, an empire that has long gone.

Other European monarchies are more low key, Scandinavian ones and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and that is the direction we should head. We won't though of course because we are too indoctrinated and wrapped in all of this nonsense to see beyond it. 

Am I filled with a sense of pride this weekend as the nation reveres the monarchy? No, not at all, I will remember the people who did and still do make this nation what it was and sometimes still is. They are the workers, the artists, the builders, the poets, the engineers, the scientists, the authors and countless others that have influenced and inspired me - none of them royalty.

Zombies, Gladiators and Thrones

This week I've been catching up on Tv shows. I must say that The Walking Dead just gets better, it really is quality and compelling viewing. Not only does it have you on the edge of your seat but it evokes emotions as well as posing very heart searching 'What if that was me, what would I do?' questions. There's been less action in the second series but when there has beenit's has been truly nail biting knife edge stuff. Between the action we've had some great character building from a fine cast and some inspiring scripting to emphasise the psychological behaviour of a desperate few people facing a zombie apocalypse. This isn't a show just about killing zombies though, it is far deeper than that, every morale choice, every decision the small group makes has consequences and when people die you almost feel you are sharing their loss, it really is that emotive. It's an amazing piece of television drama.

On to Spartacus Vengeance. I'll admit, I'm a huge fan of the previous two series but feel the loss of Andy Whitfield has impacted the current show. I don't want to be too judgemental here and the new Spartacus Liam McIntyre is slowing easing into the role. There's been some other minor personnel changes within the show but to cut to the chase and state what I'm really missing and that's a Machiavellian bad guy with the stature of what John Hannah exuded playing Batiatus. Glaba played by Craig Parker isn't as calculating as the erstwhile Batiatus or as dynamic, it's almost like he has to rely on support from characters such as Asha or Lucretia for prompts and schemes. What we are getting with this series of Spartacus is much the same with less of the clout of the previous series outings. The action whilst being the usually quality gore-fest is now starting to feel a bit samey and has lost its edge (the sex is still great!). What's also lacking from this current series is plots and subterfuge, they are still there but with less 'OMG' moments as the plot is suddenly revealed. You really felt you were in for the ride on Batiatus's power trip before as he climbed the social ladder, you knew he was a bad guy but you empathised with him strangely. Sadly the Roman bad guys in this new series lack John Hannah's presence. charisma and screen vitality - they just seem a pontificating generic bunch and Lucy Lawless as Lucretia has very much sadly faded into the background a little (probably because she has less power this time around).

It's almost starting to feel cliche and reminiscent of other shows that graced out screens in the past. People get captured, rescue attempts take place, odd minor characters die and so it goes on. Some could argue the creators of the show have taken artistic licence with what's known about the real Spartacus of history but I don't think that's a bad thing, as we'll never ever know the details anyway. Will I still watch? Of course, I'm still a fan of the show I just think something is missing and I'm not entirely sure what. They need to build characters up more such as Peter Mensah (Doctore/Onomaus) among others. Maybe I am being too critical and I suspect more will come from the show regarding characters, plots and story lines, it could well be still early days on a series that could turn out to be here for the long haul but if that's the case they'll need to put substance before style.

Lastly I have to mention Game of Thrones second season. There's been a few teaser trailers for the forthcoming series starting this April and to be perfectly honest - I can't wait. I had started on the second book but decided to hold off, probably because I enjoyed the first series so much I didn't want to spoil the second one. I suspect it is going to eclipse any series of this year for me and I genuinely feel we are in for something truly special. Reflecting back to my opening on The Walking Dead and the fact I feel much is down to how real the characters and their worlds feel and the actors who portray them do it - that's where Game of Thrones excels. I love all three shows and it'll be interesting to see what directions they all go in.

Here's a trailer for the new season of Game of Thrones starting in April.

Bills

Like most people I pay bills, and I mostly think the ones I get are reasonable or I have some hand in them such as choosing the service provider or deal etc. On the heating and electric front my bills are relatively low in the summer time but come winter, even though I am often reluctant to put the heating on they are quite shocking. I tend to stick to something like 2 hours of heating a day really, I live alone and so I can layer up clothing wise. These days though because I have an arthritic problem and can be in pain I sometimes have it on more, though its done manually and once my place is warm off it goes.

Having just had by heating and electric bill for the last quarter I have to say I find what they charge pretty criminal. I can pay it, that's not the problem but my feelings go out to the elderly and unemployed or low income with young families, they must really struggle. Of course here in Britain the corporate hierarchy of these firms are clueless because why should they worry when they get a fat bonus and are on their luxury yacht in Barbados basking in warmth?

Ten years ago my heating bills for gas seemed considerably lower, nowadays they've easily trebled and will probably carry on rising. As a nation we need to be investing in affordable heating like many other countries are. The big companies need to stop with all the advertising bullshit and comparison web sites they influence and just give a solid value for money service. Where will it all end? I dread to think.

Future Proof

There's a lot of talk among the tech media, websites and press regarding the next generation of consoles to be showcased at the next E3 Expo this coming June. Sony have said they won't be announcing the Playstation 4 at the Expo and are looking at possible partnerships regarding a cloud based system. As for the Microsoft and future Xbox's, there's talk of a possible new machine that comes with a tablet, possibly a challenger for the new Nintendo system expected soon, though industry experts say a new Xbox will be doubtful.

Samsung have recently announced future proof televisions that you can upgrade without buying a new set and most new televisions now are internet enabled giving you the ability to browse or download films with subscription services such as Netflix.

It doesn't really take a genius to see where it's all going and that is 'cloud' based. I would imagine the industry will find it much cheaper to have games available to either play or download from the cloud, it'll obviously replace the need (eventually) to purchase hard copies of games on disks I should imagine and it's probably a better way to combat piracy both with games and movies.

I can see consoles getting much smaller as their main jobs will be just to run the games via the cloud, they'll just be a small device with a wireless controller, though I suspect still able to play blu-ray and such for a good few years yet but inevitably films on demand and internet tv's will be the new thing. You'll be able to purchase films on the cloud and stream them whenever you want. In all honesty I don't think these changes are too far off, my reasoning being when you look how far technology has jumped over the last 20 years.

I think we are ideally looking at the living room containing a voice recognition tablet device (as the processing power is rapidly growing on these) as the main but portable focus. Combined with this will be a voice recognition tv (they're already here) and a wireless controller for games, that will be all you need. Should you want to relax in bed you'll be able to stream things to your tablet, or maybe a family will have multiple tablets all streamed to via a central hub of sorts, parents being in control of a master tablet to control settings and content for their kids.

Having an ipad I can already see how the cloud is working and the benefit of it it breaks or you lose it, then all your downloaded software and files are still there indefinitely.

Whatever happens, exciting times are ahead.

Immigration - My Thoughts.

Before I begin, I feel with this blog I am about to type that I need to put some form of disclaimer beforehand that I'm not racist, fascist or member of the BNP or EDL etc. My godfather (though I wasn't christened I must add) is an Afro-Caribbean gentleman and I grew up in a family that embraced foreign people and the multicultural society we've had for decades. However sadly it's not the done thing to talk about foreign people or immigration these days, people get uneasy or angry about it and most generally want to avoid such conversations, unless it is something that suddenly affects them of course. We've become a 'bite your lip' nation mostly when it comes to talking about such matters, even the political aspects of it.

It occurred to me this morning whilst paying my last council tax instalment 'Do we really know how many Eastern Europeans are actually here in the UK?'. The notion was instigated by an Eastern European man in the queue asking in broken English 'Please, give me form for council house?'.

I must confess I felt uneasy at this because I believe (and I hope) that preferential treatment should always be given to British nationals for that sort of accommodation. Usually such schemes go on points and rightly so but it left me wondering just how easy it actually is for foreign people to get into British council housing? Only today reports have been released that indicate immigrants do take British jobs. I'm sure the report is valid, though I don't read the actual paper the headline was in. Migration Watch the none political website also ran an article on the 9th of this month saying youth unemployment and immigration are more than a coincidence. All said and done I'd hope British people are always put before foreign applicants, even if they are unemployed. Recent reports have said there is a real shortage of council accommodation and unfortunately we always have a supply of single mums or old people here needing it despite peoples opinions on it and we should look after our own first.

Most British people actually feel there are too many foreign people here, especially Eastern European and they'll quietly say so. This doesn't mean they are racist because most of those people will actually know Indian or Afro Caribbean people either as friends or in the work place or even just to exchange small talk with down the local curry house or takeaway.

Before I go into where I actually stand on it politically and personally, I think a paraphrased history lesson is in order to better understand my viewpoint and understanding of our British multicultural society.

Post world war two we welcomed many Free Polish people that had gallantly fought either in the British army or as part of the free Polish forces. These Polish people settled into British life, in some cases married British partners and worked in industry, in my area it was the coal mines they worked in mostly. They integrated into British life and became British citizens whilst still retaining their culture. Over the next few decades that Polish population grew slightly as some escaped the Iron curtain and made their way to Britain. You'd see Polish working mens clubs back when I was young or even Ukrainian clubs of the same nature but that generation of Eastern European very much settled into the English way of life and culture, were hard working and an asset to the country and more importantly 'integrated'.

In the 1950s Britain of course there was a post war man power shortage and people were invited from within the commonwealth to come and work here, especially in the cities where there was a shortage of labour. Many did come, they settled and they became proud citizens, adopting their new country but also bringing their culture with them, in time multicultural Britain flourished and was welcomed by most of the native population. I love the fact this country has a fusion of different cultures, that we have our Indian and Chinese cuisine, fantastic foreign doctors and health workers and many others too numerous to mention.

Its with some irony that generations down the line immigrants that settled here long ago and integrated are also against the mass influx of Eastern Europeans.

Coming back to the present day influx. Are East Europeans actually to blame? Of course not, they want better pay and gainful employment and most of course have a strong work ethic.

So what are my objections and problems with it?

Firstly the new wave of incoming Eastern Europeans don't mix very well like past generations did. They open Polish food shops and generally stick to their own, I don't see how such shops benefit our economy, they only import food stuff to serve the local Eastern Europeans. You rarely see Eastern European people mixing in our communal society, it's become a 'them and us' mentality, they should ideally take heed from those that settled here generations ago. This brings me to the point the new influx are kind of here in a mercenary capacity if you'll excuse the phrase. This is because they are getting used to the system here and it's benefits, especially health care, welfare and housing. That said we have mercenaries of our own, landlords that charge high rents for small houses that many are forced to share. This of course has led to a shortfall in our own private housing and increased rents before of greedy British landlords, so our own suffer as well as foreigners being ripped off in many cases.

It all boils down to the money at the end of the day, that's the sad thing. They come here, earn money and many send it home or go back home with some, which again isn't putting into our economy. The fact many have come here and will work for low wages has undercut British workers and tradesmen, that's why wages have fell and living standards dropped. Nobody bothers with local green grocers anymore, they go to 'poundstretchers' or supermarkets instead but I'm not blaming that on migrants (though they do like their Poundstretchers). Our own Employment agencies actively work with representatives in countries such as Poland to bring foreign work in, locally here its in warehouse, factory or farm work. Again, this is a political issue that should be addressed because the government should be monitoring this more and be actively involved with placing our own people, especially youngsters in such employment whether they moan about it or not because back in the day you worked regardless, you never really could pick and choose unless you were well educated or from a privileged background.

My view is really simple. I think the government knows there are real problems facing communities and services due to the influx of Eastern Europeans. Mr Cameron if you don't believe me try getting an appointment at a local doctors surgery then when you manage it take not on how many immigrants are there when you're sat waiting. Smaller provincial towns such as my own are awash with Eastern Europeans, whilst in a mobile phone shop the other day I was (beside the staff) the only English speaking person in there. This does of course feel odd at times, oddly enough had there been Afro-Caribbean or Indian people sat near me speaking English I wouldn't have given it a second thought. A friend recently once told me her town of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire has been nicknamed 'Wizbeckistan' by the locals, you don't need to muse why.

In the past I worked with homeless people in Nottingham, many of which were Eastern Europeans. Most of them had come to England to avoid problems back home for reasons mostly known to themselves though we did know many were on the run from authorities and were now leading life's of petty crime and begging on the streets of the city. Some of course had come expecting a better life, it wasn't so and so they lapsed into drinking and again, petty crime. The benefit system here doesn't usually pay out until Eastern Europeans have worked for a year and paid in, so things can often go wrong if they suddenly end up without employment. The sad thing was that most of the men I dealt with were 40+ years of age, spoke almost no English and had come here expecting to walk into a job regardless, the reality was different, this country has its own problems and people of their age weren't as employable, so began a descent into drink and desperation rather than go back and face the authorities or tell their family they had failed, such is the social stigma in Poland I am led to believe. So the above said, I can speak with some knowledge of how immigration doesn't work and needs to be monitored more because bluntly speaking we have many that simply shouldn't be here or our responsibility. It was only a few weeks ago that someone I once worked with, an elderly Polish gentlemen dropped dead outside McDonalds in Nottingham, friendless, cold, bereft of money and made to beg for others by his own countrymen. A thoroughly sad end to a life.

So, do I think there are too many Eastern Europeans here? Well that's a resounding yes, it's not their fault but the governments fault for letting too many in and buying into European dictated legislation etc. That said it's almost like the new wave of them don't actually give a damn for Great Britain as a nation and what it's about, they want to earn cash, keep to themselves and that's as far as their minds go. I for one on going abroad at least like to absorb as much of their culture as I can. I've seen Eastern Europeans get aggressive in a few instances in the past, once I was pushed away from an ATM machine in town by two Eastern European gents and couldn't do anything about it, though to be fair English people could have done the same but some immigrants do have a belligerent nature, possibly because they aren't at home so don't have to worry so much but maybe some is down to apprehension, cultural differences and the whole being 'en guard' in a strange place. I dunno really but it's there to be seen.

Am I racist? Well those who know me can see the answer to that or read it within this blog. I love the fact we have a multicultural society and generally are a very tolerant country compared to others. It's amazing that due to foreign doctors and specialists that the national health is so good and helps so many. I think it's great foreign students come here to study and take back a little bit of Great Britain with them and I feel proud of our multicultural heritage over the last few decades though some would argue it's a legacy brought upon us by our grand imperial days of the empire. There's some irony to the fact that most third world or Indian countries still see Britain as a mythical land of greatness and want to become 'British', you see them talking about it on tv, especially fleeing migrants or impoverished people with dreams of a better life. The same I feel cannot be said for many of the new wave of Eastern Europeans because if that was the case they'd be making more effort.

When I walk through the cities and towns of England now and hear so many foreign accents I wonder if we are losing our own 'British culture', have we sunk into an apathy of not fighting for our own, or our own jobs? Have we become more materialistic and less hard working (probably) and thus more immigrants coming here was inevitable? I can't help seeing stark contrasts between say 15 years ago and the present day and come to the conclusion the government has let us down and we've lost our initiative work wise. The new thing in the high street seems to be lots of salons full of Chinese people painting fingernails cheaply, why didn't we think of this or would we even want to do it? You really can't fault immigrants for being industrious in some ways but the bottom line is, with rising population and unemployment the government should be looking inwards towards our own, finding new employment initiatives and even encouraging apprenticeships that once was. If it all goes wrong then we only have ourselves to blame. Sadly the phrase 'Britain, the workshop of the world' will never be commonplace again, probably because immigration aside we readily give contracts out to foreign companies.

Anything in moderation is good but I honestly feel there are too many immigrants in this country now, and as I have said above, some without purpose and a good few taking jobs we should be making our own people do. Instead of a Polish lads doing a cheap car wash down the road it should be our own youngsters taking the initiative but I doubt that will happen because it again goes back to a sense of national apathy to a degree that we seem to have cultivated. I'm not leaning towards slating benefits here because many of us have used state benefits in the past either between jobs or because of ill health. It just seems to me the government and indeed past governments are largely out of touch with the changing social landscape and problems of this country, problems which I think that unchecked immigration are only compounding.

I sincerely hope that the foreign friends I have and cherish that work and reside here see my points above and think along the lines of their own nationalistic thoughts, own government faults or personal viewpoints and respect mine.

The Hobbit Teaser Trailer Arrives

So here it is, after a few production video blogs from Peter Jackson we now have the teaser trailer to 'The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey'.

I watched it this morning at around 6:30am, I was tempted to wait up for it last night but though ostensibly I may seem a bit sycophantic about it I do need my sleep and sleep makes things pass quicker. Come the morning the PC was switched on immediately and ablutions out of the way I googled it, found it and watched it several times as I came around fully with a steaming cup of earl grey tea.

I thought it was fairly long for a teaser trailer, though I'm pretty sure the first 20 seconds is actually old footage from the Lord of the Rings trilogy that maybe wasn't used. So what do we see? Well, I little intro of how Bilbo Baggins actually is, and it made me smile, especially the 'I'm a Baggin's of Bag End' bit with a dismissive wave of the finger against any suggestion of adventure. I must say Martin Freeman looks awesome as Bilbo. We then get a tiny glimpse of all the dwarven characters before Thorin Oakenshield begins to sing some kind of gloomy monastic type dirge of the their heritage and past (see I knew that just from the words of the song *wink*).

The some great music cuts in and we get the briefest flashes of what is in store in the first of the two movies, no trace of the dragon 'Smaug' though which surprised me, I'm sure that'll come in time or later trailers though. The only irony for me is that I feel the trailer has come a little too early to be honest, yes it's great to see it but I could have waited, April time would have been better I think, less waiting as we practically still have a whole year to go still.

To conclude, well what I saw I really liked, it wasn't kind of 'in your face leaving you shocked feeling' that I had, just a nod and smile of approval that the characters seem right and a reassuringly warm fuzzy glow that all looks well with it.

And here's the first poster release below.