david griffith - saucepanbach: Blog

If you didn’t care about such niceties as ‘goodwill to all’ and you had the power and resources to treat the world and its inhabitants as your play-thing, you could write your script and rely on the greed, ignorance and self interest of much of humanity to carry out your wishes. No great fault levelled at humanity. If you don’t know that you’re ignorant then there’s not much fault involved.

Chinese ‘lore’ suggests that it’s perhaps ‘wise’ in matters of Empire to kill the leaders of a revolt but to spare the followers. The premise being that the leaders of a revolt aren’t ignorant and, either way, present an unacceptable danger precisely because they are leaders. The followers have been led astray and made ‘mistakes’. They will be very grateful to escape death and see it as an act of mercy rather than a weakness shown by ‘the powers that be.’

‘A hard rain’s gonna fall’ and ‘You don’t know what’s going on - do you - Mr Jones?’ rise from subterranean [...]

The change of seasons has brought thick frosts which burn the tender plants notwithstanding the protection of mesh. They will survive but look sick. The Canna lilies - which are very robust - have shrunk and turned brown under the frost onslaught. They too will survive.

I’ve been sick with a long lasting cold which has hit most of my co-workers. We’ll probably all survive and meanwhile the Gulf of Mexico pours oil on troubled waters, dying food chains and the land itself. If the methane contained within the undersea chamber - all at a pressure of 100,000 pounds per square inch - were to explode through the existing well - designed to withstand all of 2000 pounds per square inch - we have a dreadful scenario which will impact the whole of the world. This information isn’t hard to find but doesn’t make our local news except with superficial comment.

Then to Greece, Spain, Italy and as their economies crumple and the effects ripple across Europe, now is not a good time to be a tourist.

While [...]

Frost lies sparkling thick this early morning. Not long ‘til the shortest day - the longest night - and then the gradual return of the forces of warmth and light. Here in the mountains the weather itself often runs six weeks behind the returning warmth. The biting winds from the Southern Ocean are still a month away. Here, the seasons are more clearly defined than on the coastal plain. The newly planted Tibouchina are sheltered by shadecloth and pairs of unused flyscreens, gaffered taped together into small tent shapes.

Planting into environments which aren’t entirely suitable doesn’t indicate either disaster or stunted growth. A little help with micro climates isn’t difficult to achieve within a garden and my existing Tibouchina buds and blooms late but it flowers and showers its gorgeous purple regardless of whether or not it should.

No different fate for much of humanity. Uprooted and moved. Survival a matter of prevailing conditions, appropriate care and resilience - inner [...]

There’s something about the Zeitgeist of our times which is causing people to stop and re-assess that which they have held to be important. Either that or it’s just me and those closest to me. After all, it’s well understood what a pain in the arse a recent convert is to ANYTHING that they now believe in.

Consumerism isn’t dead but it is becoming a dead end for many. Onward and upward isn’t any more sustainable than the cod which no longer breed, the bees sent senseless by microwave pollution and the underlying unease which most of us feel. It has implications.

Don’t think I’ll holiday in Greece this year. It’s twenty two years or more since I took a holiday which really took me to physical ‘foreign lands’. It was pre- terrorism and now - even with a grudging acknowledgement that tourism is useful - life is harder, less innocent, less welcoming.

I went on holiday for a month - from working as a cleaner with barely enough money to buy a pair of shoes to playing chess [...]

The last time I played was two weeks ago at the Clarendon songwriter night. I hadn’t intended to play and only put the guitar in the car because I’m a left handed guitarist and - if I’m needed - I can’t rely upon being able to borrow a guitar.

Pennie and Bruno, of ‘My Hearts Dezire’ have put in the blood sweat and tears to make these songwriter nights available to all who wish to play. It’s often an indifferent world and there are nights where it’s so quiet that we’ve all played twice. No problem with that so I rearranged my brain and went back to the guitar in the car when - having suggested to Pennie that I’d come to be a supportive audience rather than play - Pennie responded with “You’re on next.”

Bruno played his set as I tuned up and then stayed onstage for my three songs. Dunno ... performance isn’t necessarily related to ones frame of mind. You know you’re in the moment when your hair stands up and your skin goes electric.....hmm...either it WAS good [...]