The Last Of Our England

I was never a royalist and I am still not. I tend to think England has a rich enough history and culture to be able to stand on its own two feet, without being propped up by an outdated ideal. Reduced, some might say, to a living old-world theme park for the rest of the world, especially America
“Inherited importance” is the crown jewel of the class system- although I tend to think a system based on breeding probably has more about it, than a system based on merely wealth.

All that being said, the passing of Queen Elizabeth, leaves a sad gap in the British psyche.
In a way, it really is the last of our England- “our” being those from a certain age, span in history and value system (please note this has nothing to do with skin colour)

If Elizabeth was the bridge from Empire to modern Britain, then now she has gone so has the bridge.
We are now firmly in the modern world, where Englishness, at least the kind I am connected to, is almost entirely gone.
You may find the odd, throwback here and there, in a small village in Devon or something but beyond that, it’s nowhere to be seen
In fact, “Englishness” is almost entirely a hated notion by large swaths of England.

Orwell pointed out in his 1941 essay England Your England “It is a strange fact, but it is unquestionably true that almost any English intellectual would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during ‘God save the King’ than of stealing from a poor box.”

Sadly, the thoughts that only swirled around half-lite, dusty rooms of academe in the 40s, are now, very much the thoughts of the “right on”, university brigade up and down the British Isles.
It’s gotten so bad, that for the last 20 years or so, London the nation’s capital, no longer thinks of itself as part of England. Lots of the people who live in the city, look down sneering at the rest of the country. Thinking they are enlightened. Thinking they are part of a world city detached from the rest of the country and its history, apart from the country’s values and codes

You only had to read social media around the time of Brexit to see how bad it got.
Lots actually said things like ” I want London to be its own country and stay a part of Europe. I think of myself as European not English, let the rest of the country fend for itself ”

Orwell, again shows that this mindset isn’t anything new, it’s simply more widespread now. In his essay I mentioned above he says “In intention, at any rate, the English intelligentsia are Europeanized.
They take their cookery from Paris and their opinions from Moscow. In the general patriotism of the country, they form a sort of island of dissident thought. England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their own nationality. In left-wing circles, it is always felt that there is something slightly disgraceful in being an Englishman and that it is a duty to snigger at every English institution”


In my experience, the people in London with these views are, rarely “Real Londoners”- That is to say, the people who were born and bruised in London.
It’s nearly always people who moved to London from another part of the country. These people, at times, have a certain self-hatred and tormenting inner shame (ironically quite an English quality)

It’s like the moment they got off the train at Kings Cross, they suddenly became different people.
When they got on the train, they were shy students from Dudley but when they got off the train they had turned into Laurance Llewelyn-Bowen.
Once in London, they wanted nothing to do with the towns that made them – this is because they probably do not want to be reminded of who they actually are.
Moving to London for many is about reinvention. Thus, when one has built oneself up as a regal world citizen who lives and breathes culture, with avant-garde DNA It isn’t helpful to be reminded that one was actually raised in a rented house on a council estate. With a family whose idea of culture was going to the pub every weekend and watching Blankety Blank

Those in England (not to mention from around the World) who loath the notion of “Englishness” and who mock anyone who dares to be “proud” of their country, wasted little time with providing a now-to-be-expected, plethora of pathetically nasty Tweets- from attention-seeking journalists, university staff members and adult children, among others.
YouTube had a rash of “influencers” who made petty videos about her death for “clout”.
The common thread among nearly all these snide remarks was a, almost, complete and utter lack of knowledge about English history and what the Queen had done during her reign.

Some of the more clueless pop culture fans posted their Sex Pistols “Good Save The Queen” and Smith’s “Queen Is Dead” videos and record covers. Each one priding themselves on being independent-minded while showing instantly that they were utterly unoriginal
Most of them got it wrong, thinking both John Lydon and Morrissey (singers with the before-mentioned bands ) were attacking the Queen personally. If there is a point, you can always trust this kind of person to miss it.
They do not have the intellect to see the Sex Pistols were rabble-rousers attacking a system and Smiths delivered a work of art that mixed a state of the nation address and a more personal comment about dealing with one’s gender/sexuality – in short, it’s just as much about “A” Queen, as it is “The” Queen
John Lydon (the only real “Punk”) made this view explicit by posting a Comment on social media giving his heartfelt condolence to Elizabeth. John you see has always been a thoroughly decent and principled man.

Thankfully, the noise from the hateful was almost entirely drowned out by report after report of people praising the Queen. There was lots of footage of grown men and women crying in the street and during interviews because she had gone.
To me, there seemed to be widespread understanding that when Queen died, so did an era – similar to when David Bowie died.

It’s often said, “The past is a country you can never return to”. With the passing of Queen Elizabeth, I fear England is also. Yes, you can stand on the land but that land, maybe, all that is left

Fairweather Friends

I was never really into Friends BUT I wasn’t a Friends hater , it was what it was ..Well meaning, well crafted light entertainment. Anyway, the cast break up and go out into the show biz world…Some surviving better than others

The decades pass..Now suddenly along comes a “Reunion” show for HBO MAX. To many this is an exciting moment, Friends was hugely successful and birthed millions of hardcore fans.

However, as science states, every action causes a reaction..Thus, to counter the ocean of love for the show, comes an ice age of hate. The reason given, for not meeting todays moral, social standards and. of course, the examples they give are so daft..

“Chandler Kept being worried about being gay” – they say this shows he was anti gay . Fine, in 2021 that kinda storyline MAY border on using “gay” in a pejorative way.

But I say, so what .. .Do we all have to want to be gay now? Do we have to pretend some people who are gay would rather not be gay and do we have to pretend, Hetero males aren’t at times, comically terrified of becoming gay. These are facts of life, its better to laugh at them that to pretend we are more emotionally sophisticated than we are

It has been argued that pop culture has become SO gay , its completely shallow and lacking. . I don’t fully agree with that BUT there is room for agreement in aspects. More than that though and this is whats worrying me..

The show wasn’t being homophobic in the least,It was anti being anti gay, the joke WAS ON Chandlers character for being so up tight and worried about being gay..THAT WAS THE JOKE Even 8 year olds in the 90s, saw this was a joke .. The fact adults don’t is scary.

WE live in idiot Times

Operation Snide

It seems Dave ‘I got a post card from Morrissey ‘ Haslam is advertising a free anti Morrissey gig to coincide with the singers concert in Manchesterford in July .
Haslam took to social media and said

“How can we respond to Morrissey’s hatful of hate, and his support for the far-right? With a free LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM party on the Sunday he’s in Manchester, July 8”

Div Haslam says he’s putting on the show to protest against the singers ‘Hateful hate’ Now if you feel people are spreading hatred and racism then having any form of protest is fair enough.. However I have to ask myself what hate?In another social media post he elucidates on his reasoning for the protest party – anyone would think he has a new book to sell….Oh yeh, he does .

“A free party to coincide with Morrissey’s forthcoming visit to Manchester, featuring more than a dozen of the city’s top DJs – in response to Morrissey’s divisive views, and his support for the far-right.

In recent years, the ex-Smiths singer’s views on race have become particularly strident. Morrissey has described the Chinese people “a sub-species”, heavily criticised Angela Merkel for opening German borders to refugees, and has gone on record supporting far-right figures like Anne Marie Waters and EDL founder Tommy Robinson. He does, however, claim to have “Muslim friends”.

Morrissey hasn’t lived in the city for thirty years – he lives abroad in tax exile – and has now joined the ranks of various right-wing politicians, tax exiles, tabloids, and media hate-slingers seeking to divide our community.

Manchester is our home, it’s a city built on immigration, a city with an amazing legacy of great bands and wonderful clubs.

How do we counter the hate? Let the music do the talking; by throwing a free party, a celebratory all-dayer of beautifully diverse soul-filled, hope-filled music… ”

Now it’s true Morrissey, over the last 8 years, has shown elements of being misguided, at times has been a bit of a twit and may have displayed the worsening of a malady but I wouldn’t go as far as suggesting he is trying to spread “hateful hate” as such.

It’s true the party For Britain that he has shown support for does spread hate BUT Morrissey hasn’t himself .

This isn’t the only element of truth bending in Haslams glory seeking comments, the “Chinese are a sub-species” comment were actually a “Stitch up job” by The Guardian and Poet and fan with an Oedipus complex Simon Armitage- Simon is a talented enough poet, that unfortunately has a face designed to be nothing other than the first point of contact at a Ramsgate unemployment office..

The Guardian were swift to run a teaser campaign for the interview between Morrissey and Armitage, that went along the lines of “Tune in and see what the singer said this time” trying to gain maximum interest for their hurried hatchet job.

In a breezy interview, in regards to a news report on the Chinese Cat and Dog trade , which included very graphic footage of dogs and cats being maimed , murdered and even skinned alive, all Morrissey actually said was “Did you see the thing on the news about their treatment of animals and animal welfare? Absolutely horrific. You can’t help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies.”

Now in the context of what the singer was talking about, is his comment racist or merely a human reaction to inhuman acts? I personally would consider it the latter. It’s no different from any conversation that goes on up and down Britain (if not the world) on seeing humans inflict such cruelty on defenceless creatures, especially dogs and cats that are seen as family members by millions of pet owners .

This is Simon Armitage’s response when being quizzed about the singers comments , after the interview had come out “I thought at the time it was a dangerous thing to say into a tape recorder. He must have known it would make waves, he’s not daft… But he’s provocative and theatrical, and it was one of dozens of dramatic pronouncements. I’m not an apologist for that kind of remark, and couldn’t ignore it. But clearly, when it comes to animal rights and animal welfare, he’s absolutely unshakable in his beliefs. In his view, if you treat an animal badly, you are less than human. I think that was his point.”

A couple of points that may be worth nothing but are worth noting the newspaper, that were asking for Armitage’s thoughts, were part of the same organization that ran and hyped the original interview.

Armitage is clearly saying Morrissey wasn’t being racist just stating he considers anyone who mistreats animals to be inhuman .
Thus, if Armitage thought he wasn’t being racist, one would think he would have spoken to the editor of the paper that is running the piece, thus they would know he wasn’t being racist ..So why write the article and advertise the article as if he was ?
The answer is obvious , the lying press were lying again ..Anything to make up the numbers . They don’t care if they ruin careers as long as they sell copy

Haslam states Morrissey “heavily criticised Angela Merkel for opening German borders to refugees”.
This is true and its false. The interview Haslam is referring to was with Der Spiegel. Again the interview (you can listen here)was a laid back affair , Morrissey remained, as usual , softly spoken and playful ..Though admittedly this interview wasn’t his brightest hour and he came out of it sounding very ill informed.
Morrissey, was critical of Merkel (is that now a crime?) but not because of the opening of boarders to refugees per se , more about the amount of unchecked immigration in Germany, and Europe in general – which is a concern for people , to use last centuries terms, on the “left ” as well as the “right”.
I suspect Merkel represents to Morrissey a bland version of Europe where all nations mingle and merge and lose their identity..Which is something he’s always seemed to be against. Now thinking like this may make him a reactionary but it doesn’t, in of itself, make him a racist .

Lastly Div Haslam states that Morrissey

” has gone on record supporting far-right figures like Anne Marie Waters and EDL founder Tommy Robinson. ”

Again this is true and it’s false , Morrissey has , unfortunately, given strong, support to For Britain and fired off praise for the parties leader Anne Marie Walters.
Anne Marie Walters is a handsome man that just happens to be a woman. Think a young Bryon Ferry, albeit a young Bryon Ferry with rickets.

Now it’s true that Annie Marie Walters seems askew and fulled by muslim hate but she isn’t a “far right figure” as such , in fact she was only in the labour party a few years ago and came to For Britain via UKIP , which in the UK in 2018 is virtually centrist right.

As for Tommy Robinson, Morrissey hasn’t given any public support to him (yet). All he said, in a soft bowl interview was he thought the treatment of Tommy was “shocking”.
Saying you think someone has been mistreated doesn’t mean you support the person .

Morrissey’s views on Tommy being mistreated aren’t even extreme, lots of people think that . Lots of us in the UK don’t agree with Tommy’s views and don’t like him as a person , however it’s obvious he has been misrepresented in the media and treated badly by the law….
13 months prison time for contempt of court, reporting on FaceBook about a court case, is a harsh, to say the least . I know of people who have tried to kill people who have done less time than that .
13 months hard labour for filming yourself , on your mobile phone, outside a court is “shocking” and this is very much the common view in the UK

If you have been a visitor on Haslams social Media pages over the years you would be witness to his limitless anti Jeremy Corbyn posts and endless name calling and putting down of people who voted for Brexit .Aren’t his own comments a form of hate?
Of course, the only reason Div has ago at Brexit and Corbyn is because almost everyone else who works in the British media does and Dave is too much of a coward to think and act for himself .

I’m all for protests against racism, hatred, bullying and the bedroom furnishing of mismatching eiderdown and pillowcase sets . The trouble is it’s a bit rich when Div Haslam (who remarkably has a head that looks more like a King Edward potato than a King Edward Potato does ), Whom for years, has been dropping the singers name when it suits him posting his ‘Morrissey postcard’ on, seemingly any and all social media outlets. Boring the world with his gushing, groupie like encounters with the singer.
Even this year after the singer had made ‘iffy’ remarks he took part in a Mozarmy event (a get together for the singers fans) in Manchester. Not to mention using his meetings with the singer to sell his awful new book- which is basically a book that says ‘ooh guess which pop stars I met’.
I would suggest if you don’t like the singer, if you see nothing but hate and malice in him then stop trying to make money from him and using him for publicity . Essentially Div Haslam strikes me as incredibly disingenuous and incredibly snide
The type who will never take a real stand, only ever doing what is considered popular, the type who can only make their name on the backs of others but then he is a DJ and what are DJ’s but people whom make their name and status playing other peoples records . Hip by Proxy merchants.

What the media and people like Div Haslam leave out with their clumsy , ripped screaming from context, collection of remarks and incidents that are meant to prove the singer is an ultra right little Englander and a hate filled racist is that Morrissey is, and for years has been, a vegetarian, pro women’s rights, pro gay rights, anti war and anti royalist. As well as being anti England’s rule of Northern Ireland and The Falklands. He also wrote a song called See You In Far Off Places, which is anti USA’s Middle East operations.These are hardly the opinions of someone on the politic hard right.

The singer routinely travels the globe has stated his love yes for England but also Ireland, Scandinavia, Mexico, America and Israel as well as singing about the wonders of Turkish city Istanbul. This doesn’t strike me as the actions of a St George tattooed little Englander

Morrissey has been a long time fan of black author James Baldwin, he dedicated his last LP Homo In Highschool Low In High School ( which was rather good thank-you-very-much ) to black comedian/social observer Dick Gregory,. At gigs he’s been supported, among others, by David Mcalmont ( black singer), Sonya Madan (an Indian singer, born in Delhi), Murray Lightburn (black singer), Buffy Sainte-Marie (indigenous people’s of Canada singer ) and of course Kristeen Young (a singer who may not even be from this Galaxy, let alone Earth). Morrissey also dedicated his autobiography to a lady called Tina who happens to be from Iranian Muslim stock. This may not be a faultless defence against being a racist but it’s also not the role call and choices of you’re average BNP, EDL or even UKIP member….Even a member only on the part time Saturday cleaning rota.

Being a pilok, at times, doesn’t make one Heinrich Himmler

I here finish , as I’m Finished

Love music, Lamp Haslam