Who am I? Who are you?

The BBC World Service broadcast an interesting documentary contrasting the multicultural nature of Marseille with the default assimilation of other French cities, including Paris.

Marseille sounds like a great place, with communities originating from north Africa, the Indian Ocean, southern Europe and more. France doesn't measure ethnicities in its censuses apparently, but the unofficial figures indicate Marseille is 25% Muslim. Until recently, they were forbidden a Mosque, but this is now changing. Support for this seems to come from many places, including Marseille's Jewish community. A contrast was provided with other French cities, which saw disenfranchised communities rising-up, in 2005 and 2007, whereas Marseille remained calm.

I loved hearing all the different Marseille voices, explaining that Marseille is more connected to the Atlantic than to the rest of France; that being a port keeps it open-minded; and that while they have no problems with the rest of France, Paris doesn't understand them. Most of the interviewees also expressed their identity as, for example, Marseille-Moroccan, rather than French-Moroccan.

This reminded me of my own situation - my family background is Scottish-Jewish, but I was born in, and mainly lived in London. I've only briefly lived in Scotland and while I am ethnically half-Jewish, I'm also an atheist...so I'm never quite sure where to place myself. I feel uncomfortable thinking of myself as British, which seems to conjure-up nationalism and imperialism. I don't subscribe to the values of middle England (or middle Wales/Scotland/northern Ireland - there must be similar phenomena there). I'm not English, despite many years of living in England. Although I have a very Scottish name, I don't have a Scottish accent, nor a Scottish town to call home.

It was while studying the Open University course Open to Change that I had the space to reflect on my identity - and decided on Scottish-Jewish-Londoner. It's a mouthful, but it probably reflects my life.

How do you describe your identity - is it national, regional, to do with family history? What other ways are there, perhaps to create your own identity? Can either multiculturalism or assimilation ever be the answer?

Bored of the Things*

Well I finally gave Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings a go. It was OK, the New Zealand scenery was the biggest star in it. But I think I shall be sticking to my world cinema/arthouse/animé/black'n'white movies in future.

*PS: the title wasn't mine, it was lifted from a Radio 4 series from the 1980s

Hi/hello/ciao readers

Thanks to those fabulous people over at BlogPatrol.com, I know that most of you readers are in the US, followed by the UK and then by Canada and Italy. Whereabouts in those countries are you? Or are you a reader from somewhere else? Comment and get yourself on the map!

And the vast majority of you are, like me, Mac users. Which Mac are you using?

For reasons I can't fathom, but which I'd love you to hear about, the top keyword is yaboo.

Energy & excitement, music & mayhem

Last night I found myself singing “Your tea in your Eeyore”, with lyrics like that, who else could it be but the Sumo Kings? Like an anarchist democracy, it’s hard to say who’s the lead, with each of the Sumos getting their moment in the sun.

I glance from Sumo to Sumo, trying to capture all that’s happening on-stage, from Jay’s whirl of fierce drumming; to Faz in his trademark hoodie, bantering with the crowd; from Steve’s staccato, percussive guitar distortions onto Ad’s steadfast bass, which allows the others to fly. Steve and Faz really crank-up the guitar action during the bridges and you can feel the kinetic energy in the room build and build, finally releasing loyal fans and new-comers alike to go mad. Despite the unfortunate lack of a soundcheck, the Sumos’ irrepressible energy and raw talent stands out a mile.

Next-up were the justifiably hyper Bleached Wail, a trio hailing, or should that be wailing, from Alsager. The name comes from Gus’ description of his early singing voice, but I’m happy to say his voice is in full Technicolor, its power literally lifting him to his toes as he sings.

Gus is complemented by Floody, who moves around the stage like an over-wound toy finding ecstatic release, and Nick on drums keeps it all together, resembling a creative Brazilian defender.

There’s a real sense of dialogue between Gus’ lead guitar and Floody’s bass, the unruly guitar licks ramping-up the crowd and I bet, each other, spurring them onto ever-greater musical peaks. And the dialogue expands, with Floody’s vocals chipping-in like a wisecracking sidekick.

Inspired by diverse influences like the film Highlander as well as favourite books, Bleached Wail’s backbeat rhythms have the crowd moving in no time, with loyal fans singing lyrics right back at them.

If you like gutsy indie with gnomic lyrics, get yourself to the Sumo Kings’ next gig, 24th July at Manchester’s Roadhouse and do watch-out for them re-appearing at The Box in Crewe. If you want to surf Bleached Wail’s mayhem tide, before it becomes a nationwide tsunami, catch them at the Underground in Stoke-on-Trent on 3rd July. I expect they’ll be back at The Box too as it’s one of their favourite venues. The Sumos were also full of praise for the Crewe music scene and venues including The Box, and called on all south Cheshire music fans to get out and enjoy what’s on our doorstep.

(Also published on the Crewe Music blog, which is always well worth a read.)

Save money, be green & take a stand against consumerism, all within the comfort of your own fridge!

Starting tomorrow, it's another week-long Eating Down the Fridge Challenge. The idea is to go a week without food shopping, by using-up what's in your fridge, cupboards, larder, deep freeze, meat safe, hole in the ground, etc.

It started in the US - now admittedly they have waaaaay bigger fridges there - but it's catching on all over, from the continent to Australia. 

I'm giving it a go, I don't have a large fridge, but there's stuff in my cupboards I can use, I reckon I can do at least five days if I'm creative. 

How about you? You'll find tips at the main website, or on the Facebook group.

Let me know how you get on!

Clear boundaries or violence against children?

A very good blog - covering aspects of ideas, life and politics in New Zealand and the US - recently posted about a proposed referendum in NZ, on parental smacking.

This is one of my bug bears... I was horrified at the comment that "New Zealand has shocking rates of violence against children..." Not at the blogger saying it, but at that being the case.

Do we think it's right to hit women when they don't do what we want them to, or behave in a way we don't like? So why is it ok to hit children in those situations?

I can't help feeling that people think it's ok to get physical with children because a) they are smaller than adults; and b) children are often considered almost like parents' property.

It's very hard as a non-parent for me to comment on parenting, but what I can comment on with absolute, concrete, certainty, is the fear, hatred, guilt, emotional pain and self-blame that being hit leaves children with.

23 years after I left home to get away from being hit, I wake up to those feelings every...single...day....of my life.

Not one relationship in my life is unaffected by it and not one decision gets made without that baggage having a say. That's an awful legacy to give a child.

What are your thoughts on hitting children?

My life as a white-knuckle ride

I've searched for my centre of gravity so many times in the past few weeks I probably know more about it than Isaac Newton. (I have three meals a day, a decent house to live in, plus family and friends who care - I know I have it very lucky. But my feelings don't always see it that way)

30 days ago my dog died, so my internal Nikkei Index plunged 1000s of points. 

Then I had two gruelling job interviews with a quango, which left me filleted; hung, drawn & quartered; sliced'n'diced and hung out to dry. However I didn't care terribly as nobody died.

Next I went to the Crewe Live '09/Volume Festival and heard so many great up'n'coming bands, that with purely natural adrenaline and serotonin induced by the music and the energy of the crowd, I was high as a kite for days.

After this the fact of towering, looming redundancy hit hard, with the realisation that there's just one remaining pay cheque between the wolf at the door and I. (I like to keep him on formal terms.)

This was followed by an invite to a job interview - elation!

For about 30 seconds, until terror sets-in.

No worries, I'm off to a party to celebrate my local radio station, The Cat. Where a band dedicates a song to me, unprompted; there's another great band, Chloe; lots of the DJs say Hi as my name seems to have spread among them due to my fairly incessant emails to them for requests, dedications, expressing how much I appreciate the station, etc. And I er, win the raffle. Three times - lots and lots of lovely CDs, ah heaven. There are heaps of talented, interesting people to talk to including the woman who runs Cheshire Nightspot, the brill photographer Simon  J Newbury, presenters and behind the scenes people from The Cat, my friends from the animé club, the aforementioned musicians themselves, the Crewe Blog author and his lovely wife - and many more. So I'm on a complete - and utterly natural - high.

The morning after, je me sens désolé. Have to grit my teeth and force myself to work on my presentation for Tuesday's interview.

And so we come to tonight where I decide to get it all out my system, by making you, dear reader, suck it all up. Bon appetit!

.

.

Where needs an arts centre more than the mean streets?

A very good blog on my town, recently posted on plans for a new supermarket and how that would rejuvenate the town centre. This provoked a lively debate, with one camp all in favour and another camp wanting rejuvenation to be more culturally-focused.

Some commenters thought no-one in the town would be interested in visual art or music, which prompted me to realise that actually, there's tons going on here - hundreds of up'n'coming bands, local uni arts centre, masses of dance troupes, craft groups, cinema societies, amateur dramatics groups - it's just that people create it for themselves, rather than it being provided. Little ole me, I'm involved in three separate groups, which are all about arts and music:

1. Stitch'n'B*tch - sewing and knitting group;
   
2. Animé, Manga & Gaming, south Cheshire; and,
   
3. The Cat Radio Station.
   

This suggestion drew comments that given the town's social challenges, cultural stuff would be wasted on the people who live here, but I can't think of anyone who appreciates cultural provision more, after all the people of Kensington and the Cheshire Set can buy their own Monets - and what do us working stiffs have, now our manufacturing jobs, not to mention our call centre jobs, have gone?

Also, check-out this new blog, which  unites 2 & 3 above. 

The BNP, Royal Mail, the Football Association & June 4th - is that title long enough for you?

Yesterday I was not best pleased when my poor long-suffering postie stuck a load of election bumph through my letterbox.

Usually it goes straight in the recycling, but lucky me, it included a... thing... I can't call it a leaflet from the BNP.

So, now I am one donation, one letter to the MP, several Facebook postings, one complaint letter to the Royal Mail and one homemade anti-BNP poster-in-the-window up (it's very, very handmade, I should really post a pic on my photo blog).

Then I hear, that admirable former footballer Garth Crooks has taken the Football Association to task for - not having very diverse representatives of football at the Launch of the 2018 World Cup Bid AND having someone from the BNP at the launch. 

Great! How long has the Kick it Out! campaign been working? Thanks FA, nice one.

OK I hear you say, I don't like the BNP, but they are legal. Well yes they are, but should they be? IMHO, they encourage racial and religious hatred and that's definitely illegal.

So if you're in the UK, please get out and vote on June 4th - for anyone except BNP please.

A winner never quits

Me and my baby we don't mind,

If things don't go right all the time,

I've got her love and you know she's got mine,

With a smile on my face I'm going to keep on trying

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Because a winner never quits, 

I said a winner never quits,

You've got to do the best you can,

Because a quitter don't never win.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Into each life, some rain must fall,

'Tis bittersweet, so live with it all,

I know one day, that my ship will come in,

And that's the day that I'm going to win.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

A winner never quits, 

I said a winner never quits,

You've got to do the best you can,

Because a quitter don't never win.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Every man should try to reach his goal,

You got to keep on pushing with plenty soul,

Try everything that's within the law

You might lose a battle, but you win the war,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Because a winner never quits, 

A winner never quits,

You've got to do the best you can,

Because a quitter don't never win.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Keep on, now when you get a little weary,

Keep on, and your way looks dark & dreary,

Keep on now, when the tears fall like rain,

Keep on, feel like you're going to go insane

Keep on, when you feel a little bad,

Keep on, think about the love you've had.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson, 1964. Hear them sing it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDB5-5fKeDI