Look in my Mirror and see the World

Susan Boyle on Britains got Talent

2009-04-15T18:37:00.002+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

My Golfing Site

2009-04-15T18:34:00.004+01:00

Britains got Talent Series 3

2009-04-15T16:47:00.004+01:00

In a world full of cynicism and self indulgence, there are still thankfully, normal people with normal lives who do not bow to the ideology of what is expected in terms of appearance or demeanour. Such people sometimes possess an extraordinary gift that lies hidden for a lifetime and only emerges courtesy of media reality shows such as Britain's got Talent. Such a person is Susan Boyle whose audition aired in last Saturdays show. Firstly, cynicism lies not in the domain of the wealthy or privileged, it is a curse of modern society that blights all individuals in this modern media driven age. When Susan emerged from behind the curtains, in those first steps and seconds, she was categorised, labelled and written off as just another sorry act set up for ridicule and abuse. The sniggers and sideways smirks of the judging panel were mirrored by the studio audience and she had not even opened her mouth. Simon Cowells snigger at her age appeared to embarrass Susan and further sniggers were evident when asked what she was about to sing. As everyone now knows when she opened her mouth to sing, she has the voice of an angel. In an instant the cynicism was gone to be replaced with wonder that such a voice had been hidden within this ordinary, unassuming individual. In excess of 3 million You Tube hits and over 25000 comments bear witness to the affect that this lady has had on people all over the world. She should win this competition as she is in inspiration to all people that nurture a dream that sometimes with the right breaks they can come true. She typifies the ordinary woman in the street who go about their normal life, in a normal way with normal expectations. What a shame that we had to wait until she was 48 years old to hear that wonderful voice, I am sure that we will all hear a lot more of Susan Boyle.

Reflections and Imperfections

2008-05-01T17:22:00.004+01:00

There is no doubt that as we grow older, we not only reflect on the past but try to analyse why current society differs from what we knew in our stages of growth. It is not a new concept and each generation will experience the same thoughts and emotions. There is a strong concoction of emotive feelings and often these bring forward cynicism based on what is now and what was in previous generations. Unfortunately it is a fact that in each generation there are always good and bad elements. Whether we like it or not that is life. There is however a vast difference in the current generations that the mainstay of all lifestyle namely the family is gradually being eroded by the demands and imperfections of modern society. Whether we like to admit it or not,we live in a violent,undisciplined,generally immoral age where a minority dictate to a majority as to how we should lead our lives and stand distant from the repercussions that they create. There is no doubt that there are a high percentage of families that still try to maintain the necessary love,attention, discipline and understanding that bonds the family together. In the past there was always an underlying respect for society in general because it was inbred in the family base.If this was breached there was an appropriate punishment either from the family themselves or from the formal law makers to redress the breach. Modern society has the mentality that discussion and trying to understand why crimes are committed is more important than discipline and a punishment that fits the crime. Recent headlines of tearaway youths doing as they please and killing people in the process is becoming the norm rather than the unusual. Sentences do not fit the crime and if our society continues to be lenient with the punishment and indiscipline continues to grow like a cancer then is has to be a worrying factor over the next twenty years or so as to what society holds for future generations. Yes, there has to be an understanding of issues that affect us all but there must be discipline from the family through the schools and to adulthood unfettered by the past 20 years of the do good society. Realism and social responsibility must once again be top of our agenda and only then can we once again be in control of our destiny. If not,who knows whether imperfections will kill society and reflection will be a painful pill to swallow.

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year

2007-12-27T16:05:00.000Z

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to all who have viewed my blog in 2007. I can assure you that there will be regular articles, pictures and poetry throughout 2008, so please keep coming back.
Remember that Xmas is a time for families and for making new friends and developing new relationships. Forget the media brainwashing and enjoy Xmas for what it is and have the chance to reflect on the good things that each of us possess and radiate those good qualities to others. Xmas at one time was a simple pleasure built on traditional values. Unfortunately we are all guilty of the materialistic compulsion imprinted in our minds by the prophets of greed. A sobering thought for 2008 is that often those who have little are prepared to give up the most whilst those who have plenty contribute far less. Open your eyes in 2008 and see your family and friends and build honest relationships without opening your wallets and making the fat cats richer by the second. Whilst they are getting richer on the back of the media circus, ordinary folk get poorer. They get poorer as they feel the aftermath of excessive Xmas spending and yet again lose out on the real meaning of Xmas. During an anti drugs campaign many years ago, there was a television slogan which said " Just say No ". Maybe we should stop and think before we all continue saying Yes.

X Factor winner 0 Nice young man 1

2007-12-15T22:41:00.000Z

Whilst not a great fan of these so called talent shows, I was riveted to this particular series because one contestant outshone all during the whole series. His voice and stage presence was outstanding and if it had been left to the professional judges there was only ever one winner. However, the British public voted for the puppy dog and left the Crufts champion in second place. It seems that leaving the hopes and dreams of any individual to the gladiatorial arena of the public vote has once again left the true and undisputed winner standing in the wings. Whilst there is no doubt that the true winner will have a career of his own, it still does not hide the fact that the X Factor prize is not on his pedigree.
It will be the last time that I shall watch the X Factor series. Up to the segment where the finalists are fast tracked, it is an appalling and fully embarrassing vehicle for individuals wanting their Andy Warhol moment of fame. It is without doubt a gamble from the time that the judges take no further part in the outcome. It then becomes a popularity contest based on who people connect with and for whatever reason and certainly not on the performance of the individual.
Well done Rhydian, all the sensible people know the true winner and you will be a major star. If nothing else the X factor has given the opportunity for you to show what star quality really is and that is what will sustain you for the international career that you will now follow. You did not get your name on the cup but there is no doubt the trophies in the future will be all yours.

Crime and the appropriate punishment

2007-12-05T17:39:00.001Z

Well done the labour government for once again they have fanned the flames of self destruction with the announcement of 10,000 places being made available for people who commit crimes. They have pledged to ensure that if you commit a crime, there will be a place for you and it will not cost you a penny as the taxpayer will cover all costs. So, not only do the sufferers and the families of victims suffer but never mind, a crime can be committed and not only will you get away with the ultimate penalty but we will pay to look after you in a manner to which you are not normally accustomed and provide you with all the amenities of modern life whilst in confinement.
It is about time that the present government allowed the people of Britain to vote for the restoration of the death penalty for 100% genuine guilty parties. This would provide the ultimate penalty for blatant murder or terrorism, take the perpetrators from our existence forever and by default create space in prisons for less violent members of society. Capital punishment has been eradicated from our society from the simplest forms of discipline from a cane to a smack on the legs to the ultimate deterrent of execution for members of society who commit the worst crimes and deserve to be dispatched in this manner.I believe that the time is now right for a referendum to be called and the democratic people of Britain be allowed to have their say as it is our country and not the politicians. They are supposed to be elected to act out our wishes, give us the chance to tell you what we want and let us get Britain back on track and start to sort out the lawless element that has been allowed to grow like a Cancer in our society.

From Russia with Love

2007-11-30T14:52:00.000Z

Many years ago, my daughter came home from school and asked if we would allow her to have a visitor from Russia. The placement and the trip was being organised by the local school and volunteer host families were required. It was fortunate for us all that we said yes as we were lucky enough to bring into our lives a friend that we all fell in love with and to this day remains a friend even though miles and culture stand in our way. She has visited us twice and we are hoping to visit her this year and it will be the first time we have seen her since her last visit in 1992. She is successful and now has a daughter of her own. She has a wonderful blend of understanding,strength,humility and a heart as big as a house. When she smiles she lights up a room and her broken English is very endearing. We had many memorable times and a few exciting times as well particularly on a cliff walk in Cornwall all those years ago.
It is rare to meet someone that makes such an impression and for that impression to remain strong through all the years, defying time and distance.
We know that our meeting broadened her horizons and ours. It is true that not all exchange visitors work out the same. We had a few others during my son and daughters school years but nothing could compare to our Russian Princess who came to us from Russia with love.

Punishment and Crime

2007-07-04T19:58:00.002+01:00

We have in Britain at the moment an unelected Prime Minister and an unelected policy on Capital Punishment. A democracy has an elected government by the people to carry out the policies for the people. There are many,many instances in our so called civilised society where representations by the people end up not being carried through or are simply ignored as being not good for our society, such a case is the ever increasing lack of deterrents for varying level of crimes.
There is no getting away from the fact that we live in a violent and sometimes sick society. Everyday there are Muggings, Murders, Rape and many drug related offences that can be seen in local newspapers up and down the land. In my local newspaper this week, the one article that stood out was the mugging of a 79 year old woman which left her so badly beaten that she had a broken jaw, a fractured eye socket and they had to induce a coma to be able to operate on the blood clot in her brain. They have not yet caught the perpetrators. Sadly this sort of brutality happens up and down the country. Another article in a national paper was the conviction of a man for the rape and strangulation of his 2 year old niece. The comment from a psychiatrist was that he had an untreatable psychopathic disorder. The judge sentenced him to 35 years in jail. These are only two instances of the violent extremes in modern Britain.
There has been much publicity of the overcrowding in prisons. There has also been the much publicised facilities that are available in modern prisons today which can replicate normal facilities provided to the general public who have committed no crime. Whilst it cannot be an easy time being confined,there is no doubt that the days of bread and water and hard labour have long gone and yet if you commit a crime surely there must be a punishment to fit that crime, beyond confinement. Every criminal and there are hardened ones, who are in and out of prison regularly as well as lifers, they are all looked after, fed and facilitated by the honest,hard working tax payer.
The lack of discipline from the family level upwards is a contributory factor for the lack of respect in modern society. If a crime can be committed and there is no real punishment, then not only will the perpetrators often commit again but other borderline people see that there is no punishment so they also commit the crime and so on and so forth.
The police have a thankless job, because so often they work hard to bring criminals to justice and then the punishment from the courts simply does not fit the crime. The law is seen to almost protect the criminal and that the victim has the life sentence and the punishment is with them.
Whilst not wishing to take modern society back to the dark ages, there must be a question as to where the current approach to the punishment fitting the crime is going to lead us. There is no Australia to ship our convicts to, there is limited space in our environment to build and house the epidemic of our crime ridden society. It may be that the ultimate deterrent has to be considered once again for the 100% DNA proven, without a shadow of doubt criminals . Some will say that is a backward step, many will say that it is necessary to try and stem the criminal tide which is a growing cancer in our society. The theme often quoted is that violence breeds violence. Perhaps it is better described as Violence will bring Retribution and the public who are often the ultimate victims should be given the voice of democratic decision.

A page in Jacobs time

2007-07-02T17:48:00.002+01:00

I wrote this for a very good friend of my daughter who was kind enough to comment on my page last night, so I said I would write this for her son. He is called Jacob.

In a sleepy land of make believe,of toys and sleep and song,
there lives a dog called Lofty and a teddy bear called Tom,
they have a friend called Jacob,who is much more than he seems,
he sees pictures of his future,in the place for special dreams,
Whilst Lofty is a daytime friend,Tom stays throughout the night,
he watches Jacobs sleeping time,making sure he's alright,
In Jacobs dreams he sees himself performing on the stage,
being Joseph in the Webber way,fame and fortune on this page,
his life consists of pages in his story book of time,
Liam and Noah share his thoughts, in a small world, so sublime,
at 4 years old they see their world as an exciting simple place,
you know that Jacobs happy when a smile lights up his face,
he loves his Mum, he loves his friends,in a simple honest way,
but he's dreaming of the Joseph role,may it all come true one day.

A thought on life's expectations. Read and Digest

2007-07-01T18:39:00.000+01:00

Realisation brings awareness,
Awareness brings reappraisal,
Reappraisal brings acceptance,
Acceptance brings contentment,
Contentment brings relaxation,
Relaxation brings security
Security brings expectation,
Expectation is sometimes better than realisation.

Ode to George

2007-07-01T17:52:00.000+01:00

A little bit of entertainment in verse now. I wrote this as a little bit of light humour for a young lady many years ago. She had moved her teddy bear from her bedroom to her car,a bright orange mini.

By night he sat upon her bed,
with Bill and Tom and Dave and Fred,
and others that he cannot name,
he does not care,he stands the pain,
because for him,she is the one,
he dotes on her till day is done,
and watches her throughout the night,
just making sure that she's alright,
but now he's taken seventh place,
the future now he cannot face,
for she has thrown him from her room,
imprisoned in an orange tomb,
she cannot know how he must feel,
spread-eagled on her steering wheel,
the torment as she drives along,
bashing heads with poor old Kong,
he doesn't know how he will fare,
but at this time,he doesn't care,
for she has thrown George from her life,
a bear, no care and now no wife,
but perhaps his lot will now improve,
he's asked the bruins for a move,
he merely wants a better deal,
he cannot stand that steering wheel.

The Media circus and its impact on Society

2007-06-28T16:13:00.002+01:00

One of my earlier articles dwelt on the role of the family in trying to ensure that children were brought up with respect for others and for themselves and this was often achieved by adopting traditional family values which blended love,respect and discipline and relating to each other within the family unit. I will not spend any more time on that topic at the moment,so please read it for yourselves. The bottom line however is that bringing up a family is hard work and a lifelong commitment and that is without the modern drug which all of us are addicted to namely the strength and aggressive nature of the media circus which is beamed into our everyday existence through TV,Papers,Internet,phones and many other mediums.
There is immense pressure these days and this has been finely honed by the media whereby the importance of material ideals does in essence break the traditional values and the family becomes several separate entities within the family location. Mum is organising the house often around her own employment which she has to do to maintain the materialistic standard of living,Dad is working in the evening to catch up on work that he failed to complete in his normal working day,Johnny is in his bedroom playing video games and Debbie is in her bedroom on the computer and chatting to her friends. This is the scenario for many modern middle class families. However, you then have the opposite extreme in society where money is not available to enjoy this media driven circus and often the only way for these people to live the media way is to take it from someone else. This is only one scenario, the committing of a crime to gain some kind of otherwise unattainable social ranking.
The modern visualisation techniques adopted in the majority of modern films and games can have a devastating affect on the minds of young and old alike. Violence in the extreme covering drug abuse, physical, mental and sexual themes can in many cases replace the reality of everyday life with an unreal world that mixes the above elements into a very dangerous cocktail. Censorship puts an age on the viewing criteria but all too often unsuitable content is easily available and open and innocent minds are brainwashed with totally unnecessary images.
Whilst modern day living is totally dependent on media in one form or another,the balance of what is necessary and what is not really needs to be addressed. Media can create contentment but can also simultaneously create discontentment. The vision of George Orwell and the concept of big brother is most certainly with us.We are all logged and tagged like animals on a farm and held on a vast datafile. The data logging is one element of modern society,the thrust of the media revolution is another and if not controlled it will have far wider reaching effects than we know at the moment and could have even greater impact for subsequent generations.

The Living Hell that is the Call Centre

2007-06-26T11:32:00.000+01:00

I have during the past 6 months been the victim of the woeful inadequacies of the staff employed at call centres. I would like to say that there is no doubt there are responsible members in the organisations but I have failed to find competence during my 6 months of issues. It seems to portray that there is a job description which centres itself around scripted responses. So, effectively if you can read and talk into a microphone, you get the job. When customers call in with their problems a series of prompts are jump started and the robotic question and answer scenario unfolds. When asked to jump outside the box and answer questions of their own volition, the confidence level disappears and the fundamental qualities of dealing with live people with live problems halts the conversations. This is the point at which customers who are paying for the services provided expect a certain level of customer care and the frustration commences. Another fundamental problem appears to be that as you get passed around one level of incompetence to another that your time in making the call does not matter at all. I have spent up to an hour in single conversations and literally in the past six months, days and days collectively on the phone. Transcripts of these conversations are supposed to be logged from your call, but invariably at best, they are scrappy details and at worst do not get logged at all. These notes are supposed to be of assistance should you ring up and speak to another person not related to the initial enquiry. Invariably, you have to start again and the frustration of being asked what the problem is and starting all over again is completely unacceptable and very stressful.
I did say earlier that there are bound to be individuals that are competent and can relay to people and not just numbers and I apologise to those individuals for this article.
Perhaps, it is a problem that in this modern world of data collecting that basic people skills are dwindling. A customer is a number, the relationship is non personal, conversation as we know it in these situations is not required.I am afraid that if this situation continues then not only will the customer suffer from these inadequacies but the very staff hired to oversee customer problems will lose the fundamental quality of communication, which is the most important quality in life.
The following article which I read recently may be of interest in trying to understand the global issue.
http://www.dmnews.com/cms/trackback/41541-1

Paul Potts

2007-06-24T19:04:00.000+01:00

On a lighter note we have the much publicised story of Paul Potts who in the space of a week evolved from an ordinary but humble mobile phone salesman to superstar status on You Tube with over 3 million hits and the eventual winner of Britain's got Talent. Whilst he is still fundamentally an ordinary,humble inoffensive individual,it has to be said that his life will now change forever and I hope he enjoys every minute and adapts to the lifestyle without losing his individuality. He performed first on the 9th June and appeared to have nothing going for him. Lacking in self confidence,slightly scruffy with his whole posture suggesting nothing of what was to come. When asked what he was going to do and he said sing opera, there were glances between the renowned judges which suggested little expectation.
However, when Paul Potts opened his mouth and sang the very moving Nessen Dorma, the judges and the audience realised they were seeing something rather special. In later shows, the lovely Amanda Holden managed to suppress her emotions, but on this her first viewing of Paul performing opera, it reduced her to genuine tears as she was overwhelmed with the emotion of his performance.
Paul has a genuine emotional quality in his performance,drawing on the times in his life when he had bad experiences but escaping also in the performance. It could be clearly seen that he drowns on this emotive power and in doing so captures the hearts and emotions of those who see him perform.
Well done Paul, my best wishes to you and your family, enjoy your success, there are now millions of people watching you and waiting to listen to your first album.
Sometimes reality TV shows can give opportunity to the likes of Paul Potts and the many other talented acts in the final stages of Britain's got Talent. So bring on the next series and lets hope it will be as absorbing and rewarding as the first. Message for Simon Cowell, keep the judges the same, they did a great job.
Please enjoy the Paul Potts clips on this page.

Observations of modern Life

2007-06-24T17:21:00.002+01:00

It is often difficult to distinguish in this modern existence what it is that really matters. The modern world of materialistic values of which we are all guilty distracts from what is actually necessary to enjoy life. We have all benefited from the advances of technology which make our life easier. It has to be said however that this can be at the expense of traditional values which in time past structured the way of the family and society. In the past,the important issues were formed around the family. The important factors were a roof over the head, food in the larder and the family interacting with one another in an environment of mixed emotions which included love,discipline and learning respect,not only for the family but for society outside of the family. There have always been the non conformists,the criminal element, the well brought up children that have ended up in trouble,but the family moral structure did help in reducing these events. Food was grown naturally and not force harvested, the air was cleaner despite the traditional industries of those times. Admittedly the population was far less, but the fundamentals of these family values have been eroded by the modern day so called experts who want to understand why people do what they do after they have done it and appear to have lost sight of the basic elements of a family which is understanding,love and discipline. Traditional disciplinary actions have almost been taken away from the family and families are almost managed by the therapists that are queuing up to offer advice as to why things have gone wrong. Teachers have lost authority and the ever increasing bullying element transfers itself from the playground to the classroom with many teachers being subjected to not only physical bullying but all too often the mental bullying with disastrous results. There was a wonderful mix in days gone by where the parents were the first stage of teaching love and respect, the teachers were the second stage to carry that process onwards and life was the third stage which often smoothed out all the rough edges. If you did wrong in either of these environments there was punishment in one form or another,do not tell me that a cane or a slap across the legs did untold damage to that individual for life. On the contrary it made you think twice about doing it again.
Modern day children grow up faster, are academically forward and therefore much more challenging to bring up. It is a fact that there are no short cuts to bringing up a family, it is hard work with lots of joy and lots of tears, but if persevered with hopefully produces a responsible adult equipped with the tools of respect,maturity,confidence and understanding of the demands of modern day life.
We would not be without the materialistic values of modern living but this should be balanced by the fundamental values described above,then we would have a world that is full of expectation,understanding,tolerance and traditional values for the benefit of all society.