December 9-15, 2023
SATURDAY 9 The Conversation reckons we’re being too hard on rats and that we should work on our instinctive revulsion for these poor creatures. In a thorough essay that occasionally borders on satire, rats are revealed to be selfless, empathetic and very hard to dislike.
There’s a wealth of science to show that rats are OK guys. They live socially complex lives and have friends beyond their immediate family. They are capable of imagination (can you say that of a pigeon?) and display kindness towards other rats for no reason.
📌 To the Barbican for the last day of our training in participatory grant-making and a chance sneak preview of items from a costume exhibition from the upcoming film Poor Things.
SUNDAY 10 At the workshop on conflict resolution at the Barbican yesterday one of the younger participants characterised conflict in terms of the reality TV and the political debates he watches on YouTube. Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer were equals in his analysis for attacking their opponent’s personality rather than their policies.
📌 The government’s crooked deals during the pandemic continue to surface. It would be nice to think that those involved will be hunted down and punished appropriately, but endemic corruption in government has somehow come to be seen as a natural state of affairs.
MONDAY 11 Many months ago a group of us from Headway visited Burgh House museum in Hampstead and were encouraged to enter their Tell Me A Story competition. I found out this morning that I am a winner in the 18+ Spooky category. Submissions were meant to be inspired by an object or picture in the museum’s extensive collection. I wrote a draft movie scene, Toddler Zombie Walk, inspired by an old cine camera on display.
EXT. CEMETERY – DAY Martin and Heidi agreed that a Toddler Zombie Walk would be a fun introduction to the complexities of death. Martin got all the costumes from one shop, the one opposite Poundland, and plenty of slime from the Monster Supply Emporium.
The kids showed character and went along with it to please him. They put on their best deathly looks, walked slowly, gave it the glazed stare, made ghosty noises, whatever. Three turns around the graveyard with the bones of Blake, Bunyan and Defoe resting silently underground. Plus jelly and chocolate, and fizz. Too much chocolate, really.
But it all felt a bit flat, as death is always likely to. Then, out of the blue, a line of grown-ups filed through the graveyard gate, headed by community police officers Christine and James. Only up close did anyone notice that the grown-ups were all crying tears of blood.
📌 Rishi seems to be getting battered from every side of his party ahead of tomorrow’s big vote on his controversial Rwanda bill. It’s make or break, or maybe even break or break. One political commentator remarked, “there is the sense of an ending in all this”. Giving evidence to the Covid inquiry today must have felt like a nice day out for Rishi, writes John Crace, a chance to forget about everything – especially the thousands of WhatsApp messages that mysteriously went missing during a moment of national crisis.
📌 I got trapped at the front door by Jehovah people punting the idea of “good news” but not able to supply any examples. I could sense my wife chuckling at my misfortune from the safety of the kitchen.
📌 To St Clement’s church for a carol concert featuring several of our neighbours. The woman behind us obviously fancied herself as a pro singer.
TUESDAY 12 Christmas came early with the arrival in the post of my NHS bowel-cancer screening kit.
📌 Rishi scraped through the vote on his controversial Rwanda bill. Suella abstained and continues to lurk in the background stirring up a full-blown war for January. She won’t give up until he’s toast.
WEDNESDAY 13 Matt d’Ancona reckons “the Tories are acting like pound shop Enoch Powells.”
And he gets quite wound up about it. What’s not funny, he writes, is…
…the lasting damage that they risk inflicting upon the social fabric and upon civic cohesion as they release ever more poisonous toxins into the political bloodstream.
📌 Spotted our neighbour Nigel padding absentmindedly outside his front door in an outfit he’d obviously lifted from an upmarket hotel – fluffy white gown and towelling sliders.
📌 The stitchwork map of Tenerife is nearly finished, and when rotated through 90⁰ still looks like a ghost.
📌 To the Barbican for a farewell party with the crew that put on the differently various exhibition. First a big lunch at the Barbican Grill, then a free look at the Re/Sisters eco-feminism exhibition, which I expected to hate but ended up liking a lot for its thorough exploration of ideas. The section on the Greenham Common women’s protests felt quite nostalgic. Then it was tea, cakes, speeches and daft photographs to make the day memorable.
THURSDAY 14 According to an article in the Guardian my sleeping habits mark me out as a Neanderthal.
📌 Started to experiment into slapping acrylic paint on to stitchwork outlines and scratching the wet paint with a sewing needle.
📌 To the Old Bailey, where our local council, the City of London Corporation, decided to host it latest attempt at listening to the people. They call these dubious sessions City Question Time, and they are well attended because finger food and alcohol are laid on free. First the council bigwigs do a pompous “you said, we did” presentation, then they face questions from angry residents about planning corruption, street lighting and tripping over e-bikes. That bit can be quite sparky. Afterwards everyone behaves civilly until the alcohol takes over and snide comments get uttered in dark corners. The chance to see the interiors of the Old Bailey was enjoyable. This is, after all, where the nation’s most serious criminals are dealt with – the irony of which somehow got lost.
FRIDAY 15 The first of the stitched patches of Tenerife on an old scrap of denim is finished. Not sure the peak of Mount Teide in bright orange stands out enough from the browny-red slopes. The shape of Tenerife always reminds me of Sherlock Holmes’s pipe. Not entirely satisfied. Might try another on Calico.
📌 Fascinating essay in the LRB by Neal Ascherson about the old East Germany, now long gone politically but not, he says, in the collective memory.
📌 Freddie Hall in the New Statesman uses the demise of crooked Blackpool MP Scott Benton to describe and rail against the insidious methods of the gambling industry. Not till very firm action against the industry is taken can Britain be a safe place, socially and politically.
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Billy's Scrapbook 