Poetry – Sucked Dry

Posted on by Opher

Sucked Dry

No more words or reason,

No love or hope,

No friendship or dreams,

To sully the day

With false expectations.

Now reality must rule

And bathe the world in grey –

For colour has fled

And joy has been vanquished

So that we are doomed to live

In among the dregs.

Empty as the void,

As the vacuum of space,

Sucked dry of humour

And devoid of wishes

With which to kindle any flame.

Opher 10.7.2016

Sucked Dry

Once life was full of hope and wonder, laughter and friendship; it was so easy.

There were sufficient discoveries for a thousand life-times. It burned.

Now I am much older than that and my idealistic naivety has been replaced by the mundanity of life. Lately I have felt the energies dip on every front, the person I am change, and my dreams have become tainted with too much reality.

All my words haunt me with their imperfections. My hopes are sullied. I have had to step back and take a good hard look at where I am in life – I am not the cheerful, optimistic individual I have always felt myself to be. I am no longer optimistic or full of self-confidence.  My ideals look like silly dreams.

So I wrote it in this poem. Perhaps it is just the Brexit Blues and I will re-emerge in full optimistic mode? Or perhaps the Brexit vote awakened me to the futility of fighting the global monster that corporate society has become? I have to find a way of saying goodbye to the gorillas, chimps, elephants and rhinos, the rainforests and wilderness, and get used to a future of war, inequality and greed, where exploitation is the currency and profit the only consideration?

To turn my back on it all and feather my own nest?

I despair.

Poetry – Darkness Descends

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Darkness Descends

Gigantic dark waves

Crashing on grey sands

As huge gloom-ridden clouds

Obscure the light.

Ice-cold winds bite through

The skin with shards of steel

As warmth and sunshine are banished forever.

Never again will the sun break through

To bathe the land with hope.

No more will the heart beat

With enthusiasm for the fight.

As the cloying mists of misery

Swirl in clammy fingers of doom

And claw the very life out of

All that would dare to breathe.

Opher 10.7.2016

Darkness Descends

Behind everything is a philosophy. It creates the ethos. It creates the zeitgeist. It pervades the air we breathe. Philosophy drives everything. We all have one whether we know it or not; every society has one as its basis.

The basis of my philosophy has been one of love and hope. I have put my faith in mankind and that the good in people will prevail over the bad; that we must build, through education, a world that is full of the best we can do and not the worst.

On one hand I see the destructive greed, power-seeking and cruelty that is mindlessly destroying the planet and on the other I see the beauty we create, the altruism and love that reflects us at our best.

Mostly I am optimistic that the billions of kind, caring and pleasant people will prevail over the far fewer heartless, selfish, violent beasts.

I would like to see humanity moving to a more civilised state where nature is respected, animals are not treated cruelly, our population is controlled, and things such as war, racism, exploitation and sexism are banished. I want a world with wilderness, fresh air and equality.

The only way I can see us achieving this is through a centralised government, the end of nations and religions, and a move out of the tribalism and primitive thinking that creates so much hate and violence. I dream of universal laws to prevent pollution, war and discrimination.

That is why the Brexit vote was so appalling to me. It seemed to me to be a vote based on fear and hatred that would spawn an ethos of isolation, xenophobia, inequality and further disharmony. It was the dream of the terrorists, nationalists and racists that prevailed over those dreams of idealists like myself.

For me the world lurched into a darker place that is less safe and much further away from the unity and togetherness of the world I dream of.

I can only see a future of gloom, environmental destruction and war. The philosophy of Brexit is opposed to everything I hold dear. I have lost my faith in people. The philosophy we live in changed.

Poetry – Landscape in my Head

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Landscape in my Head

There’s a landscape in my head

It comes from the national zeitgeist.

The combined will of everyone

How every last sentiment is priced.

I’d like it to be compassionate,

Outward looking, caring and true.

But Brexit unleashed the nastiness

The racism just grew and grew.

Now we’re isolated on our own

With the ‘Little Englander’ mentality.

Blaming all the foreigners

For the blunder that is our reality.

It empowered all the nationalists

Who crawled out from every crevice.

Snarling their xenophobic slogans

Like bulldogs full of menace.

It’s not just the wealth we’ve squandered,

Greedily snatched by profiteers;

It’s the friendships that we’ve shat on

Built up through many years.

The landscape that I now live in

Is made by ugly bullying pigs.

Created by arrogant Brexiteers

And a bunch of Tory prigs.

The England that I crave

Is tolerant, outward and true.

The one that welcomed the Huguenots,

And stood up for the Jew.

An England worth fighting for

Not narrow-minded arrogance.

I’ll strive for a better vision

Worthy of taking a stance!

Opher – 11.4.2021

For me it isn’t just the money that’s been wasted or the nasty little profiteers who saw an opportunity to make millions. It’s not even the monetary costs that will throw millions into poverty and cause decades of austerity. It’s not the loss of jobs or the firms going bust or fleeing into Europe. It’s not the masses of red tape and the curtailing of my liberties.

No.

For me it is the emotional impact – the change from an outward looking country full of tolerance, cooperation and friendship to an isolated nation viewing the ‘foreigner’ as the enemy. The rise of xenophobia and racism is just the expression of this unpleasant nationalistic fervour. It’s empowered the fascists, racists and scum.

I’m not suggesting that all Brexiteers are racist fascists. But by voting for such a damaging outcome they have unleashed and empowered the worst slimy breed.

It’s going to take decades to undo the harm.

England is so much the less.

Northern Ireland – as predicted – cartoons

Posted on by Opher

Well Project Fear is proving to be Project Reality. As predicted Northern Ireland is descending into violence again, Scotland is heading to vote out, firms are fleeing the country or going bust, our freedoms have gone and we’re strangling in red tape. Unemployment will rise, prices will rise and we’ll all be poorer (apart from the Tory profiteers) and we’ll have decades of austerity as we dive down to become a far less powerful and less wealthy nation.

Who could have seen that coming?

Johnson lied and too many people believed him

But we wrested back control and gave it to a bunch on extreme incompetent, self-serving clowns!!

Brexit – How’s it going so far?? Cartoons

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100 days in and it looks like everything people said would happen is happening!!

What a tragic mess!!!

The Corona Diaries – Day 381

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I keep having to look at that number at the top there. Who would have believed that this would possibly go on for so long? Not me! I thought it was all going to be over in a few months.

So here I am 381 days in. Still no signs of the virus affecting us. It has hit half our family though. Living out here in a village we are less prone to it. The levels around here are very low.

I have had one jab and expecting the second in the next week or two. After that I shall be free!!!

Today I’ve been in for most of the day writing, publishing and listening to Howlin’ Wolf.

I have just published my 22nd book of poems. They are poems that I have written and put out on my blog over the last six months. Consequently they have been associated with Brexit, Trump, the environment, our lamentable clown of a PM, love, nature and wonder. The usual stuff. I enjoy writing them and it seems that they are quite popular – so if you want to own a book of them you will shortly get your chance. It’ll be up on Amazon in a few days time or you can get a signed copy directly from me. It’s called : ‘Out of the Covid and into the frying pan’.

I have just returned from my walk up my hill. I fed carrots to my adopted horse and watched a kestrel hover close by. She dived into the undergrowth but came up with nothing.

Meanwhile, out in Coronaland it’s more of the same. The big hoo-ha is about the rare blood clots in young people from the AstraZeneca jab. I can see that it’s big for those unlucky enough to get a clot but the risks are so tiny as to be not worth worrying about. They’re not even 100% sure it’s the vaccine causing it. It certainly wouldn’t stop me.

There have been 25 cases in 20 million people. Even if the vaccine is causing it that is incredibly safe. For just 1 in a million to become very ill or die is remarkable. No medicine is completely safe. Common aspirin causes stomach bleeding in 1% of cases – 1 in a 100 not 1 in 1,000,000. I’d certainly take my chances in a game of Russian Roulette with those sort of odds. T he risk of contracting the virus and dying is many times greater and that’s without factoring in the severe illness, ventilators and long-term problems.

People are remarkably silly over statistics. Those same people probably drive a car and the risk is far greater there! I’d put the risk on the same level as being hospitalised by your own fridge.

Can’t wait for my second jab!!

Anyway, the government is offering alternatives to the under thirties. That makes sense.

There is no reports of any clotting from second jabs. That too makes sense.

The vaccination programme has caused serious illness and death to plummet. It is also stopping transmission. By july, when all adults have had the jab, the virus should be well under control – even with Dido Harding and Johnson ballsing it up!

We are seeing the results of Johnson’s lies about Brexit coming home to roost. The troubles are starting up in Ireland again. Johnson assured everyone there would be no borders or checks or tariffs. What a stupid liar!! There is and was no way round it and he knew it.

In Scotland it is looking as if they will vote to leave and the union will break up.

Is the price we pay going to be worth it?

Years of disruption.

Higher prices.

Mangled economy.

Firms and businesses going bust.

Firms fleeing to Europe.

More border checks.

More red tape.

Slower movement.

Less freedom to travel.

A big hit to the economy.

The break up of the UK.

A weaker, less powerful Britain.

I hope that the Brexiteers feel that it was worth all that to put the power in the hands of a bunch of selfish, greedy, Eton Schoolboys and Bullingdon boys who have made a killing out of it!

Bring back control to Britain??? Put control into the hands of a bunch of extreme right-wingers more like!

Never mind – we’ll live through it. Stay safe!!!

Brexit – the reality – Radio 5 Brexit interview

Posted on by Opher

This was sent through to me by John Peachey. It really does demonstrate the extent of the lies that were told to us. This oven-ready, tariff-free deal is a nightmare. It is going to cost us all a fortune, rob us of jobs and make life really difficult for everyone.

The only people liking it are the Tory millionaires who have made a killing out of it.

Radio 5 Brexit interview_ – Small.movSaved to Email attachments

Radio 5 Brexit interview_ – Small.mov – OneDrive (live.com)

A couple of interesting Brexit interviews from Radio 5 on Wednesday. James first followed by Justin.

16 minutes.

Boris Johnson – Support from the US?????

Posted on by Opher

It sends shivers of disbelief through me every time I catch a glimpse of the man we have voted leader!!

How did that happen??

It’s like putting Benny Hill or Coco the Clown in charge of the place (except they’d probably do a better job).

It is a huge embarrassment to me.

On a day when it was finally revealed that trade has dropped by 40% with the EU and that companies are being strangled to death in red tape we have Johnson trying to cosy up to the USA. The Biden administration has already stated that Brexit was a huge mistake and they prefer to deal with the EU. Not surprising.

I suppose putting a clown in charge is appropriate on our journey towards becoming a third world country.

Project Fear becomes Project Reality

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Let me see now – what were we promised??

Oh yes – £350 million a week for the NHS!

A seamless ‘Oven Ready’ Deal.

Frictionless barriers.

Everything was labelled Project Fear!

What have we go???

Exports to EU down 40.7%

Imports from EU down 26.8%

Firms drowning in red tape.

Restrictions on travel.

Firms shutting down.

Firms moving abroad.

A colossal undisclosed amount spent on thousands of bureaucrats, thousands of lawyers, thousands of customs officers.

A colossal amount on extra border checks, customs posts, lorry parks.

An end to EU collaboration projects.

Huge cost of duplicating EU projects.

Delays at ports for extra paperwork for travel and goods.

Extra costs incurred.

Price rises.

Extra costs for travelling to Europe – health, and insurance.

What were those benefits we were promised??

Chris Riddell – Scottish Devolution

Posted on by Opher

We were told that talking about Brexit leading to the break up of the UK was Project Fear. It looks much more like a reality now.

they are doing their best to undermine Nicola Sturgeon in the same way that they did with Jeremy Corbyn.

Not only is Scotland looking murky ahead but Ireland is in a mess too.

Project Fear???? Job losses, huge costs, firms leaving, companies folding, massive amount of red tape, queues, shortages. Yep – everything in Project Fear is coming true.