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Nick Clegg and Liberal democrats

Tonight, people on Twitter seem to be saying, marks the death of this political party and it seems in a way quite undeniable. Many here in the UK voted for them, feeling that New Labour had lost its way but not willing to vote for the conservatives which have always been seen as the nasty party, whose policies generally seem to make life tougher and less interesting for most of us (while certain sectors do very well). Those of us who did vote for the Libdems hoped, probably against our better judgement, that they were an enlightened, left-leaning, genuinely different party. However it seems that the politician’s will to power has triumphed over those ideals which we were rather hoping they would reintroduce into politics in the UK. I’m not sure about all the pros and cons of the new rise in higher education fees – it may turn out not nearly as bad as it looks – though the prinicple of it is pretty bad (lets’ get the younger generation to pay for the debts that we ran up through capitalistic greed etc.) But regardless of how this turns out, there is a huge sense of betrayal of the LibDems – or at least its leadership. I suspect they will never, ever get votes in any number again. I hope suited Mr Clegg enjoys the head rush of power while it lasts because it will never come his way again.

I like FIFA

I know very little about football but I do remember watching the 1966 World Cup as a ten year old with my mum’s family in Germany with grumpy men in a smoking sitting room.
Our recent world cup bid team seemed to show sour grapes about FIFAs decisions to place the next world cups in unlikely places, and a failure of imagination. It seems to my ignorant gaze that FIFA are using football to achieve certain political and cultural objectives. It could do Russia a lot of good to have to prepare for the world cup in 2018. If they relax their visa requirements, they could see an influx of visitors for the time of the competition but doing completely unrelated things. It could even include me on a quick trip to Leningrad. Likewise a world cup in Qatar, as the leader of their bid said, it could play a small part in breaking down western ignorance and predjudce about the middle east. These seem really good reasons to award these two countries the competition rather than keeping it with the same old club.
My goodness, I can’t believe I’ve just written about football.

Have I become a Lego Man?

Balderston’s Motorcycles in its much-easier-to-get-to site just outside Peterborough is becoming one of those nice to hang out in places for a Saturday morning. It seems friendlier and more relaxed than SBW Motorrad down in Hertford which is where Bertha goes for checkups, but which on a Saturday is best avoided. Upstairs at Balderston’s is their collection of 2nd hand bikes, and tucked in a corner is the very model of BMW, the R90*, that I first rode as pillion from near Dorchester to Bath on a lovely summer evening in 1975.

Today I came away with a Ralleye Pro 3 jacket (after telling myself I’d never spend that much….). The jacket and the trousers feature removable inner liners that seem designed to keep out the weather (though how you would fit it by the side of the road when storm clouds threaten is beyond me). Today they were definately installed but the jacket seems like it will be cooler than what I have, which boiled me in Spain and France, but able to cope with showers which is what I got on the way home over the Fens. In fact I retraced the route home that I took after picking up my first motorbike from a large house owned by the manager of a tattoo parlour in Peterborough, just outside Coates.

Here BMW Motorrad gets a blessing from the Buddha.