Nobbut Laiking, by Ross Brewster
Books educate, open and enrich our minds and sometimes just make us laugh or cry.
But they have become the latest target of “angry activists” who have effectively scared off literature festivals all over Britain from sponsorship deals.
I doubt the great literary reputation of Britain will have suffered terminally from the withdrawal of comedian Nish Kumar and singer Charlotte Church from the prestigious Hay Festival.
They pulled out of the recent event because of its sponsors’ tenuous links with Israel and investment in fossil fuels.
Over the Border in the south of Scotland the Wigtown festival, a key supporter of the local economy, has severed its links with Baillie Gifford after 14 years of support.
At least half a dozen similar festivals have bitten the dust lest someone label them “problematic”.
We’re in a period of protest where the few can dictate to the majority. The anger of many of these protests, fed by social media, is frightening people like festival organisers off. And when books with their great tradition of free expression become the target, what price free speech?
Make the effort to vote
Something I’ve noticed, or to be more accurate not noticed, is the lack of posters and placards and roadside election material this time.
It’s almost as if the main parties have been keeping a low profile, although I did spot a couple of discreet placards for Tim Farron in Greystoke. Since when has Greystoke been in Westmorland?
I’m as confused as the next Cumbrian over the constituency changes which will be effective at the forthcoming election. Changes which were made to level out voting numbers have got a lot of folk wondering just which constituency they are in.
I’ve spoken to several people who say they aren’t planning to vote this time. Such is the lack of public trust in politics of all shades. However I do think most of them will turn out come the day
In 2019 more than 15 million did not vote. Out of a population of 65 million about 47 million are registered to vote.
Perhaps we should take the example of Haridasji Udasin, the sole elector deep in the Gir forest national park in India. A priest in a Hindu temple, he jealously guards his right to vote as we all should.
A team of election officials, forestry rangers, security personnel and a local magistrate, ventured among lions, bears and crocodiles as they set off on a two-day trek into the jungle in the pursuit of democracy. With them went an electronic voting machine and a vial of indelible ink in which to dip Mr Usadin’s finger to prove he had voted.
Come July 4th remember Mr Usadin’s example, a man who realises to be able to vote is a privilege, and make the effort no matter how disillusioned you may be with politics.
Really plumbing the depths
“Wild stream of Aira, hold thy course,” wrote William Wordsworth during one of his many Ullswater sojourns.
Indeed the natural beauty of the Lake District, which so inspired the poet, needs no enhancement.
While Aira Force captivated Wordsworth, so did the Lodore Falls in Borrowdale, about which Robert Southey waxed lyrical in a bid to explain their impressive splendour to his children.
Thankfully our great waterfalls conceal no embarrassing secrets, unlike the 314 metre falls located in the Henan province of China which always seemed so replete with water even in the dry season.
A passing hiker spotted suspicious looking man-made pipes while investigating the falls, which as part of a Unesco Geopark attract millions of visitors. They are part of a geological formation dating back more than a billion years.
Social media has blasted the local tourist authority for its lack of respect to tourists and the natural order. The waterfall, claimed to be China’s tallest, has been receiving some extra human influence and the visitors feel cheated.
Such interference would hopefully never be countenanced in the Lake District National Park. No topping up the height of Scafell Pike with clandestine deliveries of boulders, adding a bit on to Derwentwater or making Surprise View even more of a surprise.
Wordsworth had it right. Let his suitably translated poems be a lesson to the Chinese tourist body that is now in disgrace.
The other footballing heroes of 1966
If you were in England in July 1966 the name should bring back a memory.
If not, and if you are a football nerd, it’s worthwhile storing away the name. One day it may win you first prize in the pub quiz.
Pak Doo-Ik was the North Korean player whose goal eliminated the highly fancied Italian team from the World Cup and won millions of new fans who regarded the Koreans as their second side.
They almost didn’t get to take part because the football authorities planned to disallow their visa applications, such was the political and ideological tension.
In fact the fans loved them. But did they return home heroes? Some just disappeared and Pak Doo-ik was sent to a labour camp.
The current People’s Republic team is just one game away from qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Once more politics and sport are destined to collide.
