To twist the words of Father Ted towards current politics, I’m not thinking of madness and idiocy, or indeed the faults of the Catholic church, but the call to arms this week by the current PM. It has me rekindling a very small flame of hope in a very dark room. In a move that is just common sense, but in modern politics, almost unheard of, Mr Burnham has asked for a coming together of all people and politicians in the face of the huge care crisis in this country.
Dear God, are we witnessing the outbreak of some decency AND practicality in facing the problem that has or will blight the lives of every person in the land? My father has now been in a care home for a year. He is seemingly happy, definitely well-fed, and comfortable. He is stimulated, clean, and safe. My mother still has the family home, but for how long? One year alone has cost… are you sitting down… £96,000.00 plus additional hygiene items. All because they had savings of more than £23,000.00; after all, they were of the generation that ‘put money away for a rainy day‘. Show me a family that can afford that these days.
I hope for all of our sakes that the hatred in politics that is perpetually stoked by the extreme right is beginning to fade as we, as a society, begin to realise that if we don’t work together, we are properly done for. The emotion displayed by the PM when talking about this issue seemed to me both genuine and a force for good for the future. May he long use his feelings to address this issue, because humanity in our politics has been missing in action for a good while now.
Forgive the politics; musically this week I’ve been listening to some covers for a show I’ve been putting together, so please enjoy Michael Kiwanuka and the summer sounds of Sam Amidon. The radio show featured Buck Meek as the album of the week and also The Jayhawks, Jack Browning, Minor Gold, Mazzy Star, Treecreeper, and Treetop Flyers, to name but a few. As ever…
