Walking down the road in Freiburg we can across this roadside shrine. I had to use wordlens on the phone to find out who he is.
I hope to be symbolic for something else. I’m going to have to google him as this can’t be right.
Jun182014
Jun152014
May222014
Dear Nick Clegg – #elections2014
Dear Nick Clegg,
Today is voting day and I wanted to let you know what happened on May 6th 2010. You may remember the day as there was a real buzz around the country. People were generally disaffected with politics and longing for change. We had moved into a modern era of politics where image was the puppet king and Alastair Campbell had been pulling the strings. We yearned for a political arena that actually stood for something. We yearned for a politics that stood for people. This was our Bastille and we were storming it with our democratic right to vote. This was our opportunity to get the politics we deserved.
We awoke to the news that there was no result. Well there was a result but it was that no one was in charge. Suddenly you as the leader of the Liberal Democrats were a big player. You had the power to pick one of three options:
- To keep the current regime in place by forming a coalition with the centre right New Labour Party. You could have joined with Gordon Brown and helped a party who had lost the heart of what they stand for limp on for another term.
- You could have stuck to your principles as the Liberal Democrats and been the voice of those of us who long for a fairer society. You may have found yourselves in a place where you could have had real power in British politics. You could have had power in your own right and chosen which party to support on any given issue. It may have resulted in another election but you know what, maybe more people would have voted for the Liberal Democrats the second time around because they had…. principles.
- Or there was of course another option: random option three. You could have jumped in bed with the Conservatives. You could have handed power to the party who people like me, your core support, would least like to see in charge. You could have elevated to power the party who stand for the polar opposite of what I voted for on that day. But then how likely would that be?!
Well Nick, in one fell swoop, you handed away my vote for “the politics we deserve” to someone else. If it was closer to Christmas this paragraph would probably be filled with WHAM lyrics. In one fell swoop you managed to turn my political engagement on its head. I used to know what I stood for, now I merely know what I stand against. I still stand for those things. I just don’t think there is a political party who share those views any more.
I voted tonight. In fact I voted twice in both of the elections in our area. I voted tonight because ten years ago a man with a number tattooed on his arm told me how he ended up in a concentration camp. Not the guards taking him away but the rise of the far right in a time of financial difficulty and the vote that eventually led to the death of his family. But I stare at a ballot paper not knowing where to put my X. My faith in politics has gone. I have been consigned to voting against the far right instead of voting for what is right.
You did that Nick. Just thought you should know.
Yours sincerely
Revd Robb Sutherland
Vicar of Mixenden and Illingworth
Apr212014
The Mail on Sunday, Foodbanks and Self Esteem
Thank the Lord it is self esteem Friday, perhaps now I can finally pay these bills. Hi, is that British Gas? I’m skint but I feel fantastic. I’m wondering, are you prepared to accept self esteem?
I’ve been a bit busy of late. When we finished the final shout of “he is risen indeed” I discovered that the Mail on Sunday chose the day of resurrection to… not to put too fine a point on it… Lie despicably to steal food from the poor. Here’s the strap line:
HOW MOS REPORTER GOT 3 DAYS OF GROCERIES… NO QUESTIONS ASKED
The reporter then details how lots of questions were asked but he… how do I put this… lied through his teeth.
As a trustee of a food bank I was interested in the developments. There have been some good things to come out of this. There has been a huge surge in donations to Foodbanks. Thank you humanity for restoring my faith in you. More importantly, there has been a backlash against the Mail on Sunday as they have exposed themselves for what they really are.
Here is an open letter to the MOS from a parent of a two year old.
I’ve got a little boy. His name is Isaac, and he’s nearly three. Like any little boy, he loves cars, balls, and running around. He’s barely ever still.
A few days ago though, he was. I took him to the supermarket to spend his pocket money, and we passed the donation basket for our local food bank. It was about half full – nothing spectacular, in fact, mostly prunes and pasta – and he asked what it was. As simply as possible, I tried to explain that it was for people to give food for other people who couldn’t afford it.
This affected his two year old brain fairly deeply. After a lot of thought, he decided to spend a little bit of his pocket money on some treats to donate, because “children haffa have treats when they mummy and daddy is sad!” Nothing exciting. A chocolate swiss roll (about 29p), some angel delight (about 40p). Just a treat for a child, from a child who cares.
Daily Mail, I’ve got to ask. Why does my two year old get it better than you do?
Please go and read the whole letter. Kevin Bridges gets it: “Imagine working in a shop where everything is worth a pound except you” . A two year old gets it. The Mail on Sunday don’t get it.
Next week you will probably find an expose about me gracing their pages because I’ve written this blog. It’s probably all true. Or not.