What is politics about and why should we vote?

I know many people are very disenchanted and disengaged with politics and I  can understand why. There are many things which have a huge credibility gap between what they should be and what they actually are.
Politics is definitely one of these. I want to talk about what politics SHOULD BE.

Politics is about using resources, money and services in a way which benefits the greatest number of people. It is about protecting the rights of those who are weak and vulnerable. It should seek a global view of actions and consequences, so that a local plan can fit within the bigger picture. It tries to balance the needs and desires of individuals so that the happiness of one is not gained at the expense of others.

Politics isn't just a theory. It needs committed people on the ground. We call those people 'politicians' and put them in a different category. They are no longer ordinary citizens. They join a class of people like comedians, only they are less funny and more ridiculed. We talk as if politics is removed from everyday life and irrelevant. Many people can't be bothered to vote when it comes to polling day.

I think this is a great blindness, which will hurt us all.

No one would get on a ship and say, "Well it doesn't really matter who is in charge, I'm sure we will get there anyway."

No one, joining a company, would consider the managers irrelevant to the success of the venture.

Even within families, we recognise that good parenting is much better than weak or neglectful parenting, leading to better outcomes for the children.

Why then do so many people think that it doesn't matter who is making decisions about the country?

Politicians are not all the same and it really does matter who is deciding about resources and services, about rights and responsibilities, about our place in the global picture.

In my voting life, I have voted for almost every mainstream party. Some would say that I am crazy not to stick with one party. But I want someone with integrity, a commitment to service, humility and fairness to be making decisions on behalf of me, my family and my neighbours.

Thoughts at the year end

I've just rediscovered this blog after a huge gap in posts. I could have deleted it all, but have decided to keep adding to it from time to time. I've reread some of my past posts and haven't found anything too cringe-worthy!
2014 has been the fastest year I've ever lived. Here are some highlights.

Memorable events

The birth of Samuel Caleb Peter, our second grand child in January.

My mum's 80th birthday in March, with a family get together in Titchfield Community Centre.

A successful Spring Harvest event for Veritasse in April.

Andrew, my brother's, 50th birthday celebration on a boat on Southampton Water in June.

Seeing and having my photo taken with a wild otter at Stackpole Quay, Pembrokeshire in June.

 

Working with 110 school children to paint a mural in an underpass prone to repeated graffiti. A wonderful (and exhausting!) experience.

My younger brother, Tim, and Maggie's 25th Wedding anniversary in August

Having a weekend in Pembrokeshire with good friends in late October

Selling Calming the storm and  my Driftwood dragon just before Christmas

Going to a Christian conference about business called "The transformed Working Life" in Swansea in September- very encouraging and thought provoking.

Hearing Rob's first sermon on Psalm 121 last week. Well done, Rob.

Overall flavour of the year
Enjoyable but very hard work. A bit of a slog at times.

What I have learnt this year

• God is interested in every part of our lives, not just the bit when we go to church.
• You can't make any changes without someone objecting, so if you want things to change, you have to be prepared to be criticised.
• Being at peace with someone is often more important than being right.
• I need to think carefully before taking on more responsibility.

Recommended films
I am including some from last year, as well as ones I have re-watched recently and enjoyed.

• The Imitation Game- well acted, informative drama about Alan Turing, the inventor of the Enigma code breaking machine in WW2. It was realistic, thought provoking and sad.
• About Time- One of my all time favourites. Whimsical, yet full of character development, family relationships and a positive ending.
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel- I know it's older now but still really entertaining.
• Belle- Historical drama based on true story. Well acted and exploring racial intolerance.
• The 100 foot journey- a film about  neighbours coming to respect and like each other, despite different backgrounds. Set in France, with a food/restaurant background. Another all-time favourite.

Various

It's ages since my last post. I feel as if the month has fast forwarded in an alarming way. I haven't even finished The Life of Pi yet, which is surprising considering my usual reading speed.
It is a curiously compelling book. The stage upon which the story is built is so bare. There is so little that one might consider of sufficient interest to keep coming back, and yet it does keep drawing me back! It is certainly very well written.
It is many decades since I suffered "The old man and the sea" by Ernest Hemingway as an A level text. I truly dispised it at the time and remember little of it, and yet there have been some stirrings of memory as I have read "The life of Pi", so maybe I need to go back and give it another chance.Maybe I am more cultured now!  ;-)

The past 4 weeks have truly been weeks in which I needed to listen to my own advice about difficult people. Oh my goodness, how cranky and self-centred people can be! I am glad to say that these comments are not directed at family members or close friends. Unfortunately, I have to work fairly closely with people who think more about their own egos than about the good of the community, who will disagree with an idea simply because it wasn't theirs and who cling to the status quo so strongly that its amazing that they managed to grow up and leave home! Lord, give me wisdom and patience!

Enough of that or I will blow a gasket!

At present, I am preparing to go to a conference called Spring Harvest with my trade stand, so "real life" will be on hold for 2 weeks. I have been meeting with a business mentor who has been helping me to think about my business and I have been finding that really helpful. Working alone means that it's easy to lose perspective and I have been finding this lady's input very useful. She is a sounding board for ideas and asks searching questions. I pay for her time, which seems a crazy way to use money when the company isn't really making a profit, but somehow it feels worthwhile. If business is tough, it's tempting to close in and become more insular, like a person riding out a hurricane in a bunker, but I find that I get very discouraged in my bunker at times. The mentor is like a breath of fresh air and helps me to see issues more clearly.

I will probably not write again until mid April, so wish you all a very happy Easter.

The life of Pi

I've just started reading The life of Pi and am finding it very thought provoking. In the early chapters, the narrator talks about freedom in relation to zoo animals.
Now I have always tended towards the "It's cruel to keep animals in captivity" camp, but the book talks about whether freedom to go hungry, get attacked by predators or parasites etc is really what the animal would choose, if it could. It also talks about animals that have escaped from zoos, only to return to the environment they know at a later date. I have a feeling that there is something importnat hidden in these ideas, but will have to reread it and give myself time to think things through!
I have a feeling that The Life of Pi is going to raise many interesting philosophical points!

Discouragement

No matter how much you care about a cause or something that you are involved in, there do come points where you find yourself pausing to wonder what it's all about and why you keep on pressing forward.
Take my town. It's quite small. It doesn't have MEGA problems, but lots of smaller ones. I've lived here for 3 years and got very involved. I've always cared passionately about things. It doesn't matter what I am involved in, it's always important to me. So I start to dream big dreams for my town and, as I firmly believe that one person can make a difference, I begin to push forward. I talk the town up, I write the town up, I discuss things with people positively and I get involved in decision making in the town. It's hard work but I accept that. I know the road is not easy and that other people won't always want to go in the same direction. I go to meetings, I ring people. I email people. I feel that things are beginning to change then...
A local man who has been giving out dog poo bags to fellow dog walkers runs out of bags and asks me where he can get some more. I phone the council (who normally give away free dog bags from council offices) and they have run out. Not only have they run out, but the whole county has run out, and we can't have any more because there is no one in post to agree the budget spend for more bags.
And then I wonder how I can possibly expect to make a difference in the town, if I can't even sort out the simple issue of dog poo bags!
That's what discouragement is, right there. It's not the big things that faze us, but small but seemingly insurmountable problems, that should in reality be so easy to fix.

Don't worry. It will take more that dog poo bags to throw me off track completely. I will sort out the dog poo bags, somehow, and then I'll get my attention back on trying to encourage local business!

What are you worried about?

One of the sermons on Sunday was about worry, so I thought I would take some of the ideas expressed in that talk and add a sprinkling of my own thoughts and observations.
1. Worrying gets you nowhere
The Bible says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6: 27)
I guess no one would argue with that. However much we may worry about a situation, the worry itself doesn't change a thing. In fact, worrying can damage your health and actually shorten your life!
2. Worry involves crossing bridges that you will probably never come to!
Once you let worry into your head, you start to imagine a dozen different scenarios, problems and difficulties and in your mind you try to find a way through each of them. It is a real waste of effort, because the vast majority of the things we worry about will never happen.
3. Worry chases away peace.
Our brains can only think about one thing at a time, so we can't be thinking peaceful thoughts at the same time as thinking about our worries.  When my children were little, they occasionally suffered from scary thoughts when they were in bed at night. I found that the best way to help them was to get them to tell the scary thoughts to go away and then to think about something nice that had happened instead. When they were thinking about the nice memories, they couldn't be thinking about their fears. Although I used it on my children, I have also found it works for me!
4. Time passes, even in the most difficult times.
No matter how difficult the circumstances ahead, we will one day be on the other side looking back on them. Our experience tells us that we will survive, somehow, and that worrying won't make any difference to that fact.
5. Worry is usually about things in the past (that we can't change) or things in the future (that haven't happened yet.) The Bible says,"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." God will give us the strength we need for today.
6. Worry is when we think it's all down to us.
We often bear the weight of other people's expectations or our own feelings of responsibility. No one is indispensable and God does not want us to feel overburdened. "“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
7. God will help us and change our perspective, if we look upward instead of inward.

10 great things to do in Mid Wales

This is my top ten of things to do, which doesn't recommend anything I haven't done, so apologies if your absolute favourite isn't there!

Go on the train from Machynlleth to Barmouth, Harlech or beyond on a sunny day. The coastal views are amazing and on a clear day you can see the Lleyn peninsula. The train goes closer to the coast than the road on this route, so at this you can see seabirds flying below you.

Cycle around Lake Vyrnwy (about 12 miles) and then visit the sculpture park below the dam, the bird hides and RSPB centre, finishing with a cup of tea and a cake in one of the cafes.

 

Climb Roundton Hill, a Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust site just outside Churchstoke, and sit on the top with a flask of coffee. There is a 360 degree view and it is a peaceful and lovely spot.

 

Walk along the river walk by the River Severn in Newtown, keeping your eyes open for otters and kingfishers. Then visit the Robert Owen Museum in Broad Street to find out about this famous son of Newtown, the founder of the Co-operative movement.

Park in the town square in Montgomery and then walk up to the castle. Spectacular views and it's free!

Visit Bodnant Garden in North Wales, which is a beautiful 32 hectare garden owned by the National Trust. Go when the laburnham arch is at it's peak. It is stunning! Okay, this isn't strictly Mid Wales, but I've got to recommend it anyway!

Visit the Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall, a few miles from Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant. It's stunning from the bottom, and stunning from the top! It's a decent climb, so wear good shoes.

 

 

Visit Powis Castle, especially the garden. It's National Trust and  a bit expensive but worth every penny. The castle is warm looking and friendly, and the garden is a series of beautiful flowered terraces. Wonderful in any season.

 





Visit the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth. It's a really interesting place built on sustainable principles- and it's got a water powered lift! The gardens show how land can be used to produce food organically. A very informative place. (Haven't got a photo of this. Sorry!)

See Red Kites, either at the Gigrin Farm, Rhayader or at Nant yr Arian, a Forestry Commission site near Aberystwyth. These birds are beautiful.