Racism and Immigration

All over the news today is the report that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said that fearing Europe's 'migrant crisis' is a legitimate concern and not racism as others would prefer to state:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/10/reasonable-fear-colossal-migration-crisis-justin-welby-archbishop-canterbury

Well, my dictionary defines racism as "hatred, rivalry or bad feeling between races; belief in the inherent superiority of some races over others". It's hard to see how that applies. We Britons generally don't feel we're better than say Syrian refugees unless it's to consider that when our country was last at war we didn't abandon ship en masse so to speak... Most of us don't hate, compete or resent migrants, more the overall situation of population growth and the consequent strain on our nation's resources.

One of my views on the issue is centred around our closest neighbours and one of my least favourite subjects - numbers. Figures from Wikipedia as follows:
Great Britain
Area: 80,823 square miles
Population: 60,800,000 (2011 census)
France
Area: 248,600 square miles
Population: 66,644,000 (2016 estimate)
That's UK 752.3 people per square mile; France 268.1. The UK has a population proportional to its area 2.8 times greater than that of France. 
Meanwhile asylum applicant figures run as follows (from: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/migrant-crisis-how-many-refugees-are-countries-actually-taking-1519100):
Great Britain
4th Quarter 2014 - 8,155
1st Quarter 2015 - 7,335
France
4th Quarter 2014 - 15,515
1st Quarter 2015 - 14,770
So yes, applications are considerably up in France but that is ONLY first time asylum claims. That does not include subsequent claims and appeals or economic migrants or illegal immigrants or any other classification of migration. And yes, I will use the term illegal; the migration of people without all relevant permissions and paperwork IS criminal. 
WHY are there massive camps of migrants at Calais? Why is France not housing them? Are the anti-immigration posts I see about refugees refusing accommodation in France in the hope of coming to Britain actually true?

Now I admit I know next to nothing about France or the state of things there but as a Briton I know that the UK is under pressure - a struggling health service, a struggling education system, a lack of affordable housing, too few jobs...and yet to criticise a further influx of people is RACIST? Sorry, no. I don't care what race / nationality / religion / whatever people have the population is getting to be a problem. If it were a home-grown problem so to speak I would expect the government to promote smaller families, boost birth control etc, although hopefully not to the extremes China went to. But the problem is multi-faceted - although it is commonly cited, from what data I am unsure, that migrant mothers bear considerably more children than the 1.9 UK average and that 25.5% of all births in 2011 were to 'foreign born women' - which of course doesn't tell us a thing about how they came to be here or whether they are ever intending to return to their country of origin - it doesn't change the fact that 53% of the population increase 1991-2014 was "due to the direct contribution of net migration"
(source: http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/impact-migration-uk-population-growth). 

Claiming that being resistant to immigration is racist is somewhere between over simplification of complex issues and being entirely off base. Concerns about migration aren't about the specific PEOPLE involved, it's about LOGISTICS. It's about resources and money; considering that aspect may seem vulgar but it is necessary. For anyone who says people's lives are more important than money...well, yes but lets see how you fare without money. Housing, fuel, clothing, food, transport. The day-to-day essentials cost money. Then there's education, training, medical care...all the long term costs of resettlement and a person's long term residence. That's not racism; that's practicality. That's costs regardless of a person's origins. Sooner or later we, as a society, are going to have to take a long hard and practical look at how we're going to address the rapidly increasing population of our country, and, indeed, of the whole planet. We can't just ignore those issues because it's not considered politically correct.

What will almost inevitably happen as population increases is an increase in racism as, due to resources being squeezed ever harder, people will not entirely unreasonably feel resentment toward the 'newcomers' - for this reason these issues need to be addressed both sensitively and soon. Before it turns into something really ugly...

PS Anyone who wants to criticise my cited figures / sources etc...please bear in mind I am an ordinary mum who works part time as a cleaner - not a journalist, politician or an authority on migration or whatever.

For Example, Being Mrs Rock-Star

This is something I've been thinking about a fair bit lately, and not because I've completely lost my marbles...I know I don't stand a hope in hell with the rock-star of my dreams but who HASN'T imagined themselves in a relationship with, or married to, a celebrity crush?!

Now, beyond my own musings and barely coherent ramblings with fellow fangirls a few things have inspired this post:-

• Watching The One Show's tribute to Sir Terry Wogan and the odd way in which his family, including his wife of 50 years, were mentioned almost as an afterthought - between being very private about his home life and being considered a national treasure the people who should've been considered first and foremost following his death seemed almost excluded.
• The following line from actress Pam Dawber's Wikipedia page, describing her marriage to fellow actor Mark Harman: "The couple is known to be private about their family life and rarely appear in public together with their children or speak about one another in interviews" 
• Reading an article about the two virtually unknown daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

What makes people keep aspects of their lives so intensely private?  It makes perfect sense to avoid unwarranted press intrusion, to protect young children and to not go airing all your dirty laundry in public like some people do - *cough* Katie Price *cough* - but personally I find it a little disconcerting when people are SO private it's like their 'other half' doesn't even exist.  Getting married particularly is a legal, and often religious, unification of two people's lives so continuing to live and present yourself as a single unit strikes me as decidedly odd; especially when BOTH partners are famous as in the instance above.  If one is a completely private individual it makes a little more sense but when you're both in the public eye...you don't have to say a lot about your partner - or children - but time and time again I come across it on someone's Wikipedia or IMDb page that they NEVER talk about their partner; sometimes the dates of their marriage, or even little details like the spouse's NAME, are unknown.

Perhaps it comes of having been single since... *tumbleweed* ...well, yes, let's not go into specifics.  Anyhoo, after many MANY years alone the thought of being with someone who'd barely acknowledge my existence in a public setting is actually quite upsetting.  Like, dude, are you ASHAMED of me?!  Just to make it quite clear, I have no interest in being with someone for any kind of reflected fame, glossy magazine photoshoots or having my flabby bits papped on the beach, but the thought of being...almost 'edited out' of my husband's life doesn't sit well either.  I can't imagine anyone wanting to proudly show me off on a red carpet (or jump on Oprah's sofa for that matter) but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be his +1 on occasion.

As a mother of two I can imagine trying to be discrete about what I said about my daughters in interviews, but I can't imagine never mentioning them at all.  As a parent your children are usually the centre of things; to me that level of 'privacy' sounds more like you're disowning them!  People ask after your family, it's considered polite and I can't imagine refusing to answer a basic question just because it refers to them.  My kids may be adult now but if they ever get a stepdad I hope he'd acknowledge them; my stepdad came into my life when I was 29 and he has fully embraced me and my children as his family.

EDIT 9th September 2024

I just saw a short by YouTuber Uyen Ninh where German Fiancé appears in a No-Face costume as they launch their new podcast and it reminded me of this blog... I have been following Uyen for a while (although due to notification issues I saw this late). Uyen is a Vietnamese YouTuber posting in English about her life in Germany.

I love the fact that whilst - for whatever reason(s) - German Boyfriend (now German Fiancé or German Husband-To-Be) doesn't use his name or show his face online he is clearly supporting of her channel and willing to be involved in content.

And that's what I was thinking with this blog post... Pretending your other half doesn't exist is a world of different (IMHO) than respecting their privacy.

I have ZERO interest in fame but I couldn't deal with being a non-entity or footnote in my partner's life.

I just love the way Uyen and German Boyfriend/Fiancé/Husband-to-be are managing his need for privacy while acknowledging their combined path in life. It really shouldn't have to be all or nothing; healthy middle ground can be found.

Museum Review

My dad (being a grumpy old fart lol) is unamused with my going around the country seeing bands (especially Fearless Vampire Killers) but I am really enjoying seeing a bit of the country I wouldn't do otherwise. Almost all of my trips involve a spot of sightseeing, most usually museums and castles.

This is a personal bias; I have always liked museums and castles but the "I cinderella at a castle" in my Twitter bio (@HeggieFVK) is true - since September 2011 I have been a cleaner at Taunton Castle, home of the Museum of Somerset. This has rather increased my interest in museums so I thought I'd do an incredibly brief review of the museums I can remember visiting over the past few years only. I've been to many more and I'm sure I've forgotten some.

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, formally opening the Museum of Somerset (2012)

ENGLAND
MUSEUM OF SOMERSET

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: The Mary Bridge Sword, it's got a nice little backstory ;)
• Review: Obviously I'm a bit biased but I definitely think it's worth a visit if you're in the area. We have a nice Roman mosaic of the Dido and Aeneas too!

BRISTOL MUSEUM and ART GALLERY

• Most recent visit: 2014
• Keep an eye out for: That huge ichthyosaur!
• Review: A really nice museum but watch out for the loos (the ladies at least, can't speak for the gents) as they're kind of terrifying!

ROMAN BATHS, BATH

• Most recent visit: 2013
• Keep an eye out for: -
• Review: Definitely a must for anyone with an interest in Romans

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: The building itself - bloody hell it's GORGEOUS! Possibly a little overlooked in comparison with the dinosaurs. Watch out for the coelacanth too.
• Review: A world class museum for everyone. If you haven't been...why the hell not???

SCIENCE MUSEUM, LONDON

• Most recent visit: 2013
• Keep an eye out for: The history of medicine displays
• Review: Probably more suited to science buffs and kids of a suitable age for all the interactive displays; I was a little underwhelmed.

VICTORIA and ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

• Most recent visit: 2013
• Keep an eye out for: The Cast Court
• Review: Absolute cracker of a museum; highly recommended.

OXFORD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: All of it
• Review: Like a smaller and less formal version of the NHM, London - absolutely fantastic.

PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, OXFORD

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: I found the history of tattooing display very interesting.
• Review: A proper old-fashioned museum of anthropology - packed to the gills! Love it. Very highly recommended - and it's linked to the Oxford Museum of Natural History for a double win!

ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, OXFORD

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: The nice bum, pictured below :)
• Review: A very good museum, there's a reason why it's so famous.

THE GREAT HALL, WINCHESTER

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: See pic below
• Review: Not especially enthralling. They had an art exhibition when I visited that I enjoyed.

BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM and ART GALLERY

• Most recent visit: 2014
• Keep an eye out for: Pugin Rood Screen
• Review: One of the best museums I've visited but particularly as an Open University student - so many objects tied in with my studies.

NOTTINGHAM CASTLE MUSEUM

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: Big glass pumpkin (below)
• Review: Worth dropping by, but to be honest the castle grounds were better

WALES

SWANSEA MUSEUM

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: The Wassailing Bowl below
• Review: Quite a nice museum, smaller than I had anticipated though

DYLAN THOMAS CENTRE, SWANSEA

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: The Llareggub signpost :)
• Review: Probably better if you're a fan of Thomas' work or poets in general. That said, I came away needing to read some of his work

NATIONAL MUSEUM CARDIFF

• Most recent visit: 2015
• Keep an eye out for: ---
• Review: Kind of underwhelmed. Would've been better if it had been like it was in The Big Bang episode of Doctor Who with Daleks and a big ol' Pandorica.

SCOTLAND

KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY & MUSEUM, GLASGOW

• Most recent visit: 2014
• Keep an eye out for: Whatever art takes your fancy - there's an impressive range
• Review: A very enjoyable place to visit, wish I could've spent more time there

NORTHERN IRELAND

TITANIC BELFAST

• Most recent visit: 2014
• Keep an eye out for: I actually rather liked the 'ride' which gave you a bit of an insight into the building of the ship
• Review: Having a long-standing interest in the Titanic story I am rather biased. I very much enjoyed this exhibition although it was a little 'modern' for my tastes.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND - ARCHAEOLOGY, DUBLIN

• Most recent visit: 2014
• Keep an eye out for: Bog bodies
• Review: Definitely worth a visit

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND - NATURAL HISTORY, DUBLIN

• Most recent visit: 2014
• Keep an eye out for: Irish Elk (below) - magnificent beasties!
• Review: This isn't as good as the NHM, London or Oxford NHM but it's an interesting insight into how museums were presented in the past which I find interesting in itself.

GUINNESS STOREHOUSE, DUBLIN

• Most recent visit: 2014
• Keep an eye out for: Just keep in mind how well designed this museum is, embracing the purpose of the attraction (like the NHM, London) rather than just being a generic building.
• Review: For fans of Guinness and drinkers in general but touches on social history along the way

WET FLOOR

To me, this is a simple no-brainer of a very short blog but it has come to my attention that some people are amazingly rare in the common sense department and there is actually a need for this so, here goes:

WHAT TO DO WHEN A FLOOR IS WET / YOU SEE A WET FLOOR SIGN

1) *THINK* Do I need to walk this way?
If not - don't.
If yes, move on to point 2)

2) *THINK* Do I have everything I need?
Seriously, this drives me nuts. Someone walks across my nice clean floor, remembers something, walks back, then across again AND SOMETIMES REPEATS!

3) *LOOK* 
There really is no point walking across the wettest bit of the floor, through any swept up dirt or into the sodding mop bucket!

4) WALK CAREFULLY You have seen the floor is wet / the wet floor sign, whatever happens next is your responsibility, okay?!
FFS, what is wrong with people??? I have seen people RUN, HOP, SKIP AND JUMP - this does NOT reduce your leaving footprints on the floor and gives the cleaner palpitations. DON'T!!!

Then there are my personal rules:

5) DON'T ASK the cleaner if it's okay to walk on the floor. The cleaner is not in much of a position to say "The hell no, you keep off my floor! You wanna get to the other side you gotta FLY!" however much they may want to. Realistically all they can do is warn you to be careful in the hope that you don't sue if you slip.

6) DON'T APOLOGISE for walking. It gets really wearing after a while. The snarkier cleaner may not be able to bite back a "So you bloody well should be". Also, floors are to be walked on and if you didn't walk on the floor we would be out of our jobs cleaning them!

Instead, try saying 'hello' or something. Cleaners get ignored a lot, which is fine but acknowledging us is kinda nice too.

DO however apologise if you're making a mess on my nice clean floor. Not that this is a major thing. It happens. I remember one day, cleaning my castle before it opened to the public, and I'd just got the cafe area buffed up a treat...when a bunch of guys wheeled a scaffolding rig in. They apologised. I rolled my eyes, said "no problem" and walked away. There really is nothing else you can do. A cleaner who loses the plot is in the wrong job!

I hope this helps.

Severus Snape

Pangs

Today is Thanksgiving in America.

Being neither American nor resident in America perhaps it is not my place to comment on their cultural practices but given ongoing world events it seems kind of relevant, so please read the whole thing - especially the paragraph in red.

And as the title might indicate to you I am basing this post around some Buffy The Vampire Slayer quotes from the Thanksgiving episode "Pangs"...so, to start with, as Anya put it: "To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual sacrifice. With pie." Certainly it is normal enough for us to have such a 'ritual sacrifice' - any past event is commemorated with feasting (with or without pie) such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and funerals...but is this a past event which should be commemorated with a 'celebratory' meal or with a service of sombre remembrance like (to use the American term) Veteran's Day? Well, I know which I personally think is more appropriate and my feelings on the subject mesh with Willow's: "Thanksgiving isn't about the blending of two cultures. It's about one culture wiping out another. And then they make animated specials about the part where [becoming flustered with anger] with the maize and the big, big belt buckles. They don't show you the next scene where all the bison die and Squanto (?) takes a musket ball to the stomach."

And I can totally see that Willow is right...the whole thing is sanitised in popular culture (like the above Snoopy and Woodstock cartoon) and whitewashed because people can't face the unpalatable truths of history. That said, feeling bad about history can be just as damaging as whitewashing though. What if the events weren't commemorated at all because of guilt?! In the words of Spike: "You won; all right? You came in and you killed them and you took their land. That's what conquering nations do. It's what Caesar did, and he's not going around saying "I came, I conquered, I feel really bad about it." The history of the world is not people making friends. You had better weapons and you massacred them. End of story." There is a lot of truth in that statement. History is brutal, we remember it because we need to - to avoid repeating our mistakes. Feeling bad about it achieves nothing, except creates a desire for the events to be forgotten.

And this is SO relevant to the current world situation. American states are closing their borders to Syrian refugees because a small proportion of them might be terrorists in disguse...this from a nation largely founded on those escaping persecution in Europe. So much anti Islamic propaganda and hatred...this from a nation which supposedly prides itself on diversity. And a Presidential candidate who, amongst many other appalling things, has said he would seriously consider forcing Muslims to carry 'special ID' in a move that screams of Jewish ghettos in Nazi Poland. 
And this is not just the case in America - I don't want this to come off as anti American at all - this is just as true here in the UK where our newspapers feed the (appallingly ignorant) masses a diet of ill-disguised propaganda. Our nation's attitude to migrants, refugees and our Islamic community is an absolute disgrace. People the whole world over are still as ignorant / racist / xenophobic as they ever were. It makes me beyond sad that humanity is anything but humane and that the lessons of history have been so blatantly ignored.

We all NEED to commemorate past events to avoid repeating them...but we do it anyway and what's worse is the PROXIMITY. We've just had Remembrance / Veteran's Day when Nazi atrocities are clear in our minds along with other terrible actions made under the guise of war. Today is Thanksgiving...yet we turn against people in need. 
And finally...

Planning Ahead

Okay, so this is pretty much insane (as am I) but I am moving house...in a year and a half. For a multitude of reasons (including work being done on the house I'm moving to, my OU work and my daughter's college) it can't happen sooner but it is all set up and definite.

Gradually I am working my way through the attic, cupboards and assorted hidey-holes trying to decide what, of the crap accumulated since I arrived here in January 1998, is going to go with me and what will go in the bin. Yes, I know it's a *bit* early but at my level of procrastination I am going to need the time!

I have already made decisions about bathroom tiles and decorating...I'm being horribly unimaginative and having it done very much like my current house because I finally got it how I like it!

This above, for example, is a painting I own (not one of mine) and it hangs on my living room wall (which is painted Dulux Grecian Spa 4)...at the new house the living and dining rooms are conjoined, both will be this colour and the painting will go on the dining room side. This in turn will pick up a poppy / red theme through both rooms including vintage tableware to match stuff I'm hoping to steal off my dad ;)

Vintage tableware is my big passion at the moment - not least cos my first year in the new house I am planning to have my 1st ever big family Christmas (presuming everyone is still alive!) - where I am now is too far away from people and part of the intent of moving is to keep an eye on my ageing father. So far I have an inordinate number of avocado-green 1960s soup bowls and a slowly growing collection of 1970s Hornsea in (as photos) Saffron, Bronte and Heirloom.

Today I am very sad because a big box of mixed Hornsea Bronte and Heirloom brown and Heirloom green arrived at my house smashed to smithereens. Such priorities I have, I know. But elsewhere in my life I have worries about losing one of my jobs, uni work and the crushing weight of being forever alone so I'll continue my mid-life crisis obsessing about cute boys far too young for me and cry over cups that are older than I am getting broken.

One of my themes through the whole house is vintage - I thought of a whole bunch of things (I'm already a good six months into the planning phase) but I didn't want it to be 'dated' so not up to the current trends or limited to one particular time period. The house itself is a modern build but no particular features other than a bit 90s...and no, quite simply! Also, it's a bungalow and despite the fact that I'll be moving in aged 39 I feel the need to make it slightly little-old-ladyish ;) I know, I'm weird.