Brexit day

Well, today is a historic day in the UK.

As a history buff, history author and oft times blogger about history, I thought I should probably say something about today.

At 11pm tonight we officially are no longer members of the European Union.  A happy day for some, a sad day for many.

Personally, I wish we had never got to this day.  I think it is a mistake.  A mistake that history will look back on and call our generation out on.  And giving the reins to Mr Johnson, to run this country without the safety net of Europe behind us, an even bigger mistake.

I truly believe many people will rue this day in years to come.

My political bias has not been hidden in my blogs, I hope for Scotland’s independence from the UK.  I have campaigned for it before and will do again, I am sure.

Once we gain that independence, I also believe that we will rejoin the EU, and I think we, as a country, will flourish.  I wish we had managed to escape the clutches of Westminster before today, but Mr Johnson knows exactly how much Scotland is worth to the UK and will not let us go without a fight.

I have argued with many people about the rights and wrongs of leaving the EU.  I am yet to hear a convincing argument in favour of it.

And we do not, as yet, have any trade agreements in place with the EU or anyone else, to keep our exports busy or profitable.  The future worries me greatly.

The EU came about after the 2nd world war, as a way to keep peace across the continent.  Since then, it has become a force to be counted upon around the world, and hailed as a great success in many circles.  Yet, we are turning our backs on that success.  Success that we helped to create.  So disappointing.

I am not saying that brexit will throw us back into war against our european neightbours, I think all countries would avoid that.  (Though I would not discount Westminster attempt to send the military north to hold onto Scotland!)  I simply think it is such a shame that we are leaving such a beneficial institution.

Oh, I know about the tax haven rules that are coming into force in Europe in the near future that would force the fat cats to declare their income more clearly, but the rich of this country could not have voted through brexit by itself.  A good chunk of the ‘little people’ had to vote for it too.  They had to believe all the promises which have now been proven to be lies.  I sometimes wonder if they still do?

The phrase, ‘turkeys voting for xmas’ always springs to mind when thinking about brexit.

The rich will not suffer through brexit, many have already relocated or bought citizenship of another european country by now.  The general public will suffer though, I can only hope that this government has some plan in place to ease that suffering to a great extent, though nothing seems evident right now.

A historic but, for me, a sad day.

See you all on the other side!!

 

An interesting sermon

At church this morning, the local priest gave a sermon about crime shows on tv.  He talked about how lawyers put arguments for and against the guilt of the people who are charged with crimes.

He suggested that, if being a Christian was made illegal in our country, how many of us could be charged with breaking that particular law.

How many of us could argue that we uphold Christian values or even think about what the bible tells us to do outside of visiting church on a sunday.

I have to admit, I am probably a ‘sunday Christian’ at present.  I don’t think about God or the bible very much, or not as much as I once did, in my life outside of sunday mass.

Oh, I am not talking about the easy commandments, the obvious ones.  I mean the easier ones, like helping the poor, aiding the sick, leading people in their faith.

I bet most people out there have walked past someone sat on the street, in a sleeping bag or with a cup.  I admit that I have.  It is extremely sad that some people are forced to live on the streets in today’s society, but we should try to help them, if we can.

I guess my report card should read ‘must try harder’!

Upon thinking about it, how many of us could be convicted of being a Christian in our everyday lives?

A very interesting sermon to think on.

1066

ON this day in 1066, events were set in motion that would eventually lead to the Norman invasion and conquest in October of that year.

King of England at that time, Edward the Confessor, had died the previous day.  He had died childless, so there was no obvious succession.

On a visit to Normandy a few years earlier, Edward had promised the English throne to the Duke of Normandy, William, who was a distant relative.  History debates whether this promise was made with an intent to follow through on it or not, as his brother in law Harold Godwinson was elected to the throne immediately upon Edward’s death.

As King, Edward could have simply changed his mind, or the throne may have been usurped by Harold, no one can be sure.

Edward was buried the day after he died, on 6th January 1066, and Harold was crowned the very same day.  I have always personally thought this was too quick to be legit, but these were troubled times, and when a King dies childless, there will always be arguments over the succession.

Harold was not a popular King and spent the majority of his reign dealing with rebellions across his kingdom.

He was caught up in the north of the country in late September when Duke William arrived in the south of England, with his army.

Riding upon the high of his victory at Stamford Bridge, Harold marched his army south to Hastings, to face this invader from Normandy.  He must have been quite confident of victory.  Unfortunately, he underestimated how worn out his men were, and the long march south did not help.  He lined up against Duke William with an exhausted army.

They fought just outside the town of Hastings, in mid October, and Harold was killed, allegedly by an arrow through the eye, an image immortalised on the Bayeaux Tapestry many years later.  Historians have questioned this manner of death, but essentially the manner is not important, the fact that the King was dead, was the important fact.

William would go on to conquer the rest of England over the next few months and would be crowned in Westminster Abbey on 25th December of that year, as William 1st.

William brought a large retinue of Normans in his army, of noble and lower birth, who mingled with the Saxon families and began the Norman period of English history.

His reign is probably best remembered for the Doomsday census, which has given historians the most comprehensive record of 11th century land ownership.

An important year in English history!

RIP Derek Acorah

Derek was a popular and enigmatic medium and am sure he will be missed by many in the world of spiritualism.

I saw him perform locally a few years ago and found him to be a very charismatic man, who made you want to believe him. I have always been interested in life after death, but that was my first meeting with an actual medium. The truth of the performance was in the eye of the beholder in my opinion, but he appeared to believe in himself which always helps a person to believe his words.

I was saddened to hear that some people were “hounding” his family even while he died. There was a time when respect for the dead was expected, but it doesn’t seem to be evident as much these days. Even the BBC article quoted a line from Yvette Fielding from over 10 years ago, saying that he was fake. Not the right tone for the article I thought. The good points of a person should be dwelled upon in the time immediately after the death. Even if only in consideration of the family. I have lost a close family member and would hate something like that to be said on the day he died.

Of course I have seen the predictable jokes “was it sudden or did he see it coming” etc. At least they seem to be in good humour and not vindictive, from what I have seen.

I hope his family can ignore the nastiness that is being bandied about for whatever reason and find some peace in his passing. It takes time, but life must go on.

I for one will raise a prayer in his memory, remembering the good man who gave many hours of entertainment to many people.

Rest in peace.

Happy new year

I haven’t been on here for a while, thought it was about time I got back into the swing of things.

Been a difficult year, in one way or another, but hopefully life will get back into normality now.

I hope everyone out there has a wonderful 2020 and I look forward to engaging in debate with some of you again soon.