on the 8th he was instructing the young when he was informed that on palm sunday 'jesus christ went up to heaven on an ass.'
a month on and mandelson has his passport back (because he's not a flight risk). the whole epstein scandal (the oligarchy caught in the act being sleazy and corrupt) moves to the back of people's consciousness because there's a war going on.
it's another misty morning in the wilds. the chickens are out foraging (which is a good sign). horsemouth is quite tempted to go into town (just for something to do). he could do with picking up more seeds for the garden (for when the weather gets better).
horsemouth doesn't see that as a program capable of winning office in newham (getting a lot of votes from the disgruntled yes, winning office no).
like gorton and denton newham has a sufficient ethnic population unlikely to warm to reform's message to make electoral success there unlikely. it's not that people from ethnic minorities don't vote for reform (or become reform politicians) it is just that they are less likely to do so.
but then the election is a four-way split making it harder to predict (greens - independents - reform - labour residual).
both greens and reform have a lack of in office experience but 'hiring in' expertise from the previous regime does not look insurgent - it makes reform look complicit with the sins and inefficiencies of the past (before they get to commit their own).
what the collapse of the two party system does is make any elections more representative (in that propositions formerly outside the mainstream - from the left, from the right, are now votable on) but also less representative (because it's now even more of a three plus way split rather than a straight choice between two opposing propositions).
of course just because something is voted for this doesn't mean it will actually happen - electoral arithmetic, bureaucratic inertia, vested interests, the 'deep state' etc. all can conspire to prevent people's deepest wishes being fulfilled (and even then just because something voted for happens it doesn't mean it is good for the people who voted for it).
out here in the wilds horsemouth's strategy will be the caerphilly strategy - voting to keep reform out. he thinks that there is a limit on reform's support set by nigel farage's personal popularity above which it cannot easily go.
horsemouth was surprised when the greens took north herefordshire. he was surprised (when looking at the results from the last general election in herefordshire south) how well labour had done (they had come close to taking south herefordshire) but they won't be doing that this time horsemouth supposes.
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it's a grey morning. from here on in a written in the morning blogpost.
he was reading his blogposts from back in 2020 (the pandemic year). the heartwarming season ending montages, the sudden appreciation of neglected books. he was on a roll (rather than just rolling the rock). he has started on the dedalus book of dutch fantasy.
right now it seems doubtful the sun can break through the mist. (but it will).
recorded this day in 1967 altruvista by alice coltrane (edited out of a longer composition).
also recorded that day ogunde (based on ogunde varere, an afro-brazilian folk song)and number one both released on the posthumous john coltrane album expressions.
'the tichborne case has collapsed and that detestable villain, scoundrel, imposter and liar is I am happy to say safely lodged in newgate to take his trial for perjury...'
on this day in 1872 kilvert comments on a noted victorian lost-child impersonation scandal (made into a film 1998).
not a mumbling word
this is phrase used by US cultural critic cornell west.
'and what did he have to say about this outrage? not a mumbling word...'
horsemouth is sometimes criticised for his relative silence on the big events of our times. he just doesn't see the point. he prefers to focus on things within his reach, or that were within his reach (social housing, insulation etc.).
the US has sunk a shipload of iranian sailors (allegedly returning from a training exercise) leaving them to drown. and what for? to provide a tik-tok clip. in a way what is surprising is that they didn't arrange to film it more.
it is, once again, like something out of 1984.
when the bombing stops, and the iranian people come out onto the street, will they be able to depose their leaders unassisted? probably not. and will the bombing stop? probably not.
the financial chaos unleashed by war suits the US. petrol and gas will become more expensive due to scarcity leading to super profits for the oil companies, hampering countries and firms that depend upon trade and development. it lowers predicted returns on assets in the rest of the economy making assets cheaper to acquire for those with money already. it makes borrowing more expensive.
the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.
but it doesn't suit all of them. it hampers the development of the gulf states and their transition away from oil (into tourism and wealth management). they would rather not have a stupid war on their doorstep.
but in many ways is hastens the end of the US as world hegemon (a position it only occupies because china does not deign to assert itself as a military power).
it could all blow out very quickly (think of venezuela) or it could go on until iran is rubble (think palestine) or it could bog down into an interminable forever war (think iraq, afghanistan, sudan etc.). horsemouth has no way of knowing. he's not particularly smart (he's been fooled before). he has no crystal ball.
horsemouth waits to hear where the grand scheme is going.
it was the best of schemes. it was the most beautiful of schemes. but it can't be done as is.
forward to the scheme that can be done.
it is ten years since the mixcloud mix done above. horsemouth selected the tunes and howard constructed the mix. it still sounds decent - judee sill, alice coltrane, art ensemble of chicago, milton nascimento. carlos santana, van der graaf generator.
horsemouth very much enjoyed doing these mixes. he thinks that as time went on they got better, simultaneously wider and more focused.
today is also the death day of mark linkous (sparklehorse) who died by suicide in knoxville, tennessee, on this day in 2010. as sad a tale as you will ever hear.
horsemouth has planted out some seeds out but he's not sure if he's not making a mistake. the weather is looking rainy and shit for the next two weeks, it may be that he would be better off waiting. (anyway. too late now). it may be that the weather forecast is showing him the long term average rather than an accurate reflection of what the weather will be.
horsemouth is back from the bell ringing. it went well. a bit of dodging and then a plain hunt on 5. (all practice to improve horsemouth's bell control). afterwards the angel in grosmont.
today. not the best looking of days. a walk into the village to pick up the hereford times.
young student. affair with heidegger. studies with jaspers. repudiates philosophy. flees nazis but doesn't exile to palestine. refugee. ends up in paris and then america. thinks, writes. controversy. sudden death in mid project.
there is a pleasing adornoesque harshness to her judgements. take, for example, an off-hand comment from 1946;
'a decent human existence is possible today only on the fringes of society'
horsemouth on the fringes of society
horsemouth wouldn't say only but he does think that the fringes are a good place to hide. long ago he took his friend mr.social control the ranting poet's advice about getting a day job and using that to support his art. (though admittedly a lot of things had to happen before he could take that advice).
the day job (supporting deaf students in higher education aka. beachside donkey rides) was good to him as was his social housing with the communal endeavour. his life shifted to a new pattern. he had only to add acoustic guitar music to this and he had a lifestyle.
this supported him for the best part of 25 years.
elsewhere back in the world things are following their usual sub-optimal path (horsemouth waits to hear just how sub-optimal). he supposes if it can be got to an ending then that is sufficient.
currently he doesn't have these problems. he is still on the fringes of society but in a different way to the earlier dispensation.
the evening before a moon outside the window. in the morning mist and cloud.
'the cwmgwanon wood is being murdered. as I walked along the edge of the beautiful dingle and looked sadly down into the hollow, numbers of my old friends of seven years standing lay below on both banks of the brook prostrated and mutilated, a mournful scene of havoc, the road almost impassible for the limbs of the fallen giants.' kilvert on this day in 1872.
'the woods are to be felled to pay for de winton's gambling debts...' kilvert noted in his diary on the 3rd of february. some see this as a decisive moment for kilvert that encouraged him to resign his curacy and move away.
here in the wood on the way to the common a few trees have fallen over, uprooted, felled by winter winds and rain, the whole wood on the hill above the house just grew on the ruins of an old military base and in that wood many trees have fallen over or branches been snapped off.
more railway stations
one thing that would improve horsemouth's life out here is more railway stations. in particular one at pontrilas (er. golden valley parkway). at the moment the combined bus fares into hereford are about £8 (return) and your last bus back is at about 6.30 or so at night. this is a severe discouragement from visiting the town (given the relative paucity of the second hand book shopping).
in competition (in some ways) with the re-opening of pontrilas railway station is the re-opening of the hereford-ross-gloucester railway (with a stop at tintern which would be most useful for tourists going to the abbey. this is a mere 22 mile stretch.
horsemouth was a bit grumpy. he went out and attempted the job his mum suddenly marched off and attempted to do earlier. he has been told he shouldn't do another job (and this has pissed him off big time).
ok it is the evening and he is beginning to be able to be philosophical about it.
he's enjoying the above track trans love airways from don cherry's relativity.
it's a misty morning. the sun a white disk in the grey murk. getting bigger.
'.. the quick lights of the stars and the bands of orion, the sweet influences of the pleiades and arcturus with his sons.' - kilvert, diaries, on this night 1872.
the pleiades, the seven sisters, used by ancient greek navigators for navigations and later the inspiration for the subaru logo.
today the death of jackson c. frank and the birth of arthur machen.
kilvert goes for supper at the castle.
how does horsemouth feel about iran?
well after ukraine, afghanistan, palestine, iraq, sudan, syria, libya, tunisia, egypt, lebanon, various attempts to form a kurdish state etc. he does not feel optimistic. whoever takes the west for an ally embraces a viper. it could all go to hell in a handcart for 90 million people in a matter of weeks. horsemouth's general advice is to flee rather than stay and fight. he has little feeling for the nation state.
if the west was so keen on democracy in iran it could have left mossadegh in place (but no - what was valuable to the west then was control of oil and gas production. horsemouth has no idea what they are up to now - and he suspects neither do they).
horsemouth promulgates machiavelli's advice about the need to avoid foreign wars (and mercenaries) and to take care of one's own population first. this is essentially the MAGA position which trump is betraying right now by this war. (unless like venezuela it is just a robbery and kidnapping).
oh dear the milkman has knocked over a bit of the patio wall (and left a note apologising). last night another episode of little prophets (which horsemouth is enjoying enormously). horsemouth is trying to move his waking up in the direction of 7am so that it will be 8am when the clocks go forward.
