7 Jan 2002.
It is intended to renew The Other News weekly, but there are occasions when this is not possible. We apologise in advance for when this occurs.
This week a fresh start after a long break. Hopefully, we can keep things going for a while now.
Index of earlier issues - click here.
(Those who like digging about will find that there are hundreds of articles on many subjects to be found on this site.)
There are some much earlier Other News on this site. Click below.
early Othernews - 1992, 93, 94.
Bonnington Cafe.
Saturday 12th. January Gabriele Gad piano and Hugh Harris saxophone. quiet old-fashioned jazz from these two veterans of the European jazz world. Some sophisticated pop, some own material, and many jazz standards.
No charge, but the hat goes round
About the Bonnington.
Bonnington Cafe is a communally owned cafe in Vauxhall, Central London. The atmosphere is somewhat Bohemian, international, friendly, educated, and much wine (brought in by diners, not sold on the premises) gets drunk. Good quality vegetarian. Cheap. The only lighting is usually candles stuck in wine bottles, and the furniture is a collection of odds and sods that people have thrown out. The overall result is relaxed and pleasing. People tend to spend the whole evening over their meal, and engage in discussion with those on other tables, the caterer, the band, passers through......
Bonnington Cafe, Vauxhall Grove, London SW8 UK. Near Vauxhall underground and mainline station, buses 185, 36, 2, 88, 322 and others.
Booking for most Saturdays through Margarita (the main Saturday caterer) on 0207 582 3339.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, by william shakespeare.
ACT 3.
Scene 2.
Another part of the wood.
OBERON:
I wonder if Titania has woken. Then I wonder what it was that came first into her eye, which she must dote upon in extremis. Here comes my messenger.
(enter Puck).
How are things, mad spirit?
PUCK:
My mistress is in love with a monster. Near her consecrated bower, whilsat she was sleeping, a group of patches, rude mechanicals, working men, had met together to rehearse a play intended for great Theseus's wedding day. The shallowest thickskinof them forsook his scene and entered into a brake. I took advantage of this and fixed an ass's head upon him. When in due course he returned to his companions they took fright and ran away. He then started shouting help help, murder and calling for help from Athens. Meanwhile they fled through the bushes losing bits of clothing to them as they ran, and I led them in this distracted fear - and left sweet Pyramus translated there. At that moment, so it came to pass, Titania awoke, and straightaway loved an ass.
OBERON:
This falls out better than I could devise. But hast thou yet latched the Athenian's eyes with the love-juice as I bid thee?
PUCK:
I took him sleeping - that is done too. And the Athenian woman by his side, so that by necessity when he awaked she must be eyed.
(enter Hermia and Demetrius).
OBERON:
Stand close. This is the same Athenian.
PUCK:
This is the woman, but not the man.
DEMETRIUS:
Why rebuke one who loves you so? Save such breath for your bitter foe.
HERMIA:
Now I just chide, but I should use thee worse, for thou, I fear, has given me cause to curse if thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep, being o'er shoes in blood plunge in the deep and kill me too. The sun was not as true to the day as he was to me. would he have crept away from me as I slept? I would as easily believe the whole world was bored through and that the moon through the centre might creep and so displease her brother's noontide with the antipodes. It cannot be other than that thou hast murdered him. That's how a murderer would look, so dead, so grim.
DEMETRIUS:
That's how the murdered should look, and so should I, pierced through the heart with your cruelty. Yet you, the murderer, look as bright, as clear, as yonder Venus in her glimmering sphere.
HERMIA:
What's this to my Lysander? where is he? Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him to me?
(this is such a very long scene that I am forced to break off here. More next issue.)
Psychology.
Over the year, I get to meet a great many people who have a selection of extreme social difficulties, either with their mental health or (mental health problems again, really) alcohol/drug addiction. This year, it became apparent that the alcoholics I met where almost entirely (about 90%) Celtic, and of those, about 90% again had Irish accents (Northern Ireland being almost never represented). The remainder of the Celts were Scottish, and I do not remember a single Welshman.
When I worked as a teacher in mental hospitals it became apparent that of those patients who came to my classes (I taught woodwork, so that anyone looking for a scientific escape from the implications of what I am saying could argue that I am not a fit person to judge on account of the fact that only nitwits do woodwork, or whatever the current English prejudice is about this very practical subject) by far the greatest single group (by religions) were the Catholics.
Southern Ireland was (and probably still is) a predominantly Catholic country, Scotland and Wales are other, and England has many more persuasions than there are days of the week and a serious Humanist movement which is as morally correct (or more so) as any religion I have yet looked at.
I will not even try to draw any conclusions, because assuming I have got a clear picture of the actual statistics I am sure you will come to your own well-reasoned conclusions. But bear in mind that I have only been meeting these people in one area - southern England - and through only two routes of contact. It may be that a third route would come up with a completely different grouping.
The problem is, what can we do to help these people without ourselves being theologically arrogant?
That's about it for this week, but at least we have made a new start.
Alternet News might appeal to some readers as a regular list of goings-on in the human rights/green areas of life. You can receive it by email. I have put one copy on this site so that you get an idea of what it is about and how to subscribe.
For sample Alternet email click here.
This interesting email magazine comes at fairly regular intervals and is of interest to almost anybody who is interested in human rights and green issues. In November 2000 it was going out to about 10,000 addresses. Try it. It won't cost you anything, and you can reproduce the contents without paying. You can subscribe by writing to them at: sjzine@netscape.net, or visit: Goforth's site
This website is about accounting investigations and fiddles. If you like to look at financial scandals (both hidden and public) this might be worth a look. I have not been there myself, but the books produced by these people, although difficult to follow, cover a lot of mysterious ground.
This website is about the destruction of countryside and agriculture. Worth a visit if you want to find out about how it is thought the British countryside will fair under the ongoing creep of the multinationals.
This website is one to do with monetary reform.The British Association for Monetary Reform. If you are interested in economics it is worth a look. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~bamr1
This is a website about alternative currencies.Might be worth a look to those who have realised that you don't necessarily have to have money as such to be prosperous.
This is a website for something called The Green Guide. I know nothing about it, but am hoping it is something worthy. Please let me know if it is questionable.
This is a site concerned with one of the most unpopular planning decisions ever made in Greater London, the Crystal Palace Complex. It is so stunningly awful that only a handful of people who do not live near it appear to approve, whilst the rest are not entirely uninclined to mention such things as payola, freemasons....you name it! The site belongs to the London Borough of Bromley, but the aggro generated by it and the destruction of amenity caused by it will be almost entirely suffered by residents of adjoining boroughs and not the people of Bromley themselves.
This is a recycling site based in London, and offering materials to anybody. The organisation is a charity seeking to link suppliers of surplus materials with users. Especially good for the more ingenious designers amongst us.
The email of the people who run the above site is cs@london-recycling.demon.co.uk. They are called Creative Supplies. Look them up for more info.
Here's an interesting education site - particularly for those who have young children and are not quite sure what to do to avoid the worst of what`s on offer in the mainstream of education.They are called www.edrev.org.
early Othernews - 1992, 93, 94.
There were a few essays that went out with the early Other News as a freestanding item. You can read these by clicking below.
London Journey - a trip from Docklands through Beckenham and back to Docklands.
(Friday Woodworkers are suffering a temporary break due to some of the episodes not having been fully edited at the time of writing. It may take some timne to fix this problem.
Episode 17.
(These articles were written in 1988, and were my first attempt at writing. Some people when shown these fell about laughing, some smiled faintly - and some yawned. I thought I was going to write a technical book, but it soon became apparent that I was much more interested in the people than the technology - and that is the main reason there are no drawings - although it might be rather good to do a couple of caricatures sometime.)
Index of Friday Woodorker articles (and a means of access).
A READER COMPLAINED that it was not possible to go back more than 6 articles in Gabriele`s area. Regrettably this is because there is no index, and I have not the time to organise one yet. However, for those determined enough to find the early ones, they should be accessible by going to an early Other News and clicking through from it. This will not be fast, but I think will do the job. They started about November 1997 I think.
In an earlier issue I told you about my feelings regarding Tempo retailers and the Lexmark 3200 printer I bought from them.
The Lexmark 3200 printer I got from Tempo must surely be the most uneconomical printer I could possibly have bought. The black cartridge only does about 250 pages of ordinary type - for £28! That makes each sheet cost 11.2 pence plus the cost of the paper and probably another 11.2 pence more if any colour is used! - ABOUT 22.4 PENCE A SHEET! Nearly a pound for every four sheets!
I wouldn`t recommend you to buy it - but also look at my earlier article for an idea of Tempo`s service.
A person to help make up a subject index for the growing numbers of articles on The Other News From England. Email editor@othernews.co.uk (this may now have been provided, but please email if you might like to join in in some way - ed.)
All material on this site is copyright. Contact me if you want to use it. I am quite flexible. Educational non-profit use is free - but ask for permission and print an acknowledgement. If you can`t think what to print, put:
From The Other News From England. http://www.othernews.co.uk
Even better if you print the date of the article.
editor@othernews.co.uk