Jeremy Corbyn is a Quaker

This is my conclusion since he will not wear formal or expensive clothes, but enjoys simplicity in dress; he is a pacifist and the child of pacifists; and he will not bend the knee to anyone - not the Queen for example.  This sounds suspiciously like a secret Quaker.

Not that being a "Quaker" in this sense, implies religious belief or anything like that.  It's more a state of mind that certain people adopt.  A non-conformity to the Establishment and its values.  This gets up the Establishment's nose more than anything.  They don't mind satirists sneering at them, because when people are slagging them off, it means they matter. But these "quakers" are just ignoring them, and going their own way.  Establishment values clearly do not matter in the least to JC.

What not to wear to the Cenotaph.

Chris Mullin described him as being "rather saintly".  I think that's going a bit far, probably, what JC is, is unworldly.  The world laughs at the unworldly, and not kindly.  He is in trouble with the media, with the formerly important members of the party, with the terminally stuffy who, sadly, still seem to be in charge of a lot of things.   I would never want him to change his beliefs (unless he was convinced of the truth of another position), but I think for his own sake, it might be best to do some superficial conformity.  We don't want endless media nit-picking about unimportant matters, like what he wears to the Cenotaph.  Let him get a nice dark Crombie style overcoat - nothing flamboyant about that - and a dark suit and a "sensible" tie - not one covered with teddy bears or golf balls - and let him wear that at the Cenotaph.  Perhaps he could wear a red and a white poppy.  I don't think a red poppy means you are an active militarist does it? I hope he's got some good advice somewhere.  I hope he isn't stubborn about small, unecessary things.

What we admire about Quakers is the commitment to speak truth to power.  If he's cut down before he gets a chance, it won't be much good.  I suppose the reason why ordinary people laugh at the beard and sandals simplicity of people like JC is that they are slightly incredulous.  Why does a man who apparently had a private education (only to a prep school, than a state grammar school) and has been to university (for a year!) wander round on a bike, spend time on his allotment and generally appear to have that sort of old hippy lifestyle (in his spare time at least).  Surely a man with his advantages ought to be out running industry or working in a merchant bank or rolling in money.  People who have been brought up unhappily poor find it hard to understand this elective simplicity.  Many people have been taught that only money will make them happy, and what's the point of having money if you aren't flaunting it?   I don't suppose JC has a great deal of money.  If he lives in London his house must be worth a bit, but he's got his MP's salary, and his earnings for the odd bit of speaking and consultancy - that's more than probably your average Sun or Daily Mail reader.  If they had his money they would have a new car, a new kitchen, flash holidays.  Why isn't he like that?  What's wrong with him?  Couldn't he at least get a new bike?

He's a dissenter, a non-conformist (he said that his beard was "a form of dissent" against New Labour) - and there are a lot of us like that, who, for whatever reasons, don't like the idea that we must behave in a certain way.  That's who he represents, he probably isn't going to lure the Daily Mail readers away from their sense of security.  Those of us who want to feel we are doing the "right thing" socially will not really "get" him.  The question is, are the dissenters in the majority?  Or will a combination of the conformists and the apathetic defeat Labour again next time?  Time will tell, but for a while, we dissenters can bask in the happiness of having a quakerish, Ghandian, pacifist with integrity and socialist values leading the Labour party.

More bad things

After the first 3 bad things, there were 3 more - Ned missed his plane back from LA - an extra £350 required - and then our hot water failed (not good for our AirBnB visitors), then finally - on 24th August, Ned had a terrible accident.  He was jet-lagged, had had 2 beers and a bit of weed, and felt light headed - he says he passed out - and fell over face forward onto a window which smashed, lacerating his nose, his upper lip, two places on his cheek and forehead and losing teeth (debateable how many).   Once I had recovered from the shock of seeing flesh hanging off his face (again - his eyebrow, when he was 7), and the whole trauma of going to A&E in Ashford, we began to recover slowly.,   He had about 50-60 stitches - as well as a load of soluble ones inside his nose and lips.  He spent two nights in hospital.

It was a night mare.  I am pleased to report that he is healing, and it could have been much, much worse.  He is going back to UEA for his final year this Thursday and life will begin to return to normal.

I think the horror of the accident may have put things into perspective for him a bit.  Anyway, he seems calmer now that the pain is over, the stitches are out and the healing is beginning.  He has two lymph filled pouches on his face and forehead - but these will go eventually.  Just hoping that things will carry on improving.  He's getting serious about his work again, and his music - so I am just praying that he, and Finn will knuckle down to work this year, and perhaps next summer we will have something to celebrate!