A Fine British Send-Off

The agreement documents for our (Blue Skies) funding arrived the end of last week. They just needed to be signed and sent back to Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust with an invoice for the £2,500 first payment we are set to receive. It's hard to believe that we will soon have the money we need to get off the ground two projects that will provide huge benefit to our members. For me, it is also an opportunity to deliver computer skills training once more and to demonstrate how computers and the Internet can really be put to the best use. I suspect we will receive the money by next week, and frankly I'm looking forward to spending it!

I spent this morning watching the funeral of Margaret Thatcher live on TV. For me, things like this are always an excuse to use my home cinema and I was more interested in the ceremony and the detail than anything else. I wasn't a fan of Thatcher though I do recognise her achievements and the way her policies have shaped the country. It is only now that I am able to appreciate why life was the way it was as I grew up in the 1980's.
The funeral was very well done. We are so good at putting on a show, whatever the occasion and this morning proved that once again. I think it struck the right balance. There are of course those who disagree and would rather have seen a private funeral, privately funded.
It was good that the much hyped anti-Thatcher protests didn't materialise and were confined to the odd 'boo' and shout. Any protests were very much the minority and a tiny one at that.
Credit should certainly go to the coffin bearers whose job it was to delicately convey Margaret Thatcher's heavy casket up the steep steps of St Paul's and the way they did this with such grace and without fault.

Digital Cinema and My Thoughts for the Day

I love technology. It makes things easier, more accessible and provides more choice. But I heard something this morning on BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House that made me think again as to whether it is all good. Apparently more and more of our cinemas are being converted to digital. The film projectors are being replaced by digital high definition LCD and LED projectors. Projectionists were actually lamenting the loss of film and describing how they no longer need to supervise the screenings, thread the film and switch reels in the middle of a movie. It's all being done automatically. In fact, they don't need many staff at all. Someone can visit just once a week to prepare the automated schedule and all the films are shown in the correct order and at the right times. So there are huge savings to be made - less projectionists and less staff overall. But what is lost is the quality, that film grain you get when light is shone through celluloid. The movement you get with film. With natural colours and tones, you know it's alive and real. Now it's all about crystal clear clarity, high definition images and digital sound. I understand that the complete switch to digital is inevitable, just like 35mm camera film, pretty much consigned to history and something I'll need to tell my son about one day.

I'm no expert on world events, but you don't have to be a genius to know that all is not right with the world. In fact, like many, I have little optimism and I fear for our future. The Occupy movements that have sprung up in cities across the world are lampooned in the mainstream media. But if you look at the message - the real message, you will see that the protesters too believe something is seriously wrong. They cite capitalism as the reason but it is in truth our system of capitalism that makes the rich richer and untouchable and the poor poorer and vulnerable. It's about fairness and opportunity for all. And that certainly isn't working and is wrong. So what happens? Well, I am just waiting for them to elect an official representative and form a political party. I wonder then how many people would support and vote for them? I suspect the number would be high. When you are desperate and when you have lost all confidence in the system that looks after you, that provides and offers you security, you look elsewhere. You are desperate, perhaps with nowhere to go in life, no money, in crippling debt and hungry. You will do anything to find a way out. So if someone comes along with a message, someone who understands your hardship and someone who promises a real alternative, you will follow them. Unless something changes in our current system of government and if the standard of living for everyday people doesn't improve, then this is something I can see happening.

My despair for our broken world is somewhat lessened by the marvellous work of the BBC's Children In Need appeal and the £26 million raised for our vulnerable, poor, disabled and abused young people. For a country that claims to be broke, when it comes to good causes, we always come up trumps. The same has been true of past appeals - famine in Africa and natural disasters - we always manage to find the funds to help. This makes me feel good and it's something we should be proud of, and rightly so.

So where will the world go in the coming new year? The prospect of conflict over Iran's nuclear programme gets nearer by the day and seems inevitable given their recent rhetoric. And what of their supporters, China and Russia. Do we really want to provoke them into choosing sides. I think not. And now we have renewed protests and violence in Egypt, when all had thought the country had been reborn. And of course there's Syria and its brutal crackdown on protesters, its own people. Again, any intervention could only result in wider conflict - and Syria too has its supporters who would make dangerous adversaries.
And finally we have our own continent of Europe and the financial crisis facing the Euro. Where will this end? Pessimistic, moi? You bet.

Finally, I've been reminded by a regular broadcaster on YouTube that the messages we receive through our UK mainstream media may not be complete and may be lacking facts. I would encourage people to look outside, to get a different view and perspective on world events. I cite the Occupy protests, particularly those taking place in London. Why do we think of the protesters as hippies and disillusioned students? Because that's what we're being fed. Look deeper and you'll find that the protests are made up of a broad spectrum of different people from all walks of life - all of which have come to the same conclusion. Watch a report from the BBC on the Occupy protests and then compare this to one from say Russia Today... Some could argue the different perspective is to emphasise the natural opposition to Capitalism in general over a perceived 'fair' system of communism. Maybe... Time and public opinion will tell.