Monday 22 August 2011

You in your small corner

And I in mine - from my small corner today , this is the first Coffee Break sock finally finished . I couldn't work out the spiral effect from the graph provided so just continued the pattern straight up and added a nice manly thick rib since its for FIL .
The yarn is gorgeous and a pleasure to knit , however the chart for the spiral effect had me completely baffled so it took me a week after ripping out several times , to decide to modify the pattern . Also , I think FIL would prefer a plainer pattern , being a traditional Scotsman .
Was feeling frustrated that I hadn't finished anything , so I think a little change to my usual (lack of) routine . Now the children are back at school , it will make it easier to focus my energy on finishing things AND getting the house in order (although the last one is a pretty steep order).
It feels good to sort things out , get them done , tick the boxes then sit back and have a coffee break .
I've got addicted to the quick crossword in the paper recently , some days I get it done quickly , other days I struggle to understand the clues . Sometimes I go back the next day and the clues become clearer , so I go on to finish it . Result .
However , in reading the other parts of the newspaper , I am getting more confused and things are becoming less clear to me . Newspapers can do that , the reporting of news has always been (a wee bit verging on the) sensational (broadsheet) , or completely sensational (red-tops) .
Apparently (after these riots) our Country is in moral decline . Although there was a picture of over 20,000 people who came out in a show of unity and grief over the deaths of 3 young men . There was no fighting or mud-slinging there , just a dignified father who inspired his city , and made me proud to be part of this country . And the people came out to help with the clean-up and provide for those in need , was , too , inspiring .
Also , those who partook in the rioting are to be dealt with more severely than your usual crooks . Naively I thought the law was impartial and not arbitrary . Why should someone be dealt with more severely than another for committing the same crime ? Why are we putting petty thieves in with hardened criminals and setting them up for a life of criminality ? What happened to community service ? Why is the government interfering with the law and where is Cherie Booth when you need her ?
What is the British Government doing to Britain ?
And why is the stealing of goods and the jailing of thieves front page news when the death of people ends up six pages in ?
What is the British media doing to Britain ?
I look at Norway which has just come out of a months mourning for the victims of the massacre , and I get a peek at the beauty of human dignity. I don't hear shouting for more restrictive laws , or mobs bent on exacting revenge on the perpetrator .
It appears that if we don't ask these questions , if we don't rise above exacting revenge , if we care more for possessions than life then , yes , that is moral decline . When we lack tolerance and civility , when we blame the very least in our society for its ills , we have moral decline .
I don't believe we do have moral decline in this country , there are too many good , decent , caring people . People who give up their time and money freely to help others , run charities , look after the vulnerable , provide for the less well off , give company to the lonely .
Its time the politicians in charge actually met the people who truly "run" the country , the true and the good , the "Big Society" . Don't make their job harder .
Try and be a little more like Norway , shining like a clear pure light in a dark world .

3 comments:

Irene said...

So is this where we were going wth this morning's conversation?!! Love your passion Mhairi and I agree with you. We know many people who give freely of their time and energy in pursuit of a better community.

Francesca said...

Hi, Mhairi. I am here for a futile reason but I just wanted to say that if Britain is morally declining, than what can I say about my home country, Italy? Still, as you pointed out, there are lots of nice people who care and work FOR others too.I don't think it is enough, but it is something and certainly something to start from.
Futile reason explained: I read your comment about Sock Knitting masterclass on my blog. Well, why you wait for that you can check out these free patterns at Vogue Knitting http://www.vogueknitting.com/free_patterns.aspx , click on Sock Cess or something similar!!!
And can you read Italian?

Flavaknits said...

Thank You for the link Francesca! I do indeed like to knit socks , and think that is a great book , but it is also good to get patterns for free . I cannot read Italian , but I use google translate - its not great but it does help! Thanks you again for the lovely swap gift . Mx