Tom's Bits

Das Boot

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Das Boot, the 1981 TV series and/or film.

I remember watching it, being utterly gripped by the drama, yet (though I didn’t understand it then), conflicted by my sympathy with the German crew of the submarine, the enemy in this majestic anti-war film.

The conflict possibly came to a head in the dramatic ending, where I know I was shocked and saddened by the death and destruction at the hands of the Allied bombers. Hang on, these are the good guys. Ummm… who are? The film helped me see (though probably not at the time)how there are two sides to these events, and they both can be right, or even Right to a degree. The U-Boat’s were killing sailors, merchant sailors at that, but this was their necessary job as part of their war machine.

In Das Boot, we learn to love and identify with the crew, most particularly the reporter (who grew into the person who wrote the book on which this production is based), and the captain, played by the wonderful Jürgen Prochnow (later in Lynch’s flawed masterpiece “Dune”). Spoiler alert. Bad news. The captain dies. Good news. The person on whom he’s based was the captain of U-96, and he survived the war, finally dying in 1986. Bad news. He really was part of the war machine, and is credited with sinking 24 merchant and troop ships, killing hundreds of  allied sailors and troops, mostly in the British Merchant Navy, but also Norwegians, Americans and so on.

How is it that I feel relief that such a killer survived the war?

Probably because in the film he’s portrayed with such humanity, as a man who cares for and loves his crew and his country, but not the war itself, and certainly not Nazism. Compare with Field Marshal Rommel, a soldier who was committed to his job and his country, but not to the sick ideals of Nazism.

Is there a point to all of this?
I suppose the message is that while “I was following orders” is not a sufficient excuse for the gross barbarity committed in the name of Nazism, there were many people who simply were doing their jobs as soldiers, killing because that that was what needed to happen. This is war. Is this naïve?

Littering

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Oh dear, another of my peeves. Littering.

I was brought up not to litter, so I almost *cannot*. Seriously, it’s so hard to break that conditioning. Okay, life or death, I’d drop whatever’s required with alarming alacrity, but otherwise, I know that if I drop something I’ll feel bound to pick it up again.

Of course this means that I’m awfully offended when I see people littering. I know it’s entirely normal to throw your fag end onto the street (and always has been, even among “nice” people), but we just shouldn’t do it. Do we really expect other people to pick up our rubbish just because we’re too lazy?

Then there’s the matter of the waste thrown out of cars. Look out of the window as you drive along a major road in the country. All those cans, bottles, wrappers. It’s not like it wouldn’t have been easy to keep the rubbish in the car and dispose of it in a bin at the destination (or en route), but there are people who actually think it’s okay to deliberately pollute our environment. I honestly don’t understand this.

“I feel much better, now that I’ve given up hope”

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“I feel much better, now that I’ve given up hope.”

This is a quote by Ashleigh Brilliant, a rather clever chap. I think I’ll find more of his wee one-liners and look more carefully at them in the future. Now, about this one….

Firstly, it’s amusing.

Secondly, there’s a ring of truth about it. Once we accept there is no hope, no immortality, that we are merely mortal animals, then at least we know where we are, and we can start to deal with the insanity (or rather, the absurdity) of looking for meaning in life, creation.

Do I have any hope? None for my own death-filled fate. I will die, I will rot and be eaten , incorporated in life also doomed to death. Our cycle of life is strictly matter based, we are animals like the countless billions, trillions on this planet. We are born, consume and grow, excrete, die and decompose.

Knowing this does not fill me with despair, instead it makes life easier. There is no meaning, so I need not worry about one, search for one, try to fulfil any created destiny. If I have a destiny, it is my own, as an organism among others. I gain pleasure from life, from my experiences and interactions. Maybe I’ll find more, but here and now, I don’t need it.

Naughty Cyclists

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One of my pet peeves relates to cyclists who break rules. I really don’t like it when I see cyclists jumping red lights, cycling on pavements or the wrong way down a one ways street. Oh, another one – turning left (or right) when the road sign at the lights says straight ahead only. This might be the biggy for me, as there are two junctions where I regularly have cyclists riding through the green man I’m crossing on.

Most of the time this doesn’t really directly even nearly harm me as I’ve only had a few near-misses, so why do I care?

1. I think it’s arrogant, in that these people seem to think the rules don’t apply to them. Hang on, these are pretty simple rules, it’s not like they’re hard to understand. If that arrow says “go that way only” then just do it. And so on.

2. It’s inconsiderate. How many car drivers or pedestrians think cyclists are generally a menace? Okay, a few are, but in the main I’d say this isn’t the case. The problem is that there are some who cause problems, and these special individuals reinforce the negative stereotype, making some other road users view (and treat) cyclists as a problem, rather than equal road users. I believe this does indirectly harm me, as a sometimes cyclist.

Things I’d like to do…. Cycle More

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I’ve bought a lovely bike, and I’d like to use it. Use it more than my standard commute, at any rate.

With all the “Things I’d like to do….” there will be common barriers, mainly revolving around laziness and business. I’m often too lazy to do something, finding it easier to just sit and read or (more commonly) play on the computer. The art of procrastination is very well practiced indeed.

The other barriers to cycling are:

Danger. I do maintain that cycling shouldn’t be dangerous, and I’ve managed many years with no real incident (including cycling round London, and many times up and down the A316 – a horrific road now I think about it). I do still have a certain issue with some junctions, mainly when cycling on a main road with a slip road coming on/off as a separate lane (e.g when the road goes from two to one lane and back to two), also with some roundabouts, but I believe common sense should help me here. I’ve also a healthy respect (fear) of drain covers on corners – I know there’s a decent chance of slipping out if I hit one of these beauties. Of course, forewarned is forearmed, and my respect/fear helps me avoid trouble.

I’m not fully used to my new bike yet, and I’m occasionally unstable on bumps. The issue here is that this bike offers a much firmer ride than my previous ones, and this is something I need to adapt to.

The weather and darkness are always a barrier.

So, when will I get off my padded butt and into the saddle? This weekend. Honest 😉

Guys and Dolls (reprise)

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It occurred to me that I’d posted my thoughts on auditioning for guys and Dolls (quite a while ago, mind). So what happened in the end? I did audition for Benny Southstreet and Arvide Abernathy. Not only did I not get either part, but one part was left uncast. This meant that not only was I not right for it, they’d rather wait for someone else than make do with me. This is exactly what happened with my audition for the Kralahome in The King And I. Again, I was rather put out by this, and didn’t (initially) like the parts I had been given, but I soon changed my mind. As with The King And I, the person who did get the part was a lovely chap, who did far better that I could have, and I’m glad he took it on. I ended up with a mish-mash of parts, which is actually rather flattering. I had a number of quick changes, and had to really be on the ball to be in the right place at the right time (in the right clothes). I also had a far amount of props to play with, which was an adventure. I played:

  • Photographer. Just in the beginning I was the chap who takes a photo of someone, gets and order form and money, tears up the order form. Later runs off chased by victim and policeman.
  • Gangster/Mug. Singing, wandering round. Chorus in “Oldest Established”, “Luck Be A Lady” etc. Lovely pink hat and tie.
  • Calvin – Mission Band chap, walks on and off a fair amount, sings, doesn’t speak, but does lug around and beat a bass drum. I hated that drum after a while, it was rather awkward to get through tight spaces in the wings, and very heavy. The drum was also the property of the orchestra percussionist (who told me it cost over £1000 – so no pressure on keeping it in good condition), who told me how to play it, and afterwards said I did a good job. Nice 🙂
  • Waiter – Hot Box. Mostly just reacting to the Hot Box girls, also sweeping the floor and having a couple of lines. Not exciting, but it meant I would also be the…
  • Waiter – Havana. Fun. A lightning fast change from the Gangster costume, which meant I had no chance of making my correct entrance, but at least I made my second entrance (with practice). I was the butt wiggling mincing waiter, holding a tray and sashaying round the stage. Then serving drinks (while wearing a monstrous sombrero), and later catching Sarah in the fight scene.
  • JOEY BILTMORE. Possibly my favourite part, my only real lines, and all off-stage. I was the voice of Joey Biltmore on the other end of the phone from Nathan (on-stage). I put on a wide and thick gravelly voice for this and tried to sloow down to give the stage-hands time to change scenery. I was very taken by the person playing Nathan Detroit telling me he thought the voice worked – I regard him as a good actor, so this is very pleasing indeed!

All in all, a fun show. I never did get my harmonies right, and I found I really can’t sing and play the bass drum at the same time. Apologies to the Musical Director for that!

Cycle To Work Scheme

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The “Cycle to Work Scheme (http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk) is an effort to get more people cycling to work (really?) by making it cheaper to purchase a bike. The idea is that your employer buys a bike (of your choice, you need to arrange a quote with a bike shop), and you pay back the employer over the next twelve months. The good part is that you pay it out of your gross salary, before income tax and NI are deducted. This means that you effectively get 42% off the price of the bike if you’re a higher rate taxpayer. The fiddly bit is that the employer actually owns the bike, and they’re hiring it out to you. After the twelve month hire period you have the option to buy it from the employer as a “fair market rate”, which is 18% of the original price if under £500, 25% if above. Alternatively, you can pay Cyclescheme a 3% or 7% (above or below £500) deposit and continue using it for another three years, and then you keep the bike (or return it and get the deposit back). I’ve just bought an Eastway FB3 from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative. It was reduced from £750 to £500 in the first place, and 42% off that brings the actual cost down to £290. I took advantage of the ability to buy safety-related accessories (lights, puncture repair, reflectives, mudguards) as these also get the effective 42% reduction. I now have a very sexy bike for my commute – the only downside is that I’m not allowed to keep my cruddy Raleigh (which I wanted to fix up with drop handlebars and possibly single speed).

“Reality TV” and “Celebrity”

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There’s a bit of hoohah in the news today about a “celebrity” in Celebrity Big Brother being thrown out because of inappropriate behaviour. I read the news article (which I suppose makes me a participant in this sort of thing), and had a lovely glimpse into the world of Celebrity.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30766963

Why?

Who does this sort of circus exist, why is “celebrity” so feted, why do people still consume this sort of show?

I suppose the circus exists because there’s a market for it. There are advertisers willing to help support it because people choose to watch it. People want it because… I suppose we need to see something outside our own lives, something we can get emotional (angry, happy, whatever) about, and seeing “famous” people make idiots of themselves does fir the bill.

I really don’t get the whole career of “celebrity” or “television personality” though. Why do these people exist? What do they actually do? Is there purpose just so we have someone to stare at and love/hate?

I believe in… The NHS

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I am an enormous fan of the NHS. Why?

A few examples of how I’ve personally benefited from the NHS:

  1. Both parents have received either life-saving or -enhancing treatment. Hospital stays, operations, long-term treatment all provided in (I think) a timely fashion. For free.
  2. My daughter was born with NHS assistance (actually, so was I, but I don’t remember that). Midwives are a key part of the NHS service, and their commitment to the mothers and children under their care is essential and wonderful. Free, supported home birth (to start with), then ambulance and hospital care, with the all the drugs and care required.
  3. Reduced cost dental care. I don’t visit the dentist as often as I ought, but that’s my own problem. My daughter’s dental care and orthodontist treatment is free. NHS dentistry is incredibly valuable.
  4. GP care and prescription drugs. I try not to use the GP (typical man that I am), but I know he/she is there, and the long-term medication I use is cheap at the price. I’ve used the local surgery for all manner of issues, for a dodgy toe, chest infection, ear syringing – and that’s just me. My wife and daughter also use the GP when necessary, and it’s all in a timely manner and free.
  5. A&E. Waiting times are never a joy, but I know that when it’s an emergency I can get the care I need. I’ve gone in for different things, the most recent was a nasty scalpel wound that needed patching up. Free.

There are more things which are free if you’re below certain incomes, or in various age/support categories: prescriptions, hearing aids, glasses, dentistry.

The NHS is something we can be proud of, and we need to keep it, not lose it.  I know the NHS is there, and that I can rely on it, and I want this to be the same for the future, not just mine, but my daughter’s too.