Quote of the day!

"If civilisation was left in female hands we would still be living in grass huts"

Camille Pagila

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Why do modern liberals support social reform and welfare?

Modern liberal ideas were related to the further development of industrialisation. Social inequality became difficult to ignore as the working class were seen to be disadvantaged. As economic individualism came under attack, liberals rethought their attitude to the state. The minimal state was incapable of rectifying the injustices and inequalities of civil society. Therefore, modern liberals were prepared to advocate an interventionist state.

The modern liberal principle of positive freedom recognises that individual liberty can be threatened by social disadvantage and inequality. By protecting individuals from social evils, the state can expand freedom.

Modern liberals endorsed an enabling state exercising a wide range of social and economic responsibilities. The state could not force people to be good but provide conditions in which they could make more responsible moral decisions. While liberals have a preference for self-reliant individuals that take control of their own lives, they recognise that this can only occur if social conditions are conducive to it.

Social reform and welfare therefore help to expand individual freedom and enhance self-reliance by reducing social inequalities.

Modern liberals defend welfarism on the basis of equality of opportunity. The state has a social responsibility to reduce or remove social disadvantages to create equal or more equal life chances.

John Rawls developed a defence of redistribution and welfare based on the idea of ‘equality of fairness’. If people were unaware of their social position they would view an egalitarian society as fairer than an inegalitarian one. He proposed the ‘difference principle’ that social and economic inequalities should be arranged so as to benefit the least well-off, recognising the need for some measure of inequality to provide an incentive to work.

The modern liberal support for social reform and welfare boils down to the central thrust of modern liberalism: helping individuals to help themselves.

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Define individualism and explain its importance within liberal ideology

Individualism is the belief in the supreme importance of the individual over any social group or collective body. Methodological individualism suggests the individual is central to any political theory. Ethical individualism implies society should be constructed to benefit the individual. The primacy of the individual is the characteristic theme of liberalism and underpins most liberal beliefs such as freedom and equality.

As feudal life broke down, society was understood from the viewpoint of the individual. Individuals were thought to possess personal and distinctive qualities and each was of special value. The implications of placing such emphasis on the individual is that it draws attention to the uniqueness of each human being as individuals are primarily defined by inner qualities and attributes specific to themselves and individuals each share the same status in that they are all, first and foremost, individuals. Many tensions in liberal ideology can be traced back to rival ideas of equality and uniqueness.

Classical liberals view society as a collection of individuals each seeking to satisfy his/her own needs and interests. This is equated with atomism as society doesn’t exist but is merely a collection of egotistical, essentially self-interested and largely self-reliant individuals. This is based on egotistical individualism which places emphasis on self-interestedness and self-reliance.

Liberals are united in their desire to create a society in which each person is capable of developing and flourishing to their full potential. Therefore modern liberals have advanced a developmental form of individualism that prioritises human flourishing over the quest for interest satisfaction. This has been used to support positive freedom and qualified interventionism.

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Why do classical liberals defend unregulated capitalism?

Economist Adam Smith argued that the economy works best when left alone by government. The economy is a series of inter-related markets that operate according to the wishes and desires of free individuals. Freedom within a market means freedom of choice as businesses choose goods to make and consumes goods to buy. Relationships within the market are voluntary and contractual, made by self-interested individuals for whom pleasure is equated with the acquisition of wealth. This drew on the classical liberal belief in utilitarianism through the idea of the ‘economic man’ where humans are egotistical and bent on material acquisition. It can therefore be argued that unregulated capitalism provides ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’, a principle used by utilitarians to establish which policy’s or institutions will benefit society at large.

The economy is thought to operate according to a set of impersonal market forces that tend naturally to promote economic prosperity and well-being. The market is a self-regulating mechanism that needs no guidance from the government because it is managed by an invisible hand. This reflects the liberal belief in a naturally existing harmony amongst the conflicting interests within society and suggests that unregulated capitalism benefits civil society while limiting government power and helping to establish a minimal state as the government do not get involved with the individuals freedom provided by unregulated capitalism.

Economic individualism is based on the belief that the unrestrained pursuit of profit will ultimately lend to general benefit. This theory remained strong until the 1930s and since the 20^th century, faith in the free market has been revised by the rise of neoliberalism. Neoliberalism believes the market has near miraculous qualities and tends towards long term equilibrium so they are self-regulating and naturally efficient and productive. Markets are responsive, democratic mechanisms that deliver fairness and economic justice because all people have the opportunity to rise and fall on the basis of talent and hard work. Neoliberalism therefore reflects the liberal belief in meritocracy and defends unregulated capitalism on the grounds that material inequality reflects a natural inequality amongst humankind.

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Using examples distinguish between individualism and collectivism

Collectivism is the belief that collective human endeavour is of greater practical and moral value than individual self-striving, whereas individualism is the belief in the supreme importance of the individual over any social group or collective body.

Collectivism reflects the idea that human nature has a social core. Egotistical individualism, however, believes that individuals are essentially self-interested and self-reliant.

As well as egotistical, individualism can be broken down into methodological and ethical individualism. Ethical individualism implies society should be constructed to benefit the individual and methodological suggests the individual is central to any political theory. Collectivism on the other hand implies that social groups are meaningful political entities and the state should work to benefit society as a whole.

The principle to which they subscribe can greatly affect an ideology’s ideas. Classical liberal’s belief in egotistical individualism has led them to believe society is atomistic, composed of an collection of largely self-reliant individuals. Modern liberals have advanced a developmental form of individualism that prioritises human flourishing over the quest for interest satisfaction. Socialists have used the collectivist idea of human nature to support their belief in community and the capacity of human beings for collective action. Anarchists have embraced both principles with collectivist anarchists stressing the human capacity for social solidarity and individualist anarchist extending individualism with the idea of individual sovereignty.

It can be argued that it is these two contrasting principles that create rivalries within and amongst different political ideologies. Socialism and liberalism can arguably be defined as society versus the individual and modern liberalisms advocation of an interventionist state led classic liberals to excuse them of abandoning individualism and enhancing collectivism.

Distinguish between economic liberalism and social liberalism

The abandonment of economic liberalism and the doctrine of laissez-faire occurred because of the increasing complexity of industrial capitalist economies and their inability to guarantee general prosperity if left to their own devices. The Great Depression sparked by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 was the most dramatic demonstration of the failure of the free market.

The UK philosopher T. Green believed the unrestrained pursuit of profit had given rise to new forms of poverty and injustice. The economic liberty of the few had blighted the life chances of the many. Green challenged the classical liberal notion of negative freedom as economic freedom can lead to exploitation. Therefore freedom of choice in the marketplace is an inadequate conception of individual freedom. Green proposed the idea of positive freedom which recognised liberty may also be threatened by social disadvantage and inequality. This is implied a revised view of the state and led to a modern liberal belief in social liberalism.

Economic liberalism reflected the classic liberal belief in a minimal state as Adam Smith argued that the economy works best when left alone y government. Social liberalism on the other hand believes the state possesses a social responsibility to reduce or remove social disadvantages to create more equal life chances, reflecting the modern liberal belief in personal self-development through freedom.

On the other hand, both social liberalism and economic liberalism are rooted in assumptions about agoism and self-interest and both share a preference for self-reliant individuals who take responsibility of their own lives. The difference is that modern liberals recognise that this can only occur if social conditions are conducive to it and social liberalism provides equality of opportunity through welfarism.

The modern liberal belief in social liberalism reflects the modern liberal idea of ‘helping individuals to help themselves whereas the classic liberal belief in economic liberalism reflects a belief in egotistical individualism.

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Using examples distinguish between individualism and collectivism

Collectivism is the belief that collective human endeavour is of greater practical and moral value than individual self-striving, whereas individualism is the belief in the supreme importance of the individual over any social group or collective body.

Collectivism reflects the idea that human nature has a social core. Egotistical individualism, however, believes that individuals are essentially self-interested and self-reliant.

As well as egotistical, individualism can be broken down into methodological and ethical individualism. Ethical individualism implies society should be constructed to benefit the individual and methodological suggests the individual is central to any political theory. Collectivism on the other hand implies that social groups are meaningful political entities and the state should work to benefit society as a whole.

The principle to which they subscribe can greatly affect an ideology’s ideas. Classical liberal’s belief in egotistical individualism has led them to believe society is atomistic, composed of an collection of largely self-reliant individuals. Modern liberals have advanced a developmental form of individualism that prioritises human flourishing over the quest for interest satisfaction. Socialists have used the collectivist idea of human nature to support their belief in community and the capacity of human beings for collective action. Anarchists have embraced both principles with collectivist anarchists stressing the human capacity for social solidarity and individualist anarchist extending individualism with the idea of individual sovereignty.

It can be argued that it is these two contrasting principles that create rivalries within and amongst different political ideologies. Socialism and liberalism can arguably be defined as society versus the individual and modern liberalisms advocation of an interventionist state led classic liberals to excuse them of abandoning individualism and enhancing collectivism.

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Why do liberals support the principle of limited government and how do they propose that it be achieved? 45

Liberals don’t believe that a balanced and tolerant society will develop naturally out of the free actions of individuals. Liberals fear that free individuals may want to exploit others if it is in their interest to do so. Therefore our liberty requires that they are restrained from encroaching on our freedom and vice versa. Such protection can only be provided by a sovereign state capable of restraining all individuals and groups within society. While liberals are convinced of the need for government they are also aware of the dangers.

All governments are potential tyrannies against the individual as government exercises sovereign power and so poses a constant threat to individual liberty. This reflects a liberal fear of power as humans are self-seeking creatures so they naturally use power for their own benefit and at the expense of others. Liberals believe egoism plus power equals corruption and follow the quote by Lord Acton that ‘power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. Liberals therefore fear arbitrary government and uphold the principle of limited government. Liberals believe government can be limited through the establishment of constitutional constraints and by democracy.

A constitution is a set of rules that govern the government itself and defines the extent of government power and limits its exercise. The power of government bodies and politicians can be limited by external and legal constraints. A codified constitution codifies the major powers and responsibilities of government institutions within a single authorative document. A codified constitution codifies higher law. The first codified constitution was the US constitution but now all liberal democracies have one except for the UK, Israel and New Zealand.

A bill of rights entrenches individual rights by providing a legal definition of the relationship between the individual and the state. This limits government power by limiting their control over the actions of the individual and protects individual liberty.

Where there is no codified constitution or bill of rights liberals stress the importance of statute law in checking government power through the principle of the rule of law. This can be established by the introduction of a number of internal constraints which disperse political power among a number of institutions and creates a network of checks and balances. All liberal political systems exhibit some kind of internal fragmentation. An example is the doctrine of the separation of powers which keeps the judiciary, the executive and parliament as three separate branches that cannot overlap. The principle of judicial independence is respected in all liberal democracies because the judiciary interprets the meaning of law and therefore reviews the powers of government itself. It must have formal independence and political neutrality to protect the individual from the state. Governments can also be fragmented by cabinet government, parliamentary government, bicameralism and territorial divisions such as feudalism, devolution and local government.

Liberal democracy is the most common liberal political system and the political force in the developed world. It balances the principle of limited government against the idea of popular consent. Liberals are concerned that democracy can become the enemy of individual liberty as the people are not a single authority but a collection of individuals possessing different opinions and opposing interests. The democratic solution to conflict is the application of the majority rule which liberals describe as tyranny of the majority. Majoritarianism would have a great effect on elections and referendums as governments could be elected that are in fact unwanted by many individuals and decisions in referendums could go against what many individuals want, thereby permitting government to do things that individuals do not want. Individual liberty and majority rights can be crushed in the name of the people. The best defence against majoritarianism is a network of checks and balances that would make government responsive to competing minorities.

Democracy limits government through consent and the idea that citizens must have a means of protecting themselves from the encroachment of government. Utilitarian theorists developed the notion of democracy as a form of protection for the individual into a case for universal suffrage. Utilitarianism implies that individuals will vote so as to defend their interests as they define them. Therefore the government elected is most likely the one wanted by individuals, ensuring that they are still in control.

Politics Essay: Liberalism

Modern liberals support state intervention, but only within limits. Discuss. 45

Modern liberal ideas were related to the further development of industrialisation. Social inequality became difficult to maintain the belief that industrial capitalism had brought general prosperity and liberty for all. Modern liberals revised the classic liberal expectation that the unrestrained pursuit of self-interest produced a socially just society. As economic individualism came under attack, liberals rethought their attitude to the state. A minimal state was incapable of rectifying the injustices and inequalities of civil society and so modern liberals were prepared to advocate an interventionist state.

Modern liberal’s support of state intervention relates heavily to their idea of freedom. John Mills said that liberty gives individuals the ability to take control of their own lives, gain autonomy or achieve self-realisation and the value of liberty is that it enables individuals to develop, to gain talents, skills and knowledge and to refine their sensibilities. T.H Green challenged the classic liberal notion of liberty. Negative freedom merely removes the constraints on the individual giving them freedom of choice. Economic freedom however can lead to exploitation and therefore freedom of choice in the marketplace is an inadequate conception of individual freedom. Green proposed the idea of positive freedom. Negative freedom only recognises the legal and physical constraints on liberty but positive freedom recognises that liberty can also be threatened by social inequality. This implied a revised view of the state. By protecting individuals from social evils, the state can expand freedom and not merely diminish it.

Modern liberals therefore endorsed an enabling state exercising a wide range of social and economic responsibilities. The state could not force people to be good but could provide conditions in which they can make more responsible moral decisions. This shows a belief in ethical individualism as the state should be constructed to benefit the individual. This also shows that modern liberals still believe in a healthy civil society that enjoys independence from the state as they share the classic liberal preference for self-reliant individuals who take responsibility for their own lives. The difference is that modern liberals recognise that this can only occur if social conditions are conducive to it.

The 20^th century saw the growth of state intervention in the form of social welfare and welfare states. Modern liberals defend welfarism on the basis of equality of opportunity, arguing that the state possesses a social responsibility to reduce social disadvantages to create more equal life chances. Citizens have therefore acquired a range of welfare rights such as the right to work, education and decent housing. The welfare state in the UK was based on the Beveridge report which promised to protect citizens ‘from the cradle to the grave’.

Social liberalism developed further in the second half of the 20^th century with the emergence of social-democratic liberalism which is distinguished by its support for relative social equality. John Rawls defended redistribution and welfare based on the idea of ‘equality as fairness’. If people were unaware of their social position then they would view an egalitarian society as ‘fairer’ than an inegalitarian one, on the grounds that the desire to avoid poverty is greater than the attraction of riches. He therefore proposed the ‘difference principle’ that social and economic inequalities should be arranged to benefit the least well-off. This theory suggests that modern liberals support state intervention to the extent of social democrats who also believe in relative social equality. However, while modern liberals have taken social justice to imply a belief in some measure of social equality, they still believe complete social equality is unjust as it treats unlike individuals alike. Also, this theory is rooted in assumptions about egoism and self-interest and modern liberals still place the individual above society. Therefore while modern liberals support a welfare state, they would not support a ‘nanny’ state or collectivisation or nationalisation by the state.

As it was economic inequalities that caused these social disadvantages in the first place, modern liberals support state intervention in the form of economic management. Interventionist policies were guided by the work of J.M Keynes who believed the level of economic activity is determined by the total amount of demand and governments could manage their economies by influencing the level of demand. This promised to give governments the ability to manipulate employment and growth levels and hence secure general prosperity. Modern liberals see economic management as constructive in promoting prosperity and harmony in civil society as it increases equality of opportunity by reducing economic inequalities through less unemployment.

John Mill laid the foundations for the modern liberal developmental model of individualism that placed emphasis on human flourishing rather than the crude satisfaction of interests. Modern liberals therefore use the state to assist individuals in their self-development by providing equality of opportunity through reduced social and economic inequalities. However the central thrust of modern liberalism is to help individuals to help themselves. Therefore they would not support state intervention on civil society and still believe all private and moral matters should be left to the individual.

Exam Time

Well exam time is here for both me and Symone so expect far fewer posts and the posts we do have are most likely going to be practice exam questions we've done!

Schools only just started and I can't wait for it to be over!

Law Essay: Omission

In general, the criminal law prohibits the doing of harm but does not impose criminal liability for an omission. However, there are justifiable exceptions to this general principle.

Assess the truth of this statement by reference to situations where a failure to act may result in criminal liability

Criminal liability in criminal law accepts that a person must commit an unlawful act with mens rea. However criminal law accepts that in certain circumstances a person who fails to act where there is a legal duty of care and does something negligently can also be liable. This is called omission.

Some countries have a Good Samaritan law which means that all citizens have a duty to help one another in emergency situations. However British judges do not like this because it implies that the defendant ought to have acted and to impose a duty is to strike at the defendant’s freedom. Instead judges and parliament have established some legal duties of care in certain types of relationships through common law and statutes.

An example of statutory duty which the courts applied comes from the Children and Young Persons Act 1991 which states that parents have a legal duty of care towards their children, to feed and cloth them. Before the 1991 act the case of Gibbins and Proctor established that there is a duty of care where there is a relationship. This case is an example of the parent-child relationship as the defendant’s failure to feed his daughter was enough for the criminal liability for the actus reus of murder.

Other cases in which he common law judges have created some legal duties include the case of Pitwood, which illustrates a contractual duty. The defendant was a railway keeper who omitted to shut the gates and was found guilty of the manslaughter when a person was hit and killed by a train. The court held that because of the nature of his job, his duty was not only towards his employer but to others who used the gate.

There can also be a duty through ones official position. This is rare but occurred in Dytham where a police officer saw a man being beaten up and did nothing to help. He was found guilty of neglecting to perform his duty.

The defendant can also be liable where the duty was undertaken voluntarily. In Stone and Dobinson, Dobinson had voluntarily undertaken to look after Stone’s elderly sister and so was found guilty of her manslaughter when she died from malnutrition. The Court of Appeal said that by taking her into their home they had agreed to take care of her.

Lastly, there is a duty where the defendant set in motion a chain of events. This was created by Miller where the defendants mattress caught fire and the defendant did nothing. The house caught fire and the defendant was convicted of arson as he knew there was a dangerous situation but failed to take any steps to deal with it.

However it can be difficult to decide when a duty of care exists. It is normally the judge who determines whether there is a duty of care and the jury decide if there is a duty of care and if that duty has been breached. This means that the law is capable of expanding to cover more situations as stated obiter in Khan and Khan where the defendant had supplied heroin to a new user who took it in their presence and collapsed. The defendants left her alone and by the time they returned to the flat she had died. However this can be seen to make the law uncertain.

Secondly, it can seem harsh that someone who accepts an adult into their home has assumed a duty towards them as adults are generally considered to be responsible for their own life. The argument for this is that if the adult is vulnerable then the adult taking care of them is in the best position to ensure potential harm is avoided. This duty can be fulfilled simply by summoning help and the defendants in Stone and Dobinson were found guilty because they failed to do so.

Lastly many statutes impose duties and many of the laws in this area create strict liability offences. The justification for this is that it is for the greater good of society. One example is the Domestic violence, Crime and Victims act which makes all household members liable for failure to protect a child. This makes it easier to succeed in prosecution which is important because the law should provide children and vulnerable adults with as much protection as possible.

100 word review: The Oversight

I changed my mind about this book a few times. In the beginning, it was pretty good but the narrative voice needed some work and I was looking in a dictionary every few seconds. In the middle it got better: the big words eased up and the narrative voice improved, but the mix of present with flashbacks meant I got confused about who was who. Near the end, I REALLY liked it, understood everything that was going but couldn't see what the 'point' of it all was. I got to end, all the knots were tied together and loved it.

Quote of the day!

Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.

Alice Walker

100 word review: Nothing To Be Frightened Of

Not being a fan of non-fiction, I was pleasantly surprised by this book by Julian Barnes. Barnes explores the fear of death and dying and in doing so creates a novel that is "among many things, a family memoir, an exchange with his philosopher brother, a meditation on mortality and the fear of death." This book really makes you think about death and what I like most is that Barnes never forces you into a certain opinion about it, but offers all the different perspectives and ideas and leaves you to interpret them how you want. A really great book.

I love good TV

To some people television is this evil thing that dumbs down the mind and makes us lazy and ignorant, but I disagree: it's all about what you watch on television. If all you watch is America's Dumbest Pets then, yes, you won't gain any more than shallow entertainment. But when I finished watching Hustle, the BBC One drama, on Monday, I thought to myself "Bloody hell. Now THAT is some good writing." Hustle, Doctor Who, Waterloo Road, Gavin and Stacey, Being Erica, That '70s Show, Boy Meets World, Only Fools and Horses, Private Practice, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Misfits, Grey's Anatomy, the list is endless. Fantastic drama and comedy overwhelms our television and at the heart of it is fantastic writing. I see these programmes like a visual novel and think that as long as people don't replace reading with television, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. I just hope I can be as good a screenwriter one day!!!

The Rabbit Hole

Tall dark trees, like withering hands
Pulled at Symone’s dress;
Howls of beasts cloaked by the dark
Brought panic to her chest.

She pulled the gnarly branches off
And crept on, much like a whisper,
Her brown eyes wide and wary
Of the devilish midnight hunter.

Stumbling for hours lost and confused,
Alone in unruly woods,
Symone felt like the girls in fairytales
With gingerbread and red hoods.

Alas poor Symone had no prince,
No brother nor man with axe
And so dear Symone had no choice
But to cover her own damn tracks.

Her dainty shoes were scuffed and dull,
Her stockings had snagged and torn,
Her white nightdress was smothered with mud
And her curls were tangled with thorns.

The pitying Moon watched her struggle
And gave her what light it could
That Symone may find the things she needed:
Shelter and firewood.

Arms full of crackling timbers,
Symone scoured and scouted for a room
To protect her from the howling cold,
Else the forest floor becomes her tomb.

Climbing up a steep hillside
Of mud and stone and coal,
To her left Symone did spy
The mouth of a rabbit hole.

Now Symone was a little girl –
The smallest in her class –
So the sight of that Symone-sized-space
Did all her dreams surpass!

She crawled inside the earthy tunnel,
Blessing this true Godsend,
Her hands feeling along the walls
And searching for its end.

With a small ‘Oh!’ of surprise
Our Symone did tumble and fall
Into the rabbit hole’s open heart:
A round and cavernous hall.

The walls were thick with roots and earth,
The floor with moss and straw,
The whole place smelt like warmth and dew
And Symone gaped in awe.

There were no wild rabbits around,
No creeping fox or timid mouse,
No bones of some leftover meal,
No feathers from a big red Grouse.

Symone had found her place to rest
And so she laid her head
And dreamt of adventure yet to come
Upon her mossy bed.

Next morning she set herself to work,
Furnishing her new found den,
Collecting food from bushes nearby
And some water from a fen.

Now if a traveller had passed by
He’d be met with a stunning scene
As young little Symone broke the necks of birds
And used a small ditch for a latrine.

As time went by her skills enhanced
And she built and fought and devised
Until the rabbit hole became a home
From predators well disguised.

The years did pass and Symone did grow
To a woman of sweet eighteen;
But as she grew, a problem arose,
She had not before foreseen.

Her legs grew long and limber
Her breasts and hips defined
But as she became this beauty,
The space in the rabbit hole declined.

One night, hunched over trying to sleep,
Her head banging on the ceiling,
Symone knew that she would have to leave
And was filled with dreaded feeling.

Her rabbit hole was like embracing arms
Her family, her saviour, her friend
And so she stayed as long as she could,
Terrified of facing the end.

Alas poor Symone had no choice
And so with tears and sobbing sounds
She crawled out, stood up,
Dusted herself off and looked all around.

A misty fog had filled the wood
A cold wind thickened her sighs
But still Symone turned, barefoot, and marched
Toward the sunrise.

Many miles she marched
Till she reached the town
It was small and quaint,
With no renown.

She met an old and buxom woman
Who took her in and treated her well
Who bought her clothes and taught her manners
And turned her into a delicate belle.

Sweet Symone soon married a farmer’s son
And became a busy housewife,
Forgetting all about her days
As a native among the wildlife.

She bore a son and daughter too
And raised them both agreeably
Ensuring that they were never alone
And treating them very nicely.

Then one day, Symone turned her back
And her daughter ran out of sight
And when Symone could not find her
She looked toward the forest with fright.

She ran into the trees and woods
Ignoring her husband’s calls
For she knew where to look and what to do
And what danger she could befall.

Running up a steep hillside
Of mud and stone and coal,
Symone did crawl, with trouble, inside
The mouth of a rabbit hole.

It was just as warm and thick and moist
As ever she could remember
And sure enough she found within
Her daughter deep in slumber.

She woke her up and scolded her so
The little girl cowered with fright
But then was quietened and looked around
At the wonderful welcoming sight.

Everything was just as had been left
Her bed, her table, her tools
Except in the corner her food had rot
And was covered in toadstools.

Her eyes welled up and she cursed herself
For ever forgetting this place
She pulled her daughter into her arms
And kissed her bonny round face.

‘I wish to tell you a story my dear,
One of strength and love and soul’
And so she told her daughter the story
Of her beloved rabbit hole.

TS Eliot "Macavity"The Mystery Cat " Poem animation

A brand new video by Poetry Animations... they really are fantastic!!!

Got a response...

So I got an email from East Anglia letting me know that they got my portfolio and that it will be passed on to the admissions tutor for assessment and I will hear from them very soon. So i'm back to sitting and waiting...

Rudyard Kipling "if" Poem Animation

That's one lot sent off....

I've just sent off my East Anglia Creative Writing sample. It's 7 pages and I have little faith in 2 of them. This self-doubt is the most frustrating thing in the world but what can I do about it? As sad as it sounds, I cannot convince myself that what I have written is good, I need other people to. Then again it can be argued that writer's are the most self-critical and insecure of the lot as their careers depend on other people liking what they write. God help me if I get rejected by East Anglia now because it can only mean that they liked the sound of me and my grades, but my writing just wasn't good enough. I think that kind of blow would be a little too much.

Words

Words,

Words,

Where for art thou fucking words?

Once words spilled from my mouth

Like coffee beans on a counter,

Like ice caps into oceans,

Like excuses from a banker.

Once I was inspired

By people, by objects, by events, by day, by night,

By an eyelash on a forefinger,

By the colours in a light.

Once I had notebooks filled with words

Each one was written, not with ink, but with pride:

My words were my talent, my future, my ‘thing’,

My way to express what I felt inside.

Once I thought I was a poet (and a decent one at that)

So I cast my words to the wind,

To be shredded by a howling indifference

That left me completely chagrined.

I could never be a poet, they said.

I didn’t speak in complex abstracts or enlightened symbols

Or have a thousand different meanings

To every word I wrote.

I could never be a poet, they said.

I’m not for feminism, against communism,

Fighting racism, facing sexism,

Losing to ageism, preaching anti-clericalism.

I could never be a poet, they said.

I’m not a philosopher or a lesbian,

Not suicidal or foreign,

Neither fought in a war nor fallen in love.

The words left me after that:

Too ashamed of their own normality and regularity.

For a while I returned to the rational, the literal:

Reality.

They had no choice but to return:

My future depends on my words.

I knew I must throw my words to the wind

And have them soar like the birds.

It was not easy.

I was critical, unrhymed, tried to be what I was not.

I wrote pages and pages

But it all went to pot.

I scolded and seethed,

My words trembled with fright

I threw down my pen

And clenched my eyes tight.

Now I had anger,

Now I was oppressed,

Now I had a purpose,

Now I had to contest.

I am not Shakespeare;

I am not Blake.

My words are not written

For society’s sake!

I write from a feeling

That grows from inside

Unruly, barbaric,

Deep and untied.

Do not try to control it

Do not try to dictate

Do not try to conform it

For it will only stagnate.

Throw wood on my fire,

Fructify my seed

And I’ll prove me a poet,

My words shall succeed.

God I Love Doctor Who!!!

So David Tennant has bowed out as Doctor Who, but buy did he have a beautiful end!!! I love the writer Russell T Davies and his final stand for the 10th Doctor was some excellent writing (perfectly delivered with excellent acting of course!) Here is a video of Tennants very last line and Matt Smith's very first

Quote of the day!

A reader seldom peruses a book with pleasure until he knows whether the writer of it be a black man or a fair man, of a mild or choleric disposition, married or a bachelor

Joseph Addison

100 word review: Oleanna

It's a very short and to the point play. David Mamet is known for his natural dialogue and, while it is good, it makes it a play that should be watched rather than read. The constant uncompleted sentences and non-fluency features got on my nerves. The play is good for its observation rather than plot. It looks at the power struggle between man and woman and also questions the role of University in people's lives. I would recommend this play and if you have a chance to see it, do that above reading it. Or do both. Definitely WATCH it.

Auld Lang Syne (New Year)

London Fireworks on New Year's Eve 2010

Here's where I was on New Year's Eve

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year Glitter Pictures