I lived/studied in England in the 60's/70/s and have visited off and on ever since.
This last, most recent trip, other things being equal may be my last. England was never an easy place to visit or to live in on a modest budget… no central heating, not much in the way of public amenities; but the saving grace was always the kindness and civility of the people. Well, that seems to be gone now and what is left seems to be a simmering hostility and formless, targetless envy… From the car rental person who seemed to deliberately misunderstand my rather simple requests (and sent me off in completely the wrong direction with a dismissive shrug and barely concealed contempt (because I didn't upgrade my basic vehicle for slightly larger one at more than double the cost)), to the actively hostile customer antagonistic service of RyanAir's public presentation (it is a sight to behold how they treat their customers--think that Brit A@@h@le on American Idol translated into a corporate marketing strategy), to the folks on the street who when asked a simple direction brusquely turn away (the foreigners are the ones who answer but of course, they themselves have no idea), to the landlord who can't be bothered to provide loo paper in a mid-priced AirBnB rental unit… Margaret Thatcher won! She reduced England to a bunch of graspers, strivers, and overall public thugs. (and having just spent a week in Nigeria I have a rather acute sense of how degraded the public sphere can get… M From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Anjana Basu Sent: Monday, September 24, 2012 1:46 AM Subject: [TriumphOfContent] Let The Children Play: MSPs back music tuition campaign Let The Children Play: MSPs back music tuition campaign The motion was laid down by East Lothian MSP Iain Gray. Picture: Dan Phillips <http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.2542604.1348353371%21image/2489109330.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/2489109330.jpg> The motion was laid down by East Lothian MSP Iain Gray. Picture: Dan Phillips By EMMA COWING Published on Sunday 23 September 2012 00:00 MORE than 20 MSPs have signed a parliamentary motion supporting Scotland on Sunday’s campaign to end tuition fees for music lessons in schools. The motion, laid down by East Lothian MSP Iain Gray, has attracted cross-party support and “commends” the local authorities that have resisted making charges for lessons despite the economic downturn and the squeeze on budgets. It was submitted after it emerged that 24 of Scotland’s 32 councils were charging parents up to £340 a year for their children to take music tuition in state schools and that children taking music exams as part of their courses were having to pay. Gray said one of the major concerns of MSPs was that children from low-income areas were being denied the opportunity to take music lessons because their parents could not afford it. “At the heart of this is that Labour introduced a youth music initiative in primary schools which the SNP government has carried on,” he said. <http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.2542605%21image/1130196648.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_215/1130196648.jpg> “But when many children are getting to secondary school, their parents are just deciding they cannot afford it.” The motion asks the Scottish Parliament to recognise the key role that music can play in children’s academic and social development. It welcomes Scotland on Sunday’s Let The Children Play campaign and says that every child in Scotland should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. It adds that MSPs share the concern of the Educational Institute for Scotland that music tuition charges may deny children from poorer backgrounds the chance to develop their musical talents, and commends the eight local authorities in Scotland that make no charge for instrumental music tuition in schools. The motion has been signed by MSPs James Kelly, Neil Findlay, Malcolm Chisholm, Helen Eadie, Hanzala Malik, Patricia Ferguson, Kenneth Gibson, Elaine Smith, Michael McMahon, Drew Smith, Richard Simpson, Mike MacKenzie, John Park, Anne McTaggart, Liam McArthur, Christine Grahame, Jackie Baillie, Jamie Hepburn, Sarah Boyack, Rhoda Grant, Elaine Murray, and Alison Johnstone. Gray said: “The amount of money required for free lessons is not a huge sum, and if we can support elite athletes then we should be able to put some funding into areas like this.” http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/music/news-and-features/let-the-children-play-msps-back-music-tuition-campaign-1-2542606 __._,_.___ Reply to <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Let%20The%20Children%20Play%3A%20MSPs%20back%20music%20tuition%20campaign> sender | Reply to <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Let%20The%20Children%20Play%3A%20MSPs%20back%20music%20tuition%20campaign> group | Reply <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJyODM3N3N1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRtc2dJZAMyNjE2MQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEzNDg0NDc1ODE-?act=reply&messageNum=26161> via web post | <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJmcW42Z28wBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEzNDg0NDc1ODE-> Start a New Topic Messages in this topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent/message/26161;_ylc=X3oDMTM3bzhsMmgwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRtc2dJZAMyNjE2MQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEzNDg0NDc1ODEEdHBjSWQDMjYxNjE-> (1) Recent Activity: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphOfContent;_ylc=X3oDMTJmY2t0cmpwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzEzNDg0NDc1ODE-> Visit Your Group <http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZnM2OWY3BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzE3OTM4NjM5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2Mzk4NQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTM0ODQ0NzU4MQ--> Yahoo! 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