Why Wales And Scotland Need To Avoid Joining England In A State Of Denmark

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have noticed the idea floated on Twitter and now in the Telegraph newspaper that England should become an independent state. Having been the majority force in the forthcoming decoupling of itself with the European Union it should do the same with regard to the disunited kingdom as well.

It basically paints an independent England as a free trading tolerant place where women will dance around maypoles and cricket will be played in the summer.

Now whilst it's interesting and appealing that there are some living in England that are contemplating an English independent state Wales and Scotland should be aware of another potential state of England. And why independence should be achieved as quickly as possible.

For with every day that passes England in particular seems to be moving towards the vision as set out in Derek Raymond's dystopian novel A State Of Denmark which depicts an England under totalitarian rule.

Since Brexit what we have seen is an empowered far right. A far right who feels confident to be racist. Confident to attack anyone whose skin is different. Whose name is different. Whose nationality is different. Who speaks in a language other than English. And of course whilst these people do exist in Wales and Scotland it seems their main focus is England.

And remember this. Whilst the majority anti conservative vote in Wales and Scotland has never stopped a Tory government it has always been a cornerstone against it. When they become independent, (and they will) then England will be likely run by a Conservative administration, one that will become even more right wing and potentially fascist.

Should this stop Welsh and Scottish independence? No. If anything it should encourage people to speed the process up more in order to avoid being dragged into the state of Denmark. A fascist Britain could still occur with Wales and Scotland in it. It would just be more difficult.

And if England did become totalitarian then Wales and Scotland should prepare for people preparing to cross the border even if the regime tries to block them (in the novel the border was mined). Of course the great irony here is that whilst people in the West and the North of England will try to reach Wales and Scotland respectively people in the East and the South will try and reach EU nations by sea.

(Let me be clear here so I'm not called a hypocrite refugees from oppression should be accepted)

You may say that it couldn't happen here. Well it's unlikely to happen. But as we approach Brexit no one can honestly now say that it won't happen.

And that's the difference.

Until the next time.

On Books: Including My Daughter's Hatred For Literature And The New 1984

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So I'm driving my daughter to school yesterday morning. She's fifteen and already taking exams as seems to be the way nowadays. The exam she took was for English literature. As I chatted about this exam to her she made this to me stunning statement.

"I hate literature".

It mentally stopped me in my tracks (not physically as I was driving). She doesn't like literature? Am I a bad parent? Am I the last in a generation to actually want to read a book? Will librarians and booksellers want to throw the book at me?

Further interrogation however suggested something more complex. She said she "enjoyed" Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. I wouldn't say it was a book to be "enjoyed" but she liked it so fair enough.

She also (like me) was a fan of An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley. Fine....

No it turned out that what she actually "hated" was poetry.....well that's alright then.

I have mentioned before in this blog that the biggest gap in my reading knowledge is poetry. Though there are exceptions taken as a whole I've no real interest. Caused mainly by the fact that as a teenager I didn't understand how the price of a slim volume of poetry was roughly the same as a novel so I went for the bigger book instead. Consequently, with exceptions, I feel as if I'm a bad reader of poetry because to me it doesn't seem worth the effort.

Like father like daughter it appears.

She went on to mention two poets specifically. The first was Dylan Thomas. I've mentioned previously from the bits I've heard (though not gone round to checking this) that I suspect he is the sort of poet better listened to than read.

Her real dislike though was towards Daniel Abse. Roughly her opinion of him was "a Cardiff guy who whinges about Wales".

Now my daughter has an advantage over me regarding Mr Abse, as I've never read any of his poems. I have however years ago read a book of essays and I certainly don't recall any whingery.

The relative unpopularity of poetry is interesting. Because if you think about the world of television I grew up in and the byte sized world of the internet that is daughter's domain, you would think that the instant do it quickly world we live in would be more suited to the poem. But apparently not.

Because of my mother being unwell my reading has been haphazard in the last few weeks. Indeed I've had to return the Annie Prolux book unread to the library (trust me that instantly borrowing back would be an admin nightmare for Sully library). I've also though been reading a book that my wife had bought me for Christmas when she asked me what I'd wanted to read. Thinking of the Backlisted podcast I went for this.

Derek Raymond - A State Of Denmark

Forget about the fact that it was published in the seventies (after all 1984 is still a powerful read even though 1984 has long gone). It's a book that has suddenly found it's moment. A novel that describes an England (note not Scotland or Wales) under a dictatorship.

The key to this story is this. The England that this book describes does not exist. But in the aftermath of the Brexit vote it's not impossible. Jackboot politics fuelled by jackboot media exists. I'm not going to spoil it by explaining the plot but after you read this you'll understand.

It may not be the greatest book you'll ever read. But since the Brexit referendum it becomes one of the most important as it conjures up a vision that we may find ourselves sleepwalking into.

Until the next time.