Green
Peace Not War (5th February 2003)
International pressure group Greenpeace blocked the harbour entrance
at Marchwood, near Southampton last week.
On Monday (27/01/03), Greenpeace’s flagship, Rainbow Warrior,
dropped anchor, stopping a couple of enormous supply carriers getting
out. The three masted schooner was surrounded by police, army and
harbourmaster launches, but they could not touch it, obviously realising
that to do so would turn public opinion even further against the
war.
The Rainbow Warrior ‘slipped anchor’ on Monday night,
due to ‘high winds,’ and had to go and moor off the Isle
of Wight. Must have been a pretty rubbish anchor, being as Monday
was one of the warmest January days on record, and the air seemed
totally still.
The protesters did not rest on their laurels for long though. By
Thursday morning they were at it again. I know this because I was
meant to be going on a speedboat over to the Rainbow Warrior that
day, to do a feature. Unfortunately I could not because they were
using all their boats to zip around the Solent, blocking the Lithuanian
container ship the MV Lyra. The sailors on this supply ship, trying
to get into Marchwood, were shocked to find a bunch of Greenpeacers
clinging to their hull, setting up a ‘peace camp.’
Although I sympathise heartily with any efforts to stop the war,
I cannot condone any action that thwarts my plans to go in a speedboat.
The sailors did not seem so keen on the protest either, as they
sprayed high-pressure hoses at the protesters, in an effort to get
them off.
Navy boats and police launches hared around trying to get the Greenpeace
lot to sling their hook, but to no avail. Our heroes clung limpet-like
to the hull and locked one of their speedboat dinghies to the anchor
to immobilise the larger ship.
Melanie Hill is the press officer on board the Rainbow Warrior.
She told me it was all go on the ship, and “we are not going
to stop for anyone.”
The navy replied: “there is no way this will hinder our operations
significantly.”
Twenty policemen raided the ‘Rainbow Warrior’ on Sunday
night (2/02/03) and forced the crew to moor her in Southampton.
The Mid Hants Observer staff are heading to London for the stop
the war march on February 15. I recommend anyone who feels strongly
about the impending holocaust to head up there too.
• Anyone wanting information on this event, or any of Greenpeace’s
other activities, can phone them on 0207 865 8100.
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Peace Talk at King Alfred’s
(5th February 2003)
King Alfred’s College was the venue for a discussion on ‘dialogue
or death’ on Monday 27th Jan
I do not think it would be unreasonable to say that there seem to
be a core of people doing their damnedest to mess up the world for
everyone at the moment.
Osama Bin Laden, George Bush, Ariel Sharon, and, of course, our
Tony all seem hell bent on Armageddon. One thing that they all have
in common is faith. Osama wants a Muslim world, Sharon wants to
kick everyone out of Israel apart from his people, and Bush, terrifyingly,
believes that God is talking to him directly!Tony is also a Christian.
So, one could be forgiven for thinking that all faith produces is
conflict. This was one of the questions that was being addressed
up at King Alfred’s College last Monday. There were three main
speakers there, Revd Tim Selwood, Sahid Nawaz, who was the muslim
representative, and Danny Habel, who is Jewish. A packed chapel
listened to an introduction by Revd Selwood, and, when I arrived
Mr Nawaz was telling people that their conception of Muslim treatment
of women is wrong. “There is actually no compulsion in the
Koran for Muslim women to cover their faces. However, in certain
Muslim countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, they enjoy the
modesty of both the male and the female.”
Danny Habel also wanted to stop some preconceptions about the Jewish
faith. When we see the Israelis massacring palestinians we may be
forgiven for thinking their faith condones violence, but apparently
not. “we are so anti-violence that even Moses was banned from
the promised land for violence.” Apparently, after leading
all of his people from the promised land, Moses was told by God
that he could get water from a rock if he touched it. Instead of
just touching it, he struck it, and this act of violence got him
banned for ever!
Danny used this example to illustrate the fact that violence can
be interpreted differently by different people. “What our faiths
need really is to work out where we are the same and go from there.”
This led to a round of applause from the assembled. Unfortunately,
the three representatives would not be drawn into whether they approve
or not of the impending Iraq conflict. “The stance of the three
faith forum is that we do not make statements on things such as
this,” said Revd Selwood.
Although they disagreed on who was God, the three were unanimous
on one thing. “We need to learn to respect each other as human
beings.” They all said. Mr Nawaz ended up with a quote from
Sufi Islam “The light shines into the courtyard. If you take
away the walls then the light remains the same.”I don’t
quite know what he means, but it sounds good!
By Max Jones
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War, huh, What is it good for?
(5th February 2003)
Max Jones posed the question to you, the people of Winchester
I know its been done before, but we thought we would do it again.
I took to the streets to find out if the people of Winchester truly
believe that we should go to war with Iraq.
Surprise surprise, very few thought that we should. As you may have
noticed, in the Observer we are not that keen on the idea of the
conflict. Heather Ellis, who lives just outside Winchester, was
hurrying back to work, but she took the time to stop briefly to
tell me she thought that we should not head to the Gulf. “On
the evidence we have, I do not think war is the answer,” she
said. She did agree that if they were to find more weapons then
maybe we should think again.
Rowley Billans said that he believes in peace, so war should be
avoided at all cost. “It should only be a last resort”
he said. However, his friend Mark Dowse said we should go to war.
He claims that there are still thousands of warheads unaccounted
for, and there is every chance that Saddam could sell them to terrorist
groups, such as al-Quaida. When I suggested that if Saddam were
to give these up then maybe we could leave him alone, he said “no
because he may have made some more.”
Never mind, though, because Alex Ling had a novel solution for the
whole affair. “I think that normal dialogue does not seem to
be working, so maybe they should all sit down and be more philosophical
about the whole thing.” He proposed they do this by taking
magic mushrooms! “Violence solves nothing,” he said. Charlotte
Knight agreed. “The war will not achieve anything,” she
said,“I can’t see why we are going.”
Declan McDonnell runs the Durngate Tile Shop. He was vehement about
not going to Iraq. “It will divide the world,” he said.
“If we were going to topple Saddam we should have done it in
the first place.” He was referring to the initial Gulf War,
when George Bush Senior did not manage to get rid of Saddam ten
years ago. “American foreign policy is always rubbish anyway.
Look at Vietnam.”
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Holocaust Day (5th
February 2003)
People in Winchester were amongst those around the country who remembered
the six million who died in the Holocaust. Last Monday was the third
Holocaust Rememberance day.
The reason for the date is because it was on January 27, 1945 that
the gates of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration
camp were finally thrown open.The Holocaust seems incomprehensible
in its awfulness. In amongst all the horror, though, there were
thousands of people who put their lives at risk to rescue some of
the victims.
One of the most notable was Oskar Schundler, immortalised in the
film Schindler’s List. Although a profiteer from the war to
begin with, he ended up using his influence to make a list of people
that he led to their freedom.
Another man, from the south of England, has been described as the
British Schindler. He is Nicholas Winton, who went on holiday to
Prague just before the war. Seeing what was happening to the Jews
there, he started bringing children over to England. He rescued
667 kids before war started and the borders shut. It is a symbol
of how many people survived due to him that the last carriage of
children could not leave the country. None of them lived through
the war.
I spoke to Nicholas last Tuesday. What I was trying to find out
was whether any of the survivors, or their offspring, had moved
to Mid Hampshire.
As the sum total of all the children, grandchildren and survivors
is over 5000 it would seem fairly likely. However, Nicholas did
not know, but I still managed to ask him his views on a few things.
Perhaps unsurprisingly he does not think we should go to war with
Iraq, saying “there is no call to kill innocent civilians,
whatever the circumstances. We should wait, and certainly not rush
into a war.”
He also said that it is important to remember the holocaust, although
he pointed out that it is not the only holocaust to have ever happened.
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Tony Benn Talks To Observer (12th February
2003)
As part of the Mid Hampshire Observer’s ongoing investigation
into the ‘build up to war’ Max Jones spoke to Tony Benn
on Friday (7.02.03)
I was lucky enough to speak to peacenik Tony Benn the other day.
The ex MP, who used to be a peer by the name of Anthony Wedgewood
Benn, told me how much he hopes that a war with Iraq can be prevented.
“I am sure there are other avenues we can go down,” he
said. “Any death of an innocent belittles all of us, whether
it is someone in the world trade centre or an innocent Iraqi civilian.”
Mr Benn has just come back from Iraq, where he spoke to Saddam Hussein.
He says of the trip, which he funded himself, “it was very
enlightening, and convinces me that the Iraqi people do not want
the war.”
Tony said that he gave up being an MP to “concentrate on the
serious business of politics.”
• As well as talking at an anti war rally in London next Saturday
15th February Tony Benn will be talking at The John Stripe Theatre,
Sparkford Road, Winchester on Wednesday 30th April at 8pm. Call
01962 867986 for tickets.
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Paint The Whole World...
(12th February 2003)
The Greenpeace flagship was moored at Southampton docks last week
Max Jones went to see about his speed-boat ride.
I went down to Southampton to have a look around the Rainbow Warrior
last week. The Greenpeace flagship, moored at the docks down there
is actually Rainbow Warrior Mark Two, as the first one was sunk
by those dastardly Frenchies in New Zealand in the 1980s. This one
was commissioned in 1989, and it is lovely.
Although from a landlocked, un-nautical background, I have a penchant
for boats. So, on a cold clear crisp Monday, the docks was a nice
place to be. I had to tell security I was going to the Oceanographic
Centre for a thesis on sustainable energy, as they were not letting
press into the compound. Then, past what seemed to be millions of
brand new jeeps and a cargo ship called the Sea King, which seemed
to be the biggest boat in the world. Then, there she was, the three
masted schooner that is a pain in the backside to governments around
the world.
As I am writing this I have just seen on the news that the crew
of the boat, and other volunteers, have chained themselves to a
load of trucks and tanks bound for the Gulf. They did this by cutting
a hole in the fence at Marchwood military port, although four of
them managed to get in from the sea. I expect the lucky beggars
did this by zipping around in a speedboat, a treat that was denied
me!
I went onto the boat, and was shown around by Rob Gueterbock, an
activist from London. Although not one of the 15 people who crew
the boat full time, Rob has been living aboard for the last few
days co ordinating the protests.
We had a look at the dining room, kitchen and living quarters. They
all seemed very nice, but a trifle cramped for the three months
that people spend aboard at any one time.
The most impressive cabin was the control room, a very hi-tech affair.
From here they can download and edit images from all over the world,
allowing them to get news out quickly, keeping everyone alert to
their activities.
I met the ship’s ‘garboligist,’ who was in charge
of all the recycling aboard. Crewmembers from different nationalities
jabbered away to each other as they did sailor stuff, splicing the
mainbrace or whatever. The masts towered overhead, but unfortunately
no one was off up the crow’s nest that day.
M.O.D speedboats zoomed about constantly, next to the boat, in what
appeared to be a deliberate flexing of muscles. I must say, though,
if I had a job that involved burning around on a speedboat I certainly
would not stay sat at shore in the office.
When I sat down for a chat with Rob, he told me the three main reasons
Greenpeace is against the war. Firstly it will kill thousands of
innocent civilians, and will cause more terrorist attacks. Also,
he says there are a range of international treaties designed to
stop people having weapons of mass destruction, which all countries
should adhere to, including us and the USA.
Thirdly, he points out that it is a barely disguised attempt to
get control of the world’s oil. Iraq is the second biggest
producer of black gold in the world. Rob told me a sobering fact.
“If U.S cars were as energy efficient as European ones then
they would save a million barrels of oil a day,” said Rob.
It really was lovely on the boat. I think being a Rainbow Warrior
crewmember would be great, trawling the globe and annoying the authorities,
and getting a good feeling of altruism to boot.
On the other hand it does cost a lot of money to keep the Rainbow
Warrior, one of many in their fleet, going, and there are people
starving worldwide for the want of a few pence. Which is more important?
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Sharp's Return (12th February
2003)
In the eighties there was a band called The Alarm. They were apparently
very good, according to the more senior members of the editorial
staff at the Observer. Their lead guitarist was a man called Dave
Sharp. who played up at The Railway last week.
I went along to have a look, and he was brilliant. The atmosphere
was great in the in the back room there.The dulcet tones of Spanish
guitar wafted across on a breeze of roll-up smoke.
This is because the support band were the ‘Harvey
Brothers,’ fronted by Pete from this paper, and comprising
of him and his two siblings, Paul and Dominic.
Their music was of a Spanish orientation, with a trombone as bass,
which was very novel, and effective to boot. They played in front
of a backdrop of scenes from the Mexican Day of the Dead cut with
footage of terrifying looking Zapatista rebels. For those who don’t
know, Mexican day of the Dead is when people of that country dress
up skeletons and sit down to dinner with them. This is to remind
them of their mortality. Nice.
After a mere five songs, the ‘bruvvas’ made way for Dave.
A very earnest fellow, he sang songs in a Dylanesque style, one
man, a guitar and a mouth organ.This was interspersed with more
modern protest songs. I like Dylan and folk, and hate Tories and
the idea of war, so I thought he was great. The crowd seemed to
be in agreement, even though many of them looked like die hard Alarm
fans, and apparently his music was very different to what the band
used to play.
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Oaten Opens Wide (12th
February 2003)
Winchester MP Mark Oaten attended the opening of the Oliver’s
Battery Dentist Surgery on Friday 7th February Max was there too.
It’s a glamorous existence sometimes being a journalist.
Last week I was lucky enough to go to the opening of the new dental
surgery at Oliver’s Battery.
I like Oliver’s Battery. The shops up there all seem nice,
my favourite being the one round the back that sells everything
in the world, from soda stream flavours to pot plants, and they
have a cockatiel that greets you as you walk in.
The dental surgeon at the new Oliver’s Battery surgery is Caroline
Armitage. The Oliver’s Battery Surgery offers NHS treatment,
which seems to be as rare as hens’ teeth nowadays.
However, for those who choose they will also be doing private work.
The opening reception was good, although I was shocked at the refreshments
on offer. As well as coffee, imagine if you will, a dentist actively
proffering a tray of chocolates, chocolate biscuits and cakes. Maybe
they were hoping for a bit of future trade!
Mark Oaten was there. He took time out from cramming chocolate digestives
into his mouth to tell me how fantastic he thought the new facilities
were.
NHS treatment at the dentist is free if you are under 18, a full
time student, or if you are on benefits. If you are not eligible
you can still get NHS treatment, and what happens is you pay 80%
of the cost up to a maximum of £360.
• So, there is no need for excuses now, get up there and get
those gnashers checked out. The phone number is 01962 877877, and
it is at 94 Oliver’s Battery Road, where ColourWorld used to
be.
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Time
For Action (19th February 2003)
I joined hundreds of people from Winchester at the anti war march
and rally in London on Saturday 15th February.
Arriving at the station on a lovely, bright morning, there was
a palpable feeling of excitement in the air, and a lot of people.
So many, in fact, that the first train to come in we were not
allowed on, as it was ‘dangerously overcrowded.’
Many people ignored the tannoyed instructions anyway, and leaped
on the train with gay abandon. Unfortunately I was waiting for
some friends, so I couldn’t join in the civil unrest.
Waterloo was bedlam, and stuck in the midst of the massive crowd,
it took ages to get over the Thames and onto the Embankment.
It was amazing, the crash of cymbals, blare of air horns and blowing
whistles was deafening, and people really did stretch as far as
the eye could see. Some of the signs and banners were good. ‘Make
tea not war’ was my favourite, although ‘smoke bush,
not Iraq’ was good too.
Once on the Embankment, the march was moving at a bit more of
a clip, and we soon arrived at the Tatershall Castle, one of my
favourite pubs, which is actually on a boat.
I had visions of sitting outside, quaffing Stella and watching
the march from a safe distance. Unfortunately, the biting cold
gave my whinging compatriots different ideas, and so we were marching
again within minutes.
We wended our way past the Houses of Parliament and up past Downing
Street to Trafalgar Square. Sometimes we would make fairly good
headway, then the march would stop for no apparent reason, and
everyone would blow their whistles and such like. I wonder how
our glorious leader felt when he saw the sheer volume of public
opinion against him.
There was no trouble that I saw either, which is good, although
my friend William did have eggs thrown at him by pro-war folk
as he was walking to the march. Still, if anyone were to meet
William they may not think that such a bad thing!
By now I just wanted to get to Hyde Park, and eventually we did.
And it seemed as though a few other people had the same idea!
The place was teeming. We passed an ‘autonomous space,’
which seemed to be an excuse for a rave and a few circus acts.
To my shame, I did not give this my full attention, as I was in
dire need of a cup of tea, which did not seem to be forthcoming.
I do wish some enterprising chaps would put on stalls selling
tea, lager and water at such events in the future.
Pressing to the front, it was actually very difficult to see or
hear anything, although I could make out fellows exhorting us
to not go to war, end world hunger and find a cure for aids.
Admirable sentiments I know, but it did seem a bit like preaching
to the converted. I do not think a single person there would have
piped up that they would rather spend $1.75 billion on a war than
on something useful. I wanted Ms Dynamite to come on, but unfortunately
we left just before this happened. Still, we did go the pub and
then Fat Paul’s disco, but that is another story!
Pete Harvey’s march
What a cold march! It was bitter up in that London! The day was
saved for us by the ‘Bristol Ambling Band’ (too laid
back to ‘march’). Blasting saxes, trumpets, a sousaphone
and beating drums accompanied us as we danced around the route
in about four hours singing things like “what’s it all?
about why do you want to bomb Iraq- you must be craaaazzzzeeee!”
The whole event was very good natured, people and police included.
When we got home the TV news was full of the event and Tony Blair
was saying that Saddam had killed loads more than a million people.
‘Regime change’ seemed to have become the order of the
day. The peace protesters were encouraged to feel ashamed that
they were marching in support of a dictator.
I marched because I support global democracy. I want to know the
truth. I’m sick of capitalist imperialism and the spin of
global media. There are bad men doing bad things all over the
world and of course we should endeavour to help oppressed people
to resist. At the same time we can’t allow the last ‘super-power’
in the world to go galloping rough-shod over the diplomatic processes
that are intended to keep things peaceful.
As our reporter friend Nigel pointed out in his phone-call the
other week (when he said the MH Obs was a propaganda sheet), the
subject is complex and when you put the conflict in its global
context it is very confusing.
One marcher I heard simply said that she was marching because
the current situation just ‘doesn’t feel right.’
I agree, we marched to show resistance, real grass roots resistance,
by ordinary people to the economic and political railroading and
sloganeering that we’ve been subjected to for years.
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Love Story (19th February 2003)
It was a Valentine’s
Day to remember for Leslie and Joan Powell from Bishop’s
Waltham. The Powell’s won a shopping spree and day of pampering
at WestQuay, Southampton in the Mid Hampshire Observer’s
Valentine’s Competition.
“We’ve never won a competition before” said Joan
“I had the giggles all day when we heard we had won!”
The Powells wrote and told us that they were celebrating their
Diamond Wedding Anniversary on 20th February. They said they felt
they could do with ‘modernising’ although they still
thought each other was ‘lovely!’. The Powell’s
couldn’t afford ‘all the doings in 1943’ and are
still ‘teenagers at heart’.
WestQuay provided £400 worth of vouchers for the Powell’s
to update their wardrobes with this seasons latest clothing from
a selection of stores. In addition, the lucky couple were treated
to skin care advice and a professional make-over from beauty specialists
Sephora, in WestQuay and a tasty traditional lunch of fish and
chips from Harry Ramsden, also in WestQuay and fantastic his n’
her cut and blow dry’s from top hair salon TONI&GUY in
Southampton.
To complete the days pampering, the couple were treated to a romantic
3 course meal in Brewsters Brasserie at the luxury 5 star DeVere
Grand Harbour Hotel.
In 1941 Joan was bombed out of her home in Bitterne Park, Southampton
she was evacuated to Bishop’s Waltham where Leslie was working
in the land reserve, they told Pete Harvey the whole story...
The two would pass each other on their bicycles and Leslie would
call out “Hello red hat” to Joan (on account of the
red hat that she wore in those days). Joan found out from a friend
what Leslie’s name was and one day surprised him by calling
back “Hello Leslie Powell”.
Leslie asked Joan to the pictures. Joan was so nervous that she
took her cousin Dot (who was in the W.R.A.F at the time) along
as a chaperone. Neither of them can remember what was on that
night “I remember he was trying to hold my hand” laughed
Joan.
The couple say that they knew they would marry immediately. They
were each other’s first romance and their ‘love at first
sight’ has lasted over sixty years.
The Powells courted for two years and were married on the 20th
February 1943 “we wanted Valentine’s day but everything
was booked up” said Joan. Ten days later Leslie was called
up for the Navy and spent the next three years serving his country.
“Every time he came home on leave I got pregnant” said
Joan. So the Powell family numbered five by the end of the war.
Today their oldest boy Alan is sixty, followed by John (58), daughter
Lesley (56). Sixteen years after their first child Joan and Leslie
discovered they were to have another child. “The hardest
thing was working out what to say to the others!” laughed
Joan. Michael the baby of the family is forty this year.
What’s the secret of a long marriage?
Is it not going to bed on an argument?
“No he sulks for three days sometimes!” said Joan “but
I’ll badger him until he tells me what’s up” so
communication is the key.
Leslie also does most of the cooking. This began when Joan suffered
a bout of illness some years ago.
The first meal was a cauliflower cheese that was prepared with
instructions delivered from Joan to the inexperienced leslie through
a serving hatch! Today Leslie’s culinary skills are such
that he has created their anniversary cake.
Leslie’s main interest is sport, he is a life member of Hampshire
Cricket Club. The couple are celebrating their Diamond Wedding
at the Rose Bowl next Thursday.
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Balance
Your Bones (19th February 2003)
Max went along
to Romsey to try Kinesiology...
I must confess to not being very New Age. If I am ill I go to
the doctor or ignore it, and if I have a problem I go and get
drunk with my friends.
However I must say I was intrigued when we got a call at the office
from Amanda Rousos, who practices a form of New Age therapy called
Kinesiology. This is all about muscle balance, and has cured a
multitude of ailments from acne to digestive problems, hay fever
to shoulder pain. Amanda practices from her home in Romsey, and
showed me some testimonials from happy punters. One lady used
to suffer from low self esteem, and she said “I have now
unlocked the reasons for my feelings, and feel able to deal with
them individually. I will continue to tap to maintain the level
of confidence I have achieved, and encourage further development
of my positive feelings.”
Allow me to elaborate. The tapping to which she refers is when
one taps the ‘Meridian Receptors’ on their face, whilst
thinking and chanting their desires.i.e “even though I still
want to have a cigarette, I completely accept myself.”
Putting aside my natural desire to smirk and feel slightly embarrassed,
I followed Amanda’s leads with great gusto Sounds a trifle
bizarre, but it did reduce my desire for a cigarette, and I can
honestly say that it worked.
Before I ‘tapped’ I had a muscle test. Mine were rubbish!
Kineisology works on the idea of muscle balance, and mine were
not very balanced at all.
Amanda pointed this out, and then I told her that as a child I
was changed from being left handed to right handed. This obviously
messed up my equilibrium, causing my slightly dorkish mal-co-ordiantion
that has caused my friends vast amounts of merriment throughout
my life.
Amanda then taught me some exercises designed to help co-ordination.
Obviously it is too early in the day to say if they work or not,
but worth a bash. As I say, glowing testimonials dictate to the
fact that Kineisology certainly works for some people. Amanda
is refreshingly candid about her abilities. “Some people
I can’t cure totally,” she says, “although I think
it is very rare that someone would have no benefit at all from
it.”
As with most new age therapies, positive thinking comes into it
quite a lot, but there is no way to know without trying. Amanda
can be contacted on 01794 517831
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Bangers
Are Smash (19th February 2003)
Max Jones
likes sausages a lot. In the time he has lived in Winchester he
has always been lucky enough to live near good butchers who specialise
in them.
When I lived in Olivers’ Battery I used to stroll down to
Barlows for my Saturday morning fry up ingredients, Now I live
in Bishopstoke, and I have the pleasure of getting my sausages
from Les Smith, down at the bottom of the hill.
They are great, and it is not just me who thinks so. Les, whose
daughter makes the sausages, won three out of four sausage related
prizes at the Hampshire Fare awards. He won the prize for best
overall sausages with his pork creations. He gave me a bag of
these, so next week I will be able to tell you whether they are
any good or not. He also won the coveted ‘Valentines sausage’(no
sniggering at the back)prize for his strawberry, brandy and pork
concoction.
This is called a ‘must for lust,’ and doesn’t sound
very nice to me, but you never know. He also won the speciality
pork sausage prize for his pork and smokey bacon. That sounds
nice. The best pie prize was won by Stephen E.Humby Butchers,
with their chicken and ham pastry treat. This is not the most
original pie flavour in the world, so it must be very good.
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Bish
Bashes Bush (26th February 2003)
The Bishop of Winchester said “Tell Bush we want no war with
Iraq” at the Winchester Peace march on Saturday 22/2/03.
Max Jones reports Another Saturday, another march. Sometimes it
can be tiring having such a social conscience! No trips to London
this time, though, for there was a ‘Peace March’ right
here in sunny old Winchester.
Starting in the United Church at mid afternoon, it was a genteel
affair. The marchers ambled down the High Street, ending up at
the war memorial by the cathedral. I would hazard a guess that
500 people turned up, although I have heard that there was as
few as 200 and as many as 1 and a half thousand! Still, a good
few made the effort, however you count it. After we had shuffled
about for a bit and the ‘kids collective for peace’
had made a racket and got a dressing down and everyone had turned
their phones off and rolled their fags, the Dean, the Very Reverend
Michael Till stepped up to the front.
He gave a great talk, drawing our attention to the fact that we
were at the War Memorial, where people met every year to remember
the dead of other wars. “These people gave their lives for
peace with justice,” he said.
The implication was that the idea of war with Iraq belittled the
memory of those who gave their lives in other, more justified
wars in days gone by. “Real peace is what we seek,”
he finished. Then it was the turn of the Bishop, Michael Scott
Joynt, to come to the front to talk.
He was very good. As a member of the House of Lords, one of the
most powerful men in the Anglican Church, and living in a palace
to boot, Bishop Michael is someone you feel truly has some gravitas.
He began by echoing the sentiments of everyone there, by saying
“tell Bush we want no war with Iraq.” He then admitted
that many of us would have different reasons for wanting war with
Iraq, and he hoped “we could find some of our own anxieties
and thoughts in his talk.”
The Bishop does not think we should go to war at all, full stop.
Even if there is another U.N resolution, or weapons are found,
he believes that if America and Britain are allowed to do a pre-emptive
strike now, then it sets an awful precedent for the future. He
also pointed out that nothing would make al Quaida come after
us more than a war on Iraq.
The world will be poorer, he said, with Britain itself putting
aside £1.75 billion for the war.
He then pointed out that Jews, Muslims and Christians all think
the war is wrong, and on this note, gave up the rostrum to the
Muslim representative, Zahid Nawaz, after a moment of reflection.
Zahid gave a reading from the Koran, in Arabic, and then reiterated
the point made by the Bishop that the three ‘Abrahamic’
faiths do not war. Then there were prayers from both Muslims and
Christians, and a blessing ‘for all.’
I often have my suspicions of religion, and think that sometimes
they do more harm than good. If one good thing comes out of the
current crisis, it is that we have seen all faiths pulling together
with one goal, not to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
However, not to forget that both Bush and Blair are committed
Christians. Maybe we should elect a rastafarian next time.
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Mayor
Steel's Painting (26th February 2003)
The Mayor of Winchester, Cllr John Steel unveiled his Choice Exhibition
of paintings and photographs at the Guildhall Gallery on 21st
February.
This is the first time a Winchester Mayor has chosen historic
photographs as well as paintings for the annual exhibition.
It will be a rare opportunity for members of the public to view
some of the 1,600 paintings and prints and 45,000 photographs
preserved by Winchester City Council’s Museums Service.
The theme of the exhibition is ‘The Changing Face of Winchester’,
showing how Winchester has changed since the 18th Century.
The exhibition shows how the district has been plagued by flooding
across many centuries, through Nathaniel Buck's 18th Century engravings
to photographs of more recent flooding, as well as changes made
across the district by road widening and by fire, such as the
great fire at the King's House.
The spotlight is also turned on a number of buildings that have
disappeared through redevelopment, or may soon disappear, in The
Brooks, Friarsgate and bus station areas.
The Mayor has invited five students from each of the local secondary
schools, colleges and further education colleges in the district
to view the exhibition.
“I would like the exhibition to be an opportunity for students
to view works of art that are not always accessible to younger
members of the community. The exhibition will be of particular
interest to those who are taking an art option as part of their
studies, but the exhibition is of interest to everyone and can
be enjoyed by all” said the Mayor.
“I have been very lucky to have had access to all the photographs
and prints in the care of the City Council, and I am glad to have
been able to choose some to share with everyone in this exhibition.”
The Mayor’s Choice Exhibition is open at the Winchester Guildhall
Gallery until Sunday 9 March. Opening hours are 10am until 4pm,
Tuesday to Saturday, and 2pm until 4pm Sunday. Admission is free.
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If
the cap fits (26th February 2003)
An occasional column in which Observer staff discuss the issues
of the day.
This week, Richard Williams asks ‘Can the Hollywood Blockbuster
save our Cities From Crime?”
After spending an invigorating couple of hours watching Steven
Spielberg’s ‘Minority Report’, I quickly began
to wonder if there were any of the films plot ideas that would
translate to todays society.
The basic premise of the film is as follows; three mutant types
lay in a bath of milk and, using their highly tuned extra sensory
perception, predict crimes before they happen - thus enabling
Tom Cruise and his ‘Pre-Crime Unit’ to arrest the ‘perps’
before the evil deed is done.
What a wonderful thing that would be? Crime would be virtually
eradicated, our streets would be safe, and we could all leave
our front doors open like the good old days.
You remember the good old days? When Ron & Reg wandered the
world dishing out their good natured beatings, maimings and killings.
God bless ‘em, eh?
The question I’m trying to raise is this; is there a way
that we, the great and good of Mid Hampshire society, could start
our own Pre-Crime unit? Obviously, unless any readers out there
have a cupboard full of bald mutants with scary red-eyes who can
see into the future we’ll have to lower our sights a little
- but not much... let me explain.
Every couple of weeks in The Observer we run a column entitled
‘Crimestoppers’, in which the local Police detail various
crimes and misdemeanors that have occured in the local area.
The object of this is to galvanise the general populace into keeping
them peeled for any sightings of these wrongdoers - and then report
them to the correct authorities.
Now, a cursory glance at any edition of Crimestoppers will indicate
one thing. One glaring fact that floats above all others. One
recognisable trait in nearly all the suspects psychological and
physical make-up.
They’re all wearing baseball caps.
Yes, you know who they are and they do too. White males between
the ages of 18 - 25, moody Hillfiger puffa jackets and too many
Bensons. You look down that Crimestoppers list and they appear
over and over again.
So here’s my suggestion for the Mid Hampshire Pre-Crime unit
- if the police spot someone fitting this description - arrest
them now. Because they’re about to do something wrong.
Generalisation? Maybe. Ridiculous stereotype? Perhaps. Knee-jerk
reaction? Quite possibly. But whatcha gonna do?
Now I know what you’re thinking, ‘some of my best friends
wear baseball caps’, and of course I’m well aware of
the problem of the innocent, but these bleeding heart liberals
can’t stand in the way of justice, look, if all the innocent
people in the world stopped wearing baseball caps by next Wednesday
then we’d be free to round-up the rest and put them in a
camp somewhere. Job done.
So what do you think? It’s just an idea, but I think a Mid
Hampshire Pre-Crime Unit based on this premise could lower the
petty theft rate by at least two-thirds. You’d also have
less stupid people clogging up the bus stations and Post Office
counters of our historic cities... which would be no bad thing.
Let’s not forget, they’re everywhere, and it’s
time for a change.
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Government
Still Not Listening (26th February 2003)
Local phone mast campaigners have reacted angrily to the latest
results of the Radiocommunications Agency survey of mobile phone
base stations.
The Government announcement attempts to reassure the public, with
the news that emissions from base stations are well within the
recommended international guidelines, but protesters say that
these studies do not address the main area of concern.
Current guidelines are only used to measure thermal effects of
microwave radiation, which have no relevance to the growing number
of biological symptoms experienced by people living near phone
masts. A recent study by French scientists found that those living
within a three hundred-metre radius of phone masts reported headaches,
nausea, dizziness and visual problems. More seriously, the British
press has, in recent months, carried stories of cancer clusters.
Local campaigners, who include doctors, scientists and radiotelecommunications
experts say that the Government has given the ‘telecomms’
far too much operational freedom in return for the £ billion
received in licence fees and that the money earmarked for research
is totally inadequate.
The Government ‘clean bill of health’ comes as no surprise
to Byron Avenue residents who have been fighting phone giant Orange
for over two years.
“We are used to being told that there isn’t a problem
and that we are all irrational campaigners” said Karen Barratt.
“We don’t expect the telecomm operators to admit that
phone masts pose health risks but we are angry that the Government
refuses to take us seriously. They have a duty to protect the
public, especially vulnerable groups like children, but they simply
don’t listen.”
Contact: Karen Barratt tel: 01962 864388
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I
would walk 72,000 miles (26th February 2003)
I like walking says Max Jones I am a firm believer that it is
the best exercise for both mind and body...
Jogging is deeply unpleasant, cycling is a chore, swimming sucks,
but a gentle stroll, perhaps aided by a few libations, is where
it’s at. So, for me, and the other thousands of walking fans
out there, the Isle of Wight walking festival has got to be a
good thing. There are 72,000 miles of walks planned for the fortnight
10-25 May.
That is a lot of walking, and the 120 walks are all accompanied
by guides and walk leaders. They range in difficulty from easy
to strenuous. For the commando fit amongst you there is a new
challenge this year. This is the horrific sounding Seven Hills
Elite Challenge Walk, which is 27 miles long, and competitors
will have seven hours to complete it.
There will be more cerebral walks as well, including family discovery
walks, history walks and ghost walks. If anyone is thinking of
going over there then they can get a Red Funnel Ferry across.
Their website also gives a walking guide to the island. This can
be found at www.redfunnel.co.uk/walking, and they can offer whole
walking, ferry and accommodation packages.
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