Culture plays a vital social and economic contribution to the city. It promotes us to the nation and the world as a vibrant, creative and confident place to visit, live and work in. Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council.
A comment re last weeks blog prompted me to revisit this subject. I thought I would start with the quote, if only to demonstrate the utter irrelevance of Bradfords UK City of Culture bid.
If anybody recognises the vibrant, creative and confident place please let me have directions. Chasing a meaningless gong will not bring high-end, well-paid jobs to Bradford nor will it entice people to shop or visit; our exterior image is awful.
Blinded and deluded local politicians driven by role-preserving self-interest are oblivious. This week the new West Yorkshire Mayor addressed the Executive meeting at City Hall.
Headmistress Hapless began by claiming that if we get transport, skills and culture right Bradford “will fly…if not we will stall.” This seemed an odd thing to say as we appear to have had the handbrake on for some time.
She also claimed that we could soon be the youngest city in Europe, not just the UK. Surely that is a consequence of high birth rates and mortality too; why is this always seen as a positive?
As Hapless glowered down at her from her perch on high – “you got my job” – Ms Brabin waffled like a floundering B-rate actress. How great Bradford was!
You can watch it here if you really, really cannot find anything better to do; try the first ten minutes, that should be enough.
Brabin waffled about winning 60% of the vote – a cast-iron mandate! Actually not so as this was only after a second preference run; in the first run, she won 43% which means almost 6 out of 10 did not vote for her across five Labour controlled councils. And the turnout was only 36%; some mandate!
To reward her new chums, all five leaders of the councils that comprise the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) were given the plum roles.
How lucky we are to have such stellar talent in West Yorkshire, able to hold down two major roles each. Oh the joy of the public sector!
Hapless gets the consolation prize of transport; cue more vacant cycle lanes and a return of the horse and cart.
Until those in control at least attempt to confront reality in Bradford – crime, lunatic drivers, a pitiful planning system to name but a few – little will change. Aspiring to be viewed as a cultural city is akin to smoking the local crop.
Oh To Be Perfect
I have never had a desire to become a public figure. No sooner than the clock starts ticking on your fifteen minutes of fame than boom! Out comes a Facebook comment, picture or tweet necessitating fire and brimstone from all directions.
Last week a young lad called Ollie Robinson, aged 27, made his cricketing debut for England at Lords. This should have been the best day of his life but soon someone had uncovered tweets made when he was 19! Off with his head!
Cue the English Cricket Board with a series of toe-curling, sanctimonious announcements. Do not be kidded; these are not designed other than to preserve commercial contracts. Why oh why has nobody got the balls or common sense to manage a situation like this?
Just because a lad is handy with a bat and ball does not mean he will be any different from the rest of us; we all mess up and the best way to rectify is to apologise, learn and move on – it is called maturity. And you need not take the knee to do so.
At 19 I was still sleep-walking naked into my parents bedroom – I blame cider – and had not got a clue about life. I communicated via a mix of bollocks and hopeless naivety; I was a mess with no clear path to any future.
For all his faults, credit to Boris for at least fronting up and calling the ECB suspension for what it is; utterly pointless.
A New Toy
I thought that the prospect of a new toy would be enough to get the old bird smiling at the start of the week as I bounced up the stairs to my Mums bedroom.
“Time to get out and about old lady! Happy Monday!”
“Piss off!” she replied, begrudgingly giving in and slipping on her new racing Pavers.
We have a walking frame with wheels and brakes which, once her suspicions had subsided, she seemed to adapt to quickly. It even has a seat but two lengths of the driveway did not include a rest break.
Once finally seated, with the old mans designer hat on, she was lost in the flood of local news, chuntering and muttering to her hearts content.
Happiness
As the leaders of the wealthiest nations in the world met this week, a fantastic hour of television – see here
The Scottish Island that Won the Lottery told the tale of how £3m was shared out by around a hundred residents of a remote Scottish island called North Uist.
The best bit for me was the 83 year-old guy who, having won over £25k, simply wanted a new wheelbarrow; that is happiness personified.
Lord Frazer Irwin says
The first ten minutes of the Executive meeting was quite an eye opener and rang a bell along the way. Slough is the youngest city in England not Bradford. The latter comes sixth in line to the former. At first mention of climate change I turned off. Anyone who believes in the biggest con this planet has known will sink into a culture of half truths and misinformation.
Planting a tree for every child shows how green these councillors are not. It will take over thirty years for trees to be of any use if at all. I know from experience going back over half a century the planting of them is only the start of a long process which many fail to appreciate.
Something for the cricket enthusiasts. Cambridge University are carrying out tests on a new bat. Willow takes upwards of thirty years to produce wood suitable for bat making. Bamboo on the other hand is readily available every year. Check it out on the Net.