Tuesday 24 October 2017

How the whole becomes bigger than the parts




There's a lot of angst about this £350,000,000 a week. Those who lied to us forgot to mention that £300,000,000 of it comes back to our regions. Post Brexit that will have to come from our own pockets. But we'll still be in the black, won't we, because there's £50,000,000 left over?  Oh but what about the farmer's subsidies and the big projects – new transport systems, new roads?  Sure, we can do that all ourselves (maybe) but isn't it better to get more brains and more brawn behind it all? And have a few internationally applied laws to keep us all safe? 

I'm a fan of the potluck supper / lunch. Everybody is asked to bring enough food for a certain number of people. An example: a choir I belong to recently hosted a visiting choir. We held a joint workshop and everybody was asked to bring enough food for two people. I brought along enough for four as one of our members had to rush off and do a translation. I provided a litre of flavoured water, a big pack of grapes, some elegant biscuits and two broccoli and cheese quiches. All for just a little more than I normally spend on a lunch in the canteen at the university where I used to work. I also had some spare cherry tomatoes in the fridge. 

What a spread! There were elegant trays of mixed fruits, all sorts of cakes, some specialty breads, crudités and dips, fresh pizza, salads, cheese, cold meat and much, much more. It looked lovely. It tasted lovely. There was more than enough for everyone to have several helpings.
We have long rehearsals in the same building sometimes. We all sit and eat our own packed lunches.  Not nearly as much fun. 

And should I add, perhaps, that the visiting choir was Danish? We sang and they sang and we sang together. We kept each other on our toes. When we sang together we made a new and interesting sound. 

Will such international co-operation be as easy post-Brexit?  
I've decided to collect signs that tell of EU-funded projects. I may make a collage of them for a future post. 
      
               

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