Peace Children

Following on from my last post, I’d like to explore this idea a little further. I came across the idea of the Peace Child when I was writing a Citizenship internet guide for school. And oh, Madam May, what irony. My Grammar School education made me interested in languages. I became a teacher. Very much the National Curriculum included Citizenship and it meant of this planet or even universe. Why educate people one way then rubbish that very education which you claim now to be bringing back? Mayhem!  

I myself became a type of Peace Child. I learnt the languages of some other cultures, learnt those cultures and combined them with my own. The two fused and we exchanged ideas and values. Isn’t that healthy? Might that not lead to Peace?   

The Peace Child originally came from Papua New Guinea. After a dispute, warring tribes would swap Peace Children. A child form one culture would be brought up in the other and would thus understand both. Of course the tribes would be reluctant to go to war again as one of their own lived with the other tribe.  More importantly, these children acted as ambassadors, negotiators and finders of the third way. The latter is particularly important as they understand all of the issues that concerned both sides in a potential new dispute.  

Europe is right on our doorstep. More accurately, we are right on its doorstep. This is the best place to start the Peace Child process.  

Besides, there are many people who cannot help belonging to more than one culture. The Citizens of Nowhere stance denies them citizenship whereas actually they, like the Peace Children, are best placed to bring others together. 

I stopped teaching languages after a while and followed my other love: writing. One of my early works was my Peace Child trilogy. Peace Child Kaleem is a mixed race child and acts as diplomat between the two races. However, as it’s also a YA trilogy so it is story of his own growth. 

In Book 1 he stops Terrestra being an  isolated planet, in Book 2 he gets rid of switch-off - compulsory euthanasia for people over a certain age. This also allows the Z Zone, the poorest part of Terrestra, to integrate with the other zones. In Book 3 he communicates with the Zenoton, who have a really alternative attitude to economics that might be worth a try.  

Book 4 is now in preparation. Yes, Trumpet and Brexit are in there. 

I am a product of my education and of the 1944 Education Act. That screams by the 2000s globalisation and internationalism. Is the baby being thrown out with the bathwater? Shouldn’t we be reforming the EU not leaving it? Shouldn’t Trump be finding the terrorists and not punishing all who share the same faith or are of the same race?    

I now also work as a partner in a publishing company. Out latest venture: Citizens of Nowhere. This is an anthology of stories about the global citizen. 

Will my books get burnt?               

                    

Simply Red

R.B.N Bookmark 

 ”I´m not British –I´m European!” 

It all seems a very long time ago when I read those words in a magazine interview Mick Hucknall gave during the mid-1980`s.

It was a statement that was so out of context for those times, what with Thatcherism and the anti-Europe sentiment which seemed to permeate British politics at the time.

I was fortunate enough to see Simply Red live in Manchester around the same time as Hucknall’s statement and, I like Mick, admitted to becoming a European. It was far more Cosmopolitan and exotic sounding than just being plain old British. I was a European Mancunion and my best mate was Mick Hucknall –even if he was totally unaware of the fact.

It was many years later that I as a young man ventured out into my adopted European homeland to acquaint myself with my fellow Europeans. I admit to being immature and unaware of the complexities that abound in European politics – I was born on an island and as such my view of the world at times scarcely stretches further than the sun bleached sands of Blackpool beach.

So when I finally took the plunge into Europe it wasn`t as I had envisaged it all.

For I became very aware that once I had stepped beyond realms of Britannia, that I was no longer the European , but instead I was back to being British again.

This was painfully obvious by the fact I was monolingual, it never occurred to me that Europeans couldn’t speak English?  The vacant looks on those fellow Europeans faces that I encountered whenever I asked “Do you speak English?” made it clear I was at a linguistic disadvantage once I´d stepped off our small island.

As if this was not enough, my broad Manchester accent on occasion would baffle even the most fluent of English speakers. I remember a rather puzzled looking Scandinavian gentleman asking me.

“Do you speak English?”

I answered “yes” but whether or not he understood me I never did find out – he thought I was Norwegian?

The first thing one learns when residing in Europe is Britannia does not rule, and past merits like  owning an empire and defeating the Germans in two world wars does not really cut it with anyone. Indeed it can be a major disadvantage, if my experiences are anything to go by.

So the first thing I was encouraged to do was integrate, which is just a fancy word for letting go of the past. What better way to integrate than to learn the language, something so many of us Brits find is the most difficult part of being a European. 

I decided early on that I´d go the full hog, ditch English and immerse myself in the language of my adopted homeland.

The results of this crash course in Europisation have, at times been both disastrous and not least comical.

Once I ordered two beers at a pizzeria for myself and my wife, when to my dismay two large Mediterranean shrimp and scampi pizzas arrived at our table. How “two beers please” can translate into “two beers and two scampi /shrimp pizzas please” god only knows, but somehow I had achieved the impossible. As for me being a vegetarian as well, pizza was coming out of my wife’s ears by the time she had finished both hers and mine.  Anyway I put it down to experience and since that day I let my wife do the talking instead.

The transition from being English to European can be a chaotic one to say the least, something I wish Mick Hucknall had warned me of in his magazine article. 

For once I had acquired the tools to order a beer without an accompanying pizza, making small talk at the dinner table, attempting to come across as an interesting individual with extra-terrestrial origins etc. Once folk had stopped pinching me to see if I was a real person just like them, it was then I began to have my doubts about being a European.

It suddenly struck me like a bolt out of the blue, that no matter how much I pertained to be something and someone else, and assimilate myself into another culture. The fact remains I will always be a product of my upbringing, my roots may have spread overseas but the tree from which the acorn has fallen is still very firmly planted in the land of my origins.

My poor peripheral vision being what it is, I have probably gone full circle a hundred times or more before realising I´d already passed what I was looking for.

And what was I looking for you might ask?

The answer I found was not necessarily the one I was looking for, but in hindsight I now know it`s the only one that fits the bill. 

That being when all is said and done, Europe is united by its disunity, it`s uneasy cultural and economic diversities make it the most unlikely conglomerate of nations ever devised. The machinery that is the EU is in all honesty in desperately need of some tweaks, and a little lubrication from the surplus oil glut –if there is such a thing, that is?

In some ways Brexit was no great surprise, the repercussions on the other hand will rattle a few cages I´m sure. But one thing I have learned on my European journey is that I am British, and am seen as such – the stateless entity of a united Europe might sound ideal in the halls of Strasbourg and Brussells. But to the ordinary man and woman so called Citizens of the EU, priorities lie much closer to home. The global citizen might well be just a faint and jaundiced looking image of an ideal that has lost its wheels.

So tell me Mick Hucknall, would you still consider yourself a citizen of Europe all these years afterwards?

Living abroad tends to give one that citizen of nowhere mentality, so in my case I´d probably answer yes to that question. Though were you to ask me if I was being completely truthful in my answer– well probably not. 

A united Europe is but a concept, home as they say is where the heart is and let’s face it – you can`t hang your hat up on a concept……or can you?

R.B. N  Bookmark is a  contributor to the Salford Stories anthology.

Time for some plain talking …

What a mess. Trumpet and Brexit. 

We start with an immoral if not illegal referendum. The referendum itself wasn’t illegal or unconstitutional. The promise to abide by the results was foolhardy and undemocratic. It was all anyway about a competition between a couple of old Etonions and it went wrong. Eton mess or what? 

A referendum anyway works differently from an election. It tends to ask a yes or no question – it certainly did on 23 June 2016 - and there is no further representation for the “losing” side. If we have a general election and the party we vote for gets 48% of the votes but the party that gets in get 52%, the 48% are still represented and their MPs can still influence outcomes. Nothing much happens as MPs are largely bound by what can and cannot be done. 

The latter incidentally mitigates a little what has happened in the USA. We can take heart from the fact that Clinton actually got more of the individual votes. Whatever the Trumpet says, much of it will not be possible and anyway he will be held in check by all of those who voted for Clinton. 

Our position with Brexit is slightly different. Mayhem informs us, going against her own conscience, that “Brexit is Brexit.” It is apparently the will of the British people. Which British people I ask? The 52% of people who voted? What about those living abroad who couldn’t who live on a promise of being in the EU? What about the youngsters? Won’t a lot of the people who voted for leave actually leave soon, kind of permanently? Let’s hope they’re all wrong about there being no reversal. 

There is also the alarming problem that many who voted for Brexit were voting for something else entirely.

First we have the £350,000,000 a week lie. It won’t be available for the NHS. 

Then, leaving the EU will prevent all of the problems that immigration cause. What are they exactly?  Immigrants pay taxes and NI and fill skills gaps. There are some illegals. Not that many. Let’s deal with them better anyway. 

The EU is not perfect and is badly in need of reform. There is dissatisfaction and unease in other states as well.  So, let’s get it sorted. Or drop all barriers world-wide. But let’s continue to trade freely with our nearest and dearest – there are fewer food miles. 

We have had two shocks. No one expected either Brexit or Trumpet. Many of us weren’t aware of the fundamental discontent at certain levels of society. The EU becomes a bit of scapegoat. The actual problems were caused by the sub-prime mortgage scandal, a by-product of greedy banking, and we all know which great nation started that ball rolling. The  problems were not caused by immigration or the EU. Despite its imperfections, the EU has brought us some effective laws and many decades of peace. 

A dark side is emerging. Fascism seems to be on the rise again. There have been so many shocking racist attacks. It’s interesting that Germany has reacted the most assertively to what is happening in the States and seems the most concerned by Brexit. They’ve been there, done that and know it doesn’t work and is abhorrent.  

And yes, I will “remoan” if you must call it that – on and on and on. If it had been 52% in favour of the Final Solution would you condemn me for continuing to condemn it?  I actually think it’s that important.  

                       

All change in Europe?

I have several British friends who live in other EU states. Two couples are coming back to the UK. One couple went to live in France on 27 June 2016. Interesting timing! Another friend has said she never wants to live in the UK again. It looks quite even then. 

There doesn’t seem to be a major exit of nationals of other EU states wanting to get out before it becomes difficult. However, there are fewer applying for the vacant posts. Two nationals form other EU states I know who live and work in England are applying for British citizenship. It means giving up their original nationality. Harsh. Those who are concerned about immigration may cheer but I worry about the skills deficit.

Wasn’t Holby City glorious the week before last? Silent Witness was good last week, too.  Good old Aunty seems to have rallied. 

You see, it’s not just tit for tat. The returning ex-pats are mainly the dreaded baby-boomers. (We’re such a nuisance aren’t we? Still, we can’t help what parents got up to in the 1950s and 60s. We’ve paid a hell of a lot of tax, by the way, and paid up to 15% on our mortgages and other loans.)  At least they’ll be spending their pensions within the UK. However, they certainly won’t be replacing the skills that are lost if we lose our EU workers. They’ll likely as well to put a strain on the NHS. Not only will they be old, they won’t be so used to the cold so they’ll get ill more easily. 

Scotland still looks as if it’s making a real effort to stay in the EU. Shall we go and live in Scotland? But what about Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Winchester?        

May and her crew still talk about hard and soft Brexit. How arrogant. “We” have “decided” to leave the club. It’s up to the club to decide what sort of relationship it wants to have with us. We really have no say in this. Let’s hope they’re kind to us and reach out to those of us who never wanted to go.

Of course, it may all become totally insignificant. Extraordinary things are happening on the other side of the pond.      

What, no Stollen or Lebkuchen? What will Brexit mean for the Christmas markets?

One of the great things about living near Manchester is that we have some fabulous Christmas markets. Some people don’t like them and I’ll admit I prefer to go on the quieter days of the week – Monday, Tuesday Wednesday. There’s still a buzz and there’s still plenty to see.

We have local crafts people, local producers of fine foods, and plenty of representation from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. 

We have our own personal shopping list: some nice soaps (usually form one of the French vendors – France takes up most of  whole street), some Dutch cheeses, maybe a selection  of cold meats form one of the German stalls, a large tub of mixed olives and picked garlic, some Turkish delight,  some of that delicious Italian nougat / truffle / fudge. We snap up of course also a Glühwein, and maybe a Bratwurst and some pancakes or poffertjes (Dutch mini pancakes). Chocolate generally comes into the equation as well. We also buy a selection of Dutch biscuits and of course we must have our Stollen and Lebkuchen.

Except that this year we couldn’t find the latter.  There was no Stollen and there were no Lebkuchen anywhere on the Christmas markets. There was a stall selling hot Strudel of all kinds, but this was more street food than a chance to catch up on your Christmas shopping. 

Was this the beginning of Brexit? Or was it simply that the German vendor who normally brought them didn’t think that they sold too well in England? I asked around a little at the other German stalls and no one could shed any light on this. 

Lebkuchen is impossible to make at home and Stollen is difficult. Mind you, Tesco’s own Stollen isn’t bad.

We eventually bought a nice Stollen at the renowned Westmoreland Farm Shop at the Tebay services on the M6. We obtained some Lebkuchen fresh from Nuremberg at a branch delicatessen in the Lake District.

But was the absence of these items at the Christmas markets a sign of what is to come post Brexit? Will it be worth their while coming if there is no Free Trade agreement? Will they be able to come if there is no free movement? 

Maybe the Stollen we bought form the farm shop is symbolic of all that is good about having close ties to the EU.  It was the best Stollen I’ve ever had and it was made in England. It has improved on the original German recipe. That is what exchange and interaction is all about. Think also of balti, spaghetti hoops and pizza. 

At the Christmas markets I ended up buying a tipsy cake. The fruit was soaked in gin. It was gorgeous and was made on an English farm. Fantastic. But it shouldn’t mean that we have to  give up our Stollen.