Back when I lived with my young family in Orange County, LA, US of A in '91/92 I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Who wouldn't? I'd left the UK in the teeth of a recession that was as grim as today. This was a time before globalisation and I had landed in a world that had never felt the chill of a downturn. There was no austerity legacy here. The experience really brought to life the contrasts between the UK and America that are most notably recorded in the book 84 Charing Cross Road . We were living out beyond the canyons, nearer to Anaheim than Santa Monica, a suburb of LaLa land. That was my first encounter with a truly multi racial community. It was the time when Rodney King was filmed being beaten up and Clarence Thomas was in trouble about his past. The media kerfuffle about all this was totally new to me. It was very different to my experience of race relations in the UK. I felt as if I was living in the future. The media anguish about those figures back the
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The campaign against Ross and Brand last week inspired me to use this new age of interaction to complain about Jeremy Clarkson. His bad taste jokes about lorry drivers and hookers only served to show how little content there remains in the tired Top Gear franchise. It seemed that he was determined to cover-up for the banality of his adolescent behaviour by repeating a very adolescent gag. He has a lot of influence with the un-worldy by constantly recycling his reactionary views; it seems only fair that he should feel some of the pain he dishes out.
The Fall says it all. The Fall of laissez faire capitalism, the Fall of leaves and the Fall of snow. Any visitor to the French Alps will have seen notices warning of Chutes des Neige. The ennui that seems to have descended on everyone is probably connected with the demise of materialistic aspirations. Albert Camus pointed out that without religion it becomes clear that life is largely meaningless and as Karl Marx pointed out, Religion was the Opium of the people. With the collapse of materialism people are seeing that they must seek meaning elsewhere. This realisation can be refreshing but is not very comfortable. Rather like when a big lump of snow falls on your head.
A fine day today allowed my friend Mark Goodall and I to do our regular bicycle circuit of the Trundle . Over the top of Goodwood horse racing course where we foundthe annual inter club hill climb on Knights Hill. A category 4 gradient was conquered in a remarkable three minutes and 12 seconds by a young lad on his lightweight bike. Meanwhile the sushi sunday event down at the motor racing circuit reflected the priorities of the generations of guys who think the world of their Japanese cars. I wandered around both events and was struck by the contrast between these modes of transport and their interdependence. Apparently, a tankful of petrol (50 litres) could meet the energy needs of the average home for over 5 years. Similarly, driving from Lands End to John O'Groats would burn more Oxygen than a person would consume in a lifetime.