Guernsey, "Inconvenient Truth" Of Child Povertry Gap.

 

        Just back from a wee break on the island of Guernsey. When you get there you can't help fall in love with its beauty. Its rocky jagged  coastline, its beautiful beaches, narrow winding tree lined roads and a pleasant climate. What is there not to love? The one thing you notice early on, is that there are an abundance of restaurants, most on the pricey side, obviously they are not trying to attract the ordinary Joe. So, apart from being a up-market tourist destination, what is Guernsey. Like the rest of this capitalist world, it is two worlds, the surface shiny polished one, and then the under side, the usual grinding poverty. One taxi drive we spoke to, they are great for info, said that he worked on the roads, but worked 5 nights a week on the taxis to make ends meet. It doesn't sound much like the idyllic way of life. 

So, my take on the island.

Guernsey, ‘Inconvenient truth’ of child poverty gap

             Idyllic island, lots of beaches, walks, and a mild to warm climate, a rich island that earns a lot from tourism. Island population approximately 63,000, with a work population of roughly 32,000. The largest employer on the island is the finance sector, employing around 21% of the workforce. It is a haven for the rich with a low tax regime, virtually no corporation tax, and Guernsey levies no capital gains, inheritance, capital transfer, value added (VAT / TVA) or general withholding taxes. Conditions that make it a desirable abode for the rich to plant their loot and a home for such business giants as Specsavers Optical Group, and Healthspan, among others. A bubbly, champagne fizzy place for the rich. However, like all surfaces in capitalism, scratch the surface and you see just how thin that bubbly surface goes.
       Unemployment in numbers seems low, but remember the workforce is only around 32,000, recent figures put it at 411, an increase of 15% on the previous year, but up 46% since 2011. The islands chief medical officer Dr. Stephen Bridgman stated, between 5,000 and 10,000 islanders currently live in relative poverty. He said many had restricted access to health services because they simply could not afford it. The recent released Parry Report into Children’s Social Care in the Island, stated that child care was inadequate, and there was a lack of social mobility and a highly visible poorer population.
       So there you have it, a “rich island”, a bubble created to cater to the rich, lots of fancy restaurants, expensive houses, and luxury yachts in the harbours, flourishing on the back of inadequate child care and the poor. Ah the wonders of capitalism.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Aching For The Sun

        Hi, to my friends, comrades, followers, readers and critics, a big thanks to all those who read my "stuff" and comment. Stasia and I are off on a wee holiday, a nice wee break. No doubt both of us will be expecting different things from this escape, but I will be looking for some kind warm sun to gently caress my ageing body. It will be a chance to re-charge batteries, after what has been a very busy and at times stressful period. I will be be parting company from my dream machine, my bike, and this blog will probably fall silent for another wee spell. Though I expect both bike and blog to re-start when I return. 

           A photo from my run  last Thursday. Just peeping through the trees is a favourite watering hole of mine, The Aizle Tearoom. at Ballott Toll, on the Aberfoyle Road. It is not expensive and they do a lovely plate of lentil soup. All cycle runs should end at a good tearoom.

See you soon.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

A Quiet Spell.

        ann arky is heading down south for a couple of weeks, a sort of working holiday. So my rants will cease for a spell, thanks for all your support, keep struggling, you know it makes sense, I'll continue ranting soon.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Wind, Sea And Hills.

 Whitehills.

     Last Monday, April the 7th. ann arky and partner, took off with the bike and headed for the north eastern corner of Scotland. We stayed in a small village called Gardenstown, near Banff. It is a small area at the bottom of an extremely steep hill and the houses are all crammed together with virtually no space between them, and right on the rocks at the shore facing the North Sea. Your heart bleeds when you think of the life of hardship the residents of the late 19th. early 20th century, must have had to endure just to survive in such a harsh and cramped environment. Herring fishing was their life's blood. Now, most of the cottages are holiday homes, one of which we rented. There is no mobile phone signal and no wi-fi. In the kitchen of the cottage there was instructions telling you that there was no phone signal, but if you walk towards Grovie, past the harbour and the steps down to the beach, there is a phone signal. I had a vision of walking there and seeing this "thing" on the beach with a label, "phone signal". Or perhaps at certain times of the day the village population of holiday makers, congregate at that point and stand in groups with their mobile phones stuck to their ear chatting to the outside world.

McDuff.

      I also believe it is the windiest and hilliest spot on the planet, making it very hard work for ann arky's legs when on the bike. Perhaps I should have recognised the signs, lots of very large wind turbines, always turning at a fair pace. 

McDuff.

      In saying that, it is a very beautiful area and we will be back, though perhaps not to Gardenstown, beautiful as it was, I didn't like the feeling of being trapped, unable to get out of the village without a car. I didn't tackle the hill on the bike.

Near Whitehills.

      I regret not having been able to post a poem a day for the whole month of April, but here we are with today's rendering.

JUST IMAGINE!

If only we could find the imagination

to see this world as one rich colourful nation,

not a collection of camps, insular and small

always eager to mount a border brawl

sending forth an army of fruit growers

to shed the blood of some seed sowers,

holding high a coloured rag

proclaim, "the blood we shed is for this flag",

believing this justifies the countless dead

across nature's beaty spread.

Can't we learn from yesterday's errors

borders breed false fears and foolish terrors;

each flag waving hand sows the seeds

of tomorrow's pointless brutal deeds.

If only we could find the imagination

to see this world as one rich colourful nation,

all free to walk our chosen path

free from fear of the strangers wrath.

A brother rich or poor we can accept,

a different coloured skin is cause to reject,

smile at a brown eyed sister with reddish hair

yet mock one who walks a jungle path, with bosom bare.

Shower with praise and welcome embrace

anyone from our spurious race,

greet with snarl and angry glare

those strange people from over there;

then using our culture as some kind of shield

guarantee our future in isolation sealed.

if only we could find the imagination

to see this world as one rich colourful nation.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

ANN ARKY IS HAVING A WEE BREAK.

      ann arky is indulging in a holiday on the continent for a few days and  will be back in the next day or so.

As always,    in solidarity, ann arky.