Delights & Destructions
I think we probably all experience it. The Yin and Yang of life. Those opposite experiences that simultaneously show the good and the bad of life as we know it. Health and sickness, poverty and wealth, good and evil. It’s a kind of reminder of the fragility of life that even in the good times something bad can happen, but also that good can rise to the challenge when something bad is happening.
In today’s world a visiting Martian could be forgiven for thinking that the entire human race is on its knees and stark raving mad. If you read, listen to, or watch our increasingly negative media, you will be fed a daily diet of war, bad politics, continuing racism, xenophobia and sexism, pestilence and famine, extreme poverty, and personal and human tragedies. All of these things are happening around the world and closer to home, so this post isn’t about a denial of all the bad things that are happening but merely to remind us all that when shit happens it is easy to forget how much good there is in the world too.
I wrote “Ocean” at the end of May to contrast the fabulous ten days we all had with The Lewinskies visiting from Canada with the obscene and dangerous ranting of the US administration under the golden haired one. Ocean symbolises the extremes of good and bad in our relationship with North America. As well as meeting Kristen and Matthew via Twitter, I have also met Adam from Under A Banner, Matt Steady, and so many other people with a similar outlook on life. On the opposite end of the scale we have a ranting and out of control leader of the free world, and as reported widely yesterday children being groomed on Twitter’s live service Periscope. As usual technology not closing an obvious loophole for a service that is also used to promote legitimate business, music and art. We never learn.
Then yesterday we took a water taxi (Waxi) into Manchester from Sale for the first time since they opened the service. It runs from Sale town centre to Manchester’s Castlefield Basin at the southern end of our compact city centre. The tranquillity and fun of our interesting journey was interrupted by some arse dropping a very heavy object of a road bridge near Hotel Football, with the clear intention of damaging or possibly sinking our lovely yellow vessel. Although it plummeted straight into the Bridgewater Canal, it also missed by a mile, and had the hallmark of a nasty older teenager having just finished school for the summer, and releasing all that pent up energy with thoughts and deeds of destruction. This kind of wanton vandalism will no doubt be repeated throughout the summer as kids also graffiti every surface in sight or set fire to the unique and wonderful peat moorland that borders this fabulous city to the north, south and east.
So has this put us off taking another Waxi ride? Not likely.It was actually quite exciting as the pilot took evasive action, first reversing under the bridge in case another concrete package was about to descend, then flooring the accelerator with bow raised by way of a James Bond style escape. It was a fabulous way to get into town, away from our congested and polluted roads or crowded and sweaty trams. And that isn’t one of those stiff upper lip British defiance statements that show how profoundly foolhardy we are as a nation – you know the tiny island nation with an overbearing sense of righteousness and over-inflated sense of its own importance that just decided to ditch a hugely positive and collaborative trading relationship with its European partners because two squabbling forty-something public schoolboys decided to make their dislike of each other public – but more of a ‘don’t let the bastards grind you down’ acceptance that shit does happen. You just have to remember that life is also full of stuff to inspire or wonder at, to enjoy and to savour. Yin and Yang.
My Music Catalogue: https://johnreed.bandcamp.com
Videos:
https://youtu.be/KBs_A6niLwE?list=PL8ktVO0A3SoEG0R7XRkHpuSVCzO_SMTo_ LIVE May 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuKuP-Z8UAg THE SUN GOES ROUND THE MOON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdHXWfY5_sA THE SMILE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZK9tCEmJ3k DRY THE LIFE
Produced by: http://www.heygamal.com/bio.html
Record label: ND4PRM
Official Photographs: http://www.frankroper.photography/portfolio/