Time to Build a Recovery
when you’re not at work weekends are seven days long
Today, as the whole pointless lockdown begins to be eased, the British economy is in a worse state than it was during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Officially there are 2,100,000 unemployed in Britain today, but that is an utter fiction. There are also more than 11 million people being paid by the government’s furlough scheme, a half a million teachers who aren’t working but are on full pay, and another 5 million civil servants who weren’t working all during lockdown but were still on full pay. So, 18,600,000 workers weren’t working here, and lots of them still aren’t working.
Add to that 5 million self-employed who couldn’t and probably still can’t work but are not included in the official unemployment figures, and another couple of million people supposedly ‘working from home’, and there are perhaps 25 million people not working for a living here in the UK. That’s out of a total possible workforce of about 35 million.
Trust me on this, most people ‘working from home’ mostly don’t do any actual work. When things start to get back to normal I predict that many who are ‘working from home’ today will be staying at home because they have no job to go back to.
The British economy has tanked, and government spending has skyrocketed ~ a perfect storm for economic disaster. The US economy is in an equally parlous state, and all the lawlessness, rioting, looting, arson….. will merely serve to make matters worse.
As an indicator, vehicle production here has fallen by 99.7%. Only 197 cars rolled out of the factories here in May, and even when production begins again there will be many lay-offs, redundancies, and people taking early retirement. Rolls Royce, the prestige car maker expects to cut 3,000 jobs. Rolls Royce the aero engine manufacturer expects to cut 9,000 jobs, and the Gods only know how many airline staff will not have a job in the foreseeable future.
We need to get the global economy going again. Anyone with any sense of history, honour, or business ethics will not include China in their future business plans. The ex-head of MI6, (the agency James Bond worked for), says that COVID-19 is a man-made virus and that it may have been purposefully released by China. Made in China, is off my shopping list forevermore.
We each of us know what we can do to get the global economy kick-started, time we got off our backsides and made a difference.
Some say that it’s right to protest. And that violence is a necessary weapon in the war against racism. All I know is that the protesters may never work again either, looting and burning down places of employment is economic suicide.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
To protest at being out of work the men of Jarrow peacefully walked the 300 miles to London in the cold October of 1936
Random Jottings ~ Sucess
start each day badly, and you wave success goodbye
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to be fulfilled, turn work into play
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Expert: a complete drip under pressure
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never trust an expert who has never done a proper hard day’s work
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emotional intelligence is an essential ingredient of a balanced successful life
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to be successful, to stand out from the crowd, do the exact opposite of what most people are doing
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
getting drunk only turns you into an overnight success in your own eyes
Tunes on Tuesday ~ Dire Straits
hot sexy older women love fast sexy older cars
Maybe a lesser known Dire Straits track, but powerfully evocative of a ‘who gives a fuck’ crazy lifestyle.
For me, Heavy Fuel is diesel, but I don’t think this song is really about trucks., big rigs, 18 wheelers, call them what you will. Or boats either. This song is about booze, drugs, and girls.
Please listen without breaking the speed limit.
And I would never, ever drive a Porsche.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
sexy women have always loved a hot car
Monochrome Monday ~ Your Dystopian Future
it was a bright sunny day in June, the clocks were striking thirteen
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
some will not survive the dystopian society
Songs on Saturday ~ R.E.M.
I’m so in love with you
This is for a friend of mine ~ someone I care about very deeply, especially now, when everybody hurts. Including me.
Please listen with love.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
I would rather be here, with a close friend
Songs on Saturday ~ Gerry Rafferty
when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life
The very first time I heard this song I was staying in an hotel on Baker Street, which runs from North to South right through the heart of London. For a naive North of England boy it was a very strange place. The allyways and byways just off Baker Street are even stranger. (Writing this brought back some very peculiar interpersonal relationship memories of that time.)
Back then 221B Baker Street was part of the offices of the Pearl Life Assurance Company, now it’s kind of a kitsch Sherlock Holmes store.
Please listen thinking about the bright lights, and not the damp Victorian London smog.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Holmes never did catch Springheeled Jack
I am not a number…..
I am a free man
Yesterday I tried to come up with a bucket and to-do list that had 7 important things on it, and I got stuck after 6, which you will see if you look back at that post. I shouldn’t have been surprised, the number six is in my destiny right now.
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Kipling thought that six was important too;
I keep six honest serving men, (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why, and When
And How and Where and Who
If you can remember those, then you will never go far wrong when it comes to making any decision, writing anything, or making a success of anything you wish to do.
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There are also 6 healing powers. The six best doctors are;
Sun, Rest, Exercise, Good Food, Self-Respect, and Friends
But, when it comes to good food, don’t eat too much of it. Keep well hydrated, and stay away from the booze.
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In fact there are 6 things one should really stay away from;
Alcohol, Casual Sex, Drugs, Over-Eating, Smoking, and Refined Sugar
All of those will kill you eventually, some will just kill you faster than others.
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The number 6 is also a perfect number, a congruent number, harmonic divisor number, and has lots to do with weird stuff like Zsigmondy’s Theorem, sphere packing, the kissing number problem, and Graeco-Latin squares.
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Some say we should not worry about material items, including money. And that worry lowers the effectiveness of your thoughts, dreams, wishes, and prayers. All I know is that the Angel Number 6 means that our prayers will be answered, although the answer might be ‘no’.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
we each have our own Angel and Goddess
Bucket and To Do List.
help me to risk failure that I may discover new things
not many will know where that sunset picture was taken
It’s kind of stultifying here in the garret, in theory I’m only supposed to go out if it’s absolutely necessary, or for my daily fresh air and exercise. I can’t really leave town, and I certainly can’t leave the country at the moment, but as soon as this imbecilic and pointless lockdown is lifted, I am out of here, doing some cool and exciting things. Although, I can make a start on some of my list right now, ergo I have made a beginning on;
- Get myself much fitter and healthier, looking and feeling better. My preferred exercise is just plain walking; for me it exercises my body, mind, and spirit. Walking gives me time to think and quiet my emotions. My daily target is 5 miles, (10,000 paces as recommended by lots of fitness gurus), this morning I walked 10 miles, (20,240 paces) in the fresh air and sunshine, getting my knees brown.
- Be a better friend to those I really care about. Lose all of those defects of character I have collected over time. Be the English Gentleman, The White Night, The Steadfast Friend, and the Hero if I need to ever be that for a friend. Hey, I’m working on it.
- Get out of this place. I like travel, and I can afford both the time and the money. Just as soon as I can I’m going to California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Crete, Malta….. Probably in just about that order. I’d better leave room for Marmaduke in my luggage…..
- Buy a car. For years I’ve gotten bye with renting when I needed a car, but now I want to go out and buy something I really like. I have a short-list, and a generous budget. It will be a classic, so an older vehicle.
- Go through my clothes, shoes and stuff again. Dump anything that doesn’t really fit the cool, together, classy English guy I want to dress as, to portray. I can think of some stuff that I should never have bought, and I should never wear again.
- Learn something new, interesting, and difficult. I think I’m going to be studying practical psychology for a while, along with astronomy and astrology.
- ?????? I don’t know what goes here, not yet anyway. All lists should have clearly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty.
I should never be afraid to risk failure. WTF have I got to lose? Only by risking failure will I ever learn new and exciting things. It’s time for me to take risks ~ big risks.
Some say that making lists is a pointless exercise. And that nobody ever does anything on their bucket list or to do lists. All I know is I’ve already made a start on becoming that better man, that very cool guy, living a really great life.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Meteor Crater
One place I will Never go back to
tired and bored with myself
make a new start, get up and get out there, there is naught to fear
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I don’t feel pleasure
there is no real pain
waking up is pointless
too much useless leisure
far too much cold rain
the days are countless
thoughts are mindless
nothing to lose nor gain
just isolated loneliness
it’s time to begin again
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
it’s time to laugh again
Random Jottings #17
yesterday, WTF was yesterday? and who am I anyway?
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yesterday? I can’t change yesterday, but I can change tomorrow
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yesterday, all my troubles hit me like a ton of bricks
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reach for the stars, come up with a handful of mud
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yesterday, all her troubles put me in hospital
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chaos theory, the story of my life really
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
love your husband
love his evil twin
