Saturday Night Music - Baron of Brackley

One of my hobby-horses is the biological and evolutionary underpinning of male/female relationships :

"Evolutionary psychologists postulate that the same physical and psychological drives prevail among modern humans: Men, eager for replication, are naturally polygamous, while women are naturally monogamous—but only until a man they perceive as of higher status than their current mate comes along.

Hypergamy—marrying up, or, in the absence of any constrained linkage between sex and marriage, mating up—is a more accurate description of women’s natural inclinations. Long-term monogamy—one spouse for one person at one time—may be the most desirable condition for ensuring personal happiness, accumulating property, and raising children, but it is an artifact of civilization, Western civilization in particular. In the view of many evolutionary psychologists, long-term monogamy is natural for neither men nor women."

Which in times past produced winner-take-all males - and an awful lot of losers :

Today’s human population is descended from twice as many women as men.

I think this difference is the single most underappreciated fact about gender. To get that kind of difference, you had to have something like, throughout the entire history of the human race, maybe 80% of women but only 40% of men reproduced.

A situation which Christian civilisation was destined and designed to correct and struggle against. Although sin was always with us, any male proclaiming to the world that he took whatever he wanted was likely to be given short shrift by pre-1945 Britons. That was the cry of "primitive man", as far as they were concerned - people like the Papua New Guineans quoted in the foreword to Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" :

"Woman after woman, when asked to name her husband, named several sequential husbands who had died violent deaths. A typical answer went like this: "My first husband was killed by Elopi raiders. My second husband was killed by a man who wanted me, and who became my third husband. That husband was killed by the brother of my second husband, seeking to avenge his murder."

The wife welcoming her husband's killer to her bed is a narrative with a literary pedigree and plenty of historical exemplars. The ballad of Brackley, based on a Deeside raid in 1666 by Farquharson of Inverey against John Gordon of Brackley, is a grim example where the husband's death sentence consists of the words 'if you were a man you'd go out and fight' - at odds of fifteen to one.

From Dee side came Inverey whistlin' and playin'
And he is to Brackley's gates ere the day is dawnin'
Saying, Baron O'Brackley oh are ye within?
There are sharp swords at your gates, to gar your bluid spin

Oh rise up my husband and turn back your kye (cattle - LT)
For the lads frae Dunwharrum are driving them by
Oh how might I rise up and turn them again
For where I have one man I'm sure they have ten

If I had a husband the like I have nane
He'd no lie in his bed and watch his kye ta'en
Then up spake the baron, said gi'e me my gun
Saying I may go out but I'll never win home

There rode wi' bold Inverey full thirty and three
But along wi' bonny Brackley just his brother and he
Twa gallanter Gordons did ne'er the sword draw
But against three and thirty, wae's me, what is twa?

Wi' swords and wi' pistols they did him surround
And they pierced bonny Brackley wi' monys a wound
Frae the head o the Dee, tae the banks of the Spey
Oh the Gordons will mourn him and will ban Inverey

Oh came ye from Brackley's, and was you in there?
And saw ye his Peggy a-rivin' her hair
Aye, I came by Brackley's, and I was in there
And I saw his bonny Peggy she was makin' good cheer

She was rantin', she was dancin', she was singin' wi' joy
And she swears this same nicht she will feast Inverey
She laughed wi' him, danced wi' him, welcomed him in
And she kept him while morning whae slain her good man

There's grief in the kitchen, there's mirth in the hall
For the Baron o Brackley lies dead and awa'
Then up spake his son from his own nurse's knee
If I live to be a man 'tis avenged I'll be

UPDATE - Robert Whelan, in the foreword to Patricia Morgan's "Farewell To The Family" put his finger on where modern warriors are coming from.

"We have created the classic conditions for the emergence of a warrior class: separation of economic activity from family maintenance; children reared apart from fathers; wealth subject to predation; and male status determined by combat and sexual conquest."

Presented in slightly idiotic socialese, this Atlantic piece describes urban warrior culture :

"At the heart of the code is the issue of respect--loosely defined as being treated "right," or granted the deference one deserves. However, in the troublesome public environment of the inner city, as people increasingly feel buffeted by forces beyond their control, what one deserves in the way of respect becomes more and more problematic and uncertain. This in turn further opens the issue of respect to sometimes intense interpersonal negotiation."

Ha ! That's one phrase for it.

UPDATE 2 - new blogger Hexe Froschbein ("Frog-legs the Witch" ?) points out in the comments that Christian culture was neither the first nor the only monogamous culture (never said it was, mind). Thoughtful Romans (a/c/t 'I, Claudius') considered the Germanic tribes to have a particularly strict code of sexual morality, which contrasted favourably with that of decadent Imperial Rome.
She links to this text-and-audio of Tacitus' Germania - "Tacitus’ descriptions of the Germanic character are at times favorable in contrast to the opinions of the Romans of his day. He holds the strict monogamy and chastity of Germanic marriage customs worthy of the highest praise, in contrast to what he saw as the vice and immorality rampant in Roman society of his day, and he admires their open hospitality, their simplicity, and their bravery in battle. One should not, however, think that Tacitus’ portrayal of Germanic customs is entirely favorable; he notes a tendency in the Germanic people for what he saw as their habitual drunkenness, laziness, and barbarism, among other traits."

I think we should remember, however, that from these noble savages sprang the French.

How To Trash a Brand

Laban's not a terribly brand-conscious individual unless it's a question of things you can taste and/or smell - and even then the product may change while the label stays the same. Many famous food brands have been bought and sold half a dozen times in the last 30 years, with production moved from factory to factory.

One of Laban's few brands was soap. I'll shower with Tesco's bottom of the range gel (literally about 10p) but for some reason I just love the smell of Pears soap. I know it won't give me the complexion of a young Susan Hampshire, but I like that the product is pretty much unchanged since the Pears company were annoying Millais in Victorian times.
















I'd buy ten or a dozen bars at a throw and stack them in the bottom drawer of the bathroom cupboard, so I'd only get it every year or so. I ran out last month, and went to buy some more. For some reason the stock in the shop smelled a bit odd, so I just took the one bar. They didn't seem to have any of the heftier bath size, either.

The first time I used it I wondered if the same company was making Wright's Coal Tar and there'd been a bit of cross-over on the production line. Wasn't right at all - a phenolic, chemical smell not at all like the delicate aroma I know and love.

Took a look at the packet. "Made In India by Licensed User Hindustan Unilever Ltd". Ah, I get it. It's a slightly dodgy approximation to the real thing made for less sophisticated overseas markets, and the shop's doing some grey importing. I bought some Heinz Salad Cream a week or two back for 46p, made in Amsterdam and with the label in half a dozen Arabic/Asian scripts. Just make sure you get the UK-made stuff next time, Laban.

Gulp. There ain't none no more. That's all there is.

According to Unilever records, Pears Soap was the world's first registered brand and is therefore the world's oldest continuously existing brand...

In October of 2009 the formula for the transparent amber soap was changed significantly. This completely changed the smell and texture of the soap, making it unrecognizable from the earlier product. The new soap is slightly softer in texture, but the most noticeable difference is the scent. The aroma of the classic transparent amber bar, which used to be characterized by a mild, spicy herbal fragrance, is now a very strong smell akin to frankincense, or even insecticide.

Sales must have dropped off a cliff. They really have knacked it (and they can't spell 'Click' on their website, either. I hate Flash intros on a website.). In Morrison's this week it was on sale at 35p as opposed to the usual 55p price. According to the Mail they were going to backtrack on the formula, but by the smell they appear to have instead moved production to Bhopal. What possessed them ? Why fix something that wasn't broke ?

Looks like farewell to Pears - and there's nothing else like it on the pharmacy or supermarket shelf - you have to hit Body Shop or some small specialist. There's a market opening there for someone fast on their feet.

South Africa Are Too Honest

They really need to take a leaf out of the book of some other lesser footballing nations hosting the World Cup for the first time :

a) make sure the 'draw' for the groups puts you in a group with at least two minnows. How about the USA, Slovenia and Algeria, for example ? Instead, they've got the nearest thing to a Group of Death that this World Cup affords. Mexico, Uruguay and France, all of whom can play a bit. Arrange the draw in the style of Spain 1982.

b) make sure the refs are 'onside'. I'd take advice on this from South Korea.

Bit late for them now. The ANC Government may have plenty of corruption allegations swirling around senior figures, but when it came to the really important stuff they couldn't deliver. Of course the team have to do it on the pitch, but a lot can be done with good preparation and organisation to ensure that the host nation stays inside FIFA guidelines by qualifying for the knockout stages.

The emptying stadium with ten minutes left told its own story. Alas !

Quote Of The Day

My son, at half time :


"You can have your nuclear weapons as long as you beat Brazil"

Signs Of The Times

Standard :

Street adverts featuring women in bikinis have been defaced in apparently targeted attacks. Most show women in swimwear by chain store H&M but another features a couple kissing to promote the Bollywood film Kites. Residents in affected London areas suggested the images, which were daubed with black paint, could have been targeted by religious conservatives or radical feminists. Police have not linked the campaign to any religious group but the damage is similar to attacks in Pakistan on billboard ads branded "un-Islamic" and "obscene" by hardliners. Today women's rights and anti-censorship activists joined Muslims and Christians to condemn the vandals. Police said 14 bus shelters around Tower Hamlets, including many in Limehouse, were hit last month.

Tower Hamlets is a hotbed of radical feminism, I hear.

Compare And Contrast

The BBC's Mark Easton, treading warily round the subject of Muslim prisoners :

What the inspectorate also reminds us is that 11% of prisoners are Muslims - a very high proportion, since the religion represents only 3% of the population in England and Wales. Given that close to a third of those are converts and that the Muslim community has the youngest age profile of any religious group in Britain, the figure is not as surprising as first appears. Dr Basia Spalek, an academic at the University of Birmingham, has argued that the high levels of social and economic deprivation of the Muslim population is "linked to the kinds of offences that are processed by the criminal justice system". It is certainly true that Muslims are more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive than those in other religious groups. If the impression left by some coverage of today's report is that Muslim convicts have a "cushier time" in jail, the experience of the wider community is the opposite.

Dr Spalek sounds a bit of a card. "The kinds of offences that are processed by the criminal justice system" ? She means crimes.

No treading on eggshells for the Times of India :

UK prison inmates are increasingly embracing Islam to entitle themselves to the protection of the fearsome Muslim gangs, apart from availing other benefits available only to Muslim prisoners as per prison regulations.

The new breed of converts have been dubbed "convenience Muslims" since they enjoy exemption from work and education while attending "Friday prayers", and relish halal meat, which is provided only to Muslims.

It's A Pity ...

That Mr Free Market has taken a vow of silence following what must be promotion to a flagship corporate role. Gone is the incendiary mix of guns and politics - only the military history remains.

I can't help thinking this would appeal (not for personal adornment, mind). The military-spec corset - with webbing and clips for all those little extras.

Globalisation In One Country

Jon Cruddas, 2005 :

“… immigration has been used as an informal reserve army of cheap labour. People see this at their workplace, feel it in their pocket and see it in their community – and therefore perceive it as a critical component of their own relative impoverishment. Objectively, the social wage of many of my constituents is in decline. House prices rise inexorably, and public service improvements fail to match local population expansion. At work, their conditions, in real terms, are in decline through the unregulated use of cheap migrant labour.”

Billy Bragg, 2010 :

“Everyone else in London benefits from multiculturalism and cheap labour…”

Karl Marx, 1847 :

“The main purpose of the bourgeois in relation to the worker is, of course, to have the commodity labour as cheaply as possible, which is only possible when the supply of this commodity is as large as possible in relation to the demand for it”

Commenter Jim on Liberal Conspiracy, 2010 :

“Where I live, there is a meat packing plant that has provided many with stable employment over the decades. Of course, with the large influx of Eastern Europeans they have steadily displaced the locals from this factory and there is a surplus of labour in the area. Employment agencies have descended on the area like vultures and almost completely ‘causalised’ the workforce around West Lothian to the extent that the job centres are littered with zero hour contract jobs.

A friend of mine who has worked in said plant for over thirty years sees young men coming in on the Monday work for three hours, then sent home to sit by the phone in case they are needed during the week.

This was exactly the type of thing the Labour Party was set up to tackle. These conditions, nauseatingly described as ‘modernisation’ show up the failings of the NL ‘project’. Whilst they were swanning about getting middle class men in public sector jobs paternity leave, ordinary working class people watched as their terms and conditions were slashed to Victorian levels. These people (rightly or wrongly) feel immigration undercuts their living standards. Is it right that in this Country that we have reduced people to the condition of day labourers?”

(see also this post)

Another One

"Dame" Joan Bakewell does a John Humphrys :

Writing in Radio Times, the presenter said: 'The liberal mood back in the 60s was that sex was pleasurable and wholesome and shouldn't be seen as dirty and wicked. The Pill allowed women to make choices for themselves. Of course, that meant the risk of making the wrong choice. But we all hoped girls would grow to handle the new freedoms wisely.

Then everything came to be about money: so now sex is about money, too. Why else sexualise the clothes of little girls, run TV channels of naked wives, have sex magazines edging out the serious stuff on newsagents' shelves? It's money that's corrupted us and women are being used and are even collaborating.

I never thought I would hear myself say as much, but "I'm with Mrs Whitehouse on this one".'

Another innocent abroad. "Everything has been about money" - or in earlier centuries, power, forever - but that tendency used to be heavily moderated/controlled by Christianity - which was why we didn't send the mill-girls up the chimneys on a Sunday. What did she think would happen when that went ? The Age of Aquarius ?

Joan Bakewell is a Dame of the British Empire that she so heartily detested while it existed. Mrs Whitehouse never picked up any gongs or public appointments for her work, while even the grubbiest leftie careerist gets an OBE. I guess we get what we deserve.

As I said of Humphrys :

If you have no religious perspective and sex is a pleasant leisure activity, why should you not explore its dimensions, watching, participating, selling, buying ? After all, these dimensions have been around for a very long time. Mrs Whitehouse would have been well aware of these issues. As time passes the Humphrys view (1960s version) looks more and more out of touch with reality, and the Whitehouse version more and more realistic and worldly.

A Blunder AND a Crime

I don't know. If you wanted to dismay your friends and add a few new enemies I don't think you could do much better than Israel did yesterday morning. AS I understand it, in international waters (aka the "high seas"), you are governed by the laws and regulations of the country whose flag you are flying/country of registry of your vessel. You can be boarded by the authorities of that country but in theory no-one else.

If you are flying no flag/do not have a clearly defined country of registry, then you are de facto a pirate and can be boarded/challenged by any naval vessel.

Those Turkish ships hardly fall into either category vis a vis the Israeli navy. Attacking vessels on the high seas is piracy, isn't it ?

It's not as if the boats were carrying arms. Cement isn't a deadly weapon. And no matter who did what on the boats, the IDF had no right to be there at all.

Friday Night Reggae

This one, by the late Alton Ellis, chugs along like the train to Shimla.

A Broad Spectrum of Opinion

Make your mind up, lads !


Lib Con (Dave Osler) :

" ...the Conservative Party did not go to the electorate presenting themselves as Hayekian liberals, Powellite souverainistes or social conservatives; the Cameroons stood as ecofriendly progressives, and such mandate as they have has been extended to them on that basis."

Lib Con (Alan Ramsay - who he?) :

We’ve now launched a website and a petition for our campaign against a “shock doctrine” for Britain – that is, the use of the recession to force through right wing policies which would otherwise be politically impossible to secure.

Magnificent

The Icelandic volcano webcam is providing some great pictures - usually it's so cloudy this one doesn't show anything, but it's a clear day today.

Quote of the Day

Ross on the Labour Party leadership contest between the Miliband brothers, as commented on by the sons of John Prescott and Jack Straw.

"I've seen Austrian cellars that have a less incestuous vibe than the Labour Party"

Friday Night Music - Little Girl Edition

Soon my darling will be thirteen years old. Lordy. As wonderful, bright, intuitive and charming as ever, and with the same awesome temper. Sunshine and showers every day. You can imagine with what excitement Victorian Dad is looking forward to the next few years of 'no, you can't stay out at the party'. She's at another thirteen-party tonight.

I first heard this a few years back, found it quite charming, and I don't think she knows it - but I think she'll love it. Not sure you lot will though.




UPDATE - my little girl is growing up. She listened politely and said 'Very nice Dad - have you heard this ?' - then played Kate Rusby.

Doubtless He's Coming To Terms With It ...

A leading psychiatrist has admitted it was 'unwise' to accept gifts and a legacy of £1.35million from a 'sad and lonely' actress he was treating.

I imagine the 'grieving process' is nearing completion and the 'spending process' is about to commence.

From 'Hosanna!' to 'Crucify Him!' - New Record Established

I don't know. Only a few days ago the concept of the 'progressive majority' was cheering up white liberals the length and breadth of wherever it is they come from.

Now it's the Con-Dem-Nation and some foolish people are looking forward to blood on the streets.

"You can't stop the cities. You can't stop the internet fracturing everything that was solid and safe about the priggish culture that made you. You can't stop the riot that's brewing..."

As well as betraying a complete ignorance of the Cameronian culture, derived more from hedonism and late-80s raves (that scene being the one which saw the rise of the 'no ugly' door policy and the VIP area) than God, Flag and Country, her adolescent rant (remember when 23 was considered grown-up ? It was about 1958, I think) betrays an ignorance of the riot. A full-on riot isn't generally a very nice thing. People get burned to death in their post offices, or stabbed on the street. In Brixton in 1981 a woman was raped in her house and a photographer killed for his gear. A lot of people get robbed or have their property destroyed and are made homeless.

The last major UK riots saw a serious attempt at mass racist murder. Abroad such attempts are often successful. Ms Red really should be more careful what she wishes for.



UPDATE - here's someone else who should really know better - but at least he doesn't actually seem to be looking forward to them.

Oh Frabjous Day !

Alas, it doesn't feel like May 1997, though. Perhaps it's a good thing. I have no illusions about Cameron to be shattered.

A pity there isn't a Lib Dem Chancellor - that would have bolted them into the Government more securely than anything else - and given the unpleasant things the Chancellor will have to do the Blessed Vincent de Cable would have been a neat choice. As it is, there's still the possibility that they'll be able to distance themselves from all that. Labour will sing 'Tory cuts' from Day One - a Lib Dem in the hot seat would have made that more difficult. And besides, it may not be fair, but George Osborne still looks as if his special subject at school was holding other boys heads down the toilet and pulling the chain.

I approve of them taking on the raising of the income tax threshhold to 10K, but how will that work in practice without giving us all a tax cut ? How do you taper that off without producing higher marginal tax rates for still low-paid people ?

I can see only one answer - a rise in income tax such that, say, someone on average wages or thereabouts pays a little more than now (we have to share the pain), those below pay the same or less tax, those above pay more. And VAT will presumably be 20%.

Don't like it, but Gordon's sums haven't added up since Prudence was put on crack and made to work the streets in about 2000.

Did UKIP Do For Cameron ? They Did.

I looked at a few results at lunchtime yesterday - first to see how Labour's carpetbaggers did. Luciana Berger, the girl* who didn't know who Bill Shankly was, won by a mile.

Tristram Hunt, posh historian and BBC favourite, got in easily too - with the Lib Dems second. Gary Elsby, the Labour councillor who stood against him in protest, got 400 votes.

But in Stoke South Labour only won from the Tories by 4,000 votes. The BNP and UKIP got 5,000 between them.

And in Newcastle under Lyme Labour won from the Tories by just 1500 votes. UKIP got nearly 3,500. Strike one to UKIP.

On arriving home I see EU Referendum devoting a post to the "UKIP effect". They compare the Labour-Tory gap to the combined UKIP-BNP vote, which I think is a little unfair. IMHO at least half the BNP votes will be former Labour votes, whereas 90% of UKIP voters will be former Tories.

It'll be interesting to go through the results and see whether the UKIP effect has cost them the 30-odd seats they needed for a majority. The Guardian has the results as a downloadable spreadsheet.

Watch this space.

UPDATE - I make that 21 seats where the Tories came second and the UKIP vote was bigger than the vote difference between first and second place. The Tories were 20 seats short of a majority.

Seat	Candidate	Tory Vote		Difference		UKIP Vote
Bolton West	"Williams, Susan"	18,235		92		1,901
Derby North	"Mold, Stephen"	14,283		613		829
Derbyshire North East	"Merriman, Huw"	15,503		2,445		2,636
Dorset Mid and Poole North	"King, Nick"	20,831		269		2,109
Dudley North	"Brown, Graeme"	14,274		649		3,267
Great Grimsby	"Ayling, Victoria"	10,063		714		2,043
Hampstead and Kilburn	"Philp, Chris"	17,290		42		408
Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East	"Bristow, Paul"	16,461		1,677		1,881
Morley and Outwood	"Calvert, Antony"	17,264		1,101		1,506
Newcastle-under-Lyme	"Jenrick, Robert"	14,841		1,552		3,491
Plymouth Moor View	"Groves, Matthew"	13,845		1,588		3,188
Solihull	"Throup, Maggie"	23,460		175		1,200
Somerton and Frome	"Rees-Mogg, Annunziata"	26,976		1,817		1,932
Southampton Itchen	"Smith, Royston"	16,134		192		1,928
St Austell and Newquay	"Righton, Caroline"	18,877		1,312		1,757
St Ives	"Thomas, Derek"	17,900		1,719		2,560
Telford	"Biggins, Tom"	14,996		978		2,428
Walsall North	"Clack, Helyn"	12,395		990		1,737
Walsall South	"Hunt, Richard"	14,456		1,755		3,449
Wells	"Heathcoat-Amory, David"	23,760		800		1,711
Wirral South	"Clarke, Jeff"	15,745		531		1,274

Now you can argue, and doubtless the Cameronians will, that without accepting the results of the cultural revolution (aka 'detoxifying the brand') they would not be anywhere near power. But as I said many a year back, there'd be a price to pay. They're paying it.





* Ms Berger : "You can't ask a girl a football question."

Reflections On Elections

Well, so much for Cleggmania. I arrived in an empty polling station at 8.20 last night, commented on the emptiness and was told that it had been really busy, and they reckoned perhaps 80% of the names on their list had already voted.

I took this in, thought about the Lib Dem surge and my daughter's Catholic school, decided I'd never forgive myself if they took the seat, and voted Blue Labour, having decided on seeing the candidate list outside that I'd go for UKIP (we only got one, Tory, election leaflet this year and I didn't even know who else was standing until I saw the list).

I was sorry to see that Shaun Bailey didn't get in.

Outside of that, the salient feature seems to be that Scotland is decoupling from the rest of the British mainland. While the Tories (probably aided a tad by all those English immigrants to Wales) gained seats in the Principality, the Labour vote held up in Scotland (Gordon Brown actually increased his majority) and the Tories still only have one seat there. While the SNP didn't gain any seats, Alex Salmond must surely think it no bad thing that politics north of the Border is becoming so different to politics south of it.

What I can't understand is why Labour are hanging on up there. OK, Scotland hasn't got mass immigration on the English scale, but I would have thought the many other factors which have told against Labour nationally would count there too. Is it the huge State sector in Scotland ? Massive electoral fraud ? Sympathy for an embattled administration with more than its fair share of Scots - anti-Brown sentiment interpreted as anti-Scottish ?

I dinna ken. Any ideas, anyone ?




(and outside, the Dow Jones is taking a massive hit, the Greek debt crisis rumbles on, perilously near the cliff-edge, and the pound is wobbly. All those put-off or lied-about spending and taxing decisions await. Do we need a National Government ? We certainly won't get one.)