I’m back to blogging on my phone because the new lead has failed to solve the problem with my laptop and I’m pretty sure it needs a new battery. I don’t have the money for a new laptop and besides I’m dedicated to making things last as long as possible, so a new battery it shall be. In a while when the library opens I shall head across the park and work there. The library will be in smart mode which is a clever way of cutting jobs while keeping the library open; a bit like the self-service till of book-borrowing except that no-one checks your age when you borrow things. They’ve long since had machines for you to check your books out and you can reserve and renew online: all very convenient and I wouldn’t mind except that I am acutely aware that there is an agenda behind every new move towards speed and convenience. If it isn’t saving money (which usually comes at the expense of someone’s job) it’s a means of extracting our data. I wonder what it would be like to live in a society where people genuinely had each other’s interests at heart? It’s almost unimaginable.
I’ve been watching Shoulder to Shoulder, the BBC drama from the 70s about the Suffragette movement. It’s impressive how much these women sacrificed and how much brutality they endured just to get women – and ordinary men, let’s not forget – the vote. It’s a precious thing. It may not seem to change much especially in our current system but it’s all we’ve got. I was saying to a friend at the weekend that we both regard it as a duty to vote, not just because you don’t have a voice otherwise but because of what so many people went through to get it.
One thing that struck me about this series is just how long it takes to wrest even a small amount of power from those who hold it. From Indian independence to women’s suffrage, from Amritsar to Peterloo and from slavery to Made in Dagenham, those in power will always, it seems, fight tooth and nail to hold onto it. It’s very depressing. Maybe I’m just not made for power but I don’t understand it.
I’m at the library now. It’s fairly quiet on a Wednesday as it’s in smart mode (smartass mode) the whole day. Staff are here but not-here, like invigilators at an exam. I guess someone has to be around in case of fire or flood – which makes me think, the library was lucky to avoid being flooded last winter. The park just opposite was closed for ages as half of it was under water, as was most of the street. The underpass between the park and our road has been closed since then, which is a real bone of contention with the council, especially since people have to cross a busy road on a corner. They’ve only just managed to put up signs saying the underpass is closed and that pedestrians should ‘look both ways’ before crossing. They’d do better to put up signs for the drivers telling them to go slow and watch out for pedestrians, as they did at Hay when I was driving to the festival. But I digress: I was about to say that I’ve signed up for Plastics-Free July. I’ve made a commitment to stay off single-use plastic during that time (I generally try to avoid it but slip now and again) as single-use plastic, even if recycled, is a major polluter and filler of rubbish bins. So having religiously practised no-mow May I now feel totally righteous.
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 