It has been a very frustrating period of Covid
concerns, Brexit bickering, cross-Channel catastrophe and climate hand-wringing;
we were at least hoping that Covid was being stopped in its tracks here by the
vaccination campaign. Then out-of-the-blue, a perilous new Covid variant from
South Africa has emerged from its sinister lair quite likely to torpedo many of
our plans and hopes for Christmas and the New Year. Continental Europe, already
struggling with a Covid winter wave, has reported a case in Belgium. Inevitably
the variant will spread to us in the UK, perhaps hidden in a consignment of
sprouts or luxury chocs. Let’s hope it will not prove as virulent as some fear
and we are not back to square one – what a thought! Prof Chris Whitty
soothingly urges calm - Don’t Panic!
Our new
South African friend – the Omicron variant
With all these heavy matters, there has been little in the way of comic relief. I suppose Boris’ speech to the CBI, with his desperate monologue on the merits of Peppa Pig, qualifies as some kind of (tragi)comedy. Boris had lost the place but one wonders if there is a streak of, let us say, instability in his exotic make-up. He certainly lacks the gravitas we normally expect of our politicians and if he has also lost his knack of keeping the electorate spellbound, then his future is indeed bleak. Yet at his best, Boris is an effective negotiator, a vote-winning asset and a popular comic turn.
Tory Mascot Peppa Pig
The pandemic has pulverized social life and I
was particularly happy I was able to take a train to London last week and meet
7 old friends over a convivial pub lunch after almost 2 years absence. We were
older, if not wiser, and one of our company, with whom I heartily agreed,
raised the tricky question of colour balance on TV. He reckoned a completely
false view was being fed to the young by TV adverts and TV programmes. In
almost every advert, a family of people of colour is featured, eating cereals,
walking down a village street or buying furniture. In itself there is nothing
objectionable about this, and the dignity and recognition of all citizens is
crucial, but a visitor from outer space might conclude that at least half
(probably more) of the population of the UK was of colour and that whites were
in a minority. In fact, England and Wales are 86% white with 9% Asian and 5%
Afro-Caribbean. Scotland is 96% white, so together the true picture is wholly
different from the one projected by the media. I think it is important to get
this narrative right.
Lloyds Bank’s version
of its typical Britain
Moreover, I do not believe Britain needs to be
at all defensive about its record of tolerance and inclusivity. Britain is in
many ways a role model of diversity. It welcomes hundreds of thousands of
Europeans as workers. It has allowed substantial immigration from the
Commonwealth creating vibrant communities in many British cities, Asians in
Bradford, Bangladeshis in Tower Hamlets, Caribbeans in Brixton, Indians in
Southall – hundreds of ethnic concentrations all over the land. More to the
point, Britain’s political life has been enriched by these communities - senior
positions being held by British Indians Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel and Alok
Sharma, Pakistani Sadiq Khan and Sajid Javid and Iraqi Nadhim Zahawi. The UK
remains a land of opportunity, as the flocks of illegal migrants prove.
While we have been subject to mainly Muslim
terrorist attack, inter-communal relations here are generally cordial and we
have none of the ingrained racial prejudice which so disfigures the otherwise
civilised societies of the USA, Italy and France. The UK is not perfect, but it
has plenty of which it is rightly proud.
SMD
28.11.21
Text Copyright Sidney Donald 2021
