A Few Thoughts That I Will Share:

Changing Times
How much are we in charge of our own destiny? As a child in the
1970's I used to play in the woods off Doddington road (B1190) in
Lincoln. There was also some gravel pits which had flooded into a
lake full of wild life. There was a stream that led to hartsholme
park and there used to be an airdrome still left over from the
second world war. This was RAF skellingthorpe which is now the
Birchwood estate. I was lucky enough to find myself happy here in a
settled life with friends in peacetime.
RAF Skellingthorpe opened in 1941 on a field previously called Black
Moor. During the war the tally of bombers lost or failed to return
from Skellingthorpe reached 208: 15 Hampdens, six Manchesters and 187
Lancasters. As a child I had very little knowledge about the past.
The summer holidays from school would feel like I was forever
enjoying my freedom to explore and to play in the old air raid
shelters that were still there. After the end of the Second World
War, RAF Skellingthorpe was the base for No. 58 Maintenance Unit RAF,
with salvaged crashed aircraft stored at the base. The base finally
shut down in 1952.
Looking back in time from 2014 I see how this area has progressed
from a field called Black Moor to an airdrome and then to an estate
for the housing of families hooked up to the internet. Spanning from
the second world war through the cold war and then into this new
phase of cyber security and government surveillance and austerity. It
really does feel that technology is taking over our lives and
increasingly being used as a tool to govern people. A new era of
civil rights has emerged and it is being fought on the internet.
People like Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowdon are
the new leaders of civil rights activism.
The Only Smart Option
There does not seem to be many opportunities. Maybe we should be
greatful for what we have or maybe we should rise up and protest
about our ever declining social situation here in England,
Nottinghamshire to be more precise. I do not know what the situation
is like in other areas of the UK. I live in a former pit town called
Ollerton. I am a health care worker here in Ollerton and I am on the
minimum wage which went up in October 2014 from 6.31 to 6.50 an
hour. I am a rare person because I have not borrowed any money. Most
people usually borrow money some time in their lives for some reason
but I have not had a mortgage or had any form of finance. I know
that to borrow money costs money. This just makes those with money
richer while those borrowing have to work harder to pay off an extra
cost for the privilege to borrow money.
I do like to have an easy life and so I have very few obligations. I
have no children. I do not take on responsibility if I have a choice.
Does this make me irresponsible? I like to have my freedom and so I
like nothing better than to go out with my acoustic guitar and
having a good sing along to a few of my favorite tunes, which are
often old seventies punk songs. You may find me somewhere in North

Nottinghamshire on top of a hill, by a river bank or under a disused

railway bridge thrashing out some chords and chanting out an old
tune. I get a mixed response usually from people walking their dogs.
Originally the idea was to go out and get away from everyone to play
my music alone but it soon became evident that no matter how far away
from people I tried to get there was always someone walking their
dog.
So this is what my life has become at the age of forty nine. Fifty
on the 28th of April next year 2015 to be more precise. Well I guess
that my life could be a lot worse and I do feel that I am mostly
okay with much of my life. This is through no small part of learning
to accept the way things are because there is the small point that
most people find themselves powerless to direct their lives and so
to go along with the way that things turn out is the only smart
option.
The Unwanted Musician
In a world where there is free music and a build up over many years of
recordings from the greatest artists and bands that have ever lived,
it take an extraordinary recording to make people want to listen. Even
if such a recording exists it still takes a costly promotion to get
the recording out there and only then is there a chance of making
sales.
For many musicians it is a constant struggle just to be able to make
music and any commercial success is not realistically sort after.
Because of work commitments and most of all because no one really
needs another musician, musicians tend to be side lined. Other house
hold members do not want to hear your music ever again and those
neighbors hate that music that you make with a passion because they
work nights and your music is the reason that they lack sleep.
There are a lot of unemployed musicians out there determined to do
their musical thing come what may. The world conspires against them.
Their pleasure to make music is only matched by the scorn of those
around them who have to suffer for your art and so I find myself deep
in the countryside with my acoustic guitar avoiding people trying to
sing and play to myself like an autistic social outcast who
inadvertently comes across a cautious dog owner walking their dog
concerned that someone may have escaped their detention and trying
to evaluate whether I am dangerous.
Are Religious People Mentally Ill?
Can we make a case for religious ideas to be proof that someone is
mentally ill? Surely anyone who believes in miracles and any sort of
supernatural has flawed reasoning and a desperate disposition and
that needs to be addressed in the DSM.
I find it unbelievable that many high level politicians and prominent
people can spout off their own incredible ideas just because those
ideas are based on christian faith. Surely the very idea that anyone
who needs religion who is in a powerful position is proof that they
are not fit for the job that they do.
Many world leaders are these crazy religious types who have gone

to war on dubious grounds. When we think about weapons of mass

destruction in Iraq and their lack of evidence. When we think about
the war on terror and how ridiculous a war on terror is. We tend to
think of people like George W Bush and Tony Blair who are
decidedly committed to their religious ideas.
When the crazy people run the asylum then we get serious
situations that need to be addressed and usually the only way that
this scenario plays out is through disastrous consequences.
When these things are played out on the world stage then there is
only war.
When world leaders make crazy decisions they are the last people
to suffer for their warped religious beliefs. If we value our world
surely we should base our politics on sound reasoning. We have a
duty for the sake of this world to deny these people their place on a
world stage.
Governed By Corruption
Anarchists show that there is a deep discontent and disquiet amongst
the people. Politicians really need to work with people and not with
corporations because like it or not anarchists are questioning
governments and the establishment. More and more people are becoming
dissatisfied with the way that government and society is going.
Corruption and privileges for the few people who can buy political
power. Corporations own our politicians and this is an outrage.
It is considered to be utopian and out of touch with reality to be an
anarchist, a socialist, or anyone else who stands up for the under
privileged in our society and this is why it is important to get back
to a more utopian direction because reality the way it is now blights
the lives of the many disadvantaged to enhance the privileged few who
have dubious self serving intentions and who continue to protect
corporate interests.
It is really annoying the way that people are treated by their
leaders with the exception of a very small number. With the rise of
capitalism the poor are demonized whilst the privileged few become
ever more corrupt. It is astounding how much people in power get away
with but I really believe that this is starting to change. The war
criminals, expenses cheats, self serving and bias corporate agents
are being exposed for who they really are and it is to our benefit
that we scrutinize and hound these people out of existence.
Adi Cox 2014