Motto

I am pleased to see the handover between Tony and Gordon completed. I like the solemnity of Gordon in contrast to the bright and breezy Blair. I was taken by the new prime minister's use of his school motto, "I will try my utmost", to launch his term of office. As a teacher I like the reference back to schooldays. I am not sure that it is a great motto though and much prefer my old school and Bradford's, "Labor Omnia Vincit" (Work Conquers All). One of the things which hastened my departure from the education scene was the innumerable initiatives and changes which seemed to pile up one on top of the other, before the preceding ones had been properly digested and applied. Therefore Gordon's promises of "changes" doesn't exactly fill me with the delight he might be expecting. One of the contributors on this morning's Today programme (required listening in this household) said something to the effect that what we don't want is more changes but rather the getting right of some of the changes already made. We need to work at getting things right first time rather than constantly changing to make up for the fact that we haven't quite solved the initial problem with the initiative we have just proposed. There seems to be a culture where we already have wide ranging laws which cover many of the situations to be found in our society. However rather than applying them with a dash or more of common sense, our legislators at all levels spend more and more time trying to write in the small print to cover ever more closely defined incidents. They disappear into ever decreasing circles of their own making rather than tackling the problem. We don't need more laws or rules just better and more sensible application of the ones we have already got.
I don't know very much about it but wonder if partition might be a solution to the Iraq situation. The country seems to this poor student of history to have been cobbled together anyway so why not let the Kurds form a state in the north and manage themselves. Is there a way to partition what is left into Shia and Shi'ite enclaves? Even give the south east corner to Iran if that helped. Leaving the south west corner to be the new Iraq or give it a new name altogether. The coalition would need to defend this corner but would be better placed on the borders against outside pressures while the interior was managed by a new Arab administration, and this could be democratically elected if that was the wish of the people there.
Last night the best beloved met the Bench artistic panel to show them her pitch for a production in the 2008 season. I have a couple of ideas in mind as well but couldn't get my act together in time for the play selection process which completes on Thursday July 5th with a vote by the whole company. I may have to delay my pitches until later this year for the July, September and November slots. Although one of the ideas might be the even year alternative to Supernova which takes place in odd years at the moment. This is something I am working on for the Bench and reporting to the committee and panel on in time for the Annual General Meeting in September. I am working as director of movement for the best beloved's proposal if it gets selected. I had better collect together some thoughts about the job but there is time yet.