Food Glorious Food - !!!NEW!!!

I work for Fareshare - the food redistribution charity - which, at times of crisis like this, is increasingly relied upon to make up for the shortfall in the government's (mis)management of the country. For some incomprehensible reason (Tory self-aggrandisement), this need is only increasing leading to plaintive cries such as this:

Food Glorious Food not from Oliver
Is this what we voted for?
Watching poverty rates soar
So hungry it makes us sob      
Every day we pray they’ll change
Make living within our range?
Yet they say it’s not their job!
10 years ago, at the UK food banks,
They gave out sixty one thousand meals
But that’s now shot right up to over two million
Now just what about that is appeal(ing) 

Food, we all need food
It’s vital for living
Yet we're all eschewed
That’s not very giving
There seems there’s never enough
Why not is the question?
Yes that’s right you’ve got it, love
Tory (in)action

Food, we all need food
Can’t survive without it
With benefits cut
We cannot afford it
Yet we fund the MPs meals
It’s all become skewed
Oh food! We all need food!
We must have food, we all need food

Food we all need food
Forgot what it feels like
Not to go hungry
That’s now a daily fight
Watching the MPs growing fat
Our senses are reeling
Watching their bank accounts that
Hit the ceiling

Food we all need food
What would just it take for
Them to do their job
And to not shaft the poor                    
Why should they be allowed to
Forgo to include
Our food
‘Cause we need food
Where is the food
We must have food
Give us our food
We all need food
Where is the food

Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be (Pt 3)

Yet another parody of this anonymous ditty but, let's face it, it's another worthy occasion.

Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be also not by Anon

Oh dear, what can the matter be
Liz Truss has won her battle you see
Now she’s our new premier MP
What on earth will she do now? 

She started out just like any one of us
But decided to change her ways was a must
A New Tory that’s what she is Liz Truss
And look at what she’s done now 

A new PM sounds like a new chance but we
Now know that is not what she will be
Her mini budget won’t resolve poverty
In fact here’s what it has done 

The pound has slumped to a 31 year low
Those rising bills continue their upward flow
Tory assets meanwhile continue to grow
And they still come out on top 

Their job is to run England all safe and sound
Instead they will run it into the ground
Amongst that lot there is no hope to be found
Cos they don’t care about us 

Oh dear, what can the matter be
Liz Truss has won her battle you see
Now we’re stuck until well after ‘23
We’re counting down the months now

From The Mind of Merc - Contradictions

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today, possibly inspired by a certain announcement, I was thinking about contradictions.

Leaving aside from the ample instances said announcement provided (e.g. Important to take action now says the man who's been delaying lockdown for weeks), there is still another prevalent issue which demonstrates my point.

For example: 

Don't see the irony in that? How about:

Still nothing? Ok - last chance:

Victorian Vacancies Part 1- !!!NEW!!!

Surviving in Victorian times was tough - especially if you were a child. A lot depended on whether you were able to find employment. But just how would they do that/what kind of jobs were available for Victoria's youngest subjects. Let's have a look at the classified section of Pauper's Weekly to find out.

Mind of Merc - Real Issues

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. 

Today I was thinking about an article I was reading earlier this week about the recent decision to cast Joseph Fiennes to play Michael Jackson. 
Apparently this has caused uproar and generally has received a mixed reaction with some seeing it as further support of the perceived racism in the Academy Awards and some as ‘ridiculous’ that a white actor could play a black celebrity. Meanwhile some are viewing it as an accurate representation of the character given Jackson’s ‘pale’ appearance at the time when the production is to be set and some take it (and its reaction) to be an interesting observation given the opposite direction of other casting choices – such as black actress Noma Dumezweni being cast as an adult Hermione Granger and the consideration of Idris Elba for the next James Bond.

But, if you want to know what I think – I think such squabbles are petty and obscure the real issues, the real battles that still need to be fought. 

If you’re wondering what I mean then, just picking some off the top of my head, women’s pay is still unequal to men’s, extant racism, sexism and ageism exist everywhere we look (and on a much bigger scale) and poverty has still not been ‘made history’. These are the matters and fights worthy of our attention and concern. These are the issues that need to be addressed, the problems that need to be solved – not whether a casting decision for a one-off production is acceptable.
 
Is it acceptable that 22,000 children die every DAY from poverty? Of course it isn’t. Is it acceptable that women still receive on average 20% lower pay than men doing the same job as them? Of course it isn’t. Is it acceptable that there are still some places that decide how they treat other human beings based solely on the colour of their skin, which religion they practice or their own misinformed opinions? Absolutely not. 

Racism is wrong, but, if you want to battle it, how about taking the fight to places where it is much more widespread and prevalent, much more unchecked, and often a matter of life or death. 

While time and effort is wasted debating the fiddling intricacies of possible perceived slights, the real discrimination still carries on unchecked. While we debate and argue and nitpick over minor ‘issues’, real social injustice endures. We blindly follow the unimportant and trivial when we should be concerning ourselves with the far-reaching and substantial matters that affect everyone consistently and unceasingly. 

We need to focus on the real ‘social wrongs’ – showing our objection to real ‘outrages’ and ‘prejudice’ – saying this is what we don’t accept and, what’s more, that we want something done about it.
 
Wake up, world! You’re looking in the wrong direction!