4th January 2024. With the news that last year (reportedly) saw the earth's hottest temperatures in 125,000 years, I can't help thinking that we - on board Planet Earth - have entered uncharted waters - but minus a steady hand or two on the tiller to guide us. And to make matters worse, wherever you look, the political landscape is populated with pygmies. The great Western democracies have become more factionalised than ever before - they are riven with bickering and power struggles. Governments generally hold office in 5 year cycles, and even if they had long term policies and goals, they invariably are sacrificed on the altar of short term expediency as our political masters devote much/all of their time and effort in seeking electoral popularity. And whether we like it or not, our politicians have to get themselves elected (and re-elected) if they are to function. Maybe the answer is a benign dictatorship - except that history has rightly taught us to reject anything with 'dictatorship' in the small print. The search continues.
I was searching through a number of stations on our internet radio the other day when I came across this minor classic tune by Duane Eddy - one that I hadn't heard for decades. When it first appeared in 1960 (I believe), it seemed to be ushering in a whole new optimistic decade.. With its distinctive electric guitar sound it became the signature tune for countless radio and TV programmes aimed at the youth market.
Meanwhile, across the English channel, artists such as France's Françoise Hardy and others initially flourished as they relied more on words than the amplified jangle of a Fender or a Rickenbacker. I heard just before Christmas that her life is sadly drawing to a close after a long brave struggle with illness.