Robin Muir ☮️

Robin in  teaching mode

I visited an old family friend whom I have known for 50 years, earlier this week.  He is 93 and a little less mobile than of yore, but mentally as alert and capricious as ever. He was reading the Morning Star and concerned that his much-appreciated care assistants were contracted from one of the healthcare agencies rather than by the Council or the NHS. Consequently, they had no holiday or sick pay and had to travel between patients in their own time. It was the exploitation of labour and a result of the government’s intention to outsource public services. It was just one of the many causes he had fought against in his remarkable life. 

Having left school at 14 he became a  market gardener and then a signwriter. He served in the Royal Navy protecting the convoys that crossed the Atlantic and was on the ship that recovered the enigma code from the Germans. He then trained as a teacher in the post-war era of egalitarianism and subsequently taught in primary schools until retiring as a headteacher in Galloway almost thirty years ago. He was a close friend of my father, they had both belonged to the Clarion cycling club and my father had taken over his job as a market gardener.

His first wife was an artist and teacher but died young, after which he brought up his two sons who were close friends of mine at school. He inculcated them with a love of cycling, music, and radio and with values that were international and egalitarian. He was chair of Preston CND for many years, he had pen friends around the world, he cycled, built an open-top car using Morris Minor mechanicals in a chassis topped off with a racy red glass-fibre body shell. 

He married his present wife, Brenda, whom he met on a peace trip to Poland. They have been adventurers ever since, travelling widely but well-grounded in British culture - radio, music, gardening, wildlife and left-wing causes. 

Throughout his career his abiding passion was the peace movement and, like many others who had served and seen suffering in the war, he was an internationalist and had a deep respect for all mankind. Despite actively protesting for half a lifetime he had given up on the likelihood of any UK government opting out of the nuclear arms race. But he observed the beautiful irony of the present Tory-led coalition perhaps having to accede that they could not afford a replacement for Trident. He mused that it might be possible to divert funds to provide his carers with a pension and a living wage instead. But he didn't expect this coalition government to legislate for improved working conditions from the phalanx of unethical healthcare contractors.

After retirement, he did things that others only spoke about. He travelled the world staying with like-minded friends from Denmark and Poland to Japan. He rode from Lands End to John o' Groats on a tandem, pursued his love of wildlife, became a full-time peacenik and, amazingly, moved house six times to enjoy parts of Scotland, Cumbria and Lancashire that were the roots of his life. It has been a life well-travelled and astutely observed. As we scanned the Morecambe Bay horizon from his bedroom he told me that he would like to move next to the Scottish Borders. After all, he had lived in his present house for five years. 

Robin has an independence of mind and an adventurous spirit that make every day special. He enjoys debate, challenging conventions, protecting nature and lives frugally. These qualities ensure his health and well-being. These innate personal characteristics in life have rubbed off on those privileged to be taught, teased or unwittingly mentored, let's call it taunted, by him. 

Postscript.  Robin passed away at the end of October 2010 and a wonderful celebration of his life took place on 16 April 2011 when friends from all parts of the UK and Japan assembled to reflect on the inspiration he had been to them. Peace be with you, Robin. 

The Remembrance Lunch

Beer

I have just returned from a 600 mile road trip over the past four days visiting old haunts in the Borders, Yorkshire Dales, Lancashire and Cumbria and new places in north Yorkshire. The common thread throughout the trip was beer and pub food. The emergence of micro breweries in recent years is a timely reminder that rampant capitalism reduces choice, destroys local jobs and diminishes the rich diversity of local produce that should be the measure of local well being. I sampled old favourites like Thwaites, Timothy Taylor's and bought the first pint of Wainstone's Amber which was brewed in North Yorkshire and released that very day. A beer with no harsh harmonics which prompted a second visit to the bar. And it will be the beer for my daughter's wedding in September.


I began to think about all the good local beers that have disappeared over the years but particularly in the 1970's and 1980's when Watneys, Allied Breweries and Scottish & Newcastle carried out a beer cleansing programme and bestowed us with keg beers and increased flatulence. I made a mental list of my favourite beers over the years. A lot of it has gone and the new microbreweries, whilst welcome, find it easier to source their ingredients nationally rather using local produce. 

So in no particular order what has whet my palate the most over the years and would I pick in my first eleven beers to drink with the pub food that was surprisingly fresh, local and good last weekend.

Dutton's Bitter, Blackburn, closed
Hartley's Bitter, Ulverston, closed
Mansfield Bitter, Mansfield, closed
Timothy Taylor's Landlord, Keighley, family run and still going strong
Bellhaven Best, East Lothian, now owned by Greene King but still a good pint
Tetley's Bitter, Leeds. (weaned on this as a teenager at my local)
Tolly Cobbold, Ipswich, closed but nectar in the summer of '68
John Smiths, Tadcaster, more widely available nationwide
Thwaites Smooth, Blackburn still thriving
Theakston's Bitter, Masham, drove past the brewery at the weekend
Greenmantle, Broughton Ale, a sentimental choice as they support hill running

Tour de France - Legends Come, Legends Go

Contador and Schleck

It has been a summer of disappointing sporting finals: the European Cup, World Cup Finals in South Africa, Wimbledon singles, British Open Golf and there have been no significant athletics events. But I watched the best of all sporting contests this afternoon: the Tour de France with the ascent to the top of the Col de Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. The absence of Lance Armstrong, whose dominating and cheating presence had prevented competitive racing, had been exorcised and his status as a legend had been wiped out. The Tour was restored as the ultimate sporting endurance event.

The Tour is undoubtedly the toughest of all sporting events and two outstanding riders fought a wheel to wheel battle over the final 18km of muscle sapping and lung bursting climbing. It was a 10% incline over a series of hairpins through low cloud and with thousands of spectators from all over the world cheering on the lycra clad gladiators. They took almost 2 minutes out of all the other best riders in the world over the last 10km. It was wheel to wheel with the young pretender from Luxembourg, Andy Schleck, unable to dislodge the winner of the tour for the last two years, Alberto Contador. How did they find the extra oxygen to wipe out their competitors, is it all about determination to win?

Shleck had been launched up the hill at a staggering speed by three of his team each of whom collapsed after their stints at the front. The support of the leader from the team in cycling is unqualified and the tactics are ever changing with radio instructions from team managers added to the mix. The final shoot out was closer than Nadal v Federer in 2008 or Argentina v Holland in 1978. The riding styles were in such contrast, the tall Schleck pedalling smoothly and the smaller Contador dancing on his pedals. Schleck won it by a head but remains 8 seconds behind and is unlikely to pull this back over the last 3 days; Contador is the king of the time trial which will take place on Saturday.

But this was sport at its very best, assuming the cycling drug scandals of the last ten years are not in play.  Here were the two fittest, hardest both physically and mentally, sportsmen in the world. Thankyou for showing us what real competitive sport is all about, legends are not made in a day but one or both of these could become a legend over the next few years.

On the same day a guaranteed cricket legend made his final Test appearance. Muttiah Muralitharan, a man as modest as his name is easily forgettable, took his 800th test wicket with his last ever ball. He had mesmerised batsman for almost twenty years with guile and a body twisting action that could make a ball talk. He had put Sri Lanka on the cricket map and as a Tamil he had helped unite his country, worked to help villages recover from the tsunami and engendered a respect for Sri Lanka throughout the world. Legends are a force for good when they have the humanity of Murali.

800 Test wickets

Monday Monday

A year on from retirement and it is noticeable that Monday looms large in the minds of those who are working. We said goodbye to the offspring and their partners last night and they made for the cities to start the week ahead. Monday doesn't hold those fears for me and to be honest, it never did; work-life balance required the stimulus of work. Mondays in retirement are probably more threatening.

Today started with grey skies and rain much like the last couple of weeks. After coffee at 7:00 a.m., I decided that I should make that faster run I had been putting off all year. So iPod loaded with the new running playlist that I had created a couple of months ago, I set off in a drizzle which was ideal for running. It was warm enough for shorts and a threadbare T-shirt. By the time I left the village half a dozen folk had waved to me probably surprised to see me back doing what I had done on hundreds of mornings over the past twenty years. The music provided the perfect soundtrack for the run, I selected the first tune and then trusted the shuffle mode.

For an uplifting start, there is little to beat the Walker Brothers with The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore! is a lot more upbeat than the title suggests and jogs you into an easy cadence. Then Radio Ga  Ga, I'm on Fire by the Boss, and on to Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood - at the 3kilometre  mark, I was both relaxed and on fire setting my best time for the year. He's a Rebel by the Crystals came next, a record given to me by an early girlfriend on account of my teenage behaviour, and as a peer work colleague observed a couple of years ago still apt for a sixty-something! Then Roll With It, Last Dance with Mary Jane by Tom Petty, Cafe del Mar which upped the tempo, and Spirit on the Water for some tempo with Bob Dylan's calloused throat vocals almost drowned by the stride easy backing rhythm.

As I turned and started heading back to the village, on came Cream with I'm So Glad which I had heard live in Sheffield in 1968 (the best live performance I have ever been at) and I was glad. The sun was burning a hole in the clouds to the east, the rain had stopped and I was still going at a decent pace after 9km. As I hit the asphalt, or what goes for asphalt in these parts, Keep on Running by Spencer Davies did just that and prompted another set of happy memories. I collected the newspaper and as I ran home, it was Gomez with Free to Run and the lyrics were spot on 'I've been walking for too long' which was my feeling at the end of the GR20 but..' always wanted to run'. I managed 42 minutes for 6 miles which will probably allow me to start dreaming about the 2012 Olympics. If only!

As I removed my shoes, the Mamas and Papas chorused 'Monday, Monday it was all I hoped it could be.'

News International and Bottled Water

Recent reports of the dumbing down of the UK have highlighted how there are no jobs for young people, schools will no longer be built, pensions will be eroded, some hospitals will disappear and all budgets will be sized down and quartered. It assumes that all the basic services we consume from the state are expendable but that products heaped on us by private enterprises or badly procured by government departments are immutable. Is that the case? Do we really need designer labels, tasers, weapons of mass destruction, News International or even bottled water? Could we not sacrifice some or all of these instead of the public services that nurture a better society?


If any of these disappeared would our quality of life diminish? I doubt it. We would have more income to spend on real needs. It would also help eradicate the culture of deception and economy with the truth that underpins these products and services. Unless St Michael's, inov8 or Salomon are deemed designer labels, I have never had any truck with any of these expendable products and seem to be none the worse for it. I did read the Sunday Times before Rupert got his paws on it but never since nor any of the rest of his stable of corrupt journalism, I have stubbornly refused Sky, never buy bottled water, and I fail to understand how Trident and Tasers make me safer.


As I left the supermarket the other day I watched a woman wheel out a trolley full of bottled water from the supermarket and heave it into her 4x4. Why? Any study of water quality would confirm that tap water is a superior product, particularly in Scotland where tap water was invented and where even water from streams and sources in the mountains has done me no harm for the last 25 years. People seem to purchase many optional and expensive goods and services through unjustified fear, peer pressure and obsession with status and image. Is Sky Television not primarily a regressive tax that transfers money from the ordinary citizen to the freeloaders in Sport and Entertainment and the News International Executives? Why pay 200- 300 times as much per litre for bottled water than the ubiquitous real thing? Would I feel any better by wearing Armani boxer shorts or a Rolex watch? Yet we squander huge amounts of money on these things and feed the frenzy of celebrity endorsements and unsustainable marketing budgets for products that are admittedly sometimes very good but essentially marketing froth.


So what could we do about it?  It is asking too much for the coalition to come to its senses on Tasers and Trident, governments are always afraid of taking on organisations that enhance their machismo with dubious weapons. But News International and bottled water are consumer-dependent products and services. Could they be the first targets in a people's ethical and economic campaign? Egalitarian consumer values would target the add-ons to living not the basic services as part of the belt-tightening that is needed as we strive to live within our means. Who knows it might even influence our slash-and-burn politicians when they realise that they are damaging far too many people's lives and aspirations with their often tactless austerity measures and their infatuation with keeping in with the media.

From Kudos to Opprobrium

The papers this last few weeks have been full of depressing news about the scale of the cuts presaged by the coalition government and attributed by many commentators to the Liberal Democrats who have been deemed to have sold out their principles. Pensions, Jobs, Schools, Student loans, Personal Care, Culture and even Defence are all threatened but so is the well-being of most groups in society. The cartoonists are sharpening their pencils on the short-listed villains in the government; Michael Gove is definitely the Joker. However, there is something not quite right about the indignation of many observers who seem to relish the damage that would be done to the coalition more than the devastation to jobs and lives. Some reduction in public expenditure is probably necessary. This reflects badly on the previous government which revelled in making announcements about more money going to popular causes like Health, Education, Police and International Aid. The money usually comes with an instruction book on how to spend it, which as we all know is contrary to human nature. Deciding what is best should be based upon local knowledge of needs, not the distant and limited understanding of central government.

But the government wanted the kudos from the largesse, and it would not allow those responsible for implementing and running the services any share in the feelgood factor. The outcomes were not well monitored or measured and it is now apparent that productivity in the public sector has fallen significantly over the past decade. The opprobrium for this has been delegated to councils and other public service providers who have been delivering services in line with the instructions and constraints imposed on them by central government. This followed good progress in improving services between 1997 and 2001 when funds were tighter but largely managed by the organisations who ran the services.

The last few years have seen huge growth in public expenditure but it has been bluntly directed by central government at its key priorities. The increase in budgets has seemed more important than what it is achieving. Recent evidence shows that the biggest gainers - Education, Health, Higher Education and Police have seen a big drop in productivity or, to put another way, a steep spike in the unit cost of services over this period. One of the reasons is that there has yet to be the engagement of the organisations or the workforce in designing and implementing many of the new initiatives. Spending has been ring-fenced with less concern about outcomes than allocating the money.

Conversely, at a time of cuts, it is disingenuous of the coalition to claim that it is decentralising and letting local organisations and public agencies determine how to take more responsibility for the services they provide with 'less interference from government'. There is after all no kudos and considerable pain in withdrawing services for both consumers and those whose jobs will disappear. The equations being worked out at Whitehall as part of the spending review are a smokescreen to show how tough the government is being but the reality is that almost all the savings will be delegated to others be it NHS, local government, and the myriad of agencies that support everything from sport and culture to homelessness in a civilised society. This is where the government hopes the opprobrium will stick because these are the agencies that will determine and announce who loses services, grants and jobs. 

So the latest ruse of devolved accountability by the new government is at face value the opposite of the last government but it displays exactly the same selfish gene of our politicians.  Centralise the kudos and decentralise the opprobrium.