God's Own Country

Obviously I'm talking about Yorkshire, more specifically the Yorkshire Dales. I've just walked the Dales Way from Ilkley to Bowness, a beautiful walk up Wharfedale and Langstrothdale, over to Dentdale and on to the Lake District via Sedbergh and the Crook of Lune. Quite apart from the breathtaking scenery and the companionship, it was a reminder that the world does not come to an end when we stop fretting about it. All we did each day was eat, walk, talk, joke, eat, drink, sleep. Mobile reception was patchy, as was GPS, and a good thing too. The company was great and we met a range of interesting people, won a pub quiz, were entertained by the campiest restauranteur in the Ridings, witnessed a business drama, and were present at an impromptu jam session. Work cannot compete.

an ancient track 

by the Wharfe

new born lambs

Brides and prejudice

I sat in on a rehearsal of my new play, Stabat Mater, on Sunday. The title has its fans and detractors but as the play concerns mothers and daughters, both unhappy with each other 'Stabat Mater Dolorosa', meaning 'there stood the sorrowful mother' seemed apt. The original title was Bride and Prejudice but it seems Bollywood got to that one first. What struck me as I watched the rehearsal, apart from how well they were getting to grips with the play, was how suddenly topical it is. The two young women in the play are in love, and want to commit to each other. Their mothers are, for different reasons, not likely to approve.

The play deals with the various relationships and how they tackle different world views, homophobia and racism. Sounds heavy, but it's funny and moving too. And topical. The attitude of the church to same sex marriages is in all the news bulletins at the moment, and this is largely mirrored in the play. I'd no idea this would be in the headlines when I wrote it and I think I've been rather gentle on the church in the play. In real life there appears to be not only prejudice and opposition but also intemperate and abusive language, not to mention scare mongering. The one word which seems to sum up the churches attitude, especially the Catholic hierarchy in the UK, is 'unChristian'.  Sections of the Anglican Church are no better. Well, for the record, I want no part of it. I am a Christian and I support the proposals on gay marriage. I'm a married man, and don't see the changes as in any way threatening to the institution of marriage, rather the reverse. I do see the attitude of church leaders as counterproductive. We preach love, but nobody believes us. I wonder why.  Pity I couldn't have stuck with the first title though.

Colour Beginnings - a moving combination

One of the most moving and original jazz gigs I can recall last night at the Watermill Jazz Club. Tim Whitehead was playing some of the music that came out of his spell as artist in residence at the Tate, music inspired by the work of Turner - landscapes, seascapes, skies. Tim talked us through the process, and some of the background to the paintings and sketches he'd chosen, and played with the paintings on the screen in front of us. It was one of those rare moments when two art forms combine to create something that takes the breath away.

I've seen Tim play before and love his approach to the sax, and the quality of the musicians he gathers round him, but this was something else. I often come away from a jazz gig fired up to play more myself and wanting to emulate, however inadequately, but this time I also came away wanting to spend more time with the visual arts as well, not least the works of Turner. And I'm sure my copy of the cd ('Colour Beginnings' ) will get well worn.

I've just finished my own combination of media in the form of a one woman show destined for Edinburgh this summer which deals with a major film star and uses music and images as well as words, a departure for me. Now waiting for the approval, or otherwise, of the star of the show - hope she's moved by it!

Scapegoats and reality

It's difficult to feel too much sympathy for Stephen Hester and Fred Goodwin but I have to admit to some. The notion that Goodwin was single handedly responsible for the banking crisis and its aftermath, as reported in some news reports over the last few days is frankly ludicrous. He wasn't even single handedly responsible for the problems at RBS - those around him share the responsibility if only for not arguing enough. And has everyone forgotten about Lehmanns? And Northern Rock?

Similarly, Hester was not the only banker in line for a large bonus. And the fact that he's not taking it has no real impact on anybody else. I have a problem with 'rewards for failure' as these bonuses are being called but it's not clear that he has failed - many argue he's doing a good job. And the way to prevent large bonuses is to stop promising them, not to promise them and then either renege on the deal or shame the recipient into waiving them. The truth of the matter seems to be that actually doing something practical and constructive, like changing the rules of the game for the future, is too difficult so we're left with knee jerk scapegoating. The press and politicians should be ashamed of themselves.

Going back to Mr Goodwin, now reduced to the normal honorific, he is far from the only knight of the realm who has been found to have feet of clay. Neither is it a new thing. In Mallory's 'Morte dArthur' knights who blotted their copybooks were not stripped of their knighthoods but given quests to fulfil. Damsels were rescued, grails sought, dragons slain. Maybe the forfeiture committee could have been more inventive and sent Sir Fred off to redeem his name by some noble deed. Or maybe we should not award knighthoods to people who have amassed large fortunes but focus instead on people who have shown themselves capable of noble deeds in the first place. And poets, playwrights and jazz musicians obviously.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again

I spent much of December in wonderful colonial style villa on St Lucia's Cap Estate. Called Manderley because the first owner was a Du Maurier fan, it provided a great base for a couple of weeks escape - our first visit to the island despite having family there. What struck me this morning as I prepared to get properly back into the world of work was how much of the last few weeks I've spent disconnected from world events, the markets and other day to day considerations - and how the world has survived anyway! Wifi was sporadic on the island, I couldn't check the markets on a regular basis, David Cameron was busy vetoing European proposals, all sorts of other things were going on but I was happy in a protective bubble of sunshine, sea, family and rum punch - and when I got back there was only time for quick catch ups on a couple of essential matters before everything stopped for Christmas.

The lesson I draw from this is to worry less and relax. Not original but I need reminding. I started this morning with a list of tasks to work through, some of them more important than others but none of them dependent on the anxieties I often carry round with me. I've been pretty effective this year so far without getting bogged down. I wonder if i can keep it up?

We're not the 99%, we're the top 10%

I was struck by the focus on relative wealth which seems to be all pervasive. Rich lists, executive pay, bankers bonuses. The 'occupy' protests with the mantra 'we are the 99%'. Well, it's all a matter of how you look at it. Yes, there's an imbalance between the very wealthy and the rest, and between top and bottom income levels in the west; there's greed and insensitivity, and there's injustice. But, and this is a significant rider in my view, there is a more significant imbalance between most people in the UK, the US and other western countries and the bulk of the world's population. Most of those protesting are likely to be in the top 10% by income, and probably by wealth as well - and we live in a world where the poorest are hardest hit by natural disasters, where the richest strike the most favourable deals, and where the UK government is criticised for protecting the aid budget on the grounds that we're hard up. I have plenty of criticisms of the government but that is not one of them.

There's nothing wrong with pointing out the injustices of our system but let's remember the old saying about people in glass houses and make sure we do something about the 90% as well.

An alien in New York

Okay, it's a hackneyed phrase but that's what I am. A visitor, after a break of perhaps 4 years, to a city which feels very familiar but also very foreign. New Yorkers in my experience are friendly, hospitable, entrepreneurial, noisy and fun. It's seen as a fairly liberal place by much of America and has strong Democrat connections but read the New York Post as I did this morning and you see a different side - insecure, insular, reactionary and still buying the old lie that its somehow a socialist trick to reverse the Bush tax cuts for the super rich despite the hugely wider divergence between rich and poor and the clear lack of the old trickle down effect in recent years.

I'm here because my play The Door is on at 59E59 Theater and it's going remarkably well , playing to full houses who are lapping it up. It is seen as much more controversial here than it would be in the UK though - not that that's a bad thing, just another cultural indicator. And while I'm here I'm enjoying it immensely. Enjoying the hospitality, the service culture, the buzz and the friendly faces. And also enjoying the experience of having a play on 'Off Broadway'. A happy alien.