Temptation

Hello I am the Sir Guestling and thus it will always be!

Many years past when both I and the world were younger, a rather naive Guestling Thorn, believed that most people in the diplomatic service were trustworthy and honest. I mistakenly thought that as a representative of Her Majesty's government one had integrity, was honest and would try one's hardest to achieve the best outcome. It did not take too long to dissuade me of that ideal. I was not so naive, that I thought diplomacy would always find a solution, history has shown that to many disputes and situations just cannot be solved by measured discussions but I did believe we could change things.
In every walk of life you meet those who take shortcuts or want an easy life, some who deliberately find obstacles where there are none, who cheat and lie for their own gain or who simply don't care. We've all met them. I like to think the best of people and until they prove me wrong and I try to treat everyone that way. Sometimes your view of a colleague can be misguided and they are not as bad as you believed and sometimes they are far worse!
It is far worse, when the person in question is the leader of the team. I had been posted to an embassy in a very volatile south american country, I am deliberately not saying which one, nor will I mention the Ambassador in question, not because of any qualms about the politics but because I do not wish to impugn the reputation of a person who is long passed or upset his family. This man had a distinguished career and was well thought of in the diplomatic community. I was honoured to join his team and looked forward to learning from him. There were only a few of us and the country was in a state of constant turmoil, corruption was rife, killings were frequent and the whole situation became increasingly volatile. The government was losing control and the president looked to Britain and the USA to help them out. The Americans had their own agenda and were reluctant to get involved, they were still involved in Vietnam and had no wish to embroil themselves in another conflict. The British position was, as always, to try and stay neutral and see if we could persuade all the protagonists to meet and discuss a peaceful end to all conflict. Our Ambassador dragged his feet and seemed to procrastinate and delay, instead of trying to move things quickly. At first I thought it was a clever tactic and believed in his ultimate aim as he put it 
To bring everyone to the brink and get them sat down
I had been left to my own devices one afternoon in our rather splendid old colonial style embassy and found myself in the ambassador's office where I was trying to organise a stack of documents.  By accident I triggered a secret compartment in the desk, it revealed a leather covered ledger. I opened the pages and found a complete set of figures which were the accounts of bribes and other payments that our gallant leader had been taking from all sides and where he had transferred the money too. To say I was shocked and horrified is an understatement but it did explain his reluctance to help settle matters. The longer he could keep things as they were, it seemed the more he could line his own filthy pockets! My faith, in a man I believed acted with integrity and diplomacy, was shattered. I am a Thorn and I knew what I had to do. A Thorn's approach to these problems is to face them head on and sometimes damn the consequences, clearly he was corrupt and clearly it had to be stopped. He returned and I asked for a private meeting. He greeted me all smiles and compliments, telling me he had been meaning to inform me what a good job I was doing and how he was sorry he had not found the time to say so. His bonhomie rapidly disappeared as I produced the ledger from behind my back and his hand strayed nervously to the secret compartment.  
What have you there?
I think you know sir I calmly replied, though I felt far from calm inside.
He coughed and laughed nervously And what do you propose to do with it?
I am hoping there is a rational explanation sir and it's not what it seems?
I was expecting a denial or some reasoning of it's content but to my surprise he said I'm afraid Guestling it is exactly what you think it is! So what are you going to do?
I hesitated, I had been expecting denial and I had got a flat admission of guilt, I confess it threw me off balance but a Thorn must do the right the thing, a little bending of rules can be tolerated especially for the right reason but flagrant corruption cannot. 
I am duty bound to report it sir, you have prolonged a dangerous situation for your own gain and it must have consequences. All pretence at bravado dissipated and he slumped in his chair and collapsed like a deflated balloon.
I have ruined a long career and besmirched my service, sometimes Guestling greed creeps up and even though you know it's wrong the temptation is to great. Age catches up with us all and I was only thinking of my comfort and not my duty. Make your call Thorn, I deserve it.
Somewhat shocked by his rapid capitulation, that's what I did.
Well the matter was dealt with quickly after that, of course it was all done quietly and with little fuss. All of the staff were replaced and investigated in case they too had been tainted, including myself. I'm pleased to report that none of the others were involved and all were ignorant of his crime.
Nor did my part in the affair do me any good and for a time my career was stalled but old Guestling usually comes bouncing back and so I did!
Well that was a long time ago but it is a timely reminder that no matter who or how high the office corruption will tempt even the best of us and one must be ever vigilant in resisting. Sound familiar?
Have a great week, tat ta for now.

You have to finish sometime!

My name is Sir Guestling Thorn and so it has been

Retirement is an odd thing 
Why for starters, is it called retirement, you have not opted out of society, you are no different than the day before. You can stop whatever you are employed at, whenever you like, at any age or never start "work" in the first place. Retirement is a reference to age, a relatively advanced age, usually 60 plus. We are supposedly winding down towards our demise, death. Well that is inevitable and should not be feared in any way, it is the natural conclusion to living. I'm no philosopher, I am pleased to say I don't know that much about life, to much of a bloody nuisance if you ask me. There are much cleverer people than good old Guesty who can spout about that! However, I have gleaned some insight into the vagaries of existence on planet earth. We take it too seriously, we are obsessed with advancing our "knowledge", extending our time, emphasising the differences between us and not what make us the same. 
The massive plethora of media, dissect, analyse and theorise endlessly about the human condition and how we can alter it. Books, DVD's, magazines, TV, Internet,radio, social media and so on. (and yes I get the irony of that statement!) I am impressed by the progress of the human race in all it's achievements, what a shame we so often forget the lessons that this progress and history has taught us. 
We inhabit the same planet but have a bewildering, if understandable need, of dividing land and imposing borders, then some foolish nutters try to take over their neighbours territory and we all know where that get's us. Peace is an aspiration for all but history dictates that we are very poor at maintaining that peace. Religious support systems have largely failed us. I freely admit that Sir Guestling is an atheist, though that label is to me an as much an anathema as being called a Christian or a Muslim or a Jew or any other derivative of these and all the other faiths that man has invented. I use "man" and "invented" deliberately! 
Off at a tangent as usual, never could keep to the point, well not in my personal twitterings, managed it in my professional career, just about.

So we live, we get older, so what. Physically we slow, mentally we can still have a mind like a rubber trap! Are we not the same person but older, more experienced, wiser, knowledgeable, kinder, more tolerant etc. Well perhaps not. 

The current attitude from our incumbent government is to cut benefits to the older residents in order to save money and cut the deficit. 
As usual they are looking at the issue from the wrong end of the telescope, instead of cutting, we should be looking at ways to improve everyone's comfort by increasing the overall collective wealth. The whole issue needs turning on it's head and the tired entrench thinking, has to be changed, enlightened fresh, radical idea's have to be found. I don't profess to have answers but I am perfectly entitled to ask the questions! 
We all have a responsibility to prepare for our older years but the welfare should be shared at a standard that provides for all, if needed. Once again our society is proving that exclusion is more prevalent than the opposite. The irony is, we are encouraged to be healthier, eat better, take care of ourselves and then are penalized for living longer! 
Lady Thorn a more caring individual than I sometimes portray in these pieces, would categorize it thus 
People don't matter, things do, make people matter more and things less!
She's right of course but then she usually is.
You have to laugh. 

Sporty

Sir Guestling on the WWW again
A word about the sporting life.
I am a sports fan and have when the spirit moved me taken part in quite a few. Can't say I ever excelled at any but I could hold my own from time to time. The nomad nature of the diplomatic life did not lend itself to regular participation, although opportunities were taken where possible and many a diplomatic solution has been agreed during 18 holes of the old dimpled white ball being whacked.
Britain is the inventor of many world wide sporting pursuits football, rugby, cricket etc. that we spread round the world, through empire and to all parts of the globe. Early amateur beginnings have grown into major giant commercial, worldwide cash generating industries, with huge sponsorship, massive governing bodies, large rewards and all of the attendant media that inevitably accompany, quite literally, the whole circus that these huge sports have become. If you are into sports, then I am sure many of us still enjoy watching or playing the actual sport itself, irrespective of the attendant politics and self-interest. Sport can be inspiring, breathtaking, thrilling and at times can lift you out of your seat. Who, when supporting one's favourite or national team, has not hidden behind the sofa whilst the tension becomes palpable during a vital match?  Sport enriches our cultural heritage and most of the time brings us closer together.
Like all endeavours, it does have a dark side, guilty of cheating, drugs, corruption, danger and bitter rivalries, it reflects society and mirrors all of its incumbent frailtities. Look at athletics, cycling and the machiavellian saga that is FIFA! 
It can be very amusing.
I once played in a football match many, many, years past, when pitches were not the best, only the outer parts of the playing area were really negotiable, the middle was like a quagmire. The ball was passed into the centre circle where the mud was at it's thickest, naturally it stuck fast, four players, two of each team came racing in as quickly as the pitch would allow, each of them eyes, fixed on the ball and each thinking that a big kick would be required to move it. They all converged at the same time and in their effort to collect the football all four lost their balance slid in a heap,in doing so the impact burst the ball, they managed to pick themselves up, however the mud was so clingy that each of them had their shorts pulled off! Much hilarity, embarrassment and abandoning of the game as it was the only ball that either team had. If YouTube had existed then, the video would have gone viral, it was like synchronised swimming so perfectly did they converge!
At my advanced age I only play the odd game of golf and go for a bike ride as often as I can. Much against my better judgement I was persuaded, when in my fifties, to play in a charity five a side match. Having not kicked a ball for many years I had no idea how I would perform. The good lady told me bluntly, that I was damn fool and I would regret it. When I asked if she was coming to watch, she scoffed, told me that wild horses wouldn't drag her to witness my stupidity. How correct she proved to be! My brain still understood what to do, I was reasonably fit but none of this helped. They say that it takes several miles for an oil tanker to turn and I knew exactly what that meant, by the time the synaptic nerves in my brain had relayed the message to my body it was too late. Of course there were slaps on the back and well dones handed out but I knew my fellow players were being kind. A good friend who had watched my pathetic display and who knows me well enough, told me some time after, that it was like everyone moving at normal pace whilst this one person, me, was in slow motion!
Anyway, if my plodding performance was not enough to put me off, the aches that set in for the next couple of days, did. To say I was stiff of limb, would have been an understatement, it took all of Pomfrey's considerable manipulative skills to keep me mobile.  
Lady Guestling tried to hide her amusement and to her great credit resisted the urge to say she had told me so.
I now confine my involvement to the armchair or the occasional invite to the venue or stadium, to spectate.
Sport, wonderful, uplifting, exciting, divisive, inclusive, disappointing, emotional, brutal, dramatic, poetic, it can hold communities together or tear them apart, split families or unite them, it can lift us, it can bring us down, sport encompasses all of these and much much more. Our lives would be the poorer without the human endeavour that provides such fantastic entertainment.
To watch a well struck six, a twenty five yard screamer that hits the back of the net, the jinking try, the chip from the edge of the green that pitches in the hole, the breathless surge as an athlete breaks the "tape", the grace and strength of the gymnast, artistry and skill in so many different activities, you sometimes have to suspend belief. 
Well I must go, I can hear the good lady's voice in my head. Your waxing lyrical again Guesty!