Europe

Well I'm bound and determined to say something about all this fuss that Cameron is stirring up over the European community. As an ex-diplomat who has served all over the continent, what is his problem? Of course Europe needs reform, of course rules need to be changed, of course each member state depending on their length of membership, have things they have agreed to that would rather have not. At the time they knew they would have to compromise. Later and in hindsight no doubt they regret some of those compromises.
I have no disagreement with trying to change and develop those agreements, change is inevitable and must develop with the prevailing political and social climate.  
No what I object to, is Cameron strutting around and making a big thing of Britain's membership as though he is some major statesman and that every other member country should take note of our views and treat him with some sort of elevated status! What arrogance, what nonsense, especially when Britain seems to want to ignore so many of the other problems that are facing Europe at this time. 
I try to remain neutral as a good diplomat should but I have to suggest that as always when the Tories have been in power for some time they always revert to type and become the strident voice of conservatism, that they have always been. It at their heart and core of the party. 
I say this not to suggest that the other parties are better. After all they won the election which means under our system the got the most votes. I do find it difficult to take when they purport to label themselves as the party of the people!
Okay I am an old radical and at my core is a streak of liberalism and fairness. In our society the have have more and the have not's are getting less and no one seems to care or be able to do anything about it? We are all apathetic these days, no one protests or demonstrates, there are no longer any public mass outcries of derision about any thing of any great import.
The young seem to be more interested in taking selfies and sharing them than taking any notice of what is going on in the country, let alone the world.
Sweeping generalizations, well yes maybe but not ones that is far off the mark.  
As for a referendum on our membership, who are we kidding, we have always for better or worse been inexorably linked to Europe. We fought against them formed alliances, defended one against the other and our history is more firmly intertwined than with any other part of the world. It would be folly to leave, irrespective of regulations we may not agree with and reform that is needed.
Enough.

Back

Hello Guestling back again
Excuse my absence but I have been writing my memoirs. The mem saab has bought me a brand new machine!
Guesty. She intoned. I just can't watch you struggling on that old machine any longer! Something must be done.
Done it was and the sparkling piece of kit is now the one i am typing this entry on.
My good lady is a peach and looks after me with the fierce care of a lioness.
Proper keyboard and everything, splendid!
Well I just thought I would give a brief update for those of you who had wondered where I had run off to.
Ta ta for now
Remember a life lived in fear is a life half lived!

Together

I am not a religious man, I am afraid the concept of God completely escapes me and has done since I was very young. It follows therefore that religion leaves me cold and in my opinion has caused over the centuries more harm than good. Religious doctrines are all very well and perfectly understandable but really! I know humans have this insatiable desire to want to believe there is some existence after life. I just believe we cease to exist and that's as it should be. How arrogant is the human race to believe we are so special? I have formed many views in my life, some have been changed by experience and softened by age and a broader view of the world. However as I have got older I think my view of religion has hardened. I dislike more now than I did when I was a young man. Perhaps my admiration for those who have true belief might have altered but I avoid any discussion on the subject as I can hear myself become quite militant in my views. Most of us are free to believe and think whatever we choose, to many of us follow blindly what we are told to believe and far too many follow those beliefs without ever questioning them. I have always espoused we should consider all the evidence and then formulate our own beliefs. I have encouraged this in my sons. As I write religion is yet again at the centre of the major differences between countries and the trouble within them. The cloak of religious interpretation has once more lead a small minority to adopt a murderous and barbaric way of imposing their agenda on others. The chaos and disruption this has caused among millions, who only want a peaceful life and safety for their families has become untenable, displacing thousands and if the war is not killing them the flight to freedom often does. Sadly I am not sure there is a solution to any of it. If one element is defeated I fear another will spring up to take it's place. It may not happen straight away but it will happen. As usual we seem incapable or unwilling to learn the lessons from history.

And so to Christmas, which is where I was leading to. Not because of it's religious significance, I think you've got that by now, I like it because our family is all together and I like giving presents. 

Merry Xmas

The Return

Not written for a while been writing my memoirs. Written quite a lot actually, surprising how the memory opens up once you get going. Memories have flooded out. I did not believe I am a writer and yet it has flowed across the page and actually makes sense. Of course the good lady has laughed at my efforts but she does it good naturedly and says she will buy a copy should it ever be published. In actual fact I am not thinking that far ahead and may never actually put it into print. It has been an exercise in whether I can actually do it. 
So I will keep you informed as progress is made
Farewell for now

Holiday

Hello Guestling back again after a slight absence
Been away with the good lady in our holiday home on Crete
Absence also due to writing my memoirs.
So if I am a little tardy in writing on this esteemed page forgive me, normal service will be resumed eventually
Speak soon

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.