Monday, September 12, 2022

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone

Embed from Getty Images

The death of a monarch who has reigned for 70 years is bound to lead to a solemn time. And it was inevitable that the cancellation Liberal Democrat Conference would be cancelled once the date of the Queen's funeral was announced, as I have already argued.

That said, I find the argument put forward by Sarah Olney on Lib Dem Voice - that holding our conference would somehow imperil the peaceful succession of Charles III - bizarre.

And this enthusiasm for cancelling events to display our grief - or perhaps to avoid criticism - can go too far.

One example is the Last Night of the Proms. Yes, a traditional Last Night would have struck the wrong note, but surely it would have been possible to put together a programme of music that would have expressed the national feeling?

Another example is the cancellation of children's football. Taking part in a minute's silence before the game would have given the young players a memory that might stay with them for the rest of their lives. 

And, besides the fun of playing, they would not have given up all the benefits football brings from exercise to a bit of male attention in lives that can lack it.

Ours is now a safety-first society, and that has its costs.

5 comments:

  1. The penultimate, and perfectly sober, prom was also cancelled. How stupid is that?

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  2. Judith Weir, Master of the Queen's (now King's) Music, is in agreement about the Last Night (Radio 4's Broadcasting House last Sunday).

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  3. A safety 1st society learns nothing.It is in danger of repeatings its mistakes from not trying new ways to find its limitations.
    An example! A 10 year old confident he can do a 'wheelie' falls off and breaks his leg.He will learn to take precautions in the future His parents will be more cautious but will not stop him from trying things.He will learn has he grows.He will just be more careful

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