Tag Archives: poverty

Land of hope and glory

Once upon a time This title might have been true However, sublime the music This current Government Flies in the face of this paradigm. Food banks now feed the desperate Job security; a past closed door Vast fortunes, built by … Continue reading

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Workhouses: did Charles Dickens get it wrong?

Britain was a swaggeringly confident country in 1834 with a firm belief in laissez-faire economics. Yet they created a tightly regulated centralised welfare system which deleted localised authority by imposing national standards. Every aspect of the new system was laid … Continue reading

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Do modern children know the magic?

In my younger days, near every school, there would be a “tuck-shop” usually called the ‘sweet shop’. Most of those shops were decked out in shelving that supported row upon row of big glass jars with large screw top lids. Each … Continue reading

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The Dignified Mendicant

Many years ago, I was on my regular seven week call out rota; and at about 4 pm I got a message from the Hackney call centre one Saturday, I’m guessing about, 1976 -some forty years ago. I was asked … Continue reading

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The Real World

On the estate where we live, there are petty crooks, drug addicts, alcoholics, perverts and general low life, all mixed in with angels, professional people, artists, musicians, and sweet older people who like us, despair at the way our world … Continue reading

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