Cave July 05
It seems that there are not enough of us. Every other day, some high-falutin minister or other, or some European expert, bangs on about the population crisis. What population crisis I ask? Personally, I think there are far too many of us – and I mean here, never mind the teeming millions in India or the Philippines or somewhere. Mr Jack McConnell wants to import a load of foreigners to work in Scotland because he thinks there are not enough Scots! Is he daft? As our roads become more and more clogged, shopping queues longer, NHS waiting times seemingly never reducing, I simply fail to see how increasing the amount of us about can possibly do anything but exacerbate these problems.
There are already more than six billion people in the world. Sure we can feed them – though we don’t, because resources are most unfairly distributed – and probably a lot more if we have to. But that is not the point. The point is that the more people there are, the less there is to go around and the worse the quality of life must become, for almost everyone. No doubt a few of the very selfish rich will manage to avoid the decline but for most people the outlook is bleak. |
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Oh, not tomorrow or next week but in the foreseeable future and certainly for our grandchildren.
Why then, do those whom we have chosen to lead us seem to think otherwise? I believe it is because they have utterly failed to make provision for pensions for the elderly. We all pay or paid National Insurance (without the option of declining), but was it carefully invested by the government of the day? Was it thump; it was spent. Thus there is a crisis, but it is one that will not disappear by increasing the population. Indeed, that can only make it worse – and worse and worse. If we want a better future, we need to diminish, not increase, the population, worldwide.
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The brouhaha about the G8 leaves me cold and very glad I do not live in Auchterarder or anywhere near Gleneagles. One or two people, including our great First Minister and - extraordinary this!- the Chief Constable of Tayside seem to think it will be good for Scotland.
Even if there is not one arrest, I fail to see how and if it all goes pear-shaped, as an informant suggested to me it may well do, then Scotia will join the lengthening and unenviable list of countries where G8 = mayhem. Why in the name of the wee man can’t they hold the darn thing on an aircraft carrier, preferably somewhere in the Roaring Forties? They would have all the security and communications they need for a fraction of the silly money it is costing to set it all up in rural Perthshire. But perhaps they fear that Osama has bought a submarine – and lots of torpedoes…..
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Centralised and computerised medical records join the list of Big Brother Databases. You can opt out of this one though – so be sure and tell your GP.
At least some people are beginning to yell about this government’s determination to control our every waking moment. No doubt they are working on ways to control us while asleep too.
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I have just finished reading Gavin Menzies astonishing book 1421, in which he produces evidence of often startling proportions for the Chinese having navigated all over the globe long before any Europeans did.
One thing which struck me had nothing to do with exploration per se, except that it involved circumnavigating Greenland. Now, if that was true, there must have been a very great deal less ice in 1421 than there is now. Would one of the climate change gurus care to explain that? And where exactly the world’s shorelines were in consequence?
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Upper Strathtay would not be the wonderful country it is without its wildlife and the past month has been a record one for activity around the cave.
The adult birds have been bringing their youngsters to the feeders and it has been sheer delight to have broods of great, blue and coal tits, siskins and greenfinches, robins and dunnocks scoffing nuts and seeds at a fearsome rate.
The stars avian have been up to five great-spotted woodpeckers, though never more than two at once, I suspect all the same family, as three are juveniles. But there have been mammalian stars too. First, the very first red squirrels, two of them. I had not realised that they, like siskins, seem to prefer to eat while inverted! Not so the woodmice. These must rate as one of the nicest of mice, with their great big eyes and rather tame demeanour. Finally, returning from a walk one day, I surprised a roe deer and fawn. Mother jumped up the bank but bambi failed to make it. So, instinct on overtime, he crouched down to hide – quite unaware that a brown coat with big white spots does not camouflage a baby deer when sitting in the middle of an asphalt drive!
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This will be the last ‘Cave’ for a while. At least one person whom I told expressed regret! I sincerely hope that there may be a few more as I have greatly enjoyed writing it. As for those curmudgeons who may be saying ‘thank goodness for that’ – well, no-one forced you to read it, did they?
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