Review of the Decade

You remember that shit song Tony Blair liked? ‘Things Can Only Get Better? I am going to campaign for a rerelease. After a decade which saw global religious war, rotten aggressive military actions, erosion of my civil liberties, and economic collapse, which my daughter will have to pay for, it’s probably true now. Might write to John O’Farrel, see if he is pondering a sequel.

Panto, Tweenies, and Hebden Bridge Picture House

Do you remember when I went to see The Tweenies with Rachel? You probably don’t, why would you? I took Rachel to see The Tweenies Live. We had a wicked time, but it ended up costing me nearly £70, including train fares, merchandise, and tickets. It was fun, but it wasn’t the kind of fun that keeps you coming back to theatres to spend £70. Christ, I would object to paying that much to go to see a decent gig, never mind £70 to see 4 of the most irritating characters imaginable, singing ‘If you’re happy and you know it’, while waving a plastic light wand that cost a fiver, while the theatre merchandising company treat you like a walking cash machine.

So I didn’t consider taking Rachel to the Panto. Anyway, long story short, I changed my mind. I went to book tickets for Snow White, at the Carriageworks in Leeds. Tickets are subsidised by Leeds City Council, and cost £6 for a morning show, or £7.50 to an afternoon show. At that price, I can consider the theatre as something to do with Rachel. And that, I think is the point in arts subsidies.

Then me and a friend were considering stuff to do, next time we get together, and we remembered that my local cinema does elevenses, where you get a movie, a cup of tea(in a mug), and free biscuits, for £2.50. They show the major hollywood films, but also some really interesting films, you might not otherwise bother seeing. Again, thats arts funding. Hebden Bridge Picture House is one of the last council owned cinemas in the country.

I moan a lot in this blog. I rant about the state of the world. But actually, I live in a country, where the arts are made accessible to people. Thats pretty good.