11th July Living in Wonderland


TOM and I have just finished (and enjoyed) a series on BBC 4 entitled The Thatcher Years. Not I hasten to add because either of us are died in the wool true blues, far from it, but simply because it was a nostalgic trip back down memory lane through the political landscape of the 1980. 

And then I just happen to hear this, one of my favourite ever songs by Simply Red, sung by Manchester's favourite ginger, Mick Hucknall, who just happens to possess one of the best voices I have ever heard live in concert. 

What I didn't know was that as well as being a beautiful tune, 'Wonderland' is in fact a political critique of Margaret Thatcher's policy to try to allow more people to buy their own house but at the same time crippling those people with unimaginable debts as interest rates rise sky rocketted from 3%-15% in less than a year. Far from offering a wonderland she created a hell on earth for millions trapped in a financial nightmare from which many never woke up.

On a beautifully sunny Monday morning this is 'Wonderland' with a fade out that I wish would go on for ever.


People, places
Pursuing the chases
Our moments were chosen
Her senses, explosion

Take your pulse and read it well
She never said you'd only get one chance
Pay your debt and bleed as well
You're living in the same circumstances

The end of an era
Our future no clearer
My people no stronger
The blame I lay on her

Wonderland, wonderland
It's beautiful
Wonderland, wonderland
It's beautiful

Take your pulse and read it well
She never said you'd only get one chance
Pay your debt and bleed as well
You're living in the same circumstances

The end of an era
My future no clearer
Our people no stronger
The blame I lay on her

Wonderland, wonderland
It's beautiful
Wonderland, wonderland
It's beautiful

Fading away, fading away until tomorrow comes
To haunt us all
It's coming again, it's gonna pick up on you
And haunt you always

Wonderland wonderland
Fading away

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6th May Olbia

Image
  A chance to stretch our legs today with our first port of call; Olbia, Sardinia. And it was a quick stretch too due to it being only a five hour stay. Up bright and early, so early in fact that the hot food at the buffet wasn't even ready to be served. Still it gave us a chance to watch the ship glide into port past a host of oyster/mussel beds, before performing a 180 degree turn to reverse into it's berth. A couple of short bus rides later and we were in downtown Olbia. But there an hour or so before anything appeared to open, the disadvantage of being early birds and something we don't seem to learn! Not that Olbia had a great deal to see or maybe if we had done the slightest bit of planning beforehand there might have benn but we didn't. It was pleasant enough but that's about it. It was pleasant enough but nothing special, indeed we were back on the ship after just a couple of hours ashore and then managed to sleep away most of th...
Read more

7th May Naples

Image
 I'm sure I've heard the phrase 'see Naples and die' suggesting that it is perhaps not the nicest location in the Mediterranean but if it's good enough for Diego Maradona fir a few years then it's good enough for me for 10 hours. Although the millions of tax free pounds he was paid might have eased his stay. By the time we got up, washed, dressed and up to The Kitchens, the rest of the ship were already there. Compared to the Marie Celeste of yesterday it was absolutely packed, presumably with people having breakfast before heading out on 8am excursions, our excursion was simply going to be the city of Naples itself as possible trips to Vesuvius, Pompei or the Amalfi coast would have been too much / tired.  So on a day when the weather initially seemed uncertain, we jumped aboard route A for the Hop on Hop off bus and headed out into the mayhem that is the Napoli traffic where it was every van, car and scooter for the selves. I think it's bes...
Read more