Tony Blair and the Grim Reaper

On the 1/5/1997 ,Tony Blair was elected as Prime Minister.It was also the first day of my new life as an ex-husband.A day of change both personally and nationally.I don't think anybody would contend that that the world has changed dramatically in many ways-we have had wars in Europe,Africa and are currently involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.The shock of 9/11 still reverberates around the world , and smaller terrorist activities like 7/7 and the Madrid bombings have kept the populations on permanent alarm.Big corporations have got even bigger and government institutions seem to be in permanent conflict with their public , doing whatever they deem fit without any consulatation.In the workplace , people are working longer and longer ,without any real benefit and social problems seem to be increasing.

But the biggest change that I have noticed is that the world seems to have gone completely mad-really bonkers.The first indication of this was Princess Diana's funeral and the run up to it.The false sentimentality was enscapulated in Elton John's rendition of Candle in the Wind , which then went on to become the biggest selling single of all time.Since then , whenever , any major event has occurred it is greeted with completely undue exultation or desperation-the Olympic games coming to London is a prime example-Londoners were in almost orgasmic delight and the defeated Parisians were in almost suicidal despair.The apocalyptic take on climate change is another indication of this refusal to keep things in perspective.

Everything , is either absolutely fantastic or completely terrible.Nobody is fat any more , they are obese.There are no more drinkers-they are either alcoholics or at the very least binge drinkers.Everybody is GUILTY-you work too much or not hard enough-we drink, smoke and eat too much . If you have a lot of sex you are a sex addict and if only a little , there must be something wrong with you.the cities and towns are not safe to go in on Friday and Saturday nights , unless you have had 10 pints of Stella Artois , and don't mind being shouted at and vomited upon . A group of more than four teenagers is to be seriously avoided .

We all know that something has changed , we can all feel it , but what has happened . Did Tony Blair's rise to power portend something major on both a national and worldwide scale? Is the world changing and why ? What has caused all this turbulence ? The answer is that something has emerged and at the bottom of it is our friend , the Grim Reaper himself , Death.In my next blog , I will expand on this and endeavour to explain what this means on a personal and worldwide level.

I'm now off to have those 10 pints of Stella !