Just Finished Reading: The Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor (FP: 2013)

New York, August 1778. After weeks at sea Edward Savill, a London based clerk of the American department, is glad to see British controlled Manhattan before him. His task is to learn about the political and military situation first hand and to assess cases brought by distressed Loyalists for damages and loss of property caused by the revolutionary war now ragging. On his very first day he is presented with the encapsulation of the situation New York finds itself in – a man has been murdered in the tent city occupied by refugees. The investigation is swift and an informer leads the local soldiers to a young runaway slave in possession of the man’s shoes. Despite a denial the slave is found guilty and hanged. Case closed. But Savill has doubts. Why was the dead man in canvas town to begin with? How is it that the dead man called on Savill’s own New York hosts shortly before his death? Why was the meeting seemingly so trivial that no one can recall it clearly? What happened to the dead man’s wedding ring and why was he carrying a single bone dice in his pocket? Over the next 8 months each of these questions – and especially the seemingly trivial ones – begin to point to a much greater event than the death of a single man. With a later identification pointing towards rebel involvement and rumours of a valuable ‘box of curiosities’ sought by both sides as potentially war winning Savill must try his best to unravel a web of deceit involving his hosts and a secret going back years that everyone denies or lies about. At the centre of it all is Mrs Arabella Wintour, the daughter-in-law of Savill’s host in New York, the wife of a missing soldier and a beautiful woman who begins to fascinate him long before he realises that all roads lead to her past.

This was a very well written, if overly long and at least at times glacially slow novel. Characterisation was generally good although I found the main character a little weak at times. He had his moments but I didn’t think he made much of a hero. Arabella I never really warmed to, she came across as either aloof, spoilt or selfish. Despite her apparent beauty I don’t think I would have enjoyed her company overly much. The New York garrison military man (his name escapes me at the moment) was OK if a little too full of himself. The main antagonist AKA ‘Scarface’ I found to be quite unbelievable despite having a strong motivation for his actions. The only credible people in the book I found were the rebel spies who manipulated Savill through the book almost right to the end. Whilst not exactly a page turner it did hold together enough for me to want to know what was going on – despite barely caring for many of the characters. I did find the events around the story – the early years of the Independence struggle generally only hinted at as background – to be much more interesting that the central story itself which was a shame. I did wish more than once that the author had written about that aspect of the story rather than the one he did focus on. I was ill – only a cold – during part of the reading experience which might be colouring my overall experience but on balance I’d have to say that this was reasonable rather than as good as some of the cover accolades would have you believe.

Cartoon Time.

Winter is Coming…. And so is an Election.

In an attempt (a vain one I believe) to break through the present political impasse on the issue of Brexit the Tory government has decided to call an election – actually been allowed by the opposition parties to call an election – to try to solve the current clusterfuck. So, for the first time in almost a century we’re having a vote just before Christmas on 12th December. Naturally the Conservatives are hoping/expecting to win back their majority (that Teresa May lost them) in order to push through their Brexit ‘deal’. However, there are a few problems with that…. The Tories presently are pretty much universally despised. About the only thing seemingly keeping them in power is the lack of a credible opposition. Although Corbyn has a solid fan base – especially amongst the young – he’s hated and feared in almost equal measure by a significant proportion of the voting population. Generally speaking the other parties are either too small (presently) to have much of a say in things or they’re single issue parties (like the latest iteration of the Brexit party) or they’re primarily nationalistic like the SNP (Scottish Nationalists) or Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales).

So, how do I think things will go? I don’t think the Tories will do anywhere as well as they think they will. Things have improved a bit since the Brexit party said they won’t stand against them in areas where they already have the seat but will end up splitting the vote in other areas which will help no one. The Tories might end up winning some seats but I think overall they’ll lose more than they win which means their present majority of zero will start to look pretty good.

I don’t think that Labour will do as badly as some believe. They will lose some seats but they’ll gain some too. I have a feeling that, again overall, they’ll gain more than they lose but only really a handful – probably not much more than 10 or so. I think that the Liberal-Democrats will do well, maybe even better than they expect. Their new leader won’t be the next Prime Minister though – no matter what she says publically. Their present total of around 20 will increase to at least 30 and maybe as much as 40. They may be able to use that to be a power broker – although they’ve said that they won’t – but they won’t have enough seats to even think about forming a coalition never mind a government.

I think that both the SNP and Plaid will do well. They both have the fact that they’re not Conservative or Labour going for them so disgruntled voters might feel safe giving them their vote. Of course an increase in the SNP vote will be a big shot in the arm for any future Independence vote coming up. The Brexit party might get an MP but I seriously doubt it. Although quite a few people will probably vote for them – defectors from the Tories mainly – they won’t get enough anywhere to get over the massive hurdle of first past the post.

Once the dust has settled and almost everyone has declared victory I think that the result will be inconclusive at best. The country is still hugely divided on the whole Brexit issue and will use the election to try and make their point. Remainers will have a hard time voting Tory and Brexiteers will find it impossible to vote Lib-Dem. Each party’s core voters will inevitably vote for them no matter what. But there’s far more going on today. Whether a voter wants to Leave or Remain will have a significant impact on how they vote. Remainer Tories will either not vote or hold their nose and vote Lib-Dem. Likewise Labour voters who don’t like the way things are going in their party will either not vote or will vote Lib-Dem. This is why I think the Liberal-Democrats will do well on the night. There will be LOTS of tactical votes cast on the 12th December including mine. I think it’s all going to be very interesting but I’m confident of one thing and one thing only – that no single party will hold a majority of seats in Parliament which means that the present clusterfuck will be both wider and deeper than before. Inevitably all of the parties will go into huddles to see who they can team up with to form a government. My view is that these intense negotiations will come to nothing and in March or May of next year we’ll be forced to have yet another election which might be fought on a straight Leave/Remain choice. It may even be responsible for the end of Right/Left politics in this country. It’s that big a thing. It is possible that I’m dead wrong (my political forecasting so far has been pretty poor) but I’ll be very surprised if any party actually wins on the 12th. I guess we’ll see! 

Better late than never........

Cartoon Time.

Berlin Wall anniversary: Merkel warns democracy is not 'self-evident'

From The BBC

9th November 2019

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned against taking democracy for granted, at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall. "No wall that keeps people out and restricts freedom is so high... that it cannot be broken down," she added. The wall had separated Soviet-controlled East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin during the Cold War. Its fall in 1989 was seen as a victory for liberal democracy, and led to Germany's reunification a year later. However, Mrs Merkel warned on Saturday that "the values on which Europe is founded - freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, human rights - they are anything but self-evident and they have to be revitalised and defended time and time again. We stand stripped of any excuses and are required to do our part of freedom and democracy," she added in a ceremony at the Berlin Wall memorial.

There has been a rise in the far-right in many European countries, while the governments of EU countries such as Poland and Hungary have been accused of undermining the rule of law. The Berlin Wall fell during the revolutions of 1989 in central and Eastern Europe, in which several Soviet-imposed communist regimes were toppled following protests and political movements. Speaking on Saturday, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to Germany's neighbours, saying: "Without the courage of the will to freedom of the Poles and Hungarians, the Czechs and Slovaks, the peaceful revolutions in Eastern Europe and Germany's reunification would not have been possible." However, he added that "liberal democracy is being challenged and questioned", while foreign minister Heiko Maas said: "Power is shifting away from Europe, authoritarian models are on the rise, and the United States is increasingly looking inwards".

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was not at the ceremony, but visited Berlin earlier this week. During a speech on Friday, he warned that "freedom is never guaranteed". He criticised the human rights records of the Russian and Chinese governments, and said: "Today, authoritarianism is once again rising." Saturday was also the anniversary of the Kristallnacht - the night of broken glass - when thousands of Jewish homes, synagogues and businesses were attacked in Nazi Germany and Austria in 1938. About 200 people joined a far-right protest in Bielefeld in northwest Germany in support of a Holocaust denier, while thousands of anti-fascist and left-wing groups held a counter protest, local media reported.

[Democracy is definitely under increased strain today. It may even be under attack in some places and from time to time but I don't think that it's in crisis nor in danger - at least not yet - of ending up as a historical curiosity. Being ever the optimist about such thing [grin] I'd even have to say that the strains are going to - eventually strengthen our institutions. But we all need to remember: Democracy – Use it or Lose it!]