Wednesday 12 May 2010

But to be young was very heaven!


To begin with I have to say that this is not what I hoped for last Thursday, this deal with the Liberal Democrats. I dislike the party almost as much as I dislike Labour. I think Clegg is a weak man, a man who really should have no leverage on the government of this country. But we have a Conservative Prime Minister again after thirteen years of the worst, most incompetent, most authoritarian ministry in this country’s history. I’m not naïve; I understand that there is a difficult passage ahead; I believe that there is likely to be another election within a year at the outside despite the five year pact.

Still, I live for this moment, I rejoice in this moment. I really only have the vaguest recollections of the last Conservative ministry and am so delighted to see a new one. I set my pessimism and my realism to one side and echo the words of Winston Churchill on VE Day - We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.

Very well done, David. School is proud of you; the tugs and the oppidans are proud of you; my father is proud of you.

Others will fill our places,
Dressed in the old light blue,
We'll recollect our races,
We'll to the flag be true,
And youth will be still in our faces,
When we cheer for an Eton crew,
And youth will be still in our faces,
When we cheer for an Eton crew.


And, being a hopeless romantic, I simply cannot resist leaving you with some lines of Wordsworth, words which sum up my mood at this sublime moment;

OH! pleasant exercise of hope and joy!
For mighty were the auxiliars which then stood
Upon our side, we who were strong in love!
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!--Oh! times,
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and statute, took at once
The attraction of a country in romance




13 comments:

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  2. Is the Conservative Party the same thing as the GOP here in the US?

    Coll

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  3. Adam, he will be a super PM.

    Coll, broadly speaking, yes, though we don't have the same hang ups over issues like abortion.

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  6. We need good manners in politics, especially after what the oiks and chavs have done over the past thirteen years. :-)

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  8. I've never quite understood the inference here. The poor cosmopolitan seems to be the enemy of everyone, Communists and Nazis included.

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  10. I can certainly hate Blair; that's easy.

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  12. A day of greater relief and delight than I and this country have seen in a long time. Some of the party are sceptical (which is a natural consequence of a new form of government) but it's the best option. A minority Conservative government would not have lasted for very long considering the challenges from the outside.

    I did my bit too in Barking but we didn't stand a chance in hell here in this dumping ground.

    Cameron is and will make an excellent Prime Minister for Queen and Country. The best since Margaret Thatcher. He has charisma, zeal and understands the British temperament. He also has the initiative to take risks and the discernment to make the right choices. God Bless him and God Save the Queen. Long Live Britannia and the casue of freedom!

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  13. Dear, dear, Rehan, yes, I agree. It's so nice to see you again. :-)

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