A Christmas story

This blog is about hope, kindness, decency and truth. And politics. And Christmas. 

Anyone who is still with me, thanks. That's kindness covered. 

I'm not a fan of Christmas.  Rather I'm not a fan of the fake Christmas. The pre Christmas consumer festival. The one that starts earlier each year. Sneaking in before Halloween these days.  "Show them that you love them by buying them [this]".  Help please. No. 

I am a fan of the real Christmas. The full twelve days of it. I like the immediate run in too.  The bit called Advent.  I will -and do- wonder at the nativity story, sing carols, and hope for peace on earth.  I won't be throwing out a worn out Christmas tree on Boxing day. I hope to be full of good cheer throughout - even if my football team lets me down (again). Spending time with family and friends, even the in-laws. I can't wait - and I'm not being sarcastic. 

I am definitely not a fan of Christmas elections. Not this one. At. All. 

Unfortunately this is now my third blog about general elections in less than what would normally be a single five year parliamentary term. Blogging about putting up vote labour signs during the 2015 campaign now seems from a more innocent age. 

Back in 2015, Cameron's Conservatives won a reasonable working majority against Ed Miliband. Sadly for them after the Brexit vote, May now in charge and Corbyn leading the opposition, they got greedy. They called an early election in 2017 expecting a landslide but then lost their majority.  So much for the "strong and stable" government we were promised.   So much for "getting Brexit done" when they couldn't even agree or support their own version of it. 

And now we have The Johnson Conservatives.  I deliberately call them The Johnson Conservatives because this isn't the Conservative Party we have known.   There's been a takeover. Behind cultivated cuddly brand "Boris", there's been a ruthless clear out. New faces but old interests are pulling the strings, however familiar the blue rosette.  It's everything and anything to get power now.  Clue: it's not your or my interests they're looking after.  

Don't believe me? Follow the money. Read the Russian interference report.  Oh no, you can't! Johnson's mob have blocked it. 

Think I'm a conspiracy theorist?  How about the voting recommendation of a former Conservative Prime Minister and past senior cabinet members? They are actually supporting  independent conservatives  and other parties rather than the Johnson lot. A real conservative commentator and journalist has taken to rebutting Johnson's lies on a website.  Some conservatives are pushing back against these extremists cloaked in a familiar brand.  Good on them. It's time for all good decent folk to make a stand. 

In my first blog, I was optimistic but concerned about mounting negativity in campaigns.  Afterwards our local Labour candidate won the seat against the national trend but the Conservatives won a majority in parliament.  In my second blog, after the brexit vote and  a personal retreat into despair, I was engaged and back fighting but concerned about May's vacuous slogans and negativity. Our local Labour Candidate - in one of the most marginal seats in the country- went on to win by over 9000. We wrote the script locally and the Conservatives lost their majority nationally. This time, my third blog, I am numb from relentless lies. I have never felt like this before. But there's never been a more important time to pay attention. 

I'm really alarmed. This is serious - not your typical party political choice.   We are on a dangerous path.  Truth is out the window with the Johnson Conservatives. Lies are its currency.  We are not talking about stretching the truth - a slippery answer, an avoided question. It's not "All politicians lie"(untrue). It's not "They're all as bad as each other" (they're not).  We are talking about an industrial scale lying machine. Barefaced lies. Lies debunked but repeated regardless. A deliberate bombardment on the senses.  Falsehood repeated to cut through into your consciousness.  This is right out of Putin's playbook.  Trumpian scale alternative reality.  Reason and objective facts are now out of the window. Deception and manipulation is the Johnson Conservative way . We are heading down a dangerous rabbit hole where nothing seems real, but where the consequences will be real enough.  I fear we are passing a line in the sand. If these tactics win then kiss goodbye to common decency. Forget any sense of fairplay. Trust broken is not easy to repair. 

I'm not here to make party politcal points. But how many policies could you actually cite from the Johnson Conservatives campaign? Honest question.  Beyond the mind numbing "Get Brexit Done" and some robot like repeated but discredited  numbers of double counted nurses and hospitals.  Anything? In contrast, how many labour policies could you cite in the face of an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink shovelful of shit heaped on Jeremy Corbyn every day?

Are we going to let them get away with it? How far down the slippery slope do we have to slide?  Will you stand up to this or are you happy to sink further?  I'm not. 

I've worked in supermarkets in the run up to Christmas. "Merry Christmas Everyone". "All I want for Christmas is you". Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.  Eventually it gets you. It's not Christmas but you're humming along. Better start buying stuff.  It's not real, but it gets you anyway. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. 

The good thing about the fake Christmas is it ends eventually and the real one remains. We can remember the story of a baby in a stable.  We can open our hearts to hope. 

After a Christmas election like this, if we let the Johnson Conservatives get away with this, will our faith ever be restored in democracy?  It doesn't have to be like this. The shit is getting real. I choose hope. Whatever you do choose carefully. 

A football love letter

I’m a life long fan of Chester Football Club.  This short blog, written on St. Valentine’s Day (aka St. Milner’s Day) is in part a love letter to my club.  I wanted to write something in order to encourage participation in efforts keep Chester alive in the face of some financial difficulties.  I write it in the hope that football fans of whatever team, followers from afar, occasional supporters or neutrals might empathize.  If you can lend some support, that would be great too. 

I also write this in part as a thank you to all those involved in fund raising efforts – including whoever bid against me and won the signed Michael Wilde away shirt auctioned on Ebay recently.  I write looking ahead to a fund raising match to help keep Chester alive that takes place tomorrow evening (Thursday 15^th February 2018, tickets available on the door £10/£5). 

I first saw Chester in the early 70s  - which ironically was perhaps the zenith of our success in my watching career, at least when measured in conventional terms.   I can remember the excitement in school as Chester - the giant slayers - progressed through the league cup eventually being knocked out in the semi-final.  Imagine a class full of children shouting and banging desk lids in unison- ‘Chester’ Bang! Bang! Bang!  ‘Chester’  Bang! Bang! Bang!  It was a shame most if us were too young to be taken to night matches. 

The years from then to now have been a roller coaster, too often on the downward trajectory.  But the downs have certainly made the ups sweeter.  Successes may have been few and far between, but have been enjoyed none the less.  Following Chester has taken me to games around the country, some famous ground on route.  There’s been magic, pain, ecstasy, despair, fierce rivalries - the whole range of football watching emotions. ‘What if?' 'Surely that was in’. ‘Referee!’ 

During my time I’ve seen players on the up escalator to wider fame and fortune and seasoned pros seeing out their playing days on route down through the divisions.  There have been many ‘legends’ that many will never have heard of beyond our club –but players who made an impact in our story.

Relegation? Check. Promotion? Check.  Relegation out of the league?  Check.  Promotion back to the league?  Check.  Relegation out again? Check. Going bust? Check.

Yes. going bust.  Off the field we’ve faced going under on several occasions only to escape from the brink, until the last time.

We are now a phoenix fan-owned enterprise – a co-operative model (somewhere I have a paper confirming my contribution to the original loan note society).  I, along with fellow supporters, now own the club and we have a say in how its run.

Being reborn in the face of oblivion has led to some of the most enjoyable times in my ‘career’ supporting Chester. On the climb back up we won three promotions on the trot.  Moreover, I now have a healthy respect of the non league pillars in the football pyramid – hidden grounds, un-segregated supporters, pies a plenty, and a beer or two. 

I have little useful to say on our current financial predicament. It seems the top flight of non-league football - the National league - is keenly fought and the clubs in it hungry for promotion to the league.  There is perhaps a fair amount of money being thrown about to try and gain access to the exclusive club that is the football league.  When much of your income comes through gate receipts, a dip in form and then crowds may soon turn potentially catastrophic on the cash flow. Numbers turning up matters. 

 Whilst the present predicament is unwelcome I feel more optimistic that we can make a difference about it, in a way we couldn’t when others owned the club   We are now facing these difficulties as a fan owned club.  In the few short weeks since the difficulties became apparent the response has been amazing.  People are clearly working their socks off - and auctioning the shirts off their backs to put things on a more steady footing.    

Tomorrow’s game is going to be an emotional affair for me.  Colin Murray’s all stars versus a Chester select XI.  It’s going to be a whole lot of fun for sure.  With some of the names on the team sheets, it will be a real trip down memory lane too.  I’m not going to mention any Chester players in particular here;  it’s a roll call of stars to me  (that said I am  looking forward to seeing a legend wearing  blue and white who became famous to Chester fans by scoring for another team in another match so ensuring our promotion!)

Tomorrow two sides will face each other but both will be playing for Chester FC.  A football family will gather for the love of a game and in hope of securing the future for a club that I love.  I look forward to standing with you as part of that family.

 

The General Erection [reflections on the eve of 2015 election reposted in 2017]

The General Erection [reflections on the 2015 General Election originally posted on the eve of the election. In a state of disappointment I deleted the post shortly after the election results came in. I later  rediscovered a draft of the original post and with a few minor corrections reposted it on 1st May 2017 as Britain heads towards another General Election]

As a Labour supporter I find it difficult to engage too closely with mainstream coverage of the general election.  I'm too easily tipped into a rage by biased and hostile copy carrying the opinions of newspaper proprietors as news. Labour and its leaders are savagely attacked from the right (and often lazily sneered at from the apparent left).  If you think I'm soft skinned check out the academic research on the topic or take a look at the ridiculous hyperbole of today's pre-election day headlines.

I take refuge as a volunteer helping to put up 'vote labour' signs in supporters gardens. Political signage might not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's a physical therapy and mental balm to devising and building these erections. Each site presents a different opportunity and challenge. If you see a sign, someone has usually thought about it more than you might think. It's part of the street by street battle; allowing supporters to show their colours and in doing so lifting the spirits of our troops in the all important 'ground war'.  We all play our parts great and small.

Over the years the ebb and flow of political support is there to divine if one reads the signs. In the marginal I live in we are currently ahead 'on the poles', last time when the tories got back we were not.

As we saw, hammer, and nail our way around the constituency it's a chance for me to reflect and meditate on the political process and wider campaign.  It appears to me that this election has deliberately been side-tracked on to the topic of future coalitions. Rather than defend the dismal record of their own  coalition, the Tories have desperately attempted to foster fear of an imagined coalition of nationalists and labour. The media have willingly played along imagining a host of different possible groupings based on the noise of polls that have hardly shifted.  Labour has been criticised for trying to campaign on its policies to win rather than speculate on imagined groupings if it doesn't!

The irony is that Labour is and always has been a coalition for progress. Its much maligned structure -- involving unions and different socialist societies - reflects a heritage of coalition. It's myriad accommodations testament to an understanding of the need to present a united programme that can can be agreed as best as possible. The party is a reflection of an ongoing conversation about progress, justice and fairness, with each election a new construct is designed to fit the times. There is even an electoral agreement between two legal entities the labour and co-operative parties (which others could learn from if the were pragmatic enough). Labour is the very embodiment of coalition, one made before not left until after an election.

In an age of image obsessed supermarket brand politics, the diversity of this grand coalition within Labour  is often obscured. Those who fail to see it may take refuge in seemingly ideological purer minority parties. Sadly we end up competing for the same votes and risk losing the very progress we seem to seek in the process.  

I'm not sure where these reflections or the story of this election will end, but if you are reading this in good faith with an open mind, I hope you may reflect on the pragmatism and compromise that has helped labour be a positive force for change in the past  I hope also you may appreciate the efforts of Ed Miliband as Labour's leader  to help steer the progressive conversation across this coalition and give it shape in an pragmatic programme to put to the British people, tomorrow.

Anyhow long day tomorrow. I know who I'm voting for.  My sign is up. I hope enough sign up to put us on a better path.

Reflections on the election

Last time I wrote a blog on the election in 2015 it was late coming and I deleted it soon after.  I doubt many people, if any, read it.

I deleted the post as the election results came in. I had arrived home late after a taking a day off work to help with the election day 'get out the vote' push.  I had been to the post-election gathering for a few pints and it was not long before the atmosphere turned.  First the exit poll nobody believed . Then the slow trickle of results that turned disbelief into reality.

I felt crushed. It didn't make sense. Things seemed to be at odds with my experience of the local campaign. Returning home in despair I deleted the blog and posted "I could be some time" to Facebook before retiring in despondency.

Fast forward to now.  Britain now has a different prime minister. The opposition has a new leader.  We have experienced a divisive referendum. Britain is now on course to leave the EU.  The integrity of our of own union is again under challenge.  We also have - despite the fixed term parliament act and a government with a clear majority - another general election. The stability the Conservatives promised then now seems an illusion. Once again they are promising us strong and stable government. This time the media seem to be reporting the election like a forgone conclusion.  It would be easy to remain in despair.

I found a draft of my 2015 blog post not long back. It was interesting for me to read with the benefit of hindsight. Now that an election has been called I decided to repost it and add this one.  They are just my perspectives then and now. Hopefully someone is reading this and will read the reposted one too.  Maybe it will strike a chord or make you think

Whatever your political view, I hope you find these posts of interest as in insight into the mind of a volunteer with a bit part in a local political campaign.  It is perhaps a view rarely represented in the mainstream.  We forget the general elections are but a series of local contests to elect local Members of Parliament. Try as some might to make us think otherwise we don't have a presidential system - very few of us are actually voting for Jeremy Corbyn or Theresa May.  Local people make campaigns and local issues matter.

In part I hope this post may inspire you to share your voice and get involved in the  General Election in 2017. The success of negative campaigning in 2015 knocked me. I found the cynicism debilitating. Reposting my original thoughts -and these- is my small way of reclaiming something positive - and some hope. The election is not a forgone conclusion. 

Whatever party you support I think it's important that we can look out for and call out cynical manipulation. Repeated robotic slogans are no substitute for ideas. I believe we can and need to make this election about the quality of different ideas and the qualities of those who seek to represent our local communities. We can't let a creeping insidious negativity cloud our judgment. Turning people off is a problem for our democracy. It doesn't have to be like this.

If you have read my reposted election eve post from 2015 you know the headline of what happened next, but perhaps not the local detail.  When I woke up to get ready for work exhausted and with a fuzzy head our local result was still not in. The national picture was clear: victory for the Conservatives.  The local result came in as I was still getting dressed. We had taken the seat from the Conservatives by a narrow margin.  I think I swore. I know I burst into tears- a real bitter sweet moment.  My sense of the local campaign had not been wrong. We had won our battle. Sadly my party lost the wider war.  

The next few days were a roller coaster too.  The local election count went to the wire.  Locally we took control of our council from the Conservatives . The Ward I live in was the last one called. It elected two Labour councilors resulting in a group with a majority of one.  My time helping out was not after all in vain.

Local victories aside, I was indeed away "some time". In disillusionment I stepped away - watched and read less and less. The quality of the debate in the EU referendum didn't help, nor the tone of the leadership contests in my own party. I participated less and less. I didn't know what to say. I felt increasingly powerless. The cynical manipulation I had seen rewarded nearly turned me off for good. 

I have only recently woken from this slumber when a local by-election was called - remember the bit about the majority of one!   When you have something good that's worth defending it can focus the mind. Our candidate was a friend and a thoroughly decent person- someone you'd really appreciate as a councillor.  Somewhere along the line a general election was called and the by-election took on a new light still.

Fresh from the local by-election, won with an increased share of the vote that appears contrary to what national polls may suggest - I attended my first party meeting in a very long time.  Our MP gave a truly magnificent speech - a speech to die for.  No one in the room could doubt his sincerity, his heartfelt appreciation of representing our city in parliament and the need for us to fight for every last vote to enable him to continue to so so.

I'm back now.  Hope has returned.  We returned an MP worth fighting for. We still have ideas worth offering. There's a story to tell and if the national media seem reluctant to tell it we'll have to do it ourselves.  I could just sit at home wounded by apparent media bias, switched off by endless speculation, burnt out by bickering.  I choose not to. I choose hope.  My area bucked the trend last time because we wrote the script. Local campaigns matter. MPs that fight our corner matter. We may have the battle of our lives ahead -no doubt - but I have at least re-found my voice. I plan to use the skills I have to help. Election campaigns don't happen by magic - the rely on volunteers.

Whatever you believe I hope you can find your voice to raise the standard of political discussion. Let's decide the election on the ideas and platforms presented. Let our choices be informed.

Up split creek

Drawing on the skills of a diverse crew to sail towards electoral success not towards the rocks that could break us 

At a time of seemingly deep division in the Labour Party, I find it difficult to participate in the leadership debate in a meaningful way through posts limited to 140 characters.  My #keepitcomradely interventions seem impotent as a toxic meme war rages around the twitter sphere.  If I was to believe some of the tortuously stretched spin I have read then neither candidate would be fit for office. I am sure I am not the only one exasperated as the good ship Labour seems to float towards the rocks propelled on a wave of social media bile.

This blog post is my attempt to find calmer waters, to create space to turn the boat around and start working as effective crew towards electoral success.  I write it in the belief there remains a significant proportion -hopefully a majority on both sides and neither - who have the good faith needed to show the pragmatic spirit upon the labour party was built.  It seems too easy to only hear destructive voices in the social media age.  Whoever wins this leadership contest, our public reactions and future conduct matter.  If nothing else I hope this post creates a moment of calm for reflection. It would be great if it helped facilitate more pragmatic and considered interventions.

First I think it's important to think about leadership. The position of Leader of the Labour Party is not the Labour Party.  Leaders come and go - they are temporary captains of the ship, whether at times you want to throw them overboard or not! Furthermore leadership is not exclusive to the role of leader.  We have many leaders, both official and otherwise. We can all to a greater or lesser extent show leadership (for example by the way we behave on social media, or conduct our business in branch and constituency).  Our official leaders may have their powers codified, but they are not all powerful.  I worry some have begun to see leaders as policies personified.  Elected leaders do not have the gift of policy to give. They are gifted with many other privileges including the opportunity to direct the further development of policy, appoint their team etc. But getting  the policies they want is not a given.  Our captain may have many policy destinations in mind - hopefully - but must employ their nouse and strategic sense to achieve success: where to go first, where to avoid, what route to take and how to manage the crew to get there most effectively and so on.  We need to stop thinking in terms of leadership as absolute and remember it is conferred by consent.  Mandates can be broken when leadership fails.
   
Secondly I think its important to think of labour as it is - a progressive alliance of diverse interests, and different elements - members, trade unions, socialist societies and elected representative groupings -from councils to parliaments.  This alliance was forged by our forebears to win representation for working people. The prize of parliamentary representation involved compromise to secure unity.   Our much derided, misunderstood and often meddled with  structures and processes need adept leadership. They can frustrate, but can also provide important checks and balances.  It seems a little ironic for some to talk of progressive alliances with other parties when we seem to have forgotten to see labour as such an alliance - and when the skills to maintain this alliance seem in short supply.

My third point is a challenge to supporters of rival candidates. What if there is a grain of truth in some of the arguments flung back and forth between rival 'opposing' sides?  What can we learn from thinking about some of these points in order to understand each other and begin to make things better. I've order these "what ifs" largely as they came out in my head as I sat on the train.  It's not a comprehensive list but hopefully provides some food for thought.  Whether there is a grain of truth in the points presented is another matter, but if it's what people believe then it's a useful starting point for reflection.

What if Jeremy Corbyn is not up to the job - he has been too insular, has wound people up, has not listened, he has done things that had undermined colleagues, he has not adjusted from being a back bencher free from responsibilities of the office of leader? What if colleagues in the PLP are not a bunch of rabid right wingers who should 'join the tories'?

What if Jeremy Corbyn is learning on the job but has yet to fully grow into it.  He needs a chance to settle in and shine. Maybe he needs support, perhaps some mentoring?  Maybe he needs to widen his inner circle? Maybe he needs to think about the balance of power in this group and the impact of the words of some of his colleagues and how they sit with his professed distance from the toxic issue of deselection? Maybe he needs to think about the platform the Parliamentary Labour Party was elected on as the starting point for policy development? Maybe he needs to be seen to focus more on the day to day issues that concern the people we purport to represent? Maybe he needs to remember that the words of leaders are often heard as party policy even when they are not?

What if Jeremy Corbyn's is not the 'leader of a cult' but his appeal is testament to his impact in fanning the embers of the fire that a majority of us hold in our hearts but which has too often been cloaked in timidity, throttled back too far as we've tried too hard win by cold calculations and opinion polls?  What if the Parliamentary Labour Party knows this and Owen Smith "copying Jeremy Corbyn's policies" is a sign that more unites us than divides - that these are actually Labour ideas that can be shaped into a unifying policy?  What if the majority of the PLP have accepted a leftward tack but Jeremy just doesn't have the skills to get the best out of his team? What if the clear interest and emotional investment Jeremy Corbyn seems to have generated amongst his supporters was shared out and people started to see the PLP as being on the same side?

What if people supporting Jeremy Corbyn are not 'Trotskyist entryists' or supporters of other parties?  What if they are not 'idiots', or part of a 'personality cult', but simply appreciate the authenticity apparent in long serving strong minded backbencher? What if some of Jeremy's past statements and contacts make him a soft target for a media all too keen undermine Labour?

What if some some supporters are Trotskyists agitators using the party for their own ends?  What if it didn't take many entryists to turn the mood bitter and to trigger deselections? What if you'd been a member through earlier bitter times and sensed history was repeating itself? What if you thought that a group like Momentum operating outside the party could too easily be a used as a vehicle for infiltration and trouble?

What if Momentum had the best interests of Labour at its heart?  What if it was a valuable basis for organising a social movement? What if it affiliated to and was subject to the rules of other societies and groupings in our progressive federation?  Will it or won't it? If not why not?

What if this isn't the last say on leadership before the next general election?  What if Jeremy Corbyn is a reluctant leader or Owen Smith wins and is then challenged? What if Jeremy wins now but actually wants to go once he has brought forward changes to strengthen the role of members in our party's affairs?  Who is next?

And so some final concluding thoughts. What if we stop elevating the role of party leader to something it is not?  What if we viewed labour as a pragmatic alliance of diverse progressive interests and valued each other's view points and harnessed the passion and creativity we possess? What if  our social media posts going forward sought to unite not divide?  What are we all going to do to ensure we can present a credible election winning platform to make the world into a better place?  After all, whoever wins, what if the polls are right?

From Wii to U

From Wii to U - Ugrading to Nintendo's next generation console

Towards the end of 2012 I made a deal with my kids: save £75 each and I will pay the difference to buy a Wii U - Nintendo's successor to the Wii game console.  Remarkably they stuck with it and in November 2013, just as attention was turning to Microsoft's and Sony's next generation consoles, we were taking delivery of a shiny new Wii U.  In this post I share some thoughts about our experiences moving from Wii to U.

First some context, I have not progressed through the console generations. I'm not a 'hard core' gamer. The Wii was the first console in our household   It brought gaming into our living room.   From Wii Sports action to Wii Fit activity, from Mario Kart racing to exploring Super Mario Galaxy we have enjoyed our time with the Wii.  It has certainly served us well.  

Over time the Wii has seen the arrival of several competing attractions: handhelds, tablets, smart phones and an Xbox 360. The Wii started to look a little 'smudged' after we upgraded to bigger HD TV. Slowly, it was seeing less and less use.

Enter the Wii U. Not wholly different in size. It fits in the space the Wii ocuppied.  The main obvious difference is the addition of an extra controller with its own touch screen the Wii u gamepad, more on this in a moment

First set up, this was relatively straightforward and it was not long before the Wii U was up and running with new Mii characters created for each of our family members. There has been some later tweaking to find the right mix of parental controls linked to online functionality.   We never dabbled greatly in the on-line elements of the Wii so I can't make much of a comparison there. What I can say is I found it easier to set up than the 'Xbox live' service previously bought for my son. It was also free. 

The main change is the new Wii U gamepad controller. As well as acting as controller with the usually array of buttons and sticks, the addition of a touch screen has changed the experience in two main ways:- 

First, as an extra hand held screen to continue playing games when someone wants to watch the TV so called 'off TV play'.

Second, as an extra screen to interact with and change the way games can be played. In some titles the gamepad is totally integral to the gameplay experience. For example, in Zombi U, it becomes a scanner zombi detector map, gun sight, and 'live' inventory management screen. In some multiplayer games it creates a second view on the game for 'asynchronous' play - one player with the game pad sees one view, the others watching the TV another.  Play the Mario Chase or Luigi's Ghost Mansion mini games in Nintendoland you'll soon realise what fun this can be! Riotous laughter prevails with some squabbles over whose turn it it to play the gamepad role.

A key thing to point out is the controller is not a seperate independent portable console, you need to be in range of the console. You also need to keep it charged up!

Of course games consoles are not much good without games. Our bundle came with two games on disc -Super Mario U and Super Luigi U, plus codes to download tennis and bowling.    At Christmas the game count went up and to include ZombiU(2nd hand), Rayman legends, Sonic All Stars Racing, Just Dance 2014 and Nintendoland. Post January sales we added Pikmin 3, Assassins Creed 3, Deus Ex the Wonderful 101 and Lego City Undercover(2nd hand). By shopping around none of these games have cost more than £20 and some less than a tenner. The only launch day title we have bought has been Mario kart 8. For just around £40 it came with a free racing wheel. The launch offer included a free download code so was in effect two games for the price of one (we chose Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD).  Add a few more downloaded titles in the 'pocket money' category, our entire back catalogue of Wii games -plus some new and second hand Wii games - and we have amassed plenty of games to play!

So the experience. The Wii U is not a radical addition like the Wii.  Games are part of the scene now. Its another platform to play them on.  It's more an evolution than a revolution. It feels like the console has caught up with the HD TV and the games look good crisp and vibrant and the sound is good. Nintendo's characters look and play well again. Family friendly party gaming is now very much back on the menu in our living room.  Mario kart online racing is on the agenda too.

Of course whether you choose to buy a Wii U will no doubt depend on your own circumstances and preferences.  If you enjoyed the Wii, the WiiU is a logical progression. If you have invested in Microsoft or Sony consoles I'd say the Wii U is best seen as a contrasting 'companion' rather than a duplicate replacement. In our household the Xbox 360 is still in use. But it is used almost exclusively to play Minecraft and Fifa games (I'm loathe to buy an Xbox One at its current price when the likelihood is that it would used to play Minecraft and Fifa!). 

I'd sum up the main positives of the Wii U as follows:-

Some excellent games - a strong family friendly line up - but reasonable variety and some mature titles too

Budget conscious gaming - especially if you are prepared to shop around

Off TV play -keep playing in the same room when someone wants to watch TV

Interesting ways to play - not all games exploit the game pad, but several do in imaginative ways.

Strong 'in room' social gaming. Party gaming lives on.

Relatively easy to use online play options in some games - no need to pay a premium to play online

Wii mode to play existing Wii disks (if you have them)

Wii controllers compatible with many games  (if you have them).

Good deals to be had.

Only Yes. And No.

As a resident in England I have no vote on Scottish independence. I do, however, have an opinion about how Britain is governed for better or worse. It's time to voice it.

In part I'm writing this blog because it helps to untie the knot of thoughts and emotions that have built up as referendum day approaches. Another reason is because it's one of the few things I can do. In the event this blog helps a single undecided voter, or even creates some shared understanding beyond, then it'll have been worth more than its therapeutic value alone. I hope it conveys my solidarity with those who may welcome it at this time.

I've been trying to avoid the coverage on the referendum. Keeping off twitter. Steering clear of the news. For the sake of my blood pressure and mental health, I've tried to keep some distance from what often seems grossly simplistic arguments.

Independence is an emotive issue and played out within a relatively small island particularly so. I'm no fan of nationalism. I know how difficult it is to escape its call and consequence. Nationalism fanned at a time of widespread economic despair does not seen to have a good track record!

I'm no fan of an over dominant Westminster either. I think Britain is imbalanced politically and economically. Local governance is impoverished, the English regions emasculated. London dominates (with a seemingly independent City of London state-within-a-state at its heart). But is the nationalist call to break the union really the answer?

It's been a grim few years for many of us in Britain - and elsewhere- living through the after shocks of a global financial melt down. Add the scape-goating of the public sector unleashed in its wake (by a government I have no love for) and I'd welcome some change.

I'd also welcome some solidarity.  I'd sooner see political energy expended on improving the lot of those in need whatever side of a line on the map they happen to live on. Instead, if the nationalists get their way, it is likely to be  spent bickering over an ugly separation.

I'd be very wary of a soft focus 'holiday brochure' independence, however alluring its presentation. I certainly don't buy the argument painted by some on the left that sees Scottish independence as some route to a new socialist order, or even a way of cementing the foundations for an enduring social democratic state. It may temporarily shake parts of the establishment, but I don't see an independent Scotland being free from global capitalism. Or even from the dominant influence of what remains of Britain. I part perceive it as a means for capital to further pick the bones of a potentially weakened state. If Rupert Murdoch is in favour of it, alarm bells start to ring.

I fear many of those in favour of a 'yes' vote beyond Scotland, in part relish the opportunities that any aftershock might create. However exciting this might appear intellectually, I'm for more immediate and practical struggles. I speak not from the comfort of an arm chair, but amidst the worry of another round of redundancies at work. It doesn't need a 'yes' vote to create such opportunities. They have already been created.

Despite attempts to play it down and pretend it's a non-issue, the wider rise of nationalism worries me. From warped racial variants, to more subtle shades of 'difference': UKIP want UK independence from Europe; the SNP Scottish independence from Britain. Personally I'm happy to be a cestrian, northern, English, British and European (roll on a wider sense of being a citizen of the world!). To me each identity presents possibility, community and potential solidarity. In contrast breaking away from some burdensome 'other' creates a 'them' and 'us'. Soft cuddly nationalism stokes nationalism of quite another variant. It's to easy to turn friend into foe and neighbour against neighbour sliding down this slope.

The ugly side of nationalism has been present on the campaign trail. Division is divisive in Scotland. If successful I fear things will get uglier still beyond. Scotland is not contained within an ancient border. In our well mixed home, the break up the nationalists desire risks creating many strangers in their own land north and south of the border.

I would ask those attracted to independence whether they really think devolution has really run it's course? To me it appears to be in its infancy with more prospects and avenues to travel. I'd certainly welcome a bit of devolution to the north west of England. Couldn't we further rectify the imbalance in Britain with a proper constitutional settlement across the whole of Britain?

Ultimately I suspect how you perceive independence is in part a reflection of your identity at a time of crisis. It is also a question of what value you place on unions. To my mind people can vote yes to be only Scottish or no to remain both Scottish and British: 'only' yes; 'and' no. 'And' includes some notion of value in a union with those you share a small island with.

So to wrap up my rambles, there's a fork in the path approaching. People living in Scotland have a choice  to make - whether they wanted it or not. If I had a vote I'd vote 'no', no to a narrow risky seemingly one-way path. I'd vote 'no' not to keep the status quo but to go further together in an evolving union of possibilities. I'm for 'and' not 'only', solidarity not division.