The Village Beneath

"We are sorry that the 09.35 service to Richmond has been delayed by ten minutes. We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause."

Unfortunately, I failed to be touched by the tone in the robot woman's voice. Whoever or whatever recorded it could have done a better job at synthesising or feigning the perfect combination of sympathy and remorse. As it was, the apology left me cold, not that I wasn't already shivering as I stood on the windswept platform at Kentish Town West station.

I was soon having an argument with myself. Part of me thought that it was nice to them to make the effort to apologise, even though it was manufactured. Through the swirl of rain and wind, it was sort of nice to hear the word "apologise", even if it did come from a robot woman with zero expression in her voice.

The other part of me mourned the loss of sincerity, humanity and personal contact, the thought that this recording could now be considered an appropriate medium for an apology. 

It was this second internal voice which prevailed. Apologies, I realise, can be the most human and humiliating things we do. The way in which we do them, if we do them, defines us as people. They expose us as imperfect and flawed, they confirm that we're not consistent or logical or rational or punctual. The sincere apology by-passes all the boasting and posturing, the brinkmanship of arguments and the injuries of ambition.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Is a recorded apology any different from writing "sorry" on a piece of paper and then posting it on a noticeboard?

I just don't think anyone should ever apologise about anything unless they truly mean it. But how can a machine "mean" it. And if we can "apologise" by flicking a switch on a piece of electronic equipment, then the difficulty for companies, public bodies or even individuals to be taken seriously when they truly are sorry about something grows even greater. And that's where cynicism creeps in.  

A war raged far away. The Democratic Party was split down the middle. Out of the chaos, a young African-American was nominated as the party's Vice-Presidential hopeful.

Sounds like a script from the West Wing, or even like a scenario that could unfold later this year. Actually it was 40 years ago and the 1968 presidential primary and nomination process is remembered as the most tumultuous in US history. 

At the convention, Georgian civil rights activist Julian Bond, 23, was nominated by the conference to be the Vice Presidential candidate, in the face of Hubert Humphrey's preferred choice Edmund Muskie. Bond declined the nomination on the grounds that he was too young (35 being the minimum age required to run).

Bond, who is now the chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and has come out in favour of counting the ballots in Michigan and Florida. He said he had "great concern at the prospect that million of voters in Michigan and Florida could ultimately have their votes completely discounted." Because of this stance, he has been attacked by Obama-ites such as Al Sharpton for having "sold out to the Clintons".

I don't agree with this at all and it shows just how warped some people can become in their pursuit of a particular partisan outcome. Not only is counting, or re-running the Florida and Michigan votes the right thing to do, it also makes better political sense.

Not counting the votes risks angering the very people the Democrats need to win over http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1724374,00.html. According to Time, a poll conducted this week for various Florida media found that almost a quarter of Florida Democrats say they'll be "less likely to support" the party's nominee if their state's delegates aren't seated at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August. In addition, "some state party leaders tell TIME they privately estimate the Dem dysfunction will cost them at least 1% of Florida's sizeable chunk of independent voters, who number more than 2 million, or almost a fifth of the state's electorate."

Its absurd that millions of people's votes in Florida and Michigan should be discounted because of a bureaucratic error. Obama's a once-in-a-generation politician. But sometimes it seems to me that the Democrats just don't have the gonads to win in November. I'd very much welcome being proven wrong.

The fact that there was next to no wind yesterday made all the difference. It was an oddly gorgeous day and felt more like early summer than late winter. The fire was so big, like a huge pyre had been lit in the centre of Camden market. Even a slight breeze would have meant that the hot debris being thrown up in the air when the fire was at its height would have rained down on more homes and shops in the area.  

Thank you to the men and women who risked their lives to stop this fire. We owe you a lot.

I could see the glow in the distance from Swiss Cottage. The flames shot up into the air and as I ran down Chalk Farm Road, the road was being showered in sparks and ash. I stood on Hawley Street with other witnesses, held back by Police, my mouth gawping open.

The Camden market fire raged on my doorstep, and the firefighters had tea breaks below by balcony. No one was hurt. But people's homes have been burned and livelihoods shattered. And a piece of history has been lost forever.
  
One man said he thought the Police were worried that the sparks would set off an explosion in the petrol station nearby.

I saw smoke coming out of the Hawley Arms, but those round me said it was simply the heat from the fire nearby that was causing it. Then I saw flames lick up in side and a glow from the shadowed windows. The Police began pushing the crowd back, further and further. The area became off limits. I raced in my doorway and watched as the Hawley Arms became engulfed in fire.

The firefighters battled bravely, taking their hoses as close as possible and dousing the flames at all costs. After five hours of fighting, they have brought the fire under control. Emergency workers were fed and looked after by a Salvation Army van from up the street. The area around my house is still cordoned off to pedestrians.

This has been a devastating night for Camden Town.

Bermudian gardens were invaded over the Christmas period by a species once thought to have been banished to the outside world. Political stakeboards peered out from behind cedar trees at passing cars and mopeds. The general election was imminent, and pride of political expression seemed to have taken root on an island where voting loyalty once resembled the love that dare not speak it's name.

Bermudian elections were once disorganised or one-sided affairs. For 30 years the United Bermuda Party macheted their way through contests with the help of wealthy donors and overpaid political consultants. They held office between 1968 and 1998 and gradually became corrupt, self-serving and petty. Their last few years in office were spent debating the pros and cons of allowing McDonalds to open a branch on the Island (it is still banned).

The Progressive Labour Party's victory on December 18, 2007 (http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/election.jsp?sectionId=193) was the result of an unprecedentedly organised and deliberate election campaign by a party that was once considered unelectable. There was a 2% swing towards the PLP, after 9 years in government. Finally, this seemed like an evenly balanced fight in terms of the resources and organisation of two contesting parties.

In the end though, the PLP won because it fought a more effective campaign. There was the correct balance of trumpting achievements and plans while pointing out weaknesses of opponents. There was a consistent, simple message throughout, emphasising ordinary people not abstract ideas. And there was a strong momentum of mobilisation using banners, flags, posters, stakeboards and caps and T-shirts. Election day found the approach to the capital city of Hamilton festooned with PLP green.

The PLP were better at getting their vote out and won on a markedly improved turnout. But the PLP victory emphasised the other distinctive feature of Bermudian politics: that race squeezes about debate over ideas or policy in Bermuda. PLP support is overwhelmingly black, UBP support is overwhelmingly white. Election fever exacerbated this racial division and Bermuda is an overtly divided country, whereas before its divsisions were more hidden.

Let's be clear: the PLP didn't cause these divisions. They're the result of hundreds of years of white supremacist rule. The PLP's time in office has simply made them more apparent. In the long run, this is a healthy thing for the country. But I also see the need for a modern, liberal, progressive party in Bermuda, which respects due process, human rights, affirmative action and the environment but whose stance and rhetoric makes everyone, black or white, feel welcome. There are many blacks and whites who feel the PLP's victory was a good thing for Bermudian democracy but who also fundamentally disagree with the PLP's way of doing things.

If nothing else, though, the last nine years have introduced into Bermudian gardens a new genus of plant: political pridus. Let's hope the Bermudian climate is favourable to it in years to come.