Inverted snobbery on education

I couldn’t help but groan when I heard of the petition against Damian Lewis attending the 50th anniversary of Acland Burghley comprehensive school in London. I believe that it should be about where someone is going in life, not where they’ve come from. By trying to take a stance against Lewis’ Eton-educated background, the signers of this petition have become snobs.

I hate to play the ‘I went to a comprehensive’ card, as Owen Jones often does. I’m very proud of my schooling, and I consider it a badge of honour because of the quality of teaching that I had there, not because I think it gives me a pass to talk about social justice or inequality. I’m not better qualified to talk about abstract concepts like ‘fairness’ and ‘opportunity’ just because I went to a comprehensive, otherwise I’m no different from the “reproduction of privilege and inequality in the UK” that the petition attacks Lewis for.

Personally, I’d be chuffed if an actor of Damian Lewis’ calibre came to my old school to give a talk. I think some people use the educational background of an individual very elastically indeed to suit their own arguments. David Cameron would be an easy target; “of course he hates the poor, he’s from a privileged background”, yet the same people who make that argument would never say “Clement Attlee did so much for this country; it’s just a shame that he went to a private school”. Arguments could be made about having less empathy due to a privileged background, but I believe that it is a separate debate (and one that can be unfairly skewed).

Kudos must go to Headmaster Nicholas John for refusing to bow to pressure. The assertion in the petition that Damian Lewis is a “wholly inappropriate choice” is lamentable. I think the argument is lost twofold; if you take an absolutist position that anyone from a private school background would be ‘wholly inappropriate’ for these kind of events, then in theory should David Cameron not visit any secondary schools (and therefore just open himself up further to any accusations that he doesn’t care)? If you take an elastic position on the subject, then you’re open to the double standards that I’ve listed above.

I’m as uncomfortable as anyone with the tendency for private schools to dominate in the social mobility and employment stakes. That doesn’t mean that we should succumb to snobbery, the very vice that this petition criticises Eton for. There are solutions to tackling inequality and to levelling the playing field. Refusing people the right to speak at events because of their background is not one of them.

John Williams: My top 5 themes

John Williams is, quite simply, a genius. He has composed some of the most iconic film scores, and his music is synonymous with the films that he has scored for. It’s surely the sign of a great composer that their music is subject to association of thought. Darth Vader? The Imperial March will immediately come into your head. Harry Potter? The magical tones of Hedwig’s Theme will sound in your head. Indiana Jones, Superman, Jaws...the list goes on. 

I have crudely assembled my own personal top five favourite John Williams film scores. For the musical experts out there, I apologise for my less than eloquent descriptions.

5) The Raiders March: Indiana Jones

This theme just feels so appropriate for the genre and era that it is set in. Indiana Jones is a swashbuckling hero, and Harrison Ford deserves a swashbuckling leitmotif. The theme was originally in two parts, but director Steven Spielberg asked for a combined result instead. John Williams doesn’t ever shoehorn in The Raiders March (which must be tempting), and it feels epic hearing it in multiple contexts; when Indy and company are heading off into the sunset on horseback (Last Crusade), or when they’re beating up the bad guys against the odds (Temple of Doom). I even liked it during the end scene of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (time to put the tin hat on: I actually didn’t mind the fourth one).

4) Star Wars main theme: Star Wars

My boyish excitement was alive and well when I went to watch The Force Awakens. Seeing “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” light up on the big screen massively heightened my anticipation for the opening notes of the Star Wars main theme. The tune is so recognisable that the vast majority of non-fans can still place the theme to the film. This theme perfectly sets the scene and hints at the adventure to come, and I love the continuity of having the opening crawl of text (accompanied by this theme) throughout the entire franchise. Imagine hearing a rousing rendition of this at a huge concert hall!

3) Journey to the Island: Jurassic Park

This theme is played throughout the entire Jurassic Park franchise, and is otherwise recognised when played in the first film as the helicopter approaches Isla Nublar (“you’ll recognise it when you hear it”). I love how brash and grand the spectacle of it is, which is appropriate given that there are living, breathing dinosaurs on show. I feel that this theme neatly encapsulates how Jurassic Park very much isn’t a horror/blood and gore film. There’s a triumph to this piece of music; just think of the T-Rex v Raptors scene in the first film. My one regret with it is that it’s only used very briefly in Jurassic World (for a helicopter scene, of course), but thank goodness that successive composers (after The Lost World: Jurassic Park) have stuck with it. 

2) Jurassic Park theme: Jurassic Park

A contrast to the Journey to the Island theme (especially when you hear the soft piano version). I think it captures the majesty and wonder of the dinosaurs, and is a grand theme for when Dr Grant and company first see a Brachiosaurus in the park. It also settles the pace down after the T-Rex attack, when Alan, Lex and Tim find shelter in the trees amongst the Sauropods. I did have a little lump in the throat when the theme first started up in Jurassic World as the tourists approach Isla Nublar, and the notes to the theme are hinted at beautifully throughout the film. I love each version of it, whether it’s the poignancy of the slow tempo and soft rendition or the building crescendo of the original use of the theme.

1) Binary Sunset/The Force theme: Star Wars

I always get goosebumps whenever I hear this beautiful piece of music. I still get goosebumps even when hearing it on the Family Guy spoof of A New Hope. It’s the most common theme throughout the Star Wars films, and rightly so. It’s first played in A New Hope when Luke looks at the two suns from his home in Tatooine, frustrated at being stuck on the desert planet. Whilst the notion of isolation and frustration is the first association of the theme, I think part of what makes it so special is that it can mean different things to different people (sorry if that’s a horrible cliché). It’s played in various contexts of the franchise, such as Obi Wan’s imminent victory over Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace or Han Solo’s “it’s true; all of it” speech about the force in The Force Awakens. The poignancy of the theme is what sticks with me, and it always seems to go hand in hand with the more emotional moments in the franchise. I think I have something in my eye whenever it plays...


Honourable mentions:

Hedwig’s Theme: Harry Potter

It was hard to omit this one, especially as it was a classic of a theme to grow up with. Once again, John Williams perfectly composes a genre-appropriate musical cue.

The Imperial March: Star Wars

Darth Vader’s hugely famous leitmotif was perhaps too obvious an entry to put into my top five (but it’s still a great theme).

Duel of the Fates: Star Wars

One of the better products of the prequel trilogy, and the vocals are fantastic. John Williams’ scores cannot be faulted in George Lucas’ very flawed prequels, and this theme is part of the only cool bit in The Phantom Menace: Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn taking on Darth Maul.

It'll take more than rhetoric to beat the Tories

Rhetoric is a very powerful tool, and it often produces memorable soundbites. Rhetoric is also utterly redundant if it isn’t backed up by anything. Over the years, I’ve observed how easy it is to produce a generic anti-Tory statement that can stir up people. However, are such statements actually useful in successfully achieving their very content; to defeat the Tories?

I have previously noted in this blog how Barack Obama is often unfairly criticised as a result of rhetoric. Obama’s rhetoric was incredibly potent during his 2008 election victory, but he also had good policies. The problem is, he is still judged on that rhetoric. “Obama has been a letdown; he promised hope and change”. How do you possibly measure that? If rhetoric alone is so effective, why wasn’t Mrs Thatcher beaten in the 1980s?

The problem with gibes such as “heartless Tories” is that they aren’t original, for a start. They can also be easily rebutted, even if the core detail is dubious at best. The very crude summary table below helps to illustrate my point:

Attack	Tory rebuttal
“The Tories are dismantling the NHS”	“We’re increasing spending on the NHS, more than Labour did”
“The Tories only look after the rich”	“We’ve brought in a national living wage, and are raising the income tax threshold for the poorest families”
“The recovery is only benefitting the south”	“More jobs have been created in the north than in France”

The fact that these came off the top of my head, rather than through extensive research, shows how easy it can be for the Tories to retaliate. All of the claims above can of course be scrutinised, and the Conservative statements don’t tell the full story. However, the Tory responses make for an easy headline, and on the surface can reassure floating voters.

Rhetoric and gibes can also fail in other ways. People may groan when you talk about the importance of ‘middle England’ and floating voters to electoral outcomes, but it cannot be ignored. The ‘shy Tory’ phenomenon is very much a real thing. If you scream at people who have voted Tory (in spite of or because of) that the Tories are “scum” and/or “heartless”, are they really going to reconsider their vote?

Rhetoric is of course important, but it has to go with something. What do Socialist Worker Party placards with “Cameron must go” really mean? Of course the surface meaning is obvious, but those placards would be out in force regardless of who leads the Conservative Party, for the simple reason that they are a Tory. It’s immensely frustrating that the few weak spots in the Conservative machine aren’t being attacked enough. There’s an opportunity to coherently attack them on the EU, on climate change and on David Cameron’s potential successors. People need to prioritise where to draw their battle lines, and how to draw them. The person who, for me, has made David Cameron the most uncomfortable is Channel 4’s Jon Snow (when interviewing him over relations with Saudi Arabia), rather than any politician.

I firmly believe that many people who voted Conservative in 2015 and/or 2010 would happily vote for something different if there was a feasible and realistic option. There’s potential there, but people need to seize that potential with deeds as well as words.

*I do not own the copyright to the photo used: Can Stock Photo - csp23191160

I'm now a fiscal conservative...when it comes to football

Make sure you re-read the title of this blog before jumping to conclusions. I've not switched party allegiance or radically altered my views, but the transfer spending of Derby County has given me some cause for concern.

I'm going against the grain on this issue somewhat. Football fans don't tend to complain when their club spends money. In many ways, after the austerity years between 2009-2013, it is a welcome relief to see Derby County splashing the cash. As recently as 2013 Johnny Russell was considered our 'big' summer signing at £750,000. Compare that to 2015, where we broke our transfer record twice and spent £20 million. It's easily the most that Derby have spent in one window in their history (when not adjusting for inflation).

Everything seems great in theory. The owner, Mel Morris, is a Derby fan born and bred, and thanks to Candy Crush Saga is a very rich man indeed. I'm all for local ownership, and Morris has made all the right noises regarding fan appreciation and having the best interests of the club at heart. I also greatly admire Chief Executive Sam Rush's efforts for the club. After years of being pushovers in the transfer market and talking about 'Shaun Barker-type fees', it's encouraging to see us flex our muscles.

The problem is that there's an element of history repeating itself here. When Lionel Pickering became Derby owner in the early 1990s, he oversaw a similar level of spending in a bid to gain promotion. Ironically, it was only when Derby tightened the purse strings and engaged in wheeling and dealing that promotion was achieved in 1996. Derby were lucky to have a dedicated owner back then, as I believe they do now. One thing that couldn't hit Derby back in the 1990s was Financial Fair Play (FFP). The noises from the club are that we still have room to manoeuvre, but I do worry if we don't go up this year that we will be affected.

Having spent £20 million in the summer, I thought that Derby would make do and use the odd loan signing. Instead, we've spent close to another £4 million in January on Abdoul Camara and Nick Blackman, and the transfer window is still young. Again, I'm in the strange position of thinking "stop spending!" I know that Portsmouth are an overused example of what can happen when you don't control transfer spending, but they are still a warning sign.

There are positives. The bulk of our transfer spending has gone on three of our most important players; Tom Ince, Bradley Johnson and Jacob Butterfield. Of our signings over the summer, there's yet to be a complete failure. The closest to failure is Alex Pearce, who has yet to feature in the league this season (however, he came on a free transfer). Paul Clement has also stuck with picking players on merit; some of our best performers this season have been players that Clement didn't sign (Keogh, Thorne, Russell, Christie etc.).

Furthermore, there is the brutal reality that it's almost impossible to get promoted to the Premier League without spending your way there. Derby very nearly made it in 2014 on low expenditure, and Burnley went up that year on a shoestring. Derby aren't alone in spending large amounts in the Championship this season, although they lead the way by quite some distance. It's a strange position to be in. After seasons of holier than thou posturing (often aimed in the direction of Nottingham Forest), we are now no longer the underdogs.

I don't mean to sound like a Scrooge. We're second in the league, playing good football and we have strength in depth. This blog post and accusations of spending too much will be immaterial if we get promoted in May. I've already heard the cliché that what we're spending is a drop in the ocean compared to how much promotion is worth (some estimates say an initial £130 million). I also think that the amount we've spent, whilst alarmingly high, has been spent relatively wisely. The club also has a great fanbase and new revenue streams.

I want to finish by urging caution. I know that "if we get promoted then it won't matter", but what about the possibility that we won't go up? Is the wage bill sustainable? Staking your lavish spending on getting promoted is a dangerous assumption to make.

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee
1 July 2015	DM		Chris Baird	West Bromwich Albion	Free transfer
1 July 2015	CF		Darren Bent	Aston Villa	Free transfer
1 July 2015	GK		Scott Carson	Wigan Athletic	Undisclosed
1 July 2015	CB		Alex Pearce	Reading	Free transfer
1 July 2015	ST		Andreas Weimann	Aston Villa	£2,750,000
3 July 2015	LW		Tom Ince	Hull City	£4,750,000
23 July 2015	CB		Jason Shackell	Burnley	£3,000,000
1 September 2015	CM		Jacob Butterfield	Huddersfield Town	£4,000,000
1 September 2015	CM		Bradley Johnson	Norwich City	£6,000,000
4 January 2016	LW		Abdoul Camara	Angers	£1,250,000
6 January 2016	ST		Nick Blackman	Reading	£2,500,000

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%9316_Derby_County_F.C._season#Transfers_in