Exeter University; Era's End

Arriving at Exeter University on a glorious autumnal afternoon
yesterday seemed like the end of an era in the maytrees' family
as our youngest was leaving home to start her BSc Mathematics studies there.

Despite the discontent about student loans and fees widely discussed
in the UK media, walking around the Exeter university campus, reminded me that
the experience of attending and living at a campus based university
in an historic UK city, is surely potentially at least hugely beneficial.

Maytrees min's room on campus was on the first floor of what must at some
time have been an old country house with the house garden and tennis courts immediately
below her window and a view of Exeter Cathedral in the mist, beyond.

The library, student theatre shops, bars, banks, cafes etc all within a couple of minutes walk make the place virtually self contained. I used to wonder if
the UK practice of many students travelling miles to universities
and living there rather than living at home and studying at College
nearby was inefficient. Maybe it is but the potential for personal
growth, development and independence whilst learning away
from home I feel, hugely makes up for any inefficiencies.

We still miss her though hence the end of an era feeling.

Financial Political and Moral Hazard

Occasionally thoughts of shares and investing seem worth a blog post or two -
I'm still waiting for positive happenings at Zyzygy my favourite penny dreadful
share company investment about which I have posted before
- but this week, investing and shares have been international headline news.

City people around the globe seem to have breathed a collective sigh of relief
at the US government's decision to spend $bns on nationalising huge
numbers of USA 'toxic' mortgage debts. In the UK the government having previously
risked £ms of taxpayer's money in bailing out Northern Rock tore up its
ban on anti competitive mergers by actively encouraging Lloyds TSB to take over
HBOS bank.

The current financial crisis has its origins in individuals, companies
and governments borrowing far too much in order presumably to have the joy
of what money can buy today and postpone the pain of actually paying until tomorrow,
yet the 'remedies' seem to me to amount to little more than postponing the pain
until the day after tomorrow instead.

Letting NRK crash would have been painful
and might have precipitated some other crashes but the time span would
have been relatvely short and renewal and regrowth processes would have commenced
quite swiftly. Rather like the destruction and pain wreaked by forest fires,
almost as soon as the flames are dowsed, the regeneration begins.

After WWII the UK taxpayers had years of repayment of lend lease debts to
the USA to endure. Imposing such repayment burdens on UK taxpayers
such as yours truely who were not even born at the time of WWII, was a
positive step for government to take
as the pain of subjugation to a despotic regime would have
been far more painful and long term. 'Winning' WWII also reduced the
risk of such wars affecting Western Europe again.

Subsidising those who have over borrowed, creates the financial and moral
hazard of divorcing over optimistic if not reckless borrowers from the
consequences of their actions. To do that on the epic scale of $bns
that the USA government seems about to embark on is bound to create
pain for years to come and enfeeble the nation financially and politically.

The Northern Rock debacle in the UK is bad enough but I hope that the UK
government does not follow in the footsteps of the USA government as regards
an all embracing toxic mortgage subsidy.

Shorting and the recently imposed restrictions are another topic...

The Human Condition

Father Kevin Donovan's death (see 23rd August 2008 blog entry below) the comments written in the Sacred Heart Church
book of remembrance for him and points made by one or two
members of the BU about human fragility, have caused me to reflect this week on the vulnerabity of human existance.

Maybe a key to improving the behaviour of each of us towards each other,
and especially of the privileged towards the under privileged, is
to keep in mind that the length of each personal human lifespan is so limited
and so short.

The facts of mortality and the inevitablity of the end of life as personally
experienced, need not lead to morbidity or to becoming introspectively maudlin but rather to greater appreciation
of the preciousness of everyone's existance. That in turn could
lead to greater sensitivity, respect and generosity in our individual
and coillective human relationships - mine anyway.

Tuscany 2008

The contrast with home during my break this year near the tiny walled
Etruscan village of Murlo about 17 miles south of Sienna, was very pronounced.

Home in SW London is busy, developed, bustling and cosmopolitan.
Home for a couple of weeks in Murlo overlooked wonderful landscapes
largely empty of buldings and development. The pace of life was
almost languid and mostly the people seemed to be from the immediate
locality. The art and architecture not only of Sienna but also
of hillside towns like Montalcino and Montepulciano not to mention their
wines were great to savour.

The sun shone and baked as apparently it had done for three months.
Our return to London covered in grey skies during a deluge of rain
did however remind me of some words from a local in Buonconvento during
a meal there, when she said how good it would be if they could take
some of our rain in exchange for some of their wine.

The downside of such lovely living it seems to me is largely
weather driven. The long siestas, the onslaught of flies and mosquitos
if windows are opened to relieve the heat during the day; the
absence of many human signs of life from about midday to almost (British)teatime
yet despite the tranquility away from the car, the larger roads appear to
be in a state of permanent rush. Possibly this arises from
Italian drivers being more hot blooded than their British counterparts
but is more likely I think to be caused by the Italian
siesta breaks creating 4 daily rush hours compared with our two.