Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister for Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has brought a breath of fresh air into the UK’s male-dominated politics. She is not only feisty, she is Scottish, and uses that delectable accent to demolish any halos that her male competition might hang onto. And thus, recently, in a speech at a party conference, she attacked the Prime Minister David Cameron, as being “pig-headed” — a not-so-subtle reference to revelations in a book by his friend-turned-foe Lord Ashcroft. Whatever else the book might contain, the reference to the alleged initiation ceremony at Oxford University, where the future Prime Minister apparently inserted his private parts into a pig’s head has become a hot topic of discussion.
Ms Sturgeon also critiqued the Tory government for its austerity measures and for its promises to break away from the European Union. However, she claimed to have won the general elections and who knows, if Scotland remains within the union, she might even have national ambitions! Ms Sturgeon flayed her opponents, left and right, mincing no words about the Labour Party, either. If she asserted that the Tories were arrogant, then the Labour Party was “lazy and complacent” under its new leader Jeremy Corbyn. As the SNP promises to surge further ahead, no doubt she will continue to grab headline space. The Brits actually like outspoken outsiders and that is the real danger Ms Sturgeon poses to the other national parties. By the way, the media cannot get enough of her!
Talking of initiation rites in elite educational institutions, Sir Alan Fersht, master of Cambridge-based Gonville and Caius College, has expressed his disdain about them. For centuries, there has been a cloak of secrecy over what is inflicted upon new entrants at UK universities. However, now, there is concern that these rituals are becoming increasingly bizarre (not just in reference to the one Mr Cameron was supposed to have undergone) and some of the more disgusting drunken antics have been recorded on camera.
Unfortunately, many of these ragging rites are sexist in nature, in which young women are plied with drink, often abused, asked to indulge in “spectator sports” such as wrestling, or just dumped around the campus left to writhe in their own vomit. The fact that seniors have allowed these rituals to become increasingly demeaning and vulgar has concerned Sir Alan. In an email, he has pointed out, “I fear that these bullies will leave the college and become unethical pariahs like insider traders, exchange rate riggers and corrupt Volkswagen engineers”. These are strong words to use for students who probably think they are following tradition. But could he have a point? Should bullies be firmly reined in just as they have been in India where these “initiation” ceremonies have been banned?
I still remember being ragged in an Indian college many years ago and, yes, in retrospect I do think some of the seniors did get a sadistic pleasure out of it. Not all of it was “fun”. I certainly could not ever subject a nervous “fresher” to the same degradation, as even then I found the rituals not only vulgar but boring to be honest. A complete waste of time. Let’s hope Sir Alan’s email has the desired effect!
And while migrants from Syria continue to come to Europe, it is Germany that is now the destination of choice, thanks to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s firm stance. This has been supported by others, but sadly it has led to at least one unfortunate instance of a targeted backlash. An independent mayoral candidate in Cologne, Henriette Reker, was stabbed in the neck by assailants who apparently objected to her open support of the migrants coming to Germany.
This attack on Ms Reker and her assistants will certainly add a dimension of fresh worry over a humanitarian crisis, which shows no signs of an early resolution. Other countries such as the UK, which have also opened their doors, have to watch and wait, and carefully calm down fears about the extra economic burden and security issues that this wave of migration might pose.
At the age of 70, its creditable enough that singer Rod Stewart has come out with his 30th solo album. But, it’s his obsession with playing with his toy trains that everyone is talking about. It seems that when he travels, he books an extra room for his toy trains, so he can be with them. Even in his home in Beverly Hills, he has an area as big as a tennis court in which 15 of his toy trains run around. He now wants a real-life steam engine to get an actual feel of it all. He says that his passion stems from his childhood when he grew up in London on Archway Road and kept train and tube spotting. Perhaps his greatest hit should have actually been “Have you ever seen the (t)rain?”
The writer can be contacted at thepartitionmuseum@gmail.com
