The Politics of Dancing

Amongst other things 1984 gave us; a George Orwell revival, more Ronald Reagan, and this little songs by Reflex in which the politicians became DJ's playing hits across the nation. A respectable yet lowly entry at number 27 in the charts....
1984 also saw David Lange win the NZ General Election and turned the country into a land of nuclear free hobbits. 

New Zealand went to the polls again last weekend, and the nation was subjected to a bitter campaign of dirty politics and various sideshows. The nation spoke as one however, and the current party was reinstalled like a vague Apple update....No one really understood the point but it doesn't seem to cause any damage to the status quo...

This was only my second general election here, as for the first four years I was prevented nay prohibited from enrolling. Like Emmeline Pankhurst and her merry band of agitated suffragettes, I was like many tax payers in this country, unable to vote.

The reason? In New Zealand you have to be a New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident to enrol. Due to the damaging nature of long term diabetes and therefore the likelihood of renal failure I was denied a visa, and therefore the right to stay and the the right to vote. This was due to the cost of  my care on the public health system :(

Four years of fighting immigration and various appeals finally worked and in 2008 I was given official residency. Since then I've received a new kidney, a new pancreas, and regular drugs costing at least $25,000 a year to fund.....

Now that sounds like the sort of manifesto I'd vote for, and no dancing whatsoever.

Imagine.

Arguably the best record in the world ever.....

A stellar recording by an influential rock genius, recorded when I was a wee lad in 1971. The disc shot to prominence after Lennon's untimely death in December 1980, just as I was an easily influenced spotty teen. It was soon number 1, deposing The St Winifred's School Choir with Grandma. 

Inviting the listener to ponder on the nature of the world and mankind….(not Grandma..)

Talking of wild imaginings, picture if you can the crippling pain caused by a double migraine attack following a week of stress.

Imagine then, that it struck on the Saturday of a busy weekend, simultaneously emulsifying with a viscious attack of influenza.

Continue to envisage then the painful swallows of rapid onset laryngitis, together with the coughing and tight constriction of a chest infection.. Painful? You bet.

Now conceive of a sudden deterioration resulting in an urgent need for accident and emergency services late Saturday night. Now at this point insert the words “consumed alcohol and therefore unable to drive” and phone the ambulance. Imagine further if you will, being packed off all alone in the ambulance, with no money, shoes, 'phone, in fact just a jolly old dressing gown.

And conjure up the horror of trying to dial home after being discharged at 7am, only to have your calls go unanswered and being forced to pay $100 for a taxi ride home…still in a dressing gown.

Now visualise that all these nasties had happened to you, how would you feel?

Especially if your partner had had a kidney pancreas operation, had been a diabetic all their life, and had been rushed many times to hospital and probably should be a tad more empathetic....

Ono!