Patriot Realm

It was many years ago that I first heard Kris Kristofferson's lament about Sunday Morning Coming Down. It was back in the days when I woke up with optimism and delight in my heart. Whilst I enjoyed hearing his sad song about loneliness and misery, I could not really identify with it on a mental or physical level. I was too full of the joy of life and the pleasure of what the new day would bring. 

In fact, I almost enjoyed listening to his pain and being reassured that I, as a young 15 year old girl in the far off land of New Zealand had no idea what that song was about all those years ago. I truly did not. 

The music of Bob Dylan and the likes were almost foreign to me, yet I enjoyed the songs and their laments about freedom and breaking chains. The worst chains I had experienced were the chains of parental dialogue: which involved me asking questions about my ability to do something and them saying " NO. " 

While I was taught at school, I was taught to always question " Who? What? Where? When and Why " 

Mum and Dad put food on the table and if I wanted to eat, I would sit down, shut up and eat what was put in front of me. 

It never struck me until recently that this is what our governments are doing today. 

 " I must go down to the sea again to the lonely sea and sky. All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by "

So said poet John Masefield  By far the most tantalising problem confronting mariners for centuries was how to calculate Longitude. Today we take latitude and longitude for granted.

We all know what they are but by far, of all the problems that have confronted mankind waiting to be solved by men of science, Longitude was the most insoluble ever.

It took over 2,000 years for a workable solution to be developed and in the intervening years it was the cause of huge and consistent loss of life at sea.

Solar generators won’t run on moon-beams – they fade out as the sun goes down and stop whenever clouds block the sun. This happens at least once every day. But then at mid-day on most days, millions of solar panels pour so much electricity into the grid that the price plummets and no one makes any money. And after a good hailstorm they never work again.

Turbine generators are also intermittent - they stop whenever there is too little, or too much wind. In a wide flat land like Australia, wind droughts may affect huge areas for days at a time. This often happens when a mass of cold air moves over Australia, winds drop and power demand rises in the cold weather. All of this makes our power grid more variable, more fragile and more volatile. What do we do if we have a cloudy windless week? 

We all witnessed what many are calling a Divine Intervention that saved a life because of a split second decision to look at a graph. As Trump's head turned to look at something on his screen, a bullet grazed his ear and we saw a man so close to death be spared by an act of God. It was a miracle. 

It has made me reflect on quite how it happened, why it happened and whether or not is was just a simple " coincidence. " 

Divine intervention is the concept that a deity or higher power actively engages in and influences the human world and events. This intervention can manifest in various ways, often considered miraculous or supernatural, that alter the natural course of events in ways that would not be possible through ordinary means. They can be life changing. they can be small insignificant things that happen every day in our lives. 

But how many times have we said " Hell, that was lucky! " 

The music of the Appalachians is a living tradition that tells the story of a people and their journey. From the rolling hills of Ireland and the rugged highlands of Scotland to the misty mountains of Appalachia, this music has traveled across time and space, evolving and enriching the cultural tapestry of America.

The Appalachian region of the United States, stretching from the southern tier of New York to northern Alabama and Georgia, is renowned for its rich musical traditions. This distinctive sound, often associated with bluegrass, folk, and old-time music, owes much of its origin to the Irish and Scottish settlers who immigrated to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their musical heritage, combined with the diverse influences encountered in the New World, gave birth to what we now recognise as Appalachian music.

After learning of JD Vance's roots in the Hillybilly hills of Kentucky, I was fascinated by people who grew up in these isolated but close-knit communities.