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Guest blog: Tim Geary

5th November 2008 by Helena 7 Comments  

Friends —

I know this election of ours has almost felt like an election of
yours but I suspect you believed more in your minds what we have felt
in our hearts, that a rejection of change would have hastened
America’s demise. But that hasn’t happened and I wanted to give you a
taste of what it feels like and sounds like to be in New York
tonight. It’s half past one and the streets are crowded with people,
three deep on the sidewalk. New Yorkers have climbed on their roofs
and on to their fire escapes, there’s dancing on the streets, dancing
in front of cars. There’s the ceaseless noise of cheering, even –
suddenly – bagpipes playing. Tonight, we even forgive the bagpipes.
Every few seconds comes the blare of another car horn and more
screams of Obama, of Yes We Can, more whoops of utter joy.

I’ve been here, on and off, for more than 19 years through two
Clinton victories, big wins for the Yankees and Knicks, a dozen or
more New Year’s Eves and nothing has been like this, nothing has come
even close. This is the sound of a city set free for the first time
since September 11, 2001. This is us exhaling at last. For eight
years, New York has felt like another country. What counted for
America has been owned by others and governed for others. Everything
the Bush Administration did with its exclusionary policies, its
bigotry and intolerance, its religious fascism, its economic
arrogance was done to us, not for us. Obama can’t solve everything
but he has already made the greatest city in the nation feel like it
belongs to America again and he has made someone who has only been an
American for 5 years feel like he belongs for the first time. Up to
now, my belief in citizenship had been shaken by a question about
what kind of country I had joined. By showing us the best of all our
selves, Barack Obama has silenced that doubt not just for me or for
us in New York, but for millions of Americans who can have faith in
America again.

And now I’m going to bed.

Tim.


Filed Under: Politics, blog --> Tagged With: geary, guest

7 thoughts on Guest blog: Tim Geary

  • Arthur Burland says:
    5th November 2008 at 10:54 am

    Alas my previous longer comment failed to get through so I will leave the last word to WSC.
    “The Americans can always be relied upon to do the best thing in the end, after they have tried everything else”.
    Arthur B.

    previous longer comment below:
    We share the excitement & enthusiasm of the more than half of the population
    of the US who voted for Mr Obama and wish him well; but what a task he has.
    He is articulate unlike his predecessor and reminds me a little of old “Abe”
    in manner and looks. I don’t understand quite what “change” actually means,
    nor the cry “Yes we can.” Some of his speeches remind me of religious
    meetings, but I suppose we must accept the American religious revivalist
    spirit. I noticed Rev Jesse Jackson grinning away in the crowd.

    Personally, I should be more than happy never to hear the names, Bush,
    Kennedy or Clinton again in American politics. And that goes for the gun
    toting Mr Cheney too, he of the fast draw.
    Can one imagine what this morning after would be like if Mr Obama had chosen
    Mrs Clinton as his running mate – to wake up to face four little eyes
    staring intently at him?

    I can’t help thinking it was right to get rid of that desert bandit S.
    Hussein and all he stood for. Remember the Marsh Arabs, the Kurds and all
    who opposed him; and his diastrous war with Iran. Now perhaps we should have
    the courage to stand up for female “rights”. Are they worth the bloodshed?

    I do wish the media would stop talking about the first “black” president.
    That adjective should be forgotten. It is only half true and is quite
    irrelevent.
    As a matter of interest the American civil war was not fought over slavery
    but whether certain states had the right to secession from the Union.
    And now we have the British politicians trying to muscle in talking about
    something that has never really existed – that special relationship. It’s a
    myth.

    That’s about all I said. I just hope for all our sakes that Mr Obama IS the
    man so many think he is and not just another smooth talking lawyer about to
    be corrupted by power.

  • sharyn g says:
    5th November 2008 at 8:50 pm

    Yeah for us, the forgotten Americans who were left out of government for the last eight years. There is a sense of renewed hope for America. IT is time for Barack to get on with the serious business of change. I called my niece today and she reports that Baby Grace is happily watching an Obama speech on TV. She (a Brit) is raising another Democrat in my heavily Republican family. It is obvious that we will not miss Dubya and his cohorts for one minute. It is unfortunate that Mr. Cheney and his friends will be allowed to leave government with their pockets filled with our money.

    To Arthur (and Winston), how pompous are you? It seems to be a perennial British character flaw to treat us like we are stupid children in America. You are entitled to your opinion, but I respectfully suggest that you save your pithy comments for your own economic and governmental mess.

    Sharyn G.

  • Rupert says:
    6th November 2008 at 4:51 am

    Amid all the euphoria, what surprises me is that despite having had a clown in the White House for eight years who presided over one disaster after another, including two wars and the biggest financial meltdown in 80 years, his party still won 48 per cent of the vote. I would have thought the democrats could have put up a donkey and won; instead they came up with the most charismatic leader since Nelson Mandela and still the vote was pretty close.
    Anyway, hope you all got a good night’s kip. Your new boss says you must all work hard to rebuild the country. We’ll come over soon and see how you are getting on.

  • helena says:
    6th November 2008 at 9:04 am

    This from my friend Jacques….(and HRH)

    Subject: MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN
    To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen E lizabeth II
    In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA therefore not be able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up ‘revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
    Her Sovereign Majesty Queen E liz abeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas , which she does not fancy).
    Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.
    Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
    To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
    ———————–
    1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’ ‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’).
    ————————
    2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ”like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ‘u” and the elimination of ‘-ize.’
    ——————-
    3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
    —————–
    4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist,then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
    ———————-
    5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
    ———————-
    6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
    ——————–
    7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
    ——————-
    8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
    ——————-
    9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. Australian beer is also acceptable, as Australia is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth – see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
    ———————
    10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guy s. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
    ———————
    11. You will cease playing American football. There are only three kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, Australian Rules and rugby (dominated by the Australians). Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
    ———————
    12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America . Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (again World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
    ——————–
    13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
    —————–
    14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
    —————
    15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
    ——————
    God Save the Queen!
    PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour (NOT humor)!

  • sharyn g says:
    7th November 2008 at 5:27 am

    Helena, Rupert and All;

    I guess we can agree to disagree. You don’t fancy our form of democracy and I prefer not to have my tax dollars wasted on a Royal Family and the support of the snobs of the British Upper Classes. I am sure HRH is a lovely old lady but I really don’t feel the need to curtsy to the Queen nor do I have to take her opinions seriously. But then things could be worse. We could all be French and have to listen to endless song stylings of the First Tart, Carla Sarkozy. Yes, her album was released in the US and I have had to endure it along with all of my friends at Barnes and Noble who go there for coffee and a good read. I’m quite sure what her talent is and it has nothing to do with music. Her husband is ridiculous and the French Government is schizophrenic. The Germans are constipated and have no sense of humor.

    Does anyone else want to weigh in? Is there anyone else we have failed to insult? If so, I apologize as I am doing my very best to play devil’s advocate here.

    Don’t you just love politics????

  • Miko says:
    7th November 2008 at 9:17 pm

    Yesterday we were all following the events in the US. Today we are getting a direct hit from hurricane Paloma. Funny how quickly you forget politics when mother nature shows her strenght.
    Georgtown
    Grand Cayman

  • Jennifer says:
    9th November 2008 at 3:48 am

    Like, no!

    *arms self with vegetable peeler*

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Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

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