Dennis Hopper, the Easyrider and Rebel, who died recently

Dennis Hopper will always be remembered by my generation for his iconic performances in great 20th century movies such as Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, and in other successful movies in the 21st century. He, therefore, has a remarkable career in films going back to the 1950s. Posters of Hopper, as Billy, on a motorbike riding alongside Peter Fonda, as Wyatt, in Easy Rider, adorned many a student bedroom in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Teenagers and folk in their twenties went to see the film many times, played the movie soundtrack on vinyl disks and cassette tapes, dressed in similar hippy clothing and used the Hopper/Fonda hippyspeak in everyday life.  As the years passed they rented the video, bought special editions and eventually obtained DVD versions.

Peter Fonda seemed laid back and cool, while Dennis Hopper seemed much more menacing and volatile.
Dennis Hopper went on to play violent men, psycho killers and disturbed characters, who arguably reflected something of the turbulence of his own life.  Sex, drink and drugs were an integral part of his lifestyle.  He was married five times and needed treatment for alcohol and drug related problems. DH had three children, two daughters and a son.

Dennis Hopper was famous for his art collection, estimated to be worth well over two million dollars, and his love of works of modern art.  This love for art and art history was greatly influenced and encouraged by Vincent Price, who had an academic education in art history having studied at the Courtauld Institute in Bloomsbury, London.  DH was a prolific painter, photographer, and sculptor, who exhibited his own work and items from his collection from time to time.  He felt comfortable in the landscapes of Arizona and New Mexico while working in Hollywood, California.  DH's final resting place was Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, following a burial service on 3 June.

Prison Conversions

Prison conversions happen.  It has been said that prisoners are very likely to hear the Gospel in the prison context because of the activities of Prison Fellowship, Restorative Justice programmes, Kairos initiatives, Alpha courses, chaplains, volunteer Christians workers and other Christians active in prison visitation and ministry.  There have even been claims of revival breaking out in Her Majesty's Prisons.  And I rejoice in all who come to faith and a deeper walk with God in and through these many forms of Christian ministry in prisons. Services and Christian courses have been well attended in recent years, with significant help from the voluntary sector.

In The Times today it was reported that there has been a dramatic rise in inmates converting to Islam, but this religious phenomenon was "in order to gain perks and the protection of powerful Muslim gangs."  It seems that benefits can be received that are only available to practising Muslims.  There are currently 9,795 inmates listed as Muslim, according to 2008 figures.  The latest figures would be much higher then, well over ten per cent of the total prison population in England and Wales.

Inmates learn quickly what is beneficial and how best to cope with the harsh realities of prison life.  Strategies to avoid being locked in a cell for hours on end, sometimes with someone who is bad company, can lead to changes of behaviour.  The regime can be dull and monotonous, so religious conversions offer a different way.

Personally I would prefer to spend time in the chapel or faith room, where there are works of art and religious symbolism, to the cramped conditions and smell of the cell.

Our hearts go out to the grieving people of Cumbria

Words cannot express the deep pangs of grief that folk are now suffering in Cumbria.  It is not the time for pious platitudes but prayers for the mourners, for those feeling such pain and sorrow.

The Psalms can help in these situations.

O Lord, may those who seek You find comfort, help and grace in their time of suffering.   May they experience Your grace, which is sufficient for our every need.  In Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Bully for them!

We have all met a bully at sometime in our lives.  At school, in the workplace, in various institutions, in the church, in the club etc., etc., the bullies come and go.  Some places are in denial about bullying, claiming that it does not exist because they have established values, objectives and policies. There is this rather stupid belief that if one commits a policy to paper and talks about it enough, then somehow in some unexplained way the perceived problem will disappear and the right course of action will always come about.  There is a belief that setting objectives has the power to control performance.  Now with psychological and social programming there is some truth in this. But people are looking for objectives to achieve perfect performance.  We live in a fallen world; false hopes of perfect performance through objective setting, targets and agreed values will lead to frustration and failure.  I'm not saying that setting objectives etc. is wrong.  I'm challenging the false philosophy that believes that setting targets and smart objectives would have some mystical force to achieve the desired outcome.  I have seen situations where objectives, targets, values have been agreed, discussed and debated without any extra resources, funding and investment.  Failure, frustration and futility came about, but this was covered up by retrospective evaluation.

Bullying has been the bane of many a workplace.  The office bully is often easily identified.  He or she may has risen in the organization because they are driven; they are driven by their own temperament to reach objectives and targets, often at the expense of those under them by running roughshod over the feelings of others, insensitive to the needs and wishes of those beneath them.  In their selfish world, performance comes before the people.  People are regarded as instruments to achieve goals and results.  Bullies, then, lack empathy and a good understanding of human frailty.  They consider themselves strong, strong leaders of the weak and wanting. 
The top management may support and honour these bullies because they seem to guarantee results and meet the perceived objectives. They are high achievers and bully for them. But I want you to consider another side of the coin.

These bullies often leave a trail of wounded workers in their wake.  Sick leave, unauthorized absences to avoid the bullying, mental health problems, poor performance, fear factors, high staff turnover, job vacancies, lack of confidence, and low morale can often be directly attributed to bullying behaviour.

Is the party over for fat cats in the Senior Civil Service?

So Prime Minister David Cameron is reviewing the salaries of very highly paid senior Civil Servants.  Some of them as we now know are much better paid than the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet.  Yet many would concede that the Prime Minister and his Ministers of State do arguably more important work and have more responsibility.  The buck really stops with the PM.  Some senior civil servants are known to be masters of buck passing, blaming junior staff and circumventing difficult decisions.  They can be high skilled at hiding information, being economical with the truth, massaging statistics, using delaying tactics, and keeping information under various cloaks of secrecy and subterfuge.

The over payment of consultants, who were sometimes members of their clique and club (metaphorically and sometimes literally), will perhaps now come more into the light of reason and openness.  We need more glasnost when it comes to Civil Service finance.  There have been cases when a consultant was doing a middle managment job or project, yet the consultant received a much higher hourly rate of pay when all the time the work could have been done by a competent Higher Executive Officer, perhaps a really good Executive Officer.  Why did this happen? Well the consultant knew the right people in high places.  Nice work if you can get it?  Not so nice for the poor, over burdened tax payer.  A doctor told me (before he retired) that he knew of colleagues in the National Health Service who were receiving, at the own admission, inflated fees for quite easy work.  They did not think that the work merited the rates of consultancy pay, but they were laughing all the way to the bank.  And we now know how the banks let us down.

Immigration: when you're a guest you should behave yourself

When in Rome, you do as the Romans.  When in England you can behave badly.  And sadly HM prisons have accommodated plenty of guests that have really misbehaved themselves. And I should know because I once worked for the Ministry of Justice.  Researching for my dissertation on Alpha in Prisons and when leading services in a local prison, I certainly met plenty of guests from beyond these shores!  On one occasion a group of non-Christians from another religion took pleasure in disrupting the morning service.  It would have been better for them to be elsewhere.  Perhaps back in their own country.

Update 1 June 2010

I understand that the number of foreign nationals in our prisons is approaching 12,000 inmates. On the watch of Lin Homer, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, was the reported failure to deport many of these guests.  Her annual salary is said to be, mentioned in today's The Independent, £209,999.  Now that may not be good value for money,  or a good example of efficiency, economy and effectiveness. I wonder if this high figure of nearly 12,000 inmates will be reduced significantly over the next financial year.  Will Lin be getting a well earned productivity payment based on meeting objectives to reduce this woeful figure?

James Hall apparently earns the same amount for his work as chief executive of the Passport and Identity Service.  The expensive cancellation of the proposed launch of the national identity card scheme now falls on his watch.   How much will the dismantling of this much hyped scheme cost the UK tax payer?

English football hooligans will probably disgrace themselves during the FIFA World Cups finals in South Africa.  It has been said that these thugs behave worse than animals.  That's just not true at all?  Police dogs and horses are really well behaved and don't disgrace themselves, although some horses do leave good manure at the scene.  Their mess can do a lot more good than the mess left by our vandals, louts and yobs wearing England shirts and clothing.  Shame on them!  They should be forced to clean up their mess and clear up the horse dung.

Update 6 June 2010

It will be interesting to know how much will be spent on sending police officers to South Africa in order to monitor and assist in the policing of our violent football hooligans, the unacceptable side of the beautiful game and a dreadful UK export. Are these modern day vandals, as they are called, lumpenproles or victims of our spiritually bankrupt society?  Discuss this disgusting situation.

Race Relations

I have often thought long and hard about race relations and immigration.  With my name and working in the Home Office for many years, race relations have been an important topic.  Obviously I am firmly against race hatred.  Some have said that RACE is an enigma.  To some it is a problem that will always be with us, like poverty, crime and injustice. Others rejoice in racial diversity and do not see it as important at all. It's a fact of life that different people from many cultures, creeds, colours and communities will move across national boundaries and settle all over the world.  There is one race, the human race.  Christians are all one in Christ Jesus, irrespective of their class, clan, colour, community origin, and culture.

Not all cultures and creeds are of equal value and worth.  You may wish to challenge that statement. But would you say then that a Nazi culture and creed is of equal value to the Christian faith, culture and way of life?  Would you say that a person who follows black magic and practises witchcraft is on the same footing as a holy man of God?  Would you esteem a greedy, dishonest, power hungry and unscrupulous follower of Machiavelli in the same light as a humble follower of Jesus?  Of course not.

Sometimes people are racist and do not realize it.  I remember reading an interview of an Afro Caribbean civil servant in a Home Office news magazine.  This young man, working in an area of race relations, said that if he did not work for the Home Office then he would work only for an organization for black people and them alone.  Imagine the outcry if someone said that if they did not work for the Home Office then they would work only for an organization exclusively for white people.


Once in a Christian fellowship meeting one Afro Caribbean lady prayed that the time would come when the majority of the Home Office senior management board would be black.  Is not that a form of racism?  Some would argue that racism only counts when the black people are disadvantaged or grieved.

We all have blind spots and we must endeavour to allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds so that we do not conform to worldly and godless thinking.  Our minds need to be renewed in Christ Jesus, for we Christians have the mind of Christ.
τις γαρ εγνω νουν κυριου ος συμβιβασει αυτον ημεις δε νουν χριστου εχομεν  1 Cor 2:16.