{"id":177823,"date":"2024-08-23T15:55:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T14:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/?p=177823"},"modified":"2024-08-23T17:58:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T16:58:05","slug":"one-step-forward-two-steps-backward-means-all-work-and-no-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2024\/08\/23\/one-step-forward-two-steps-backward-means-all-work-and-no-play\/","title":{"rendered":"One Step Forward Two Steps Backward Means All Work And No Play"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-beige-background-color has-background\">Existential angst mostly. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s on my mind. <br><br>Labour and Conservative, what is the difference. Slightly less xenophobia? <br>Also the simplistic &#8220;working people&#8221; trope and still no proper &#8220;social housing&#8221; as in old school council houses due to misplaced ideology plus a few 100 other things&#8230;.<br>So most people think it is one bunch of suits swapped for another (that&#8217;s actually what I think too).<br><br>The real ideological problem is in my opinion this: Clinging on to the old school notions that everyone wants the equivalent of a &#8220;middle class&#8221; lifestyle and sharing that view is in part the problem, Up north there are a lot of people who don&#8217;t share those views and are frankly often ill educated with a very narrow minded and naive view of the world. They are the ones and their descendants that Thatcher wrote off. They are the ones that supported Brexit, and some of them were rioting, possibly in part because that nice Mr Khan that owns the local 7-11 has a 3 year old Mercedes and they don&#8217;t&#8230; There needs to be a massive cultural shift. The arts need to be opened up to everyone. It will taken generations to fix. Not all old school socialist ideas were daft. Yes we need a strong economy and a skilled workforce, but also we need poetic road sweepers and homes for those that can work but will never be even hedge hoppers let along high flyers. Aspiration is fine but all the perspiration and grafting in the world won&#8217;t get you there if its not in the stars for you. <br><br>On a different subject I do YouGov polls. they did one today about &#8220;How Woke Are You&#8221;.<br>daft really, but the comments were interesting. A lot of guff about &#8220;woke&#8221; erasing british culture&#8230; I am so woke to the point that gammons are at risk of spontaneous combustion if I am within 3 meters of them. <br><br>And I just saw this from another occasional musical co-conspirator: &#8220;Statement from Ealing Blues Festival Founder Bob Salmons (aka musician Robert Hokum) as he bids farewell to the event he started in 1987 and where he remained Artistic Director, until 2024. &#8220;Well it&#8217;s not so much \u2018Elvis has left the building\u2019 as \u2018Bob is leaving the park\u2019 as I have joined the likes of Stephen Hawking and Rob Burrow in having Motor Neurone Disease and thus have to say \u2018goodbye\u2019 to the event that I have brought to Ealing\u2019s Walpole Park since 1987.&#8221; <br><br>Blimey&#8230;. <br><br>That was a shock. <br><br><strong>Here are a few of my Tunes<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"is-grid columns-4 has-dates has-authors has-excerpts wp-block-rss\"><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/remember-that-time-when-you'>Remember that time when you were cosmic<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-04-25T18:26:05+01:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">April 25, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Remember that time when you were cosmic by Diana Stone<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/make-free-with-me'>Make Free With Me<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-04-24T11:52:28+01:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">April 24, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A song about letting go and being happy<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/maybe-faith-hope-and-charity'>Maybe Faith Hope and Charity<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-04-15T14:53:14+01:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">April 15, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Maybe Faith Hope and Charity by Diana Stone<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/on-a-day-such-as-this-only'>On A Day Such As This Only Memories<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-04-05T16:32:10+01:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">April 5, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">On A Day Such As This Only Memories by Diana Stone<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/marching-in-lines'>Marching In Lines<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-03-30T13:40:25+01:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">March 30, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A protest song sort of.<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/disappointments-and'>Disappointments and Distractions<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-03-23T20:27:58+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">March 23, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Slightly world vibes alt pop-rock song with prog overtones<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/interference-patterns'>Interference Patterns<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-03-15T14:48:59+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">March 15, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Violin chil-out vibe with Synths<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/false-dawns-illusion'>False Dawns Illusion<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-03-07T19:48:06+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">March 7, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Gentle solo piano piece<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/everything-scares-me-so'>Everything Scares Me So<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-03-02T16:44:02+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">March 2, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A song about feeling scared like so many of us are right now.<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/not-home-yet'>Not Home Yet<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-02-27T14:00:50+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">February 27, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Nostalgic wistful theme<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/big-sticking-plaster'>Big Sticking Plaster<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-02-21T19:13:57+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">February 21, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">The grass is always greener<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/and-i-always-loved-you'>And I Always Loved You<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-02-15T22:07:55+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">February 15, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A love song<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/maybe-some-slilver-maybe-some'>Maybe Some Silver Maybe Some Gold<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-02-08T18:07:56+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">February 8, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A song about betrayals and lost chances in life.<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/good-sense-of-humour'>Good Sense Of Humour<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-01-30T18:36:43+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">January 30, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A song about when your love thinks you&#039;re a clown but you don&#039;t care, so you sing a happy song<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/tell-me-what-did-i-do-to-you'>Tell Me What Did I Do To You<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-01-23T22:58:01+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">January 23, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Slow rock ballad<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/no-more-excuse'>No More Excuse<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-01-16T19:19:04+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">January 16, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">No More Excuses because you are bad. Slightly Gospel Blues feel song<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/mostly-grey-or-gray'>Mostly Grey Or Gray<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-01-13T15:44:43+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">January 13, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">Mostly Grey Or Gray by Diana Stone<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/a-place-you-will-never-find'>A Place You Will Never Find<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-01-10T20:16:21+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">January 10, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A peaceful violin and electronica instrumental vibe.<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/feeling-the-fear'>Feeling The Fear<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-01-07T20:31:06+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">January 7, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A song about feeling the fear and running away, but its not far enough.<\/div><\/li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/dianastone\/still-fire-inside'>Still Fire Inside<\/a><\/div><time datetime=\"2026-01-04T18:43:44+00:00\" class=\"wp-block-rss__item-publish-date\">January 4, 2026<\/time> <span class=\"wp-block-rss__item-author\">by Diana Stone<\/span><div class=\"wp-block-rss__item-excerpt\">A song about feeling the blood rushing and the spirit still rises with that special person.<\/div><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Existential angst mostly. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s on my mind. Labour and Conservative, what is the difference. Slightly less xenophobia? Also the simplistic &#8220;working people&#8221; trope and still no proper &#8220;social housing&#8221; as in old school council houses due to misplaced ideology plus a few 100 other things&#8230;.So most people think it is one bunch of suits &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2024\/08\/23\/one-step-forward-two-steps-backward-means-all-work-and-no-play\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">One Step Forward Two Steps Backward Means All Work And No Play<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":177861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20,10,9,60,4,3,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-delta-ladies","category-diana_stones_songs","category-elephant-shelf","category-glass-cage","category-music","category-musings","category-other"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/For-Di.jpg?fit=1584%2C846&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6NRDR-Kg7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":113911,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2018\/04\/13\/old-school-artifact\/","url_meta":{"origin":177823,"position":0},"title":"Old School artifact","author":"diana Stone","date":"April 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Yep. A physical CD will be available. A Diana Stone sampler. For sale from me at gigs with the other esteemed ensemble (Delta Ladies) that I play with. Tracks are done, a bit of remastering sorted out and the running order conformed. I just need to sort out some artwork\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":556,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2009\/11\/22\/my-old-school-elliott-has-a-website\/","url_meta":{"origin":177823,"position":1},"title":"My old school has Elliott has a website","author":"diana Stone","date":"November 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"My old school has a website:: www.elliottonians.com I discovered this quite by chance as one of my old teachers Edmund Hodges \u00c2\u00a0had sent me a message on Friends Reunited. \"Welcome to the Elliottonian Web Site. This site is here to complement the Elliott School's 'E Group' and for the enjoyment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;history&quot;","block_context":{"text":"history","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":176054,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2023\/09\/28\/where-are-we-now-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":177823,"position":2},"title":"Where are we now report","author":"diana Stone","date":"September 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"So, it looks like the eye problem will be around for a while and I will need to make a few adjustments to manage how I can get back to business as usual in the longer term. Its a bit tiring to be honest. In the meantime time I will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/car-sit-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/car-sit-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/car-sit-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/car-sit-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/car-sit-1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":179034,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2025\/06\/11\/keep-on-keeping-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":177823,"position":3},"title":"Keep on keeping on","author":"diana Stone","date":"June 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I do wish there was a way to get everybody to a happy place where we could all play nicely together, but it's not going to happen. Diana Stones Glasscage \u00b7 Waterfalls once again remembered What I have found depressing is that virtually every word a UK politician says laterly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dixon.webp?fit=882%2C320&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dixon.webp?fit=882%2C320&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dixon.webp?fit=882%2C320&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/dixon.webp?fit=882%2C320&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4205,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2014\/06\/16\/winners-and-losers-dice-and-logic-and-dont-forget\/","url_meta":{"origin":177823,"position":4},"title":"Winners and Losers, dice and logic and don&#8217;t forget &#8230;.","author":"diana Stone","date":"June 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Define success, what is it really? Much of what we desire materially we don't really need though it might well make us feel better, though often not for very long and then we \"need\" some new thing.\u00a0 I expect that most of us by the time we reach middle age,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":177640,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2024\/07\/11\/its-a-moist-july-so-far\/","url_meta":{"origin":177823,"position":5},"title":"Its A Moist July So Far","author":"diana Stone","date":"July 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Its soggy out so far and that's a fact. But staying in the dry is a bit of a bore. I went out for a brief stroll and maybe I will take another later on. I got annoyed having a very silly discussion with a very ill informed xenophobe on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Diana Stones Songs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Diana Stones Songs","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/diana_stones_songs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177823"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177863,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177823\/revisions\/177863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}