More homes, more parking, more guff

I'm glad I'm not an old person. Because all you seem to get is abuse and patronising concessions. On the news yesterday, there was this item about parking spots being provided for old people at a supermarket in Hillingdon. OK, so there's nothing really wrong in that. But have you seen those national symbols for old people?!!? They're like two decrepit cripples hanging off a walking stick - a couple of weaklings who look like they're about to get eaten in some lurid fairy tale. And that symbol, big as you like, is planted smack in the middle of those parking spaces, in case you had any doubts as to just how old and has-been you are. If I was a senior citizen, I'd feel insulted.

Of course, I've got rather a long way to go before I get there, but you've got to think ahead, you know? That's going to be all of us one day, getting patronised, and written off as pathetic and useless. Whatever happened to respect for the wisdom of the old? Perhaps you have to move to China or Asia for that. Mind you, if we get taken over by the Chinese, maybe we won't have to.

I was also struck by Brown's radical statement about needing new homes for Britain. Wow. Things are really changing round here, aren't they! I mean, it's not as though he has to do everything differently, but the spin did seem to be about "all change round here" and what do we get? More promises about new homes.

Whenever I hear ministers going on about housing, I always think, why don't they do something about all the derelict / empty buildings littered around the cities? There are so many disused homes and nobody seems to be doing anything about them. I guess it's just too expensive to do them up - may as well start from scratch and build some soulless, boxy flats with a few square inches to move about in and no storage. Or some identikit housing estate sprawled across a hapless strawberry field.

Now there's a few songs in all that, aren't there. I have to say, the songs are becoming ever more satirical. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll write a normal song again - by which I mean, a song that isn't taking the piss out of something or other. I mean, it's a rich source of inspiration, but do I want to always being poking fun at people? Hmm....well, maybe, yes!!