Darren
I write a lot about these podcasts and I’m not quite sure why. I know how many times they get watched and I know how many times my comments on their podcasts get read. It’s not knockout – but I actually like the guys – they have got good reason not to like me!
Anyway, after Darren getting ill in Scotland, we’re back with the new “shorter” podcast – judge for yourself – I’ve been listening to the one at the top – the last two have been the lads on their own. It’s not quite the promised hour lads and an hour’s an hour!
However, I suspect that we have reverse symbioses. The only time my comments get read are when I get angry. I didn’t get angry listening to this one as I was doing it while watching the Ryder Cup last night. Maybe I should be but I’m feeling fond!
The last time I got angry was at Easter when I asked they read “Good Friday 1613 Riding Westward” by John Donne to cleanse their heads.
This was of course a very arrogant request but I was reading a lot of religious poetry at the time and a little obsessed by Donne’s battle between his soul and his body. He lived another 18 years which was quite a while for someone in his prime (40) when he wrote the poem. He died when he was 58 ( a good age those days).
I found out about the poem because it is quoted around the bust of the man which is outside St Paul’s, He was Dean in the last years of his amazing life. But his younger life is beautifully captured in this poem. Better than any bust can! The poem can be downloaded here (again).
Donne was narcissistic and knew it. I wish we all had that self-reflection.
A narcissistic opening
Of course narcissm is a sense of self-importance which usually hides a worried soul concerned he may not be recognised. This is what the first 10-15 minutes of these pods are like and it must be as annoying to have me swinging by bits around to arouse my readers (it won’t happen but I can’t stop myself and neither can Nico and Darren).
A meeting in Scotland
Darren and I spent some time in Scotland at a conference and there is great happiness on this podcast that I was in a good mood. This was not infact the case, I was feeling guilty I was enjoying myself far too much and that I was getting sucked into the general self-congratulation. I was like John Donne, having a bit of fun but feeling guilty that my soul was not turned to virtue.
Politics
The lads are worried that I misunderstand their pod and that I think they are taking political positions. I didn’t know how either of the two voted but now know that Nico votes Green which makes sense.
The lads have had Guy Opperman on their pod recently and I remember they’ve had Greg McClymont (Labour) and might have had Steve Webb (Liberal) – (I can’t remember all the pods) but he doesn’t have a frivolous side so he might not.
If they want to be aware of politics , I’d suggest that they invite Mr Tice of Reform UK along. This being a pod about the politics of the pension , Mr Tice’s views on private pensions and LGPS would be useful to hear.
In the meantime, we have an account for most of the latest pod, of the rather ratty Pensions Minister getting increasingly wound up by the views of the kind of people who turn up on this podcast. Infact Nico goes through the list of people who turned up at the General Commission a couple of weeks ago (an account of each “witness’ answers” is here).
There is also an account of the various amendments to the Bill that have been turned down. I would be interested to find out which amendments got allowed through but will wait till another podcast.
The good bit of this podcast
While I find the discussion about whether I am right to consider them politically obsessed over. And when the narcissm has been washed out, we get to the nub of the podcast, a really interesting discussion of VFM (which is what we tune in for 1.11.7 (that’s nearly 72 minutes guys).
If we lost the narcissm at the outset and focussed more on pensions and less on politics, we’d have an even better podcast.
Nick is out in France till it’s time to go to Manchester for the Pensions UK conference. Darren is not “inside” yet but my money is on him finding a way in.
Nico