Category: Basic principles

Below is an example of the result obtained with the online calculator available at the Office of National Statistics. In 2024, upon entering an age of 69 for a male, the statistics point to an average age at death as being 86 years. The same age (69) for a female gives an estimate of 88 years.

This is a huge improvement on the situation in, for example, the mid-1700s, when life expectancy in the UK was barely 40 years. Wars, smallpox, dangerous workplaces and lack of hygienic sanitation kept this number down until the period 1895 to 1930, when there was an extraordinary increase to almost 60.

Better medical treatments, town planning and work environments, added to the provisions of the new Welfare State post-WW2, have seen life expectancy steadily rise to the current (2024) level of 82. However, a modern tendency towards unhealthy lifestyles means that the UK is ranked in the world’s top 30, whereas it was in the top 10 in the 1950s.

Nevertheless, there have been at least 150 so-called ‘supercentenarians’ in this country, i.e. people reaching the age of 110, and our oldest citizen in recorded history — Charlotte Hughes — was 115 years and 228 days old when she died in 1993. Her tips for a long life were healthy eating and Christian valTues.

(Top image: “Do you think we are getting too old for this?” by Neil Moralee at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

After the Beveridge Report‘s positive public reception, the post-WW2 government passed a spate of legislation to bring in the Welfare State, topped off by the National Assistance Act and the National Health Service Act, both of 1948. However, as it grew steadily larger and more ingrained in the British psyche, politicians recognised its propaganda value and made promises to voters of even greater state support without mentioning the increased taxes required to fund this.

The UK’s NHS and social security system together bag at least half of the government’s total spending. Dependence on them has given substance to the term ‘Nanny State’ as people are encouraged to look to public officials to solve their problems. Since the 1980s there has been a move to make reforms but the horse has already bolted and it would be a brave political party that dares propose cutting either health services or benefits.

Particularly cherished and undeniably necessary are the State Pensions but there is also Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Personal Independence Payment, Employment & Support Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Disability Payment, Bereavement Support Payment, Statutory Sick Pay, etc., etc.. Which of these could be withdrawn?

(Images LtoR: Amtec Photos at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0, UK Government at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0, hippopx.com / CC0)

In its simplest form, freedom of association places no restrictions on which friendship circles, clubs or societies we choose to join, but as this is taken very much for granted, the term usually refers to membership of trade unions, different religions or political movements if it is used in the media. That being so, its connection to the right of peaceful assembly is made clear since workers’ strike action, faith-based disagreements and mass demonstrations all tend to make headlines.

Another facet of this freedom is that membership organisations have the right to lay down criteria for joining, such as annual fees and age limits. They also have the right to set other appropriate rules and carry out activities in pursuit of their particular interest ~ indeed, it would be odd if they did not ~ so meetings, presentations, outings and events are all part of the enjoyment of associating with like-minded people.

It is unlawful to force someone to join or leave a trade union, for example, as a condition of employment or for this to result in discrimination. It is entirely the choice of the individual employee, who may even join a different union to the one their colleagues belong to.

(Image [cropped]: John Morris at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Public access to London’s 350-acre Hyde Park was granted in 1637. In the 1800s its proximity to Buckingham Palace‘s fashionable district added to its attraction for rallies by social reform groups, such as the Chartists. After some riotous protests in 1866/7, when park railings were pulled up and an oak tree was set alight, the Parks Regulation Act was passed in 1872. It legalised the regulations of 17 royal parks, thereby authorising Hyde Park’s designation and policing of a space for assembly and public speaking. This became known as Speakers’ Corner, a paved area in the north-east of the Park.

It has been described as the last vestige of ‘freedom of speech‘ in Britain, or alternatively “the largest open-air lunatic asylum” because there is little restriction on what speakers talk about, up on their soapboxes or steps. They may preach, lecture, entertain, educate, complain or philosophise and any heckling/debate is all part of the spectacle, which takes place mostly on Sunday afternoons and is on many tourists’ itineraries.

Speakers just turn up, set up and gather a crowd as best they can and several may be shouting their views at the same time. Mass prayers, acts of worship, flags and banners are forbidden.

(Image showing Speakers’ Corner (centre) on a Friday: diamond geezer at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

“In Europe, people eat good food. In England people think that good manners at the table are more important than the food you get to eat.” ~ So wrote Hungarian émigré author George Mikes (1912-87) in 1946, seven years after choosing to make England his permanent home. Good table manners are certainly expected at British mealtimes as part of consideration for others and in the interests of hygiene.

One of the first printed books set out the aristocracy’s rules for table etiquette and many similar handbooks ensued. Some of the rules became commonplace and so it is that: we do NOT slouch, scratch, cough, slurp, burp, spit or blow our noses at the table; we do NOT stretch over fellow diners’ plates; we do NOT put our knife in our mouth; we DO wait to start eating until everyone is ready; and we TRY to engage in a little conversation between mouthfuls.

While these are just a few of the politenesses learnt at home, there are even more to be observed when eating out in high-class restaurants and fine dining rooms. People’s table manners in these situations can reveal their levels of social acumen and self-awareness.

(Image: pixy.org / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

London-born philosopher and social reformer John Stuart Mill (1806-73) published his most famous work, ‘On Liberty’ in 1859, in which he defined individual liberty by using what was subsequently named the ‘harm principle’. Every citizen should be free to do, believe in, say and think whatever they wish, so long as it does not harm another person or persons. This is clear-cut where the harm is physical or financial but less so where it is in the mind.

For example, breaking off a romance is emotionally hurtful for the abandoned partner but should never be banned for that reason, since it would breach an individual’s right to choose their own companions. On the other hand, stalking a former partner to the point of harassment is illegal because it infringes psychologically on their liberty to go about their everyday lives.

Individual liberty was first set into law in Britain via Magna Carta Libertatum (1215) and then the Bill of Rights (1688/89). These documents sought to prevent tyranny and stop unfounded arrests, imprisonments and punishments. It is for each of us to cherish our ability to make our own choices in how we vote, behave, speak and lead our lives, not for government or despotic billionaires.

(Image: pxfuel.com/ CC0)

Any Briton who has looked into their family tree will know that until WW2 it was common for families to consist of ten or more children and for the parents to have married in their early 20s. The wife looked after the house and younger children while the husband and older children earned the money. Today, the average is two children per couple, who set up home in their late 20s, and many wives have part-time jobs.

Grown-up offspring tend to live with their parents for longer, but whatever its age range, the family remains the fundamental setting for childhood, personal relationships and loving support. It involves the parental responsibilities of keeping a home and putting food on the table, which cannot wilfully be dodged without serious consequences. Children are usually kept close to home and our ancestors might have considered them rather spoilt but confined.

Divorce is actually on the decline in the UK but there are still many families with step-parents or with single parents (usually the mother). However, the family values of sharing, nurturing and ‘doing family’ together, i.e. working, playing, holidaying, celebrating and experiencing all of life’s events with each other, continue to be the norm.

(Image: Oliver Dixon at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

The honours system recognises long-term service to the nation in the fields of charity, industry, the professions, entertainment, sport or science; or for gallantry, usually in the Armed Forces; or for careers in the Civil Service or governing bodies. It has grown both in numbers and scope over the centuries, to the point where there are currently 14 investiture ceremonies per year for up to 135 recipients per ceremony.

Monarchs used to hand out land and money as rewards for loyalty, but, particularly in the 15th century, different types of peerage were instituted and their conferral gradually became a more practical, less expensive thank-you. Since the Life Peerages Act of 1958 the award of a peerage outside of the Royal Family has been restricted to the rank of Baron, the lowest in the peerage hierarchy, and it is not hereditary.

By far the most honours are in the category of the Order of the British Empire, of which the MBE is the most commonly used. The Knights Bachelor designation is also well populated, with around 3,000 ‘Sirs’ and ‘Dames’ at present. The announcement of awardees takes place twice a year ~ in the New Year’s Honours List and the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June.

(Image of MBE medal: (Mick Baker)rooster at Flickr.com / CC BY-ND 2.0)

British concern for our fellow creatures extends not only to the furry kind but also the feathered and the eminence of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) bears this out. The head office is an estate in Bedfordshire which includes one of the 200+ nature reserves that donations and legacies have allowed them to acquire and manage.

It was set up by women who were aghast at the Victorian ladies’ and military fashion for adorning hats with plumage from exotic birds. Emily Williamson (1855-1936) established the Society in 1889 in Manchester and was joined in 1891 by Eliza Phillips (1823-1916) and the members of her Fur, Fin & Feather Folk, as well as Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, the Duchess of Portland (1863-1954), who was RSPB President until her death.

The RSPB’s lobbying has resulted in various bird protection laws ~ for example, making it illegal to steal eggs from nests in the wild. They have also re-introduced several rare species, such as the red kite, crane and the white-tailed eagle. Their conservation efforts have seen them clear rats and feral cats from small islands including Ascension. They have over a million members and their annual Big Garden Birdwatch is one of the largest surveys of its kind.

(Image of red kite in Wales: Jim Roberts Gallery at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Putting ‘Private & Confidential‘ on an envelope indicates the nature of its contents ~ usually legal, financial or medical ~ and covers the sender’s responsibility to communicate this information for the recipient’s eyes only. However, the necessity for privacy in these and other areas has had to adapt to new methods of communication which may be less secure than paper and gum.

There are no longer many places in the UK where people habitually leave their doors unlocked as of old and in the digital age it is just as important to secure your computer and your smartphone, since these store so much personal data and private correspondence. Satellites and closed circuit cameras can track people’s whereabouts and the mainstream media pushes the violation of privacy for profit and propaganda.

The invention of the portable camera forced the re-thinking of laws on privacy. Today, the concerns are about hidden cameras and secret recording via computers’ built-in devices. Storage of data on servers and in ‘the cloud’ has the capability of threatening our privacy, aided by the rapid rise of social media, which sees people publicly displaying personal information, and of smartphone apps, which quickly become indispensable.

(Image: pxhere.com / Public domain)