By PHIL JARRATT
HANDS up if you were a bit blindsided by the Leave vote winning last week’s Brexit referendum in what is currently known as the Dis-United Kingdom?
Frankly, friends, I was flabbergasted! Historically, referendums on difficult questions almost always result in the negative, that is, retaining the status quo. Unless it’s something as basic as stopping a war or abolishing taxes, change is hard to sell, which is why I have to confess I took almost no notice of the months of campaigning leading up to the poll, other than to observe that Boris the Buffoon seemed to be using it as a battering ram through the front door of 10 Downing Street, which, the way it’s now playing out, is where he might end up.
But looking at the bigger picture, from this distant and lofty position, it seemed almost inconceivable that thinking Brits would choose to walk away from the concept of a united Europe, which, despite 40 years of bureaucrats brawling in Brussels and EU pollies with their snouts in the trough burning through billions, is still a noble, pragmatic and eminently sensible goal. And it is a goal that was shared by the vast majority of Brits under the age of 30, the generation set to now inherit the mess created by the own-goal kicked last Thursday by an ageing, fearful and forgetful population and their manipulative political masters.
Of course, the European Union, like all bureaucracies, is far from perfect, and the Leave campaign made much of its ridiculous petty legislation, mainly related to trade, such as the regulation of the acceptable curvature of bananas, or that conversely cucumbers must be straight (I’m not making this up!), or that olive oil should not be served from bulk containers in restaurants, for hygiene and quality reasons. Since one of the greatest things about eating out in Europe is to dip one’s bread in the oil of the land, this last one was roundly ignored, and the curvature of bananas was seldom policed, but still the impression grew that Brussels had become the capitol not just of the EU, but of conspicuous consumption and profligate waste.
So yeah, there was plenty of work to be done, but the timing was not good. Not only has the EU had to help orchestrate rescue missions for basket case economies, like Greece, on an ongoing basis in recent years, but it has also had to confront the greatest human rights issue of our times – the constant northward flow of political refugees from the war-torn south. The solution, at least as far as the vast majority of middle-aged and elderly rural English were concerned, was to turn back the clock, roll up the bridge and man the turrets. Keep calm and rule Brittania!
I was living and working in London when the UK joined the fledgling European Union in 1973. It was a time of rampant strikes, power shortages and three-day working weeks. Brittania wasn’t ruling much at all, and the possibilities that a European Union might offer seemed endlessly appealing. In fact a 1975 referendum showed that almost 70 per cent of Brits were behind the union.
I was living and working in Europe again in the early 2000s when the Euro single currency was introduced and membership of the EU was opened up to the former Eastern Bloc countries. With a wallet full of crisp new Euros, my wife and I set off to discover the delights of the Baltic States, now rolling out the welcome mat.
This was just a dozen or so years ago, and now that the UK (albeit with Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and London screaming blue murder) has rolled the mat back up and begun to hoist up the drawbridge, it seems so long ago, so far away.
And who will be next to say no to banana curvature legislation, not to mention the humane intake of refugees in crisis?
Mega-swell in Mexico
While things at home have settled down a bit – actually a lot! – last week’s mammoth mid-Pacific swell smashed up quite a bit of Mexican coastline but resulted in huge and perfect waves at Puerto Escondido for the first event of the WSL Big Wave Tour for 2016/17.
Previous tour champion Grant “Twiggy” Baker took out the honours with a perfect score in the final for a technical tube ride in an absolute monster, but there were many perfect waves ridden, Gold Coast paddling machine Jamie Mitchell scoring one absolute blinder and was unlucky not to make the final. Hawaii’s Makua Rothman, on the other hand, having made the final, was lucky to survive it after being crunched by a massive close-out.
This is what differentiates Puerto from most other big wave venues. Huge swells rear up out of deep water and pitch over shallow sandbars, creating top to bottom walls from which there is no escape. It is a wave of total commitment, perfect to look at, frightening to tangle with.
Tip for travellers: There is a lovely boutique hotel directly in front of the break where you can take a jug of margaritas onto the rooftop garden and watch in awe.
