Popping, fizzing and whizzing about

MOST of my working life was spent in the aerospace industry. During that time there were many changes of management, as well as changes to the company name.

Strangely, all of these changes and some major upheavals were hardly noticed by plebs like me. It did, however, guarantee bragging rights, plus ego boosting and salary boosting opportunities for those at the top. In spite of the many changes, plus the grandiose statements emanating from above, I still drove to work on the same roads, parked in the same place and sat at the same desk, every working day. All of this hierarchical messing about had very little effect on my colleagues and me and it occurred to me that a full glass of lager looks much like the company and its structure.

A glass of lager has a narrow, or shallow, band of froth at the top and much activity. This froth is analogous to company management, with lots of popping, fizzing and general whizzing about.

Such activity is used to demonstrate how dynamic and necessary they are, as well as trying to justify their plump salaries.

As you look lower in the glass, however, activity slows. And near the bottom, things remain relatively undisturbed. This, at least, was my experience at work.

Now, switch this line of thinking to the current government. At the top there is much posing, jostling, waffling, the making of grandiose statements and general dashing about. This is often accompanied by large sums of money being spent on projects which polish egos.

All of this has little relevance to the plebs, such as me. We are more concerned about a functioning health system, roads which don’t make you feel that your wheels are hexagonal, a sensible transport system (I don’t care if those who can afford it save 10 minutes of their precious life on HS2), plus a positive and can-do attitude towards the environmental disaster we are facing.

Also, at a more parochial and city-based level, public toilets would be handy. When the glass can be replaced by a less deep and much wider vessel, with activity being felt more generally within the liquid, things will change for the better. At the moment I fear preserving the status quo is the main interest of politicians, with some even striving to create deeper and narrower glass.

Hopefully these observations will not cause you to stare too miserably into your next glass of lager.

John Glover

Bristol