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www.ilkestonlife.com ILKESTON LIFE July 2021 2

As I see it, by Richard Shaw
Local From the Library shelves
by A Borrower
Independent The Mermaid of Democracy in action
Fresh
f you want to see British de-
Entertaining the Black Conch Imocracy at its best, you could ‘the real winners in this election
were ‘Mr and Mrs Non voter’! On
If you don’t get a copy through do much worse than to attend a turnout of between the upper
twenties and the lower forties
your door, Ilkeston Life is available Monique Roffey the Election Count. across all the seats, it was easy to
online and from various outlets Not everyone can. Essentially you
including newsagents, shops, cafés, need to be invited, but it is heart- see what he meant.
post offices, supermarkets and thought I had outgrown mer- David feels overwhelmed by guilt. ening and reassuring. I get to go If Labour can discover what is
libraries in our growing circula- I maids so I was very surprised The American wants to display her on behalf of Ilkeston Life and it’s a going on here in this disengaged
tion area. Besides Ilkeston, we are to find myself enjoying this book as a trophy and strings her up on place of many positives: a theatre sector they could be on to some-
currently supplying many the dockside intending to exploit thing. Even the famous Tory victo-
surrounding towns and villages: which had been recommended of cherished hope, nursed expecta- ry in Hartlepool was secured with
We also give free copies to Ilkeston by a friend. Such is the power of her for financial gain. tion, diligent application and short a turnout of only 42.5%, leading to
Hospital, nursing and care homes, Monique Roffey’s writing that David rescues her and then begins lived jubilation at a favourable out- suggestions that this was more a
doctors waiting rooms, schools, her novel, which has a very real the slow and difficult process of come cut short before it becomes
etc. and mail out copies to keeping her safe while she transi- exhibitionism! case of the Labour voters staying at
subscribers. mermaid as a central character tions back to a human female. It’s a celebration of a very British home than the Tory transformation
We are grateful to our many is, by turns, enthralling, funny, The part of the novel which sort; of the sort you would expect taking another huge step forward.
correspondents and out volunteers moving, thought-provoking and describes this time is where the su- where politics combines just the But apart from that what is going
for their help in fund raising, (almost entirely) believable! on within this disengagement and,
distributing the paper and raising pernatural becomes searingly real. right measure of theatre and prag- allied to that, what is the key to
awareness of it. Black Conch is an island in the It is a painful physical process for matism. It says much for our gift understanding the Tory success?
Caribbean Sea and the novel Aycayia and a painful emotional of turning passion into practicality
recounts the events of 1976 one for David. Initially they have and being able still to offer the There has been a suggestion that
they are now becoming the nation-
Editorial office: 1 Bath Street, when those white men from no common language but Aycayia world an example. The Mother of al party of England. If so, what are
Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 8AH Florida came to fish for marlin is able to express herself in other all Parliaments is alive and well in they offering which makes them
its local halls as well as its national
Tel. 07539 808390 and instead pulled a mermaid ways making it clear that she has palaces. It is full of character and effectively the best or best available
very strong ideas about what she
expression of national mood and
Editor-in-chief: Paul Opiah out of the sea wants. For the first time in his life characters. But questions arise as aspiration at this time? What are
Editor: Robert Attewell The supernatural is tethered by the David becomes a patient carer, to whether it is still entirely fit for
news@ilkestonlife.com matter of fact prose in which the sensitive to the needs and feelings purpose. the individual dispositions coming
Staff feature writer: Patricia Spencer event is recounted. Roffey uses Parliamentary legislation and reg- to effect in this collective expres-
patricia@ilkestonlife.com of the woman he has fallen in love ulation evolved from the judicial sion?
Staff photographer: John Shelton three voices to tell the story. There with. Reflecting on this immediately after
john@ilkestonlife.com is the standard English prose of He seeks the help of a friend, Miss precedent of common law to offer a the count, I found myself think-
Advertising: Christine Chell a third person narrator used for Rain, the only white woman on the more democratic form of govern- ing of celebrity culture and reality
and Paul Opiah, the statement above. There are ment, one less prone to judicial
sales@ilkestonlife.com also short passages which are set island. Together with her deaf son, caprice whilst still sensitive to TV! This may not be the route to
Distribution: Paul Opiah Reggie, they form a protective changing social contexts. But now stardom, with its attendant riches
paul@ilkestonlife.com out like lines of poetry and which circle round the mermaid for there (however short lived) for many, but
Webmaster: Adam Newton are the voice of the mermaid, her are others who seek to exploit or there is a feeling in some quarters it speaks of a new reality. If you
adam@ilkestonlife.com songs. These passages give us a harm her. A malicious neighbour, that it tends to offer something less make the right moves and get the
glimpse into the history of the a corrupt policeman and the Amer- representative, not more. The pos- right media exposure coupled with
sibility of the passing of legislation
© Copyright 2021 mermaid as well as insight into her ican all feel they have claims on to more or less end judicial review a bit of luck you can make it. And
The material in Ilkeston Life is pro- feelings as she struggles to adjust the mermaid. More powerful than you don’t need to be a success in
tected by copyright. If you wish to to her new life. We learn that many of these human figures, however, would be an example. more traditional terms, for example
reproduce anything, please contact the centuries ago the jealous wives of But back to the elections of May as a lawyer, doctor, teacher or other
editor. her community, fearing her effect are the voices from her past, the 6th and, credit where it’s due, it was
While every care is taken to be accu- jealous wives who are still pursu- a great night for the Conservatives. professional, trades or other small
rate, we are only human and mistakes on their husbands, cursed her and ing her with their voices and their In the elections to Derbyshire business person; you just have to
do occur occasionally. If you are transformed her into a mermaid : fantastical powers to wreak havoc County Council, they won by a be get noticed and gain approval!
unhappy with any of the content in the These women figure it easy in the island’s weather systems. And this possibility is open to
paper, please contact the editor in the handsome majority in most seats everyone, or so it seems. Howev-
first place. to get rid of me Not all fairy tales have happy and were way out in front in terms er, those who think their route to
We accept news and information from Seal up me sex inside a tail endings. of both the total number of seats
correspondents in good faith and The erotic love story is central to won (45 as against 14 for Labour, 4 success is effectively a lottery ticket
cannot be held responsible for inaccu- We learn that the mermaid is the novel but through the devel- for the Liberal Democrats and 1 for may need to think differently when
racies. We try not to include stories called Aycayia. She was once a the losing tickets start mount up
which may cause distress to anyone. If human, a member of a now extinct opment of David and Aycayia’s the Greens - a notable victory for around them. This may be where
you have a view on any of the articles, people. relationship Roffey is also able to Gez Kinsella in Duffield and Belper the disengaged already are.
please write and let us know. raise questions about sexuality and South) and the overall share of the
Your letters are always welcome, but She was red like an Amer- gender. Other themes are touched vote. As in England as a whole, But this is the national picture.
we reserve the right to withhold or indian woman and all scaly on : the exploitation and destruc- they consolidated the gains, and How much do these national
edit. Anonymous letters will only be issues, profiles and themes resonate
printed in exceptional circumstances. and glittery too, like she polish tion of the island’s ecology; the extended the momentum, gener- in the local vote? There can be no
If sending photographs, we prefer sheself up good. bitter remnants of a colonial past; ated at the 2019 General Election doubting the hard work, dedication
them in jpeg format. This is the voice of the third attitudes to race and family struc- to almost literally sweep all before and application of all the candi-
COPY DEADLINE: 22nd. narrator, David, who is a native of tures. The topics are embodied in them. dates. And the results show that
Our print date is usually the first Black Conch. He is looking back the flow of the powerful narrative As for the Greens, they improved individuals do still make an impact.
Thursday of the month. Delivery on the events which transformed so that it is the story and the fates their standing impressively with But how much, generally speaking,
from our printers to Ilkeston is the of the central characters which a second place in Breaston for are local results about local issues?
following day. So the paper comes out his life forever. His voice is a Brent Poland, who described as
on the first Friday of the month. mixture of standard English and provides a gripping read. ‘massive’ their overall progress and, How much effort is now being
The deadline for both adverts and the local patois. made towards alerting people of
editorial is always the 22nd for the fol- He glimpses the mermaid one The Mermaid of Black Conch apart from the win in Duffield and the local issues? What raises our
lowing month’s paper, unless by prior is available to borrow from Il- Belper South, and the second place consciousness towards them?
arrangement. (So, for example, 22nd day when he is idling in his boat, keston Library. in Breaston they came a creditable ‘Derbyshire Now’ is very informa-
January for the February issue.) Send singing and playing his guitar. He third in pretty much all the other
to us by email if possible. We prefer is instantly entranced : seats. They can also point to a tive and deserves to be read much
to receive images as jpegs. We do not more than it probably is. But even
print discourteous letters or articles. David ached to see her Library News tide flowing in their favour as the this tells us more about what has
All articles and adverts should comply again. He felt a bittersweet public becomes ever more aware of been or is being done. An election
with the style and standards of the melancholy,a soft caress to his Ilkeston Library is open for brows- environmental issues. For Labour is more about what now needs to
paper. We reserve the right to refuse ing and borrowing although access it was more a night for dignified be done going forward.
or edit. spirit. is restricted to the ground floor. resignation and the first beginnings
The best way to get your article in the Aycayia, lured by his music, leaves Masks must be worn. of a quiet reflection as they seek It may be a sign of the times that
paper is to make it easy for us. For the safety of the deep ocean, and the only two pieces of election
instance, when we are approaching a Bookings can be made for the to recognise what can take them material I received through my
deadline, an emailed ready-to-use arti- starts swimming dangerously close computers but there is no scanner. forward. door both came from the Conserv-
cle will always take preference over an to shore . The library is not yet in use for They may not need to look far. ative candidate - one asking for
article on paper that we have to key in. When she is brutally harpooned As one Labour candidate put it my views on local matters and the
Email us: news@ilkestonlife.com and captured by an American meetings.
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