It has been rather difficult to focus on what else is going on in the world as I’ve been riding the Three Lions rollercoaster for the past couple of weeks. However, I do try to keep up to speed by listening to radio stations like NPR for American news and LBC to see what’s going on back home (and reading the British Weekly, of course!).
I am also an avid fan of the excellent BBC programme ‘Question Time’ hosted by David Dimbleby (who sadly is retiring after presenting the show for 25 years). For those of you not familiar with the show, it is a current affairs panel show which travels to a different location in Britain for every episode. The guests are usually made up of politicians, business leaders , members of the media and the occasional poet or actor. They take questions from the audience and then go around the table to discuss and debate. I find it a fascinating way to learn what is currently on the general public’s mind.
Since June 23rd 2016 the topic of Brexit and referendums has been brought up in every episode. People are obviously still very upset by the result, but what I found most surprising is how much of that anger is directed towards the fact that there was ever a referendum in the first place. It seems that a lot of Brits think that the people shouldn’t have a real say. I’ve discussed this with friends back home and they are surprised to learn that Americans have referendums nearly every time we go to the polls. Sometimes there can be so many listed that I have to spend the preceding weeks researching the many proposals.
We have been given a vote on some huge issues.
November 4th 2008 was the day Californians voted for ‘Prop 8’ which legalized same sex marriage.
Proposition 64 was another big one.
November 9, 2016: Proposition 64 legalized using and growing marijuana for personal use.
January 1, 2018: Proposition 64 allowed for the sale and taxation of recreational marijuana.
Seems bonkers that over here we can now buy cannabis in the same way that we can purchase alcohol, whereas recently in the UK a young boy was close to dying when he was initially denied CBD oil that prevented his life threatening seizures. Whereas I can just pop down the road and pick some up. I actually get it to help my aging dog with his arthritis.
In case anyone is interested, the chain store MedMen (medmen.com) carry a whole line of pet products. They also have a vast array of products for humans, including bath salts, cookies, mints, roll ups and even sodas. All you need is your ID that proves you are over 21!
This November brings us another controversial ballot proposition. We have been given the job to decide if we should have a referendum on whether the state of California should be divided into three states. At this moment in time I have no idea how to vote on this, but I do appreciate that I am being given a voice. It certainly makes voters more involved with politics even if we don’t always get the results we want.
If any of you have any thoughts or insights on ‘Cal3’ I would love to hear from you.
Can you believe the NHS turned 70 this week? If the Question Time audience are anything to go by, I reckon the British public would love to have more of a say in how that is run…
This week I need to make a very important decision… should I wash my lucky England shirt or not?
Answers on a postcard to Eileen@britsin.la
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Cheers!
Eileen
