Party Time?

          I thought I was in good health, but then I got a worrying text from the NHS. It said that the blood test I had a month ago showed me “at risk of developing diabetes”. The degree of risk was not specified, nevertheless, the message urged me to sign up to attend an online ‘patient information session’, hosted by XYLA (part of Acacium Group) and ticketed by Eventbrite.

          Of course, I checked again on the possible causes of the disease. Lifestyle is a major factor but, in my case, an unlikely contributor, since my diet and exercise regimes have conformed, for most of my adult life, with those recommended by the medical profession. If, indeed, I am at risk of developing diabetes, then it is most likely due to ageing and/or having drawn the short straw in the heredity stakes, in which case there is not much point in worrying, since I can’t affect the outcome.

          What does concern me is the involvement of commercial companies in this process. Is it conceivable that there is a payment from the public purse to XYLA for every “patient” that signs up to a webinar to get advice that is readily available for free, either on the NHS website or through the internet more generally? The answer is “yes”.

          Every slight movement towards the American model of healthcare makes me nervous, especially since the takeover of its government by the far right. Fortunately I am not a citizen, but the protection that affords from being affected by its political direction is slender to the point of meaninglessness. The magnitude of its economic and military might is sufficient to influence everyone on the planet. And who is in charge of it? A handful of billionaires who have been working to this end for some time.

          I am inclined to the view that democracy is beyond being at risk in the USA: it has already been captured and is now being demolished by plutocrats who are busy consolidating their position by dismantling the state and selling its parts to oligarchs who will then offer services back to citizens at prices they determine. This is an attractive model of governance for those who stand to profit from it and, as history attests, it is both commonplace and relatively simple to achieve. All you need is great wealth. Feeling uneasy, I checked on the Acacium Group. It’s a Private Equity Investment Company, based – for now, at least – in London, where a modicum of democratic restraint still applies.

          And, despite holding a generally pessimistic view of the future for most of the planet’s populace, I take what opportunities I can to enjoy what is left of our civil society and our cultural and natural heritage. Life in Devonshire showed its bountiful face last week, with unbroken sunshine and a few days spent at the seaside in the jolly company of old friends.

          We stayed at Slapton, a ten-minute walk from the beach. It’s an officially ‘dark’ area, which means that the stars are spectacularly visible on cloudless nights such as we had. We walked through the village, where the vestiges of our feudal past remain in the layout and buildings. We mooched around the quaint old centre of Dartmouth, famous for its Roal Naval College (and, latterly, unaffordable housing stock) and visited the old market, interacting with the characterful fishmonger and genuinely French pâtissier. One of our party picked edible stems from the hedgerow and served them as an appetiser for supper. She identified them as Alexanders and told us the Romans ate them.

          We drank and laughed a lot, as friends will. After all, our party’s not over just yet.