HANGER ON A MINUTE

Today is the first of June and the first of many. The film festival starts on Friday and this is a good thing as for a brief time, young, fresh, innovative folk arrive from around the world breathing out a bit of international culture which is there to grasp or ignore, and hopefully breath in some of what's floating around here. I worked at the festival a couple of times and the bit I liked the most was meeting the film makers from other countries as well as the ones from Spain. For a while you are reminded that there is a world out there and a feeling of calm comes with it. The people I loved the most were a group of Brazilians who were just lovely and of course the short films that are shown are just wonderful and inspiring. The bit I didn't like was the freeloading aspect of it all with folk expecting to get it all free, the hotel, the fare to and from the festival, the free lunches or vouchers to spend in local restaurants, the list went on. Most of the young film makers were just chuffed to be invited and amazed their hotel was going to be paid for and also the chance their film might win. Others who often hadn't lifted a finger to make anything were there to eat their way through the festival. My hope is always with young people as they are so hopeful and prepared to work hard, well the creative ones who embrace life anyway. I have some pupils who love film and always ask me what films they should watch from the 'old days', stuff no one is going to tell them about. It's the same with music too. So much brilliant stuff has come and gone and they don't want to miss it. Having uncool parents is always going to make you work harder at finding out good music, films or books. There is so much 'stuff' out there that youngsters always like to be a bit more discerning and don't want to fall into the mainstream. The only thing nowadays is nobody seems to want to buy music or DVDs and everything is out there for free, although somebody is always paying.

Thank God for the young people protesting in the main squares too as their parents are too busy getting pissed in bars, smoking spliff and bemoaning that they lived under Franco so ergo missed out on just about every revolution going. It's like they are constantly making up for it or when Franco died everyone started partying like it was 1999 and  forgot to stop. Meanwhile they discovered handouts, early retirement, freebies, todo tren and like the dickhead ex-MEP on Newsnight t'other night, who thinks there is some justification for going on a 75,000 Euro bender in Amsterdam often argue 'you'd do the same' when in fact most of us wouldn't as there is nothing more uncool as a freeloading, food hoarding toady, especially one in a suit.