Newspaper sellers in Brum

Has any other native Brummy noticed how the newspaper sellers in the city centre have become more vocal and pro-active? Formerly the older men would sit in their booth and occasionally shout "Get your paper". Now the newspaper sellers are younger and rarely inside the booth. Instead they are outside the booth, moving around and shouting regularly. I wonder if this is the result of suggestions by a highly paid business consultant.

Genius of capitalism

World cup fever is everywhere. Visiting a major clothing and trinkets store yesterday, it occurred to me how clever capitalism is at capturing the mood of the moment. It’s not just flags- of various varieties from waving type to the hanging from your upstairs window sort. Everything seemed to have a world cup theme. There were t-shirts, shorts and long sleeve shirts. Objects like cups and suitcases had a world cup theme. Even the staff were exuding world cup with their t-shirts, hats and face paints.

That is the genius of capitalism- to exploit the mood of the moment and then move on. These objects sell at very high cost, often to people who can ill afford them. Those aimed at children rely on pester power to make a killing. In a few weeks time, when the world cup fever is no more, any items not flogged now will be sold at hugely knocked down sale prices.

National traits

Be sceptical when writers and columnists tell you about national traits. Such generalisations are useless. If there is anything distinctive discernible about a nation, it normally affects the elites only. Even elite tastes are now being internationalised. Talk of national traits is outdated, even though it only ever applied to a select few within nations.

Tying the knot- untying tradition

British Mirpuri marriage habits are slowly but surely beginning to change. For a while, it was ‘customary’ to marry first cousins based in Mirpur. Now though this custom has always been fairly common in Mirpur, I believe it increased during the 1980s and 1990s, mainly as a convenient way of avoiding the end of primary immigration. Why do I say this? Because in many cases, where both a male and female first cousin, of similar age, are Mirpur based, the respective families would endeavour to find a suitable partners from the UK, even if they are not first cousins. In other words, the aim of sending ones son or daughter is stronger than the ‘custom’ of cousin marriage.

Now all this is beginning to change. Any minority culture can only remain insulated from the influences of the majority culture for so long. The change is being led by young people themselves, who are demanding a greater a say in who, and indeed if, they marry. Many parents are also beginning to change. Whereas previously the minimum condition was that any potential marriage partner should hail from the Mirpur district and be of the same caste, now any British Pakistani Muslim will do.

There is rumour in the Mirpuri community that the rules on bringing partners over will be tightened, perhaps with age/ language restrictions, or a re-introduction of the dreaded ‘primary purpose’ rule, where the onus was on the parties to a marriage to prove that the primary purpose was marriage and not the chance to enter the UK. It meant many people, in perfectly happy marriages, had to go through years of appeals and re-appeals before their partners could join them.

I am not sure if changing the law is the best way forward. There are cultural and social issues, which change with the times. Already things are beginning to change, even though rules have been relaxed since 1997. Over time, things will have to change completely. It is better that change occurs through cultural evolution, than through the force of the law.

Donkey in the veranda!

The hacienda-style mansions dotting Mirpur mask the hard work and long hours spent in earning the pounds- whether as taxi drivers, factory workers or shop owners. Most of them lie empty, their owners living in overcrowded terraces in England. It has now become a cliché among some critical Mirpuris that the deserted mansions are used only by donkeys seeking shade from the midday heat!

Why do people waste huge amounts on properties they hardly live in? I suspect there are a number of reasons, including competition (my mansion is bigger than yours), lingering belief in the myth of return (even though we have now been in the UK for 50 years and our children and their children were born here) and, probably for some people, investing in a mansion is a convenient tax management/ evasion/ avoidance strategy.