Who in Britain remembers those ‘Protect and Survive’ pamphlets sent to every home during (I think) the Cuban missile crisis, advising people what to do if an H-bomb hit them? (I only remember ‘hide under the stairs’.) Well, the Swedish government has just circulated this little booklet to all of us here: ‘Important information for Swedish residents, if crisis or war comes.’ Remember how close we are to Russia…
I’ve not blogged recently because of a struggle I’m having with HMRC, which seems to be staffed exclusively by robots. The Swedish Skatteverket is much more customer-friendly. It knows what you’ve earned, for example, before you tell it. One of the advantages, perhaps, of living in a more invasive – and protective – State.
Porter’s Pensées 
Ah, Protect and Survive was the 80s and the cruise missile standoff, not Cuba. The booklet was sent out to every home, and I think it was intended to evoke the Dunkirk spirit. If so, it misfired spectacularly; I and many others went to our first CND meeting soon after reading it, and EP Thompson wrote “Protest and Survive” as a parody. It also spawned the strangely touching “When the Wind Blows” by Raymond Briggs, and the not-nearly-so-touching film “Threads”. I remember thinking that if the Government was as bad at nuclear diplomacy as they were at PR, we were doomed.
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Hello Bernard, I think you will continue to have struggles with HMRC…..their communication systems are the most unhelpful one can come across. If you ever get to talk to someone live, then record it on your phone and get their name etc…… The UK impression of them that prevails is that they go after the small accounts…..and just home the big players make mistakes with their accountants….which doesn’t help us, the ordinary citizen at all! The plus side is that – in my humble experience – they quick to pay repayaments and will give you extensions if you ask nicely …but do it in writing. Take heart… John E
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Right now, Elon Musk is thinking: “Government departments staffed exclusively by robots? Now there’s a good idea.”
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