Jon Harvey 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🌞🦢🌍Ⓥ🕊️🖊️🏴🦠🇵🇸

@jonsharvey.bsky.social

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Independent Town Councillor in Buckingham. Author of two books: #TheMayorsBear & Cracking Questions. Common theme is that everyone should write their own narrative (not be in someone else's) Blog: https://themayorsbear.blogspot.com/

The Mayor’s Bear Hopes After a Mayoral visit to open a new school library a few years ago, I came away with the idea to write a fun children’s story about a Town Mayor. And that was it. I just wanted to inform young people and through them, their parents/carers, about local councils and what they do. From that initial idea and now having read the story to hundreds of children (and others), my book has become something more for me. Local communities face many challenges including social isolation, housing growth without sufficient infrastructures, high street decay and so forth. Local councils (combined with many voluntary organisations) are doing their best to meet and mitigate these pressures on family and community life. For all this to happen, democracy needs to be thriving. And it needs to thrive with local engagement, listening, humanity and hope. The new edition of my book will be out soon in a chunkier format with added short stories about kindness, inclusion and ambition. And they are all about hope… Hope for a better world and hope for more people involved in local democracy and community action. Local parish and town councils probably can’t change the world, but they can make their bits of it better. Please be on the look out for “The Mayor’s Bear, and Other Stories of Hope” Coming soon to a library, bookshop and shelf near you!
Ai change to Satre's famous novel - retitled Bin or Nothingness - with Farage and Binface inserted into the picture of Parisian café
Front cover of new edition of the Mayor's Bear - with added stories of hope
Boaty McBoatface wins poll to name polar research vessel NERC chief has final say and faces dilemma between credibility of the organisation and burden of public opinion Latest: Boaty McBoatface may not be name of new polar research vessel
Boaty McBoatface wins poll to name polar research vessel NERC chief has final say and faces dilemma between credibility of the organisation and burden of public opinion Latest: Boaty McBoatface may not be name of new polar research vessel
Palestinian flag on display at Isle of Man Cathedral in Peel
Life is hard and soft The ground isn’t as solid as it used to be My inner B Russell is a just bit wobbly I stare at the pebbles on a familiar strand Even they move around like a rock and roll band The line of the horizon, the day’s end glimmers I watch the setting sun as it shakes and shimmers Later the moon bobs around in the sky at night Somehow I feel that things are just not going right It’s difficult to explain but things aren’t so clear What was hard is now soft, what was gone is now here Where there was certainty, there’s now only false news Where there was science, there’s now only AI snooze I knock on this desk, this is not just a figment Of my mind, this wood is brown not just a pigment You may say that the walls closing in aren’t for real But they are, they are, do not deny what I feel And so where does this leave me, where can I go now? Too many paths, too many vistas, I choose: how? Can my spirit guide me, play cards on the table? Do I let go of fact in favour of fable? It's hard to be soft these days in a world which thrums With might is right and all is OK for your chums But dammit, I stand firm, rooted in all that's right Ev’ryone deserves to dream and play in the light I will see the flowers, and the children left dead I will feel love and not forget all the tears shed I will not be silenced, and I will shout out loud This is our earth, our lives: we are here, we are proud! I will carry on, awestruck by all to behold I will not rest until we have built this land of gold And green: a place of peace and truth and care and glee From mountain to valley, from river to the sea Like Bertrand, I stamp my foot hard upon the ground This is real, not fake, and our truths can be found I will rage against grey corporate compliance Fighting for freedom, art, poetry and science! Buckingham 30 May 2026
Life is hard and soft The ground isn’t as solid as it used to be My inner B Russell is a just bit wobbly I stare at the pebbles on a familiar strand Even they move around like a rock and roll band The line of the horizon, the day’s end glimmers I watch the setting sun as it shakes and shimmers Later the moon bobs around in the sky at night Somehow I feel that things are just not going right It’s difficult to explain but things aren’t so clear What was hard is now soft, what was gone is now here Where there was certainty, there’s now only false news Where there was science, there’s now only AI snooze I knock on this desk, this is not just a figment Of my mind, this wood is brown not just a pigment You may say that the walls closing in aren’t for real But they are, they are, do not deny what I feel And so where does this leave me, where can I go now? Too many paths, too many vistas, I choose: how? Can my spirit guide me, play cards on the table? Do I let go of fact in favour of fable? It's hard to be soft these days in a world which thrums With might is right and all is OK for your chums But dammit, I stand firm, rooted in all that's right Ev’ryone deserves to dream and play in the light I will see the flowers, and the children left dead I will feel love and not forget all the tears shed I will not be silenced, and I will shout out loud This is our earth, our lives: we are here, we are proud! I will carry on, awestruck by all to behold I will not rest until we have built this land of gold And green: a place of peace and truth and care and glee From mountain to valley, from river to the sea Like Bertrand, I stamp my foot hard upon the ground This is real, not fake, and our truths can be found I will rage against grey corporate compliance Fighting for freedom, art, poetry and science!
Be warned! I foolishly responded to a convincing WhatsApp message yesterday (it had my phone number & correct reservation dates etc) & was scammed into sending them not one but two details of credit cards. Both cards now cancelled & no money stolen - but a lot of hassle! ... and I count myself as fairly fraud savvy! Watch out - please! And what exactly is Booking.com doing about all this...? Booking.com customers warned of 'reservation hijack' scams after data breach - BBC News https://share.google/QjbnVJOJ9XAMIqRsu
All around us, we are seeing rises in hate and division, where almost daily we are confronted by yet another horrific incident of violence - for example yesterday in North London where two Jewish men were stabbed. I stand with all those condemning such attacks. So what is to be done? In a fortnight, many people will have the chance to elect local councillors - parish, town, city, borough, district, county, unitary councillors. These people will become local leaders who will not only make decisions about local services etc - but perhaps more importantly - they will become the beacons of local communities. (Although we don't have any elections in Bucks) If you come to vote, please look out for the people who are driven by love for their communities (rather than hate for certain groups), people who have shown that they have turned this love into practical action designed to make our places welcoming, safe and secure for all. Yes - ALL. Please consider voting for the people who will listen to everyone's concerns and take action to make local communities places where people can thrive, be healthy, be connected and get the chance to realise their dreams and ambitions. Please look for these people when you come to vote. That will help us build a UK (and a world) filled with love and respect for everyone (rather than hate for some). Let us elect leaders committed to cohesive communities that support and delight in each other. After all, as Jo Cox said - we all have far more in common than anything which divides us. It isn't the whole solution - but it is part of it.
Blinkin’ (Palliative Care) Nurses! You blink I blink You blink I blink I blink with you You breathe I breathe You breathe I breathe I breathe with you You sigh I sigh You sigh I sigh I sigh with you You are I am You are I am I am with you I am with you I am with you I am with you To the end RCN HQ 26 June 2025
My bear Strumbold outside the BBC
I genuinely hope we are living through the last convulsions of neo liberal economics & its cruel cousins - systemic misogyny & racist colonialism - because living in a world where powerful men abuse vulnerable girls, where "defence" forces torture one year olds with nails & burning cigarettes to "persuade" the child's father to talk, where nations can bomb & invade other states just because they can... is not a world my heart can stand...
When the fatal finger of fate points at the wrong Benjamin. We grieve your retire, brother Zephaniah Your heart burned with the fire Of justice, peace and our desire For a world with leaders able to inspire Us all to sing, in one united choir, A song to draw us higher and higher In rapturous rhapsody with the Goddess Harmonia. You were never a liar, brother Zephaniah Your art gave us truth, never ire People never died in your crossfire Children were never hurt by your desire To foment and brew discord, and conspire To create a world of destruction and wildfire You never dug pits of hate-filled mire Dear brother Zephaniah We will miss your fire But your hope and peaceful desire Will never expire Rest in power and peace, Dear brother Zephaniah Buckingham 8 December 2023