Christmas Reflections

Whilst Christmas is considered a Christian festival, it is thought to have been a festival (Yule) to celebrate the winter solstice. But later this became ‘Christianised’.

Most of the readings at Christmas are from the ‘Old Testament’ - Torah and the Nebiim. Some passages that are not widely read interest me particularly.

The first is Genesis God putting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:

"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

He forbade Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. Genesis 2:

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

At the instigation of the Serpent, Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge. God rebuked Adam. When rebuking the Serpent, He said:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

It could be argued that the use of the phrase ‘her seed’ looks forward to Jesus who did not have an earthly father, so all the genetic information would have come from Mary. Hence her seed bruising the Serpents head.

One of Jesus’ Jewish companions, John writes: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And in documenting the revelation he believes God gave him, John refers to Jesus as saying of Himself:  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Also, Revelation 3:11 - I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

Outsourced Britain

Outsourcing has many advantages. Economies of scale perhaps as the outsourcer provides similar services to a variety of similar customers. The latter could include central or local state institutions. Also the need for capital investment required were the services to be provided in-house would be borne by the outsourcer.

Companies providing outsourced services would argue that they take on a variety of hidden costs – recruitment, insurance and capital investment to provide outsourced services at a competitive price.

A question that some believe is not asked often enough is whether the outsourced service really is necessary. Clearly the barriers to setting up and running a service in-house are considerable. One of the benefits of outsourcing is that this lead time / initial investment in expertise as well as capital investment is not there. But it can also lead to buying an outsourced service on the basis of ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time’. Also there is the temptation for the person commissioning the outsourcing, to succumb to pressure / inducements.

Whilst I may be mistaken, I feel often that much of the work I come across may not have been absolutely essential; some examples are below[1].

Between 2007 and 2010 I noticed that the pavement on Shaftsbury Avenue was changed three times. From the tar surface to large square paving stones; then to small bricks.  The final change was changing the straight edge of the pavement into curves. What were the benefits of these changes in quick succession? Were they really necessary?

At my local Network Rail station, I’ve noticed many changes. I wonder whether all of them were necessary. For example ticket machines were installed in the centre of the ticket area. In a few years, these were then removed and moved a few feet to other locations in the ticket area. Now they are installed against the walls. For over thirty years passengers went between platforms via ramps which lead, at one end of the platform, to a tunnel and at the other end to a walk-way which lead to the ticket gates and the ticket area. These tunnels were closed and replaced by a bridge which had steps and lifts. Also the ticket barriers were moved a few inches nearer to the ticket area – requiring a considerable amount of work. In addition short pillars (supporting nothing)  have been put on the walkway facing the car park Were these changes really necessary?

Staying with Network Rail, at other stations I see sometimes contractors in high-visibility jackets in groups of three or four not doing anything actually. Perhaps I am missing something?

An aspect of outsourcing that may not be widely appreciated is its consequences for migration. Many staff members of outsourcing companies may be willing to work for low wages because once five years have elapsed, one can apply for permanent residence in the UK.

Moving some outsourced activities into the state can have beneficial effects: continuity, local employment, retention of expertise and intellectual capital.

But outsourcing can be right in many situations – for example when smaller companies or state enterprises wish to benefit from wider expertise and economies of scale and scope that the service provider brings. For these benefits to be realised, it must be managed properly.

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[1] Other examples: Leadenhall Street – repeated resurfacing between 2011 and 2014; Croydon - Streetlights: silver lampposts replaced by black lampposts. Then some silver lampposts restored again.  But finally black lampposts working.