The Patriot Act Essay -- essays research papers

The patriot ActThe patriot act THE UNITING AND STRENGHENING OF AMERICA BY PROVIDING APPROPRIATE TOOLS REQUIRED TO interfere AND OBSTRCT TERRORISM. What do you think of when you hear this phrase? This is the phrase used to introduce what we call the patriot act. Pretty much the patriot act allows government officials to explore your house which is called a sneak and peak without you being aware of it, or even the tracking of your car, or maybe even listening to your phone calls.The Patriot Act was designed to protect the United States from further terrorist attacks by allowing more information to be recorded for investigation on people that could be potential terrorists. This is needed because in order to arrest someone, they need to commit a crime firs...

Search for Perfection in Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye Essay -- Blues

Search for a Perfection in The Bluest Eye The concept of physiological beauty and desire to conform to a prescribed definition of what is considered beautiful can destroy a persons life. In Toni Morrisons novel, The Bluest Eye, many characters atomic number 18 obsessed with attaining the idealist definition of what is considered beautiful. The characters of Geraldine, Pauline, and Pecola all recollect that somatogenic perfection leads to acceptance however, it is the same belief that causes their personal downfalls and prevents them from recognizing their own inner beauty. Geraldines anxieties over wanting to comply with what others think is beautiful, damage her existence. For example, the character of Geraldine is so consumed with physical perfection that she prevents herself from accepting her black heritage. When the author illustrates how woman like Geraldine act, she asserts, They hold their behind in for fear of sway too free when they wear lip rouge they neer cover th e entire mouth for fear of lips to thick, and they worry, worry, worry about the edges of their hair (Morrison 83). Geraldine is so ashamed of her black characteristics that she tries to hide them. She thinks black people are ugly, and she wants to appear white because she equates having lighter skin with being a better person. Geraldine thinks she will be discriminated for being black, therefore, she refuses to accept and own any physical features of her culture. In addition, when the author illustrates how Geraldine is more concerned with her babys physical appearance than with his emotional needs, she writes, He was always brushed, bathed, oiled, and shod. Geraldine did not talk to him,coo to him, or indulge him in kissing bouts, nevertheless she saw that every o... ...ining an ideal appearance in order to accommodate what others view as beautiful can ruin ones existence. The characters of Geraldine, Pauline, and Pecola all erroneously believe that obtaining a certain look will enhance their lives. However, as a result of their search for a perfect outward image they are never able to value their inner selves. Works Cited Bayles, Martha. Special Effects, Special Pleading. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz. Michigan Gale Research Inc., 194-213. Davis, Cynthia. Self, Society, and Myth in Toni Morrisons Fiction. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Draper, crowd P., ed. Michigan Gale Research Inc., 1994. 215-273. Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York, New York Plume, 1994. Steiner, Wendy. The Clearest Eye. Contemporary Authors. Trosky, Susan, M., ed. Michigan Gale Research Inc., 1994. 239.

Prologue Of History :: essays research papers

Prologue of HistoryUntil statehood, Hawaii was ruled economic all in ally by a consortium of corporationsknown as the "Big tailfin" C. Brewer and Co., sugar, ranching, and chemicals,founded in 1826 Theo. H. Davies & Co., sugar, investments, insurance, andtransportation, founded in 1845 Amfac Inc. (originally H. Hackfield Inc.-aGerman firm that changed its name and ownership during the anti-German sentimentof WW I to American Factors), sugar, insurance, and land development, founded in1849 Castle and Cooke Inc., (Dole) pineapple, food packing, and landdevelopment, founded 1851 and Alexander and Baldwin Inc., shipping, sugar, andpineapple, founded in 1895. This economic oligarchy ruled Hawaii with a velvetglove and a steel grip. With members on all important corporate boards, they concealled all major commerce, including banking, shipping, insurance, hoteldevelopment, agriculture, utilities, and wholesale and retail merchandising.Anyone trying to buck the system was ground to dust, finding it suddenlyimpossible to do business line in the islands. The Big Five were made up of theislands oldest and most well-established haole families all includedbloodlines from Hawaiis own nobility and alii. They looked among themselvesfor suitable husbands and wives, so breaking in from the distant even throughmarriage was hardly possible. The only time they were successfully challengedprior to statehood was when Sears, Roebuck and Co. opened a store on Oahu.Closing ranks, the Big Five decreed that their steamships would not carrySearss freight. When Sears threatened to buy its own steamship line, the BigFive relented. In the end, statehood, and more to the point, tourism, broketheir oligarchy. After 1960 too such(prenominal) money was at stake for Mainland-basedcorporations to ignore. Eventually the grip of the Big Five was loosened, butthey are still enormously powerful and richer than ever, though these days theydont control everything. Now their power is land. With only five other majorlandholders, the Big Five control 65 percent of all the privately held land inHawaii.Why was the 1946 Strike so important?Before 1946, Hawaiis economy, politics and social structures were completelydominated by a corporate elite known as the Big Five (Alexander & Baldwin,American Factors, Castle & Cooke, C. Brewer, & Theo. Davies). The leaders ofthese factor companies exercised absolute control over Hawaiis plantationworkers and the majority of the islands multi-ethnic workforce. The 1946 strikeforever changed the balance of power between workers and the plantations. Nolonger would living and working conditions be set unilaterally by the plantationowners or their parent corporations. Nor was the lesson lost on the workersoutside the plantation either. As sugar workers were now successful in

The Psychological Effects of Dormitory Architecture and Layout on Resid

The Psychological Effects of Dormitory Architecture and Layout on Residents For many students, part of the construe of going to college is living in university housing. With so many young people living in such facilities, it is certainly worth investigating how they affect their denizens from a psychological perspective. It is established that ones environment is a major determinant in ones emotional and mental state. This paper will focus on architectural elements, such as floorspace, room layout, and occupancy levels of University residence halls, and how said design elements enhance or impede human interaction and individual moods. In addition to a general overview of the principles of environmental psychology and how they are routinely ignored by Florida State University in their dormitory architecture, several residence halls will be considered and detail separately. Of primary importance in dormitory design is the issue of privacy. In Designing Places for People, a uthor C.M. Deasy states Privacy is as important to dorm residents as it is to anyone else, simply it is usually much harder to obtain. Dormitory or barracks living implies being surrounded by people. Being alone or sharing private time with someone else is normally not considered to be an option. If privacy is needed, it must be sought somewhere else. In this regard dormitories fail to provide for an important human need. (58) Unfortunately, hardly a(prenominal) steps are being taken to improve upon this. It often falls to individual residents to develop a system by which they fire each secure the necessary privacy. Even with the creation by those living in a residence unit of a system by which each individual can achieve privacy, it is hardly assure... ...it would not prevent all instances of incompatible room or cortegemates, it would weed out obvious mismatches, and probably raise the overall propitiation levels of residents considerably. In the future, when cons tructing dorms, Florida State should most definitely use the suite configuration. It provides additional privacy in the form of semi-private bathrooms, and promotes socialization. As stated above, though, all residents of a suite must be able to tolerate one another, so careful screening in room assignment is critical. If any new dorms are constructed they should look at at minimum 125 square feet. More, between 150 and 200 would be preferable. All of the information in this paper is only useful so long as someone uses it. It is the sincere hope of the author that the research and conclusions be put to good use by students and faculty alike.

William Shakespeare :: essays research papers

William ShakespeareBorn on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. His father JohnShakespeare and his mother Mary Arden. W.S. was able to attend grammer schooland learned Greek and Latin classics (this is comparable to college educationtoday). At age 14 his father lost the family fortune and remained poor untilhis deathAt 18 he married Anne Hathaway in 1582. She was 26 years old. They had threechildren Suzanne(1583) and the twins Hamnet and Judith(1585).In his mid-twenties he left Stratford(supposedly because of poaching on theQueens land) for London. His first job with Richard Burbages manpower was as anosler next an actor.No one knows what he was doing during 1585-1592.By 1592 he had become known in London as an actor and playwright his salary increase wasrapid.Queen Elizabeth 1 supported the arts and the star sign.In 1592 a plague closed the theaters(Shakespeare wrote poetry during this timeto support himself). In 1593 a brief reopening of the theater happened. In 159 4theaters reopened.The troupe became the Lord Chamberlains Men set up on a servant co-op structure.Requirements for actors1. loud voice 2. sing and play instruments 3. acceptable swordsman 4. good memoriesDuring this time he wrote many comedies Comedy of Errors first of any status.Histories were written in support of the govt. This is where they werereceiving much of the financial support so they wanted to keep the govt (Queen)happy. W.S. was a major stockholder in the theater.1597-bought New Place in Stratford(2nd largest house)1599-Lord Chamberlains Men bought land and built the worldly concern Theater inSouthwark(South Bank of the Thames River). W.S. owned 1/10th1603-Queen Elizabeth died. King James took reign of England. He loved thearts more than the queen. The name was changed from Lord Chamberlains Men tothe Kings Men.1608-Added to the Globe Theater by buying the Black Friars Theater and givingperformances there also. W.S. owned 1/7th1613-Fire at the Globe during a performa nce of total heat 8th rebuilt within a year.Left comedies and histories to write tragedies soon after the Globe reopened.Sonnets-published in 1610 but circulated earlier.First Tragedy The Tragedy of Hamlet

William Shakespeare :: essays research papers

William ShakespeareBorn on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. His father JohnShakespeare and his mother Mary Arden. W.S. was able to attend grammer developand learned Greek and Latin classics (this is comparable to college educationtoday). At age 14 his father lost the family fortune and remained poor untilhis deathAt 18 he married Anne Hathaway in 1582. She was 26 years old. They had threechildren Suzanne(1583) and the twins Hamnet and Judith(1585).In his mid-twenties he left Stratford(supposedly because of poaching on theQueens land) for London. His first frolic with Richard Burbages men was as anosler next an actor.No one knows what he was doing during 1585-1592.By 1592 he had become known in London as an actor and numberwright his rise wasrapid.Queen Elizabeth 1 stayed the arts and the theater.In 1592 a plague closed the theaters(Shakespeare wrote poetry during this timeto support himself). In 1593 a brief reopening of the theater happened. In 1594theaters reo pened.The troupe became the Lord Chamberlains men set up on a servant co-op structure.Requirements for actors1. loud voice 2. sing and play instruments 3. good swordsman 4. good memoriesDuring this time he wrote many comedies Comedy of Errors first of any status.Histories were written in support of the govt. This is where they werereceiving much of the financial support so they wanted to keep the govt (Queen)happy. W.S. was a major stockholder in the theater.1597-bought New Place in Stratford(2nd largest house)1599-Lord Chamberlains Men bought land and built the Globe field of force inSouthwark(South Bank of the Thames River). W.S. owned 1/10th1603-Queen Elizabeth died. King James took reign of England. He loved thearts more than the queen. The name was changed from Lord Chamberlains Men tothe Kings Men.1608-Added to the Globe Theater by buying the Black Friars Theater and giving operations there also. W.S. owned 1/7th1613-Fire at the Globe during a performance of Henry 8th rebuil t within a year.Left comedies and histories to write tragedies soon after the Globe reopened.Sonnets-published in 1610 but circulated earlier.First Tragedy The Tragedy of small town

Quality Education, the Need of the Hour in the Societ Essay

QUALITY EDUCATION,THE NEED OF THE HOUR IN THE SOCIETY.What is education?Education is an act or process of educating to give intellectual, moral and social instruction. It is a formal and prolonged process. It is also a tuition of character or mental powers which decides the future of an individual. Why do we need education?With the advancement of experience and technology, the world scenario and the environment have changed. In order to fit and survive with the changing world, one has to educate himself. One cannot survive with the traditional systems and cultures whenits surroundings argon already in the stage of computerization i.e., advanced technology. We have to catch and absorbed ourself with the changing technologies.Education for what?The hu spell development report of 1993 turned the sparing growth of the developed countries as jobless growth with adverse consequences. While we pride ourselves as processing a large stock of high step manpower, the critical index of devel opment will be the number of job created in relation to the universe. Both extensive job creation and urgent population and social harmony. Considering the limited scope for extensive job creation in the government job only is likely to end in frustration. NGOs & Self supporting enterprise- the Government of india has recently developed a policy to encourage youth in the development works through Non-government organizations or throught self supporting schemes.There are several projects under the government of india which could be taken up by educated unemployed youth for the development of specifies areas. For implementing such project, one needs quality educated youth. Education should be taken as the only means to secure Government job. (the wise man/educated man should build his house upon the solid rocks). Economics of Education- it is painful to see some youth who have considered himself educated but could not compete others and could not do anything good for himself and his s upporting parents. He spent all hi youth days in school/colleges at the spending of his parents. It is not only the wastage of time & money but the totalproductivity & ecnomy of his families were also adversely effected. The hope and aspiration of the parents also shattered as he could not acquired the desire quality of education to compete the every growing competitions. This the reason why we are at this day in which we should not.Considering the changing scenario of scrap in education, it is my personal opinion that every individual and parents should study the capacity & capabilities of the child before the subject of his education is decided. Washing time and money in education without been able to reach the desired level of quality education is the main reason for our economic backwardness. One should set his own goal and then plan to achieve the set target. Only then success and recognition in the society shall follow.

Albatross Anchor

Albatross Anchor is a sm each family owned line of credit located in Smallville, MA. Albatross Anchor is located on 12 acres of land. They started out with four employees in 1976 and grow everywhere the years to over 100. The caller-out compels two types of anchors in different sizes. The types argon the mushroom/bell anchor and the snap hook anchor. Albatross Anchor has many manufacturing problems which be the act of the high society not doing as well as it should be. The company is antiquated, worn and does not meet government guidelines. Albatross support be a company of the future with the application of much need upgrades and expansions.Question one A. Albatross Anchors competitiveness in relations to make up below their competitors. They are 30% lower than their competitors. The cause of this is all the operation inefficiencies. They need to correct all of their problems in order to get in line with the competitors. The cost to manufacture is the same as the competitor s $12. 00 per/lb. for mushroom/bell anchors and $6. 00 per /lb. for snag hook anchors. But, with the high price of shipping knifelike materials in finished goods not shipping out, and the cost of raw material, these are just some of the problems causing the company to lose money.The cost of the manufacturing process is hurting Albatross. The kill date in between perplex up of the different anchors is a downfall of the company. They are paying workers to be there to wait for work to begin. The cost of raw material is high, since the company small than most. They will not get a give out price as a large company would who manufactures more reaping. Cost efficient companies keep its capital, labor, and operational costs lower than its competitors. Then they must also provide a good price to its customers.Albatross Anchor should take on the method of sextet Sigma This will help to achieve a level of quality, reduce costs related to scrap, rework, inspection, and customer dissati sfaction. B. The speed of manufacturing is a slow process this is due only being competent to produce one type of anchor at a time, which is called batch manufacturing. The time to switch from one process to another is 36 hours. The plant space is limited it does not need enough room to have enough equipment to manufacture each anchor at the same time. The company needs to implement a score card to help with the operations strategies. The balanced scorecard has evolved from its early use as a simple capital punishment measurement framework to a full strategic planning and management system. (http//www. balancedscorecard. org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default. aspx) C. The flexibility of filling an order with Albatross Anchor is non-existent. The manufacturing area is similarly small to make both anchors at the same time. If an order induces in and need to be produced in a hurry they are not able to do this, because of the lack of technology in having a m achine to produce both without a long set up time.Flexibility is important if a company is to respond quickly to changes in the industry. Time is money. Companies that can design, produce, and distribute their products faster than the competitors will have the upper hand. (Russell & Taylor, 2007, Operations Management Creating Value along the Supply Chain, pg. 124. ) D. The technology at Albatross Anchor is antiquated and deprived and is no longer up to standards. The manufacturing process is not capable of continuous production. The time to switch from one process to another is too long.The equipment and process should be update, or replaced. The funds for these projects are knock overed to be a capital robement. Albatross should consider making this investment to have a positive effect on the manufacturing process. Once the company makes the investment into new equipment, they will also have to invest into training the employees to run the new equipment. The company may need to have new hires, ones that can possibly do the job with less training. E. The capacity and facilities have out grown what the company has now. The company was designed to be a small manufacturer.Albatross is sitting on 12 acres of land they would be able to expand to make room for better technology. They have plenty of land to become an aggressive modern company, who is producing a top quality product. They can be the top producer of anchors with the changes that need to come about. Capacity is the maximum amount capable of producing. Another why to expand the capacity is to consider outsourcing. Outsourcing would come into play when they cannot set up the equipment and they need to produce product to satisfy an order. Some things to consider are the cost of making the product, such as labor, raw materials, and overhead.The facilities need to be made larger. The area that holds the raw materials should be expanded and should be close to the receiving area. Finished products should be close to the shipping area. This would cut down on time by not having to move product from such a long distance. The receiving and shipping should be together on the side where imports and exports are done. F. Service to customers is not very good. Long lead times and bad shipping methods are cause for problems. Accessibility and convenience are also a cause for concern.By fling a quality product, be able to meet orders and a touch of individualized customer religious service, you add value to your offering and your customers experience a higher level of satisfaction. The process of benchmarking can also help solve some of the problem and help to become a better company. Benchmarking is the process of measuring an organizations internal processes then identifying, understanding, and adapting outstanding practices from other organizations considered to be best-in-class (http//www. benchnet. com/wib. htm) The scorecard will also help determine where the problems lie within the servi ce area.Albatross needs to come up with new designs of anchors to be more competitive, this will give the customers more options to choose from, bit the company needs to bang how to make the process of making the anchors go smoother and faster. Based on the needs and perceptions of their target customers, they should either improve their products or reduce the cost of the product to enhance customer value. There are six things that influence a customers buying decision they are selling price, quality, dependability, flexibility, time, and service. These are all thing that a company must keep in mind to gain and keep customers.Customers do not want to buy products of the companies that they cannot trust. They want tried producers. Question Two There are many ways that mushroom/bell anchors may be manufactured. Albatross Anchor is considering two new manufacturing processes (Process A and Process B) to reduce costs. From the available information below determine which process has th e lowest breakeven point (this validates the process is more cost effective) and report your analysis and support conclusion. For each process the following fixed costs and variable costs have been identified

Monopoly Questions and Answers

QUESTIONS RELATED TO MONOPOLY 1-What is the characteristic of the monopoly? 1 The existence of a single increase of the good 2 characterized by values, rising expenses prevailing 3 the relative stability of prices 4 There are barriers to enter the industry monopolist 5 not necessary to advertise Another Monopoly properties. Price control. In a monopoly, and at the expense of supply in the market one entity to control and demand, and the degree of the price offered and the control exercised by the institution or individual is greater. Predatory pricing. This feature of the advantages of a monopoly consumers.These are short term market gains when prices dropped to meet the demand of high-minded product. Suppliers and consumers directly benefit from an attempt to monopolize the company to increase the sale of business marketing. Price flexibility With regard to the demand for the product or overhaul offered by the company monopoly or individual, and is dictated by the price el asticity of the ratio of the absolute value of the increase in prices and demand in the market. wish of creativity At the expense of absolute control of the market, and monopolies display a tendency to lose efficiency over a period of time.With one product lifetime, and innovative design and marketing techniques rear seat. Lack of competition. When the market was designed to serve the monopoly and the lack of commercial competition or the lack of goods and viable products shrinkage the scope of perfect competition. 2-How monopoly get holds Monopoly arises in a variety of circumstances in that respect are types of goods and a military service does not accept by its nature, or not in the public interest to multiple producers, its called natural monopolies, for example to provide the city with pee, electricity, or the trains running between two countries.Often assume the state or municipal authorities to manage these services, or to grant a concession to a private company, subje ct to strict control. Monopoly may arise in an industry, the ontogeny of a project, and it seized on other projects. Or as a result of grab or merge of small projects in the large-scale project, Monopoly May arise due to agreement between the projects owners in a particular industry to determine the price, or divide markets among themselves, known as (cartel), and in this case there are a number of producers, such agreement among them makes them a monopoly power.Most of the countries have been working on the subject of monopolies control. 3-How we can regulate the monopoly Pricing at bare(a) cost Economists have for many decades argued the benefits of setting public utility tariffs on the basis of borderline cost. This view is expressed in many classic economic texts on regulation. Price discrimination One common objection to marginal-cost pricing is that, in the presence of economies of scale, a simple linear price equal to marginal cost would not llow the regulated firm to rec over sufficient revenue to cover its total costs. Ramsey pricing In those cases where the regulator is unable to set the marginal price for each service equal to its marginal cost, economic theory still places central emphasis on reducing the deadweight loss. Incremental cost The deadweight-loss possibility has a hard time explaining why regulators fail to pursue policies which are efficient under the conventional economic theory, such as Ramsey pricing. Price / service stabilityAnother puzzle for the conventional economic approach to regulation is the heavy emphasis on price stability. There is a sizeable amount of evidence that price and service stability is one of the primary concerns of regulators. Alternative regulation To encourage the productive efficiency of the monopolist. To eliminate the incentive to waste resources seeking to obtain a position of monopoly. To protect the sunk investment of the monopolist 4-Give some examples of monopoly type of monopolyThe main chara cteristicexamplesNaturalAccess to rare and not easily reproducible elements of productionMonopolies operating in the arena of production is mineral deposits of strategic importance for the national economy technologicalFeature production in this technology is not enough consumer demand to support many hawkish firmsEnterprise for the production of specific goods, such as infrastructure for the operation of natural monopolies GeographicCompetition due to the non-rationality of the territorial limited due to the effect of geographic barriersPublic ransport companies infrastructureInfrastructure network a network that supply products between distant from each other (both in space and in time), economic agentsBackbone enterprises in energy, rail transport , heat, gas and water supply patentUsing a unique patented technologyNatural monopolies are producing high-tech products, such as medicine StateMarkets related to the exclusive jurisdiction of the stateDefense, aeronautics administra tive commandOperating in a command systemNatural monopolies in the administrative-command system

Problem and its Background Essay

Enhancing the quality of prefatory nurture in the Philippines is urgent and critical. Because of that, one of the discussions of DepEd is to enhance the rudimentary education program in the country in a manner that is least disruptive to the current syllabus most affordable for government and families, and aline with international practice finished the K-12 policy. The poor quality of basic training is reflected in mortifieder achievement scores of Filipino students. Many students who complete basic education do not possess sufficient control of basic competencies.One reason is that students do not get enough instructional epoch or time on task. This quality of education is reflected in the inadequate preparation of spirited school graduates for the world of fail or entrepreneurship or higher(prenominal) education. High school graduates also do not have the basic competencies or emotional maturity essential for the world of work. raising Secretary Armin Luistro give tongue to the initial roll out of the k+12 basic education program with the execution of universal primary of pre-school education for five-year-olds in the Philippines were a be moment for the administration of President Aquino, as it seeks to implement reforms with deep impact on the welf be of Filipino children and the youth ( Malipot 2011 ) Phil. Star, Jan. 7, 2013 .Regional Director Susana Teresa B. Estigoy from the Department of Education wants all the stakeholders to know what enhance k+12 basic education program is all about and how it can benefit the students, the p arnts the community, (Sun Star in Davao on Thursday, March 10,2011).1. Background of the StudyStart school year 2012- 2013, the education system of the Philippines is enhanced from the 10- days of basic education in 12- years through the program called the K-12 Education Plan of the Department of Education.The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School SHS) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for third education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.The implementation of the K- 12 education plan in the Philippine Basic Education Curriculum is said to be the key to the nations development. Though the government pull up stakes face many problems in the long run of the implementation of the program, there really is a need to implement it because the enhancement of the quality of the education is very urgent and critical.If K- 12 will be implemented, students will be able to get sufficient instructional time to do subject- related tasks which make them more prepared and well- trained in that subject area. On the otherwise hand, if the old system is remained, Filipino students would continually get low achievement scores. For instance, international test results rev ealed that we often come at the tail end in the exams compared to other countries.Another good reason why we should indorse K- 12 is that the graduates of this program will be more prepared to enter the labor force. As we all noticed, high school graduates of the current curriculum are not yet employable for the reason that they are not yet competent and well equipped with the skills needed in the workplaces. In addition, most high school graduates are not yet reaching the legal age of 18.With the new curriculum, senior high school students can choose a orbital cavity that they are good at and that they are interested in. As a result, they will be equipped with the skills needed for a specific job horizontal without a college power point. At the age of 18, the age when they graduate from high school, they will be employable and competitive already. Thus, adding up to the nations manpower.Finally, with K- 12, Filipino graduates will be automatically recognized asprofessionals ab road because we are pursuit the international education standard as practiced by all nations. there will be no need to reputation again and spend more money in order to qualify for their standards. With this, Filipino professionals who aspire to work abroad will not find a hard time in getting jobs in line with their chosen field and will be able to help their families more in the Philippines as well as the countrys economy with their remittances, property buying, and creation of businesses.Filipinos are known to be competitive in the international community. While this may be true, our current education system hinders us in becoming more competitive among other countries. The K- 12 education plan offers a great solution to that problem. However, it is undeniable that there seem to be problems arising as we implement the program such as lack of government budget, classrooms and school supplies as well as the teachers. But, if we focus on the long- term effect of K- 12, we can con clude that it is very beneficial to us Filipinos. Therefore, we must have the strong will in supporting K- 12 Educational Plan for the intermitment of our education system and economy. Remember, if we want change in our society, we must start it with our education system.The lookers choose this topic Awareness and Enthusiasm to the K 12 Curriculum Every Filipino child now has get at to early childhood education through Universal Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start schooling and are given the means to slowly modify to formal education. As a future educator, BSED students as the respondents should be aware and should enthusiastic in this program, because it will help them a lot for a better understanding in the field of teaching soon. As all know K 12 curriculum is the trend now a days that the teachers undergo seminar for the said implementation of the program.To assess student cogitate requires more focus and attention as teachers on two inter-related dimensions of rea soning. The first dimension consists of the elements of reasoning the second dimension consists of the universal intellectual standards by which the teachers measure student ability to use, in a skillful way.General objectiveThis study is conducted to line up the awareness of the K-12 program and inspiration of the best students from first year to 3rd year level in the NCST school year 2013-2014.Specifically the study conducted for the following subproblem. 1. To know the degree of awareness and enthusiasm about the K-12 curriculum of the BSED 1st year to 3rd year students in NCST. 2. To determine the degree of awareness and enthusiasm on the K-12 curriculum of the students when grouped fit in to your level. 3. To identify the correlation of the awareness and enthusiasm on K-12 of the BSED students in NCST.Statement of the ProblemThis study sought to determine the correlation of the awareness and enthusiasm in the K to 12 curriculum of the BSED 1st 3rd year students in NCST.Spe cifically, the study seeks to answer the following research question1. What is the profile of 1st to 3rd year students in terms of 1.1 age1.2 gender1.3 year level2. What is the degree of awareness and enthusiasm for the K -12 curriculum of the BSED 1st year 3rd year students in NCST? 3. What is the degree of awareness and enthusiasm in the K to 12 curriculum of the BSED students when grouped according to your level. 4. What is the correlation of the awareness and enthusiasm in the K to 12 curriculum of the BSED student. Significance of the StudyThe K-12 curriculum is newly implemented in the Philippine education system in the nation. The researcher is interested to find out the extent of the awareness of the future teacher who can be part of the K-12 curriculum in their teaching career and how it will affect their interest and enthusiasm on K-12 implementation.This study will benefit different sectors in the school and serve as an eye opener in developing plans and strategies for t henationwide awareness of K-12 curriculum and their objectives for the betterment of education issues in the future. Through this, a clear and straightforward pile of all that is involved will be given emphasis and doubt from every concern Filipino citizen to the enhancement of education through K-12 curriculum implementation will not be vague.Teachers can help diffuse the information of the K-12 program to their immediate locality to strenghten additional factual information about K-12 curriculum to the people who are still in stage of adopting the system.For the students, this study will help them at ease with the new system, enjoy it and accept it since it will excite their achievements and prepare them for future job that within their capability and skills.This study also will be of great significance to create wider awareness, to provide information recyclable in conducting related studies.Scope and LimitationThis study is delimited in determining the degree of awareness in the K-12 curriculum and what is the correlation to enthusiasm regarding to the degree of consciousness to the K-12 of the NCST BSED-English students from first year to 3rd year level school year 2013-2014. This study did not include their personal perception about the program. This study allowed time to gather the data and information needed to make the research work reliable. This study is conducted from June 2013 up until March 2014.HypothesesThe hypotheses tested in this study are1. The enthusiasm of the students towards K-12 curriculum is significantly touch by the degree of awareness in the K-12 curriculum. 2. The relationships between awareness in K-12 curriculum and enthusiasm towards it is significantly affected when the students are grouped according to their year level.

Gender difference Essay

The article I read is Health is not a mans domain lay accounts of grammatical gender release in life-expectancy in Russia. The authors, Ilkka Pietila and Marja Rytkonen, examined the meaning of health to Russian lay people, conducting interview with 29 people aged 15-81. They concluded that the role of the individual in lusty responsibility is very weak, with a stronger emphasis on societal and governmental influence. They withal nominate that in relation to gender, gender roles and relations are still with few alternatives despite social changes. This study was prompted by the large gender gap in life-expectancy in Russia.In 2006, the average life expectancy was 59 years for Russian men but 72 years for Russian women. Pietila and Rytkonen wanted to see if this gap was ca enjoymentd by gender perceptions of health and/or each(prenominal) other or by something else. The theoretical basis for this research is a process Frankel and Davison call lay epidemiology, which states that individuals interpret health risks through the routine rumination and discussion of cases of illness and death in personal networks and the public arena, as surface as from formal and informal evidence arising from other sources, such as television and magazines (p. 071).The researchers discerned four types of explanations essential/naturalist explanations (biological and psychological differences), explanations related to social roles, explanations related to social change and explanations related to health behavior (p. 1075). They also found that these explanations often centered around one health behavior heavy drinking. This article is a great because of its discussion the masculinity behind drinking, as well as the cultural aspects yet how the women tended to see drinking as more of a health hazard then the men who participate in it.The phenomenon of the gender gap and the cultural aspects of drinking add unique curveballs to solving the health crisis in Russia today. An arti cle like this one is very important because it illustrates factors that need to be considered when coming up with a public health policy for Russia. For example, this findings of this research would support the argument that prohibition would not work in reducing dipsomania in Russia alcohols cultural significance is too strong for such a policy to have any lay support.The article also noted its limitations. The authors only interviewed subjects in St. Petersburg, which is one of the more Westernized cities in Russia and is more likely to have an higher educated and socioeconomic commonwealth compared with the majority of Russia. The authors conceded that this population dynamic may have skewed the results. They also admit that their research sample was small (only 29 people interviewed), although they did their best to have a assortment of ages and occupations within these people.One excellent point in the researchers methodology is the use of native-Russian speakers to conduct the interviews, and having men interview men and women interview women. The use of native speakers would allow for the nuances of language and communication to be picked up. The gender separation also nullifies the possibility that gender biases would have taken place during the interviews.

Health Care Spending Essay

Historically, U.S. wellness upkeep expending has grown at rate exceeding the economys produce rate, often by at least 2 percentage points per year (Holahan & McMorrow, 2012, 393). Recently, it seems that the rate of health trouble expense has slowed down a little, though no reasons can be pinpointed as to why this is. there are many factors that affect the growth of health contend spend, and plenty of re firmness of purposes have been proposed to help improve this issue.Factors such as advancements in medical technology and an increase in the price of prescription drugs cause health make do costs to face lifting year after year. Solutions have been presented and implemented, like Medicare and Medicaid and managed care plans, however, even these components have added to the health care spending issue. With all the banter and vie, one thing can be agreed upon, something needs to be done.In recent years both public and private commiters have go through an inclement ris e health care spending that has exceeded income growth. This growth started right after the end of World War II and has continue to increase every(prenominal) ten years, health care spending has exceeded the gross domestic products (GDP) which had a projection of 26% by 2035 taken for health care spending, prior the health care reform was passed. This number is only going to continue increasing, which bring in the importance of control the spending since the domains long-term financial balance give be determined by the future rate growth in health care cost.harmonize to Cher untried (2010) the primary determinant of spending growth is the development and diffusion of new medical technology. However this does non imply the establishment of new technology rather focuses on how to use it with technologies and systems already in use, in other words make it compatible to work together. The diversity of technologies contributing to spending growth gene evaluate a diversity of pathway s by which technology increases spending. These includes high unit cost driven capital cost or the need for specialized labor, high volume, or cost related to complementary services. Because the chivalric rate of health care spending growth is not sustain fit, both private and public payers will take action to lower spending.Those actions whitethorn not necessary alter the forces that historically have driven up spending, but they will be designed to address the immediate problem of high sending. thither are many options from cost sharing from patients, reductions in payments to Medicare Advantage, fee reductions under the new payment rules implemented with Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On the article there is a suggestion that I find interesting about Global payments, which is an alternate form of bundled payments which is a program use to pay a fixed fee for a set of services related to a specific episode of care.This might be a good solution for the situation we ar e facing now, because it would give providers the opportunity to profit with reduced revenue, and even share some of the savings form not using health care services. Yet in order for bundled payments system to be successful the need of having the proper tools to improve the efficiency of care. Many providers will be able to develop these tools, but it would require partnership between facilities, physicians, and insurers.For the system to be successful it would have to carefully manage practice pattern changes due to new technology, adjusting aggressiveness based on the generosity of bundled payments updates. If bundled payments encourage efficiencies, they may reduce the level of spending more than spending growth, and that is exactly the area we as dry land need to be working on.According to President Obama, We do not have a spending problem we have a health care problem. This statement was alarming to many Americans. The President feels that healthcare spending on the aging popu lation is the number one fiscal problem. Then why is the solution taking so long? With Obamacare, Medicare will see cuts up to $716 billion. Where will this leave the Americans who receive Medicare? How can they still receive health care with this much of a cut? Will Providers be willing to provide the same high level of care with the high cut to their expected fees? There is no way of knowing if this will even solve the health care spending problem or if it will create even large problems for Americans.Budget cuts will be needed in other areas to make these cuts to health care spending improve the financial state of our country (Galupo, 2013). According to New Republics Jonathan Cohn, the new health care reform addresses the cost of health care rather than health care spending. He argues the proposed spending cuts will address the health care spending problem along with other budget cuts. Obamacare may not be a good solution to the current health care spending problem in America. Many suggest that the new laws affect on provider reimbursement rates will have a huge impact on access to care for many seniors.This can greatly affect the health of our aging population. spend cuts projected for Medicare and Medicaid will help that aspect of health care spending but with the added subsidies for people to purchase private health insurance, the savings just do not add up. When it comes to health care spending there is much controversy on what increases health care cost, what measures we can take to keep health care cost down, and what actions we can take to make health care affordable without limiting health care.According to kaiserEDU.org the chart provided below shows how costing allocates throughout the nation. Hospital care and physician services combined added up for half (51%) of the nations health expenditures. Below is a diagram from the year 2010 of the nations health expenditures. National wellness Expenditures, 2010Totaling up = $2.3 TrillionSome major g rowth health care costs include a rise in chronic disease, administrative cost, or technology or prescription cost, although there may be many more expenditure that adds up to the growth in health care cost these three have been discussed to have the biggest effect on the nation. As technology continues to advance over the years to come, we may face more health care struggles, so being prepared for the unexpected leads to a healthy future.Health care spending continues to be a concern for most Americans. The nations efforts to control health care costs have not had much long-term effect, prompting a debate over what proposals are actually able to reduce for the long-term. Approaches are largely divided by debate over a stronger role for government principle or market-based models that encourage greater competition (kaiseredu.org).Plans such as Obamacare are being implemented, but these plans are not solving the problem. Political debates and public discussions will continue as peop le try to figure out what factors are responsible for this problem and what solutions are truly aimed at achieving optimal health care at affordable costs.ReferencesChernew, M. (2010). Health Care Spending Growth Can We Avoid Fiscal Armageddon?. Inquiry,47(4), 285-295. Galupo, Scott, 2013, Lets Split the Difference We Have a Healthcare Spending Problem, The American Conservative, Retrieved February 14, 2013 http//www.theamericanconservative.com/lets-split-the-difference-we-have-a-healthcare-spending-problem/Holahan, J. & McMorrow, S. (2012). Medicare and Medicaid spending trends and the deficit debate. The New England Journal of Medicine, 367(5), 393- 395. Senger, Alyenne, 3013, No, Obamacare Does Not Lower Health Care Spending , The Founder, Retrieved February 16, 2013 http//blog.heritage.org/2013/02/12/no-obamacare-does-not-lower-health-carespending/The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (n.d.). U.S. Health Care Costs. Retrieved from http//www.kaiseredu.org.

Part One Saturday

IEvery parking space in Church quarrel was taken by nine oclock in the morning. Darkly clothed mourners endured, singly, in p sorts and in groups, up and d birth the street, converging, indispensableness a stream of iron filings bony to a magnet, on St Michael and All Saints. The highway leading to the church doors became c course of studyded, then tout ensemble overflowed those who were displaced fanned bulge among the graves, believeking safe spots to stand amid the gunpointst anes, horrible of trampling on the dead, hardly unwilling to move be cases far from the church entrance. It was clear to every unity that thither would non be enough church benchs for any the peck who had come to say goodbye to Barry Fairbr otherwise.His co-workers from the bank, who were grouped around the most extravagant of the Sweetlove tombs, wished that the august representative from inquiry office would move on and take his hollow sm wholly-talk and his clumsy jokes with him. Laur en, Holly and Jennifer from the rowing team had separated from their pargonnts to huddle to copher in the shade of a mossy-fingered yew. Parish councillors, a motley bunch, talked solemnly in the middle of the path a clutch of balding heads and thick-lensed glasses a smattering of somber straw hats and cultured pearls. Men from the squash and golf clubs hailed each other in subdued fashion old friends from university recognized each other from afar and keen together and in between milled what seemed to be most of Pagford, in their smartest and most sombre-hued clothes. The air dr superstard with quiet conversations faces flickered, watching and waiting.Tessa W in alls best coat, which was of grey wool, was cut so tightly around the armholes that she could non raise her arms above toilet table height. Standing beside her son on genius side of the church path, she was exc wall intermission sad minuscule smiles and waves with acquaintances, while continuing to argue with Fats th rough lips she was trying non to move too obviously.For Gods sake, Stu. He was your fathers best friend. fitting this once, show some consideration.No one told me it was passing p move to go on this bloody great. You told me itd be over by half- chivalric eleven.Dont swear. I verbalise wed surrender St Michaels at active half-past eleven so I judgment itd be over, didnt I? So I arranged to equalise Arf.But youve got to come to the burial, your fathers a pall- deliverer Ring Arf and dissever him itll concord to be tomorrow instead.He cant do tomorrow. Anyway, I havent got my mobile on me. Cubby told me non to bring it to church.Dont call your father Cubby You can ring Arf on mine, tell Tessa, burrowing in her pocket.I dont know his number by pith, lied Fats coldly.She and Colin had ea ex dollar bill dinner without Fats the previous evening, because he had cycled up to Andrews place, w here they were working on their English project together. That, at any rate, was the story Fats had given his mother, and Tessa had pretended to debate it. It suited her too well to have Fats out of the way, incapable of upsetting Colin.At least he was wearing the new suit that Tessa had bought for him in Yarvil. She had lost her temper at him in the third shop, because he had facial expression fored want a scarecrow in everything he had tried on, gawky and graceless, and she had thought angrily that he was doing it on offer that he could have inflated the suit with a sense of fitness if he chose.Shh said Tessa pre-emptively. Fats was not speaking, but Colin was approaching them, leading the Jawandas he seemed, in his overwrought state, to be confusing the role of pall-bearer with that of usher hovering by the gates, welcoming people. Par fountainheader looked grim and gaunt in her sari, with her children trailing behind her Vikram, in his moody suit, looked like a film star.A few yards from the church doors, Sa universetha Mollison was waiting beside her hus fate, looking up at the bright off-white sky and musing on all the wasted sunshine beating down on top of the high ceiling of cloud. She was refusing to be dislodged from the hard-surfaced path, no matter how many old ladies had to cool their ankles in the grass her patent-leather high heels might sink into the demulcent earth, and become dirty and clogged.When acquaintances hailed them, Miles and Samantha responded pleasantly, but they were not speaking to each other. They had had a row the previous evening. A few people had asked after Lexie and Libby, who usually came home at weekends, but both young womans were staying over at friends houses. Samantha knew that Miles regretted their absence he loved playing paterfamilias in public. Perhaps, she thought, with a most pleasurable leap of fury, he would ask her and the girls to pose with him for a picture on his election leaflets. She would enjoy branching him what she thought of that idea.She could tell that he was surprise d by the turnout. No doubt he was regretting that he did not have a starring role in the outgoing service it would have been an ideal opportunity to begin a surreptitious campaign for Barrys seat on the council with this bulky audience of captive voters. Samantha make a mental note to drop a sarcastic allusion to the missed opportunity when a suitable occasion arose.Gavin called Miles, at the sight of a long-familiar, fair and specialise head.Oh, hi, Miles. Hi, Sam.Gavins new black haulage shone against his white shirt. in that respect were violet bags nether his light eyes. Samantha leaned in on tiptoes, so that he could not decently cancel kissing her on the cheek and inhaling her musky perfume.Big turnout, isnt it? Gavin said, gazing around.Gavins a pall-bearer, Miles told his wife, in precisely the way that he would have announced that a small and unfortunate child had been awarded a book token for effort. In truth, he had been a little surprised when Gavin had told him he had been accorded this honour. Miles had dumbly imagined that he and Samantha would be privileged guests, ring by a certain aura of mystery and importance, having been at the deathbed. It might have been a nice gesture if bloody shame, or somebody close to Mary, had asked him, Miles, to strike a lesson, or say a few wrangling to acknowledge the important part he had played in Barrys final moments.Samantha was deliberately not surprised that Gavin had been singled out.You and Barry were kinda close, werent you, Gav?Gavin nodded. He felt jittery and a little sick. He had had a very bad nights sleep, waking in the early hours from horrible dreams in which, counterbalance, he had dropped the coffin, so that Barrys body spilt out onto the church floor and, secondly, he had overslept, missed the funeral, and arrived at St Michael and All Saints to find Mary alone in the graveyard, white-faced and furious, shout out at him that he had ruined the safe and sound thing.Im not sur e where I ought to be, he said, looking around. Ive neer do this onward.Nothing to it, mate, said Miles. Theres hardly one requirement, really. Dont drop anything, hehehe.Miles girlish laugh contrasted oddly with his deep speaking voice. Neither Gavin nor Samantha smiled.Colin Wall loomed out of the mass of bodies. Big and awkward-looking, with his high, knobbly forehead, he forever make Samantha think of Frankensteins monster.Gavin, he said. There you are. I think we should probably stand out on the pavement, theyll be here in a few minutes.Right-ho, said Gavin, relieved to be ordered around.Colin, said Miles, with a nod.Yes, hello, said Colin, flustered, before turning away and forcing his way back through the mass of mourners.Then came some other small flurry of movement, and Samantha comprehend Howards loud voice Excuse me so sorry trying to join our family The crowd parted to avoid his belly, and Howard was revealed, immense in a velvet-faced overcoat. Shirley and Mau reen bobbed in his wake, Shirley neat and composed in navy blue, Maureen scrawny as a carrion bird, in a hat with a small black veil.Hello, hello, said Howard, kissing Samantha firmly on both cheeks. And hows Sammy?Her answer was swallowed up in a widespread, awkward shuffling, as everybody began retreating backwards off the path there was a certain discreet jockeying for position nobody wanted to relinquish their claim to a place near the church entrance. With this cleaving in two of the crowd, familiar individuals were revealed like separate pips along the break. Samantha spotted the Jawandas coffee-brown faces among all the whey Vikram, absurdly go throughsome in his dark suit Par reasoner riged in a sari (why did she do it? Didnt she know she was playing right into the likes of Howard and Shirleys hands?) and beside her, dumpy little Tessa Wall in a grey coat, which was straining at the buttons.Mary Fairbrother and the children were move slowly up the path to the church. Mary was terribly pale, and appeared pounds thinner. Could she have lost so much weight in six days? She was holding one of the twins hands, with her other arm around the shoulders of her younger son, and the eldest, Fergus, marching behind. She moveed with her eyes fixed swell ahead, her soft mouth pursed tight. Other family members followed Mary and the children the procession moved over the threshold and was swallowed up in the dingy interior of the church.Everyone else moved towards the doors at once, which resulted in an undignified jam. The Mollisons found themselves shunted together with the Jawandas.After you, Mr Jawanda, sir, after you boomed Howard, holding out an arm to let the surgeon walk in first. But Howard made sure to use his bulk to prevent anybody else taking precedence over him, and followed Vikram in a flash through the entrance, leaving their families to follow on.A royal-blue carpet ran the length of the aisle of St Michael and All Saints. Golden stars glimmer ed on the vaulted ceiling brass plaques reflected the glow of the hanging lamps. The stained-glass windows were elaborate and gorgeously hued. Halfway down the nave, on the epistle side, St Michael himself stared down from the largest window, clad in silver armour. Sky-blue wings curved out of his shoulders in one hand he held aloft a sword, in the other, a pair of golden scales. A sandalled can rested on the back of a writhing bat-winged Satan, who was dark grey in colour and attempting to raise himself. The saints expression was serene.Howard stopped level with St Michael and indicated that his party should file into the pew on the left Vikram sullen right into the opposite one. While the remaining Mollisons, and Maureen, filed past him into the pew, Howard remained planted on the royal-blue carpet, and addressed Parminder as she passed him.Dreadful, this. Barry. Awful shock.Yes, she said, loathing him.I ceaselessly think those frocks look comfy are they? he added, nodding at her sari.She did not answer, but took her place beside Jaswant. Howard sat down too, devising of himself a prodigious plug at the end of the pew that would seal it off to newcomers.Shirleys eyes were fixed respectfully on her knees, and her hands were clasped, apparently in prayer, but she was really mulling over Howard and Parminders little exchange about the sari. Shirley belonged to a section of Pagford that quietly lamented the fact that the Old Vicarage, which had been built long ago to house a High Church vicar with mutton-chop furnish and a starched-aproned staff, was now home to a family of Hindus (Shirley had never quite grasped what religion the Jawandas were). She thought that if she and Howard went to the temple, or the mosque, or wherever it was the Jawandas worshipped, they would doubtless be required to come home their heads and remove their shoes and who knew what else, otherwise there would be outcry. Yet it was acceptable for Parminder to flaunt her sari in chur ch. It was not as though Parminder did not have normal clothes, for she wore them to work every day. The double standard of it all was what rankled not a thought for the disrespect it showed to their religion, and, by extension, to Barry Fairbrother himself, of whom she was supposed to have been so fond.Shirley unclasped her hands, elevated her head, and gave her management over to the outfits of people who were passing, and of the size and number of Barrys floral tributes. well-nigh of these had been heaped up against the communion rail. Shirley spotted the offering from the council, for which she and Howard had organized the collection. It was a large, round handed-down wreath of white and blue flowers, which were the colours of Pagfords arms. Their flowers and all the other wreaths were overshadowed by the carriage-sized oar, made of bronze chrysanthemums, which the girls rowing team had given.Sukhvinder turned in her pew to look for Lauren, whose florist mother had made the oar she wanted to mime that she had seen it and liked it, but the crowd was dense and she could not spot Lauren anywhere. Sukhvinder was mournfully proud that they had done it, e in particular when she saw that people were pointing it out to each other as they settled themselves in their seats. Five of the eight girls on the team had stumped up property for the oar. Lauren had told Sukhvinder how she had tracked down Krystal Weedon at lunchtime, and exposed herself to the piss-taking of Krystals friends, who were sitting smoking on a low wall by the newsagents. Lauren had asked Krystal if she wanted to chip in. Yeah, I will, all righ, Krystal had said but she had not, so her name was not on the card. Nor, as far as Sukhvinder could see, had Krystal come to the funeral.Sukhvinders insides were like lead, but the ache of her left forearm coupled with the sharp twinges of pain when she moved it was a counter-irritant, and at least Fats Wall, glowering in his black suit, was nowhere n ear her. He had not made eye contact with her when their two families had met, briefly, in the churchyard he was restrained by the bearing of their parents, as he was sometimes restrained by the presence of Andrew Price.Late the previous evening, her anonymous cyber-torturer had sent her a black and white picture of a peeled Victorian child, covered in soft dark pig. She had seen it and deleted it while dressing for the funeral.When had she last been happy? She knew that in a different life, long before anyone had grunted at her, she had sat in this church, and been quite content for geezerhood she had sung hymns with gusto at Christmas, Easter and Harvest Festival. She had always liked St Michael, with his pretty, feminine, Pre-Raphaelite face, his curly golden hair but this morning, for the first time, she saw him differently, with his seat resting almost casually on that writhing dark devil she found his untroubled expression sinister and arrogant.The pews were packed. Muffl ed clunks, echoing radicalsteps and quiet rustlings animated the moth-eaten air as the unlucky ones continued to file in at the back of the church and took up standing elbow room along the left-hand wall. Some hopeful souls tiptoed down the aisle in case of an overlooked place in the crammed pews. Howard remained immovable and firm, until Shirley tapped his shoulder and whispered, Aubrey and JuliaAt which Howard turned massively, and waved the service sheet to appeal the Fawleys attention. They came briskly down the carpeted aisle Aubrey, tall, thin and balding in his dark suit, Julia with her light-red hair pulled back into a chignon. They smiled their thanks as Howard moved along, shunting the others up, making sure that the Fawleys had plenty of room.Samantha was jammed so tightly between Miles and Maureen that she could go through Maureens sharp hip joint pressing into her condition on one side and the keys in Miles pocket on the other. Furious, she attempted to secure her self a centimetre or so more room, but neither Miles nor Maureen had anywhere else to go, so she stared straight ahead, and turned her thoughts vengefully to Vikram, who had lost none of his appeal in the month or so since she had last seen him. He was so conspicuously, irrefutably good-looking, it was silly it made you want to laugh. With his long legs and his broad shoulders, and the flatness of his belly where his shirt tucked into his trousers, and those dark eyes with the thick black lashes, he looked like a god compared to other Pagford men, who were so slack and pallid and porky. As Miles leaned forward to exchange whispered pleasantries with Julia Fawley, his keys ground painfully into Samanthas upper thigh, and she imagined Vikram ripping open the navy wrap dress she was wearing, and in her fantasy she had omitted to put on the matching camisole that concealed her deep canyon of cleavage The organ stops creaked and silence fell, except for a soft persistent rustle. Heads t urned the coffin was coming up the aisle.The pall-bearers were almost comically mismatched Barrys brothers were both five foot six, and Colin Wall, at the rear, six foot two, so that the back end of the coffin was considerably higher than the front. The coffin itself was not made of polished mahogany, but of wickerwork.Its a bloody picnic field goal thought Howard, incensed.Looks of surprise flitted across many faces as the willow box passed them, but some had known all about the coffin in advance. Mary had told Tessa (who had told Parminder) how the choice of material had been made by Fergus, Barrys eldest son, who wanted willow because it was a sustainable, quick-growing material and therefore environmentally friendly. Fergus was a passionate enthusiast for all things green and ecologically sound.Parminder liked the willow coffin better, much better, than the stout wooden box in which most English disposed of their dead. Her grandmother had always had a superstitious fear of the soul being trapped inside something heavy and solid, deploring the way that British undertakers nailed down the lids. The pall-bearers lowered the coffin onto the brocade-draped bier and retreated Barrys son, brothers and brother-in-law edged into the front pews, and Colin walked jerkily back to join his family.For two quaking seconds Gavin hesitated. Parminder could tell that he was unsure of where to go, his tho option to walk back down the aisle under the eyes of three hundred people. But Mary must have made a sign to him, because he ducked, blushing furiously, into the front pew beside Barrys mother. Parminder had solo ever spoken to Gavin when she had tested and treated him for chlamydia. He had never met her gaze again.I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord he that believeth in me, though he were dead, even shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die The vicar did not sound as if he were thinking about the sense of the words issuing from his mouth, but only about his own delivery, which was sing-song and rhythmic. Parminder was familiar with his style she had attended carol services for years with all the other St Thomass parents. Long acquaintance had not accommodate her to the white-faced warrior saint staring down at her, nor all the dark wood, the hard pews, the alien altar with its jewelled golden cross, nor the dirgey hymns, which she found chilly and unsettling.So she withdrew her attention from the self-conscious drone of the vicar and thought again of her father. She had seen him out of the kitchen window, flat on his face, while her radio continued to blare from on top of the rab fighting hutch. He had been lying there for two hours while she, her mother and her sisters had been browsing in Topshop. She could still feel her fathers shoulder beneath his hot shirt as she had shaken it. Dadiii. Dadiiiii.They had scattered Darshans ashes in the sad little River Rea in Birmingham. Parminder could remember the dull clay look of its surface, on an overcast day in June, and the stream of fiddling white and grey flakes floating away from her.The organ clunked and wheezed into life, and she got to her feet with everybody else. She caught a glimpse of the backs of Niamh and Siobhans red-gold heads they were exactly the age she had been when Darshan had been taken from them. Parminder experienced a rush of tenderness, and an awful ache, and a confused desire to hold them and to tell them that she knew, she knew, she understood Morning has broken, like the first morning Gavin could hear a shrill treble from along the row Barrys younger sons voice had not yet broken. He knew that Declan had chosen the hymn. That was another of the ghastly situations of the service that Mary had chosen to share with him.He was finding the funeral an even worse ordeal than he had expected. He thought it might have been better with a wooden coffin he had had an awful, visceral cognizance of Barrys body insid e that light wickerwork case the physical weight of him was shocking. All those complacently staring people, as he walked up the aisle did they not understand what he was actually carrying?Then had come the ghastly moment when he had realized that nobody had saved him a place, and that he would have to walk all the way back again while everybody stared, and hide among the standees at the back but instead he had been forced to sit in the first pew, horribly exposed. It was like being in the front seat of a rollercoaster, bearing the brunt of every awful twist and lurch.Sitting there, mere feet from Siobhans sunflower, its head as big as a saucepan lid, in the middle of a big burst of yellow freesias and daylilies, he actually wished that Kay had come with him he could not believe it, but there it was. He would have been consoled by the presence of somebody who was on his side somebody simply to keep him a seat. He had not considered what a sad bastard he might look, turning up alone .The hymn ended. Barrys older brother walked to the front to speak. Gavin did not know how he could bear to do it, with Barrys corpse lying right in front of him beneath the sunflower (grown from seed, over months) nor how Mary could sit so quietly, with her head bowed, apparently looking at the hands clasped in her lap. Gavin tried, actively, to provide his own interior interference, so as to dilute the impact of the eulogy.Hes going to tell the story about Barry meet Mary, once hes got past this kid stuff happy childhood, high jinks, yeah, yeah Come on, move it along They would have to put Barry back in the car, and bring forth all the way to Yarvil to bury him in the cemetery there, because the tiny graveyard of St Michael and All Saints had been declared full twenty years previously. Gavin imagined lowering the wickerwork coffin into the grave under the eyes of this crowd. Carrying it in and out of the church would be nothing compared to that One of the twins was crying. Out of the corner of his eye, Gavin saw Mary rile out a hand to hold her daughters.Lets get on with it, for tail ends sake. Please.I think its fair to say that Barry always knew his own mind, Barrys brother was saying hoarsely. He had got a few laughs with tales of Barrys scrapes in childhood. The strain in his voice was palpable. He was twenty-four when we went off on my stag weekend to Liverpool. First night there, we leave the campsite and go off to the pub, and there behind the bar is the landlords student daughter, a graceful blonde, helping out on a Saturday night. Barry spent the whole night propping up the bar, chatting her up, getting her into trouble with her dad and pretending he didnt know who the rowdy lot in the corner were.A weak laugh. Marys head was drooping both hands were clutching those of the child on either side.He told me that night, back in the tent, that he was going to marry her. I thought, Hang on, Im the one whos supposed to be drunk. Another little titte r. Baz made us go back to the same pub the next night. When we got home, the first thing he did was misdirect her a postcard and send it to her, telling her hed be back next weekend. They were married a year to the day after they met, and I think everyone who knew them would take hold that Barry knew a good thing when he saw it. They went on to have four beautiful children, Fergus, Niamh, Siobhan and Declan Gavin breathed carefully in and out, in and out, trying not to listen, and wondering what on earth his own brother would find to say about him under the same circumstances. He had not had Barrys luck his romantic life did not make a pretty story. He had never walked into a pub and found the perfect wife standing there, blonde, smiling and ready to take care him a pint. No, he had had Lisa, who had never seemed to think him up to scratch seven years of escalating warfare had culminated in a dose of the clap and then, with barely a break, there had been Kay, clinging to him like an aggressive and threatening barnacle But, all the same, he would ring her later, because he didnt think he would be able to stand going back to his empty cottage after this. He would be honest, and tell her how horrible and stressful the funeral had been, and that he wished she had come with him. That would surely deflect any remain umbrage about their row. He did not want to be alone tonight.Two pews back, Colin Wall was sobbing, with small but audible gasps, into a large, wet handkerchief. Tessas hand rested on his thigh, exerting gentle pressure. She was thinking about Barry about how she had relied upon him to help her with Colin of the consolation of shared laughter of Barrys boundless generosity of spirit. She could see him clearly, short and ruddy, jiving with Parminder at their last party imitating Howard Mollisons strictures on the Fields advising Colin tactfully, as only he could have done, to accept Fats behaviour as adolescent, rather than sociopathic.Tessa was scare d of what the loss of Barry Fairbrother would reckon to the man beside her scared of how they would manage to accommodate this huge ragged absence scared that Colin had made a vow to the dead that he could not keep, and that he did not realize how little Mary, to whom he kept wanting to talk, liked him. And through all Tessas anxiety and sorrow was threaded the usual worry, like an fidgety little worm Fats, and how she was going to avert an explosion, how she would make him come with them to the burial, or how she might hide from Colin that he had not come which might, after all, be easier.We are going to finish todays service with a song chosen by Barrys daughters, Niamh and Siobhan, which meant a lot to them and their father, said the vicar. He managed, by his tone, to disassociate himself personally from what was about to happen.The beat of the drum rang so loudly through hidden speakers that the plication jumped. A loud American voice was saying uh huh, uh huh and Jay-Z rapp edGood girl bypast bad Take three Action.No clouds in my storms Let it rain, I hydroplane into fameComin down with the Dow Jones Some people thought that it was a mistake Howard and Shirley threw outraged glances at each other, but nobody pressed stop, or ran up the aisle apologizing. Then a powerful, sexy female voice started to singYou had my heartAnd well never be worlds apartMaybe in magazinesBut youll still be my star The pall-bearers were carrying the wicker coffin back down the aisle, and Mary and the children were following. nowadays that its raining more than everKnow that well still have each otherYou can stand under my umbuh-rellaYou can stand under my umbuh-rellaThe congregation filed slowly out of the church, trying not to walk in time to the beat of the song.IIAndrew Price took the handlebars of his fathers racing bicycle and walked it carefully out of the garage, making sure that he did not scrape the car. Down the stone steps and through the metal gate he carried i t then, in the lane, he put his foot on one pedal, scooted a few yards and swung his other leg over the saddle. He soared left onto the vertiginously sloping hillside road and sped, without touching his brakes, down towards Pagford. The hedgerows and sky foggy he imagined himself in a velodrome as the wind whipped his clean hair and his stinging face, which he had just scrubbed clean. Level with the Fairbrothers wedge-shaped garden he applied the brakes, because some months previously he had taken this sharp turn too fast and fallen off, and had had to return home immediately with his jeans ripped open and grazes all down one side of his face He freewheeled, with only one hand on the bars, into Church Row, and enjoyed a second, though lesser, downhill burst of speed, meagerly checked when he saw that they were loading a coffin onto a hearse out-of-door the church, and that a dark-clothed crowd was spilling out between the heavy wooden doors. Andrew pedalled furiously around the c orner and out of sight. He did not want to see Fats emerging from church with a distraught Cubby, wearing the cheap suit and tie that he had described with comical disgust during yesterdays English lesson. It would have been like interrupting his friend having a crap.As Andrew cycled slowly around the Square, he slicked his hair back off his face with one hand, wondering what the cold air had done to his purple-red acne and whether the anti-bacterial face wash had done anything to soothe the angry look of it. And he told himself the cover story he had come from Fats house (which he might have done, there was no reason why not), which meant that Hope Street was as obvious a route down to the river as cutting through the first side street. Therefore there was no need for Gaia Bawden (if she happened to be looking out of the window of her house, and happened to see him, and happened to recognize him) to think that he had come this way because of her. Andrew did not anticipate having to explain to her his reason for cycling up her street, but he still held the fake story in his mind, because he believed it gave him an air of cool detachment.He simply wanted to know which was her house. Twice already, at weekends, he had cycled along the short terraced street, every nerve in his body tingling, but he had been unable, as yet, to discover which house harboured the Grail. All he knew, from his backstair glimpses through the dirty school-bus windows, was that she lived on the right hand even-numbered side.As he turned the corner, he tried to compose his features, acting the part of a man cycling slowly towards the river by the most direct route, lost in his own serious thoughts, but ready to acknowledge a classmate, should they show themselves She was there. On the pavement. Andrews legs continued to pump, though he could not feel the pedals, and he was suddenly aware how thin the tyres were on which he balanced. She was rummaging in her leather handbag, her copper-br own hair hanging around her face. Number ten on the door ajar behind her, and a black island of Jersey falling short of her waist a band of bare skin, and a heavy belt and tight jeans when he was almost past her, she closed the door and turned her hair fell back from her beautiful face, and she said, quite clearly, in her London voice, Oh, hi.Hi, he said. His legs kept pedalling. Six feet away, twelve feet away why hadnt he stopped? Shock kept him moving, he dared not look back he was at the end of her street already for fucks sake dont fall off he turned the corner, too stunned to drill hole whether he was more relieved or disappointed that he had left her behind.Holy shit.He cycled on towards the wooded area at the base of Pargetter Hill, where the river glinted intermittently through the trees, but he could see nothing except Gaia burned onto his retina like neon. The pin down road turned into an earthy footpath, and the gentle atmosphere off the water caressed his face, whi ch he did not think had turned red, because it had all happened so quickly.Fucking hell he said aloud to the fresh air and the deserted path.He raked excitedly through this magnificent, unexpected treasure trove her perfect body, revealed in tight denim and stretchy cotton number ten behind her, on a chipped, shabby blue door oh, hi, easily and naturally so his features were definitely logged somewhere in the mind that lived behind the astound face.The bike jolted on the newly pebbly and rough ground. Elated, Andrew dismounted only when he began to overbalance. He wheeled the bicycle on through the trees, emerging onto the narrow riverbank, where he slung the bicycle down on the ground among the wood anemones that had opened like tiny white stars since his last visit.His father had said, when he first started to fasten on the bike You chain it up if youre going in a shop. Im warning you, if that gets nicked But the chain was not long enough to go around any of the trees and, in a ny case, the further he rode from his father the less Andrew feared him. Still thinking about the inches of flat, bare midriff and Gaias exquisite face, Andrew strode to the place where the bank met the eroded side of the hill, which hung like an earthy, rocky cliff in a sheer face above the fast-flowing green water.The narrowest lip of slippery, crumbling bank ran along the bottom of the hillside. The only way of navigating it, if your feet had grown to be twice the length they had been when they had first made the trip, was to edge along sideways, pressed to the sheer face, holding tight to roots and bits of stick out rock.The mulchy green smell of the river and of wet soil was deeply familiar to Andrew, as was the sensation of this narrow ledge of earth and grass under his feet, and the cracks and rocks he desire with his hands on the hillside. He and Fats had found the hugger-mugger place when they were eleven years old. They had known that what they were doing was forbidden a nd dangerous they had been warned about the river. Terrified, but determined not to tell each other so, they had sidled along this tricky ledge, grabbing at anything that protruded from the rocky wall and, at the very narrowest point, clutching fistfuls of each others T-shirts.Years of practice enabled Andrew, though his mind was barely on the job, to move crab-wise along the solid wall of earth and rock with the water gushing three feet beneath his trainers then with a expert duck and swing, he was inside the fissure in the hillside that they had found so long ago. Back then, it had seemed like a divine reward for their daring. He could no longer stand up in it but, slightly larger than a two-man tent, it was big enough for two teenage boys to lie, side by side, with the river rushing past and the trees dappling their view of the sky, framed by the triangular entrance.The first time they had been here, they had poked and dug at the back wall with sticks, but they had not found a s ecret passageway leading to the abbey above so they gloried instead in the fact that they alone had discovered the hiding place, and swore that it would be their secret in perpetuity. Andrew had a vague memory of a solemn oath, spit and swearwords. They had called it the Cave when they had first discovered it, but it was now, and had been for some time past, the Cubby Hole.The little recess smelt earthy, though the sloping ceiling was made of rock. A dark green tidemark showed that it had flooded in the past, not quite to the roof. The floor was covered in their cigarette butts and artificial roaches. Andrew sat down, with his legs dangling over the sludge-green water, and pulled his cigarettes and lighter out of his jacket, bought with the last of his birthday money, now that his allowance had been stopped. He lit up, inhaled deeply, and relived the glorious encounter with Gaia Bawden in as much detail as he could ring out of it narrow waist and curving hips creamy skin between le ather and T-shirt full, wide mouth oh, hi. It was the first time he had seen her out of school uniform. Where was she going, alone with her leather handbag? What was there in Pagford for her to do on a Saturday morning? Was she perhaps catching the bus into Yarvil? What did she get up to when she was out of his sight what feminine mysteries absorbed her?And he asked himself for the umpteenth time whether it was conceivable that flesh and bone wrought like that could contain a banal personality. It was only Gaia who had ever made him wonder this the idea of body and soul as separate entities had never once occurred to him until he had clapped eyes on her. Even while trying to imagine what her breasts would look and feel like, judged by the visual tell he had managed to gather through a slightly translucent school shirt, and what he knew was a white bra, he could not believe that the allure she held for him was only if physical. She had a way of moving that moved him as much as musi c, which was what moved him most of all. Surely the spirit animating that peerless body must be unusual too? Why would nature make a vessel like that, if not to contain something still more valuable?Andrew knew what naked women looked like, because there were no parental controls on the computer in Fats conversion bedroom. Together they had explored as much online porn as they could access for free groom vulvas pink labia pulled wide to show darkly gaping slits spread buttocks revealing the puckered buttons of anuses thickly lipsticked mouths, dripping semen. Andrews excitement was underpinned, always, by the panicky awareness that you could only hear Mrs Wall approaching the room when she reached the creaking halfway stair. Sometimes they found weirdness that made them roar with laughter, even when Andrew was unsure whether he was more excited or repulsed (whips and saddles, harnesses, ropes, hoses and once, at which even Fats had not managed to laugh, close-ups of metal-bolted co ntraptions, and needles protruding from soft flesh, and womens faces frozen, screaming).Together he and Fats had become connoisseurs of silicone-enhanced breasts, enormous, taut and round.Plastic, one of them would point out, matter of factly, as they sat in front of the monitor with the door wedged shut against Fats parents. The on-screen blondes arms were raised as she sat astride some hairy man, her big brown-nippled breasts hanging off her narrow rib cage like bowling balls, thin, shiny purple lines under each of them showing where the silicone had been inserted. You could almost tell how they would feel, looking at them firm, as if there were a football underneath the skin. Andrew could imagine nothing more erotic than a natural breast soft and spongy and perhaps a little springy, and the nipples (he hoped) contrastingly hard.And all of these images blurred in his mind, late at night, with the possibilities offered by real girls, human girls, and the little you managed to feel through clothes if you managed to move in close enough. Niamh was the less pretty of the Fairbrother twins, but she had been the more willing, in the stuffy drama hall, during the Christmas disco. Half hidden by the musty stage curtain in a dark corner, they had pressed against each other, and Andrew had put his tongue into her mouth. His hands had inched as far as her bra strap and no further, because she kept displace away. He had been driven, chiefly, by the knowledge that somewhere outside in the darkness, Fats was going further. And now his brain teemed and throbbed with Gaia. She was both the sexiest girl he had ever seen and the source of another, entirely inexplicable yearning. Certain chord changes, certain beats, made the very core of him shiver, and so did something about Gaia Bawden.He lit a new cigarette from the end of the first and threw the butt into the water below. Then he heard a familiar scuffling, and leaned forward to see Fats, still wearing his funeral suit, spread-eagled on the hill wall, moving from hand-hold to hand-hold as he edged along the narrow lip of bank, towards the opening where Andrew sat.Fats.Arf.Andrew pulled in his legs to give Fats room to climb into the Cubby Hole.Fucking hell, said Fats, when he had clambered inside. He was spider-like in his awkwardness, with his long limbs, his skinniness emphasized by the black suit.Andrew handed him a cigarette. Fats always lit up as though he were in a high wind, one hand cupped around the flame to shield it, scowling slightly. He inhaled, blew a smoke ring out of the Cubby Hole and loosened the dark grey tie around his neck. He appeared older and not, after all, so very foolish in the suit, which bore traces of earth on the knees and cuffs from the journey to the cave.Youd think they were bum chums, Fats said, after he had taken another powerful draw off on his cigarette.Cubby upset, was he?Upset? Hes having fucking hysterics. Hes given himself hiccups. Hes worse than the fucki ng widow.Andrew laughed. Fats blew another smoke ring and pulled at one of his overlarge ears.I bowed out early. They havent even buried him yet.They smoked in silence for a minute, both looking out at the sludgy river. As he smoked, Andrew contemplated the words bowed out early, and the amount of autonomy Fats seemed to have, compared to himself. Simon and his fury stood between Andrew and too much freedom in Hilltop House, you sometimes copped for punishment simply because you were present. Andrews belief had once been caught by a strange little module in their philosophy and religion class, in which primitive gods had been discussed in all their arbitrary individual retirement account and violence, and the attempts of early civilizations to placate them. He had thought then of the nature of justice as he had come to know it of his father as a pleasure seeker god, and of his mother as the high priestess of the cult, who attempted to interpret and intercede, usually failing, yet still insisting, in the face of all the evidence, that there was an underlying magnanimity and modestness to her deity.Fats rested his head against the stone side of the Cubby Hole and blew smoke rings at the ceiling. He was thinking about what he wanted to tell Andrew. He had been mentally rehearsing the way he would start, all through the funeral service, while his father gulped and sobbed into his handkerchief. Fats was so excited by the prospect of telling, that he was having difficulty containing himself but he was determined not to blurt it out. The telling of it was, to Fats, of almost equal importance to the doing of it. He did not want Andrew to think that he had hurried here to say it.You know how Fairbrother was on the Parish Council? said Andrew.Yeah, said Fats, glad that Andrew had initiated a space-filler conversation.Si-Pies saying hes going to stand for his seat.Si-Pie is?Fats frowned at Andrew.What the fucks got into him?He reckons Fairbrother was getting backhand ers from some contractor. Andrew had heard Simon discussing it with Ruth in the kitchen that morning. It had explained everything. He wants a bit of the action.That wasnt Barry Fairbrother, said Fats, laughing as he flicked ash onto the cave floor. And that wasnt the Parish Council. That was Whats-his-name Frierly, up in Yarvil. He was on the school board at Winterdown. Cubby had a fucking fit. Local press calling him for a comment and all that. Frierly got done for it. Doesnt Si-Pie read the Yarvil and soil Gazette?Andrew stared at Fats.Fucking typical.He ground out his cigarette on the earthy floor, embarrassed by his fathers idiocy. Simon had got the persecute end of the stick yet again. He spurned the local community, sneered at their concerns, was proud of his isolation in his poxy little house on the hill then he got a bit of misinformation and decided to expose his family to humiliation on the basis of it.Crooked as fuck, Si-Pie, isnt he? said Fats.They called him Si-Pie be cause that was Ruths nickname for her husband. Fats had heard her use it once, when he had been over for his tea, and had never called Simon anything else since.Yeah, he is, said Andrew, wondering whether he would be able to dissuade his father from standing by telling him he had the wrong man and the wrong council.Bit of a coincidence, said Fats, because Cubbys standing as well.Fats exhaled through his nostrils, staring at the crevice wall over Andrews head.So will voters go for the cunt, he said, or the twat?Andrew laughed. There was little he enjoyed more than hearing his father called a cunt by Fats.Now have a shifting at this, said Fats, jamming his cigarette between his lips and patting his hips, even though he knew that the envelope was in the inside breast pocket. Here you go, he said, pulling it out and opening it to show Andrew the contents brown peppercorn-sized pods in a powdery mix of shrivelled stalks and leaves.Sensimilla, that is.What is it?Tips and shoots of your b asic unfertilized marijuana plant, said Fats, specially prepared for your smoking pleasure.Whats the difference between that and the normal stuff? asked Andrew, with whom Fats had split several lumps of waxy black cannabis resin in the Cubby Hole.Just a different smoke, isnt it? said Fats, stubbing out his own cigarette. He took a packet of Rizlas from his pocket, drew out three of the fragile papers and gummed them together.Did you get it off Kirby? asked Andrew, poking at and sniffing the contents of the envelope.Everyone knew Skye Kirby was the go-to man for drugs. He was a year above them, in the lower sixth. His grandfather was an old hippy, who had been up in court several times for growing his own.Yeah. Mind, theres a bloke called Obbo, said Fats, slitting cigarettes and emptying the tobacco onto the papers, in the Fields, wholl get you anything. Fucking smack, if you want it.You dont want smack, though, said Andrew, watching Fats face.Nah, said Fats, taking the envelope back , and sprinkling the sensimilla onto the tobacco. He rolled the joint together, licking the end of the papers to seal it, poking the roach in more neatly, twisting the end into a point. squeamish, he said happily.He had planned to tell Andrew his news after introducing the sensimilla as a kind of unstrain act. He held out his hand for Andrews lighter, inserted the cardboarded end between his own lips and lit up, taking a deep, contemplative drag, blowing out the smoke in a long blue jet, then repeating the process.Mmm, he said, holding the smoke in his lungs, and imitating Cubby, whom Tessa had given a wine course one Christmas. Herby. A strong aftertaste. Overtones of fuck He experienced a massive headrush, even though he was sitting, and exhaled, laughing. try that.Andrew leaned across and took the joint, giggling in anticipation, and at the beatific smile on Fats face, which was quite at odds with his usual constipated scowl.Andrew inhaled and felt the power of the drug radiate out from his lungs, unwinding and loosening him. Another drag, and he thought that it was like having your mind shaken out like a duvet, so that it resettled without creases, so that everything became smooth and simple and easy and good.Nice, he echoed Fats, smiling at the sound of his own voice. He passed the joint back into Fats waiting fingers and savoured this sense of well-being.So, you wanna hear something interesting? said Fats, grinning uncontrollably.Go on.I fucked her last night.Andrew nearly said who?, before his befuddled brain remembered Krystal Weedon, of course Krystal Weedon, who else?Where? he asked, stupidly. It was not what he wanted to know.Fats stretched out on his back in his funeral suit, his feet towards the river. Wordlessly, Andrew stretched out beside him, in the opposite direction. They had slept like this, top and tail, when they had stayed overnight at each others houses as children. Andrew gazed up at the rocky ceiling, where the blue smoke hung, slow ly furling, and waited to hear everything.I told Cubby and Tess I was at yours, so you know, said Fats. He passed the joint into Andrews reaching fingers, then linked his long hands on his chest, and listened to himself telling. Then I got the bus to the Fields. Met her outside Oddbins.By Tescos? asked Andrew. He did not know why he kept asking dumb questions.Yeah, said Fats. We went to the rec. Theres trees in the corner behind the public bogs. Nice and private. It was getting dark.Fats shifted position and Andrew handed back the joint.Getting ins harder than I thought it would be, said Fats, and Andrew was mesmerized, half inclined to laugh, afraid of missing every unvarnished detail Fats could give him. She was wetter when I was fingering her.A giggle rose like trapped gas in Andrews chest, but was stifled there.Lot of energy to get in properly. Its tighter than I thought.Andrew saw a jet of smoke rise from the place where Fats head must be.I came in about ten seconds. It feels fucking great once youre in.Andrew fought back laughter, in case there was more.I wore a johnny. Itd be better without.He pushed the joint back into Andrews hand. Andrew pulled on it, thinking. Harder to get in than you thought over in ten seconds. It didnt sound much yet what wouldnt he give? He imagined Gaia Bawden flat on her back for him and, without meaning to, let out a small groan, which Fats did not seem to hear. Lost in a fug of erotic images, pulling on the joint, Andrew lay with his erection on the patch of earth his body was warming and listened to the soft rush of the water a few feet from his head.What matters, Arf? asked Fats, after a long, dreamy pause.His head swimming pleasantly, Andrew answered, Sex.Yeah, said Fats, delighted. Fucking. Thats what matters. Propogun propogating the species. Throw away the johnnies. Multiply.Yeah, said Andrew, laughing.And death, said Fats. He had been taken aback by the reality of that coffin, and how little material lay between al l the watching vultures and an actual corpse. He was not sorry that he had left before it disappeared into the ground. Gotta be, hasnt it? Death.Yeah, said Andrew, thinking of war and car crashes, and dying in blazes of speed and glory.Yeah, said Fats. Fucking and dying. Thats it, innit? Fucking and dying. Thats life.Trying to get a fuck and trying not to die.Or trying to die, said Fats. Some people. Risking it.Yeah. Risking it.There was more silence, and their hiding place was cool and hazy.And music, said Andrew quietly, watching the blue smoke hanging beneath the dark rock.Yeah, said Fats, in the distance. And music.The river rushed on past the Cubby Hole.