Just a Few Bits and Bobs

The Ratcliffe Highway Murders

2012-01-30T02:10:00.000-08:00

In the early part of the 19th century Ratcliffe Highway had a reputation for being one of the most dangerous streets in London. Situated at Wapping near the Pool of London it shared it's reputation with other streets which were sited in close proximity to a sea ports.The Highway lay just north of the waterfront, and although the ordinary small businesses such as Bakers, Grocers and Drapers scratched out a living, they did so among the other more profitable establishments for which the Highway was known, these were the Public Houses, the Brothels and cheap Lodging Houses. It was here that the sailors, after long weeks away at sea, were only to eager to spend their money.

Those well meaning philanthropists who worked to improve the lives of the poor had little contact with Ratcliffe Highway, perhaps they thought that even the sweet scents of the spices, sandelwood and ginger piled high in the nearby warehouses could disguise the smell of debauchery that lingered over every cobble of the Highway.

It was into this busy raucous atmosphere that Thomas Marr settled with his family in April 1811, Thomas had worked for the East India Company before deciding to opening his own Drapers and Haberdashery shop in Ratcliffe Highway, maybe he chose the spot because of the high percentage of prostitutes in the area who had money to spend on linen, ribbons and so on. Whatever the reason for moving to the Highway it turned out to be a tragic one.

During those days there were regulations as to when shops could open and close, so it was that late on the evening of the 7th of December 1811 Thomas Marr as still busy in his little shop, with him was his wife Celia, the shop boy James Gowan and the young servant girl Margaret Jewel. Three months earlier a baby boy had been born to Thomas and Celia and on that particular night he was sleeping peacefully upstairs. At about 11.30pm Thomas asked Margaret to go to the local bakers and pay the weekly bill, also to buy some oysters, which at that time were so inexpensive that they were reconsidered poor mans food, however when she reached the shop she found it closed, so retracing her footsteps she set off to pay the bakers bill, as she did so she passed the Drapers and saw that Thomas Marr and the others were still busy getting ready for the following days trade.

Margaret estimated that she had been away from the shop for about 20 minutes, so she was surprised to find that when she returned to the shop it was in complete darkness, including the rooms above. She tried the door and found it locked, surely, she thought, they hadn't forgotten she was still out. Putting her ear to the door she could hear no sound from inside, so lifting the knocker she let it drop with a heavy thud, she then thought she heard a footstep on the stairs, a moment later came a small cry from the baby upstairs, yet still no-one came to let her in.

By now Margaret was beginning to panic and she began pounding on the door and calling out to be let in, still the door remained closed against her, but out of the darkness came a voice demanding to know what was going on. It was with relief that she saw it was George Olney, the Night Watchman who came to the Highway to call out the time each half hour. He was a friend of Thomas Marr and grew concerned as Margaret poured out her story, especially when he noticed that although the shutters were closed they weren't fastened so he began to call out his friends name, this in turn woke the pawnbroker who lived next door. After he learned the reason for the noise he told them he would go around the back to see if anything was amiss.

When the pawnbroker climbed the fence from his garden into that of the Marr's he noticed that the back door stood open and a light flickered inside. Slowly John Murray made his way inside, as he did so he called his neighbours name softly, but he needn't have worried, for no-one inside the little drapers shop would ever wake again.

Just inside the door lay the lifeless body of James Gowan, then as the pawnbroker tried to make his way to the front of the shop to let in George Olney and Margaret his foot tripped on the body of Celia Marr. By now John Murray was sick to his stomach but he managed to unlock the door and let the others in. Together the two men set out to search for Thomas Marr, there search wasn't a long one for behind the counter they found the body of Thomas Marr who had suffered the same fate as the others. Now there was just one thing on their minds, the baby, surely the baby was safe. Sadly as the two men entered the bedroom upstairs it became clear that even young Timothy Marr had not been spared.

By the time the two men returned downstairs they found that the little shop was filled with onlookers, some holding candles illuminating the grisly scene as they searched for the murder weapon. Someone in the crowd called out that they were going to report the crime at the Thames River Police Office. George Olney nodded only half hearing what that man had said, for his mind was numb with the horror all around him.

Although the Bow Street Runners were created in 1746 by the time of the Marr murders there was still no offical police force. It would not be until 1829 that magistrates would affirm the Metropolitan Police Bill, which would give London a full time organized police force, and another eleven years until there was a separate detectives department. Until then parish constables, magistrates and coroners dealt with local crimes.

The first officer on the scene was Charles Horton. He had already found what he believed to be the murder weapon, a bloodstained mallet (or maul) in the upstairs bedroom. However the thing that alluded him was the motive, nothing appeared to have been taken, money was still in the till, with more in the chest of drawers in the bedroom, at the back of the house two sets of footprints were discovered, earlier that day carpenters had been working inside the shop, and as the footprints contained sawdust from inside the shop and also blood it seemed that these were the footprints of the murderers. So if robbery was the motive were they disturbed by Margarets return? Or was there a personal reason for so much violence

Over the next few days various people were brought in for questioning, but no strong cases could be made against them, one of the carpenters who worked in the shop that day was suspected, but released, a previous servant girl was also questioned as to her whereabouts that night but inquiries showed she really had no motives, neither had she any criminal contacts, so she too was released.

As the custom of the day the bodies of the Marr's family, and that of James Gowan were laid out on their beds at home, many came to view the bodies, some genuine mourners, but a few just came to gawp. The Marr family were to be buried at St George in the East, a church were just a few weeks early the Marr's had been joined my family and friends to witness the baptism of their young son Timothy whose tiny coffin joined his parent towards their last resting place. Once outside the drapers shop where the family had lost their lives so violently the cortege paused for a few moments, some spending that time to offer up a silent prayer while others wept for the needless loss.

News of the funeral reignited the fear, not just in the east end, but throughout London that if an honest hard working family could be slaughter in the one place they should feel safe, their home, then was anyone safe? The slow progress of the police only served to feed this fear of random violence. It was then it was decided to take another look at the murder weapon, once some of the blood was wiped away from the handle a pair of initials appeared, some cases say they were I.P others J.P. This discovery took place on December the 19th and if Charles Horton thought he had at last found a breakthrough but events of the coming evening were to change that.

Close to the Ratcliffe Highway was New Gravel Lane, it was here that Mr and Mrs Williamson ran the Kings Arms tavern, they had done so for the past fifteen years, and unlike other public houses of the Highway theirs was an orderly house, living with them was their fourteen year old grandaughter Kitty Stillwell, also a house servant and a lodger named John Turner.

On the night of the 19th of December the local watchman was walking his usual rounds when as he turned into New Gravel Lane he heard the shouts of 'MURDER MURDER'. Hurrying along the lane towards the Kings Arms he was shocked to see a near naked man hanging from the upper floor by the means of two knotted sheets. As the watchman grew nearer other were beginning to gather pushing his way past them he recognised the man, who was by now lowering himself to the ground, as John Turner the lodger of Mr Williamson. Shaking and crying he fell into the arms of the crowd below, and although he was incoherent with obvious fear they could just about make out what he told them he had just witnessed an awful sight.

Hearing this, and with the Marr's murders still fresh in their minds, the crowd could not be stopped by the watchman as they began to batter at the door, as they tumbled inside they froze in horror for just outside the taproom lay the body of the publican Mr Williamson. In the parlour was the body of his wife and that of Bridget Harington, the servant, whose battered body lay just in front of the fireplace as if she had been struck down while she was laying the fire ready for the morning. Fearing they were seeing a repeat of the Marr's murders some of the men armed themselves with stakes and made their way upstairs fearing the worse. When they reached the grandaughters bedroom they saw her tucked up in her bed, but one touch on her shoulder proved she was unharmed, whatever had occurred below she had slept through it.

If there had been fear after the Marr's murders now there was complete panic. The police knew they had to close this case and soon. As before many suspects were taken in and questioned among them a certain John Williams who soon became the chief suspect.

John Williams was an Irish sailor who had been ashore at the time of both murders., as they considered him the circumstantial evidence piled up against him.

He had been involved in a mutiny aboard his last ship.

He returned home late on the night of the Kings Arms murders.
He had blood on his shirt.

He had been known to have no money before the murders, but had some afterwards.

This was enough for his arrest him, he explained that the money came from pawning some clothing, he had a pawn ticket in his pocket, but his claim was never checked. The blood he said came from being involved in a fight. In spite of the flimsy evidence and Williams not matching the description that John Turner gave of the man he had seen going through the Kings Arms that night he was arrested and taken to Coldbath Fields prison.

When on Christmas Eve the Pear Tree lodging house was searched, where John Williams had been staying, it was discovered that in a trunk belonging to a sailor who was at sea at the time of both murders, that sailors name was John Peterson (J.P). the same as etched on the maul which was the murder weapon used in the Marr's home. As Williams had access to the trunk it sealed the case against John Williams.

Even though it was obvious to all that these crimes couldn't have been commited by one man alone no search for any accompliances was ever put in force after Williams was arrested. This lack of action confused some of the witness who came forward and named two men who war drinking companions of Williams.One was Cornelious Hart who was a carpenter working at the Marr's house on the day of their murders and claimed he had lost his chisel which later turned up at the murder scene. The other was William Ablass who matched the description of the intruder John Turner had seen at the King's Arms before he managed to make his escape out of the window.

However Williams never came to trial, three days later he was found hanging in his cell which was an odd thing to happen for other inmates said he seemed quite content and not in the least worried about what the outcome was likely to be, plus the fact that it must have been near impossible for a manacled man to hang himself without some assisstance. After his death more evidence was brought forward which convinced the police they had got their man but had they.?

After the suicide of John Williams the case appears to have been closed. No one was ever charged although the crimes speak of more than one person being involved. Motives too were never discovered, was it just a crime for monetary gain, although none was taken from the Marr's home, or was there another more personal reason for all those deaths. It was said that the three men Williams, Hart, Anlass and Thomas Marr had all served together in the navy so perhaps the motive was revenge, we shall never know.

Although he was dead the inhabitants wanted to reek revenge on the person responsible for such horrific crimes, so it was they loaded his body on a cart and paraded it around Wapping, pausing at both the Marr's shop and the Kings Arms. They then continued to the crossroad at Cannon Street and Cable Street where a grave had been prepared. As his body fell into the waiting grave someone jumped after it and drove a stake through it's heart. Satisfied the John Williams would never rise again the people returned to their homes.

There was a belief that of a spirit had managed to rise from the grave being buried at a crossroads would confuse them so they would be unable to torment those they had in life.

In 1886 workmen were digging a trench across Cannon Street for the gas company when they came across a skeleton, and even after seventy five years the stake was still embedded in it's ribs.

This case has fascinated crime writers some like P D James wondered, in her book ˜The Pear Tree and the Maul' if John Williams was innocent of the crimes, and was in fact yet another victim of the Ratcliffe Highway murders.

Springheel Jack

2011-12-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

In Victorian times the gas lit streets where each flickering shadow and dark alleyway was the perfect breeding ground to bring the imagined terrors to life. Then there were the 'Penny Dreadfuls' the small booklets full of Gothic horror that only served to feed the imagination of just what horrors, real or unreal, lurked in the darkness, so it was no surprise that Springheel Jack flourished in this enviroment...........but was he man or myth ? that is a question still to be answered.

For weeks London had been a buzz with tales of a man monster stalking the outskirts of the city attacking anyone unfortunate enough to come into his path. It was said by those who became this victims that he had 'eyes of hell' which glowed a fiendish red, his hands weren't those of any human being not flesh but steel claws which he used to scratch and claw at his victims, but worse than this was the fire which shot from his mouth. Some had tried to catch this monster but to no avail, just when they thought he was trapped he would spring up on to a nearby roof and bound away.

As long as this talked about monster stayed outside the city Londoners could sleep easy in their beds, then in 1838 Spring Heel Jack came to the eastend. Then there came the vague reports of a strange figure carrying a lantern near Bow Fair Fields in Bromley by Bow, which was then still a village, and again at Old Ford and walking along Bearbinder Road what was then a quiet country road, which became Tredegar Road and part of the eastend proper. These were just fleeting sightings and could have been nothing sinister except Bearbinder Road was the sight of the first confirmed attack. The Alsop family lived at 1 Bearbinder Road which was surrounded by farmland at that time. Mr Alsop was an invalid and the household consisted of himself, his wife and their three daughters.

One evening in Febuary 1838 there came an urgent ringing at the gate, it was 8.45 an unusal time for visitors to call so a little apprehensively Jane the twenty year old daughter went to answer it, she saw a shadowy figure standing in the lane as she reached the gate he said ''I'm a police office, for God's sake bring me a light we have caught Spring Heeled Jack in the lane''.He spoke with such authority that Jane simply obeyed without hesitation and ran into the house to fetch a candle. When she returned she handed the lighted candle to the man she thought was a policeman who in the very next moment proved her assumption to be wrong.

With one quick movement he discarded his long outer garment and holding the candle to his chest Jane saw his hideous face staring at her with red glowing eyes. From his mouth flames of blue and white shot out from his mouth, for a moment Jane froze but was alert enough to notice that he was wearing a large helmet and a tight fitting white garment that resembled oil-skin. Once she gained her senses Jane turned to run up the path towards the house but the stranger leapt towards her catching hold of her dress and the back of her neck, as she struggled to free herself he grabbed her around the neck and with her head tightly under his arm began ripping her clothes with what seemed to her to be metal claws.

With considerable force she managed to to get free and continued to run along the path, but again he caught hold of her just as she reached the steps leading to the open front door, with all her strength she screamed as loud as she could as her once again tore at her dress, her neck, her arms and as his metal claws reached to her hair she felt clumps being pulled from her head. At last her sister heard her screams who managed to grab hold of Jane and bundle her inside slamming the door behind them. Even with the door closed and bolted he continued to bang loudly again and again, it only went quiet when the Alsop family appeared at the upstairs window and called loudly for the police. It's resonable to suggest no-one sleep much that night in the Alsop house especially Jane who was suffering from the shock of the nights events plus the pain from the injuries that had been inflicted as she struggle to get away from the grip of Springheel Jack for she was certain it was the monster who had been causing such fear in the outlying villages who had visited the Alsop house early that evening.

The police at the time throughly investigated the attack and at first suspected it had been a drunken 'prank' by a local man, for quite a few were seen out and aboiut in the lanes that evening. After questioning and Jane Alsop's insistance that her attacker hadn't been a local man otherwise she would have recognised him, so eventually this became the first confirmed case against Spring Heel Jack.

A few days later two sisters were visiting their brother William who was a butcher at 20 Narrow Street Limehouse. During that evening their conversation had,. quite natually, turned to Spring Heel Jack so it's likely they were a little apprehensive when taking their leave and making their way home that evening. According to birth records Lucy was sixteen and the eldest of the sisters, Elizabeth was two years younger. As they turned into Green Dragon Alley Lucy was a little ahead of her sister and in the shadows she thought she saw a woman. The figure was tall and to Lucy's eyes appeared to be wearing a cape and bonnet.

No sooner had this thought ran through her mind when the figure emerged from the shadows but it was no woman but a fire spurting monster, she sceamed and tried to run but it was too late for in that instant she was to become the latest victim of Spring Heel Jack. As the flame hit Lucy's face she became blinded and fell to the ground where she became seized with fits that lasted for several hours. Seeing her sister attacked in this way Elizabeth screamed out for help, her brother heard her screams and ran to the alley where her found Elizabeth kneeling over her striken sister trying to help her back to conscienceness.

Once he had carried Lucy back to his house he learned from Elizabeth what had happened. The assailent she described as tall and thin wearing a cape and carrying a bullseye lamp, he didn't try to touch either of them but simply walked away as Lucy fell to the ground. She also added that he had a gentlemanly demeanour. Thankfully Lucy's blindness proved to be temporary, eventually she recovered from her ordeal and on the 1851census when she is twenty nine we find her recorded as a servant living in the home of a Mr and Mrs Chapman of Streatham. Seven years later she married George Heath who was a widower five years older than herself and went on to have two sons.

His last appearance in the eastend was at at the house of a Mr Ashworth in Turner Street Whitechapel. As at the Alsop's home there was a knock at the front door which a young servant boy answered. On being asked for his employer the young boy turned to fetch him as he did so he caught sight on the clawed hands so instead of fetch Mr Ashworth the young boy sent out the cry that Spring Heel Jack was there and soon the street began to fill with people. It's said, by the young boy, that Jack only escaped by jumping over a roof of one of the houses. As well as telling the police that before leaving Jack had shook his clawed fist in his face while his eyes glowed red, while doing this the boy said he saw the inside of the cape and the large decorative letter 'W' embroidered there.

It was that one single letter, seen or imagined by the young boy, which caused suspicion to fall on the Marquess of Waterford. Henry de la poer Beresford third Marquess of Waterford was suspected because of his reputation as a hoaxer, perhaps that is too a mild word to use for he had been described as a rowdy boisterous ruffian, who had a streak of cruelty in his nature. Seeing that he was also in London at the times of the attacks is perhaps why he was considered, as we say in todays parlance, a person of interest.

His companions were no different, the rich and idle who got their fun by being an annoyance to anyone who came there way. Also he enjoyed the company of prize fighters and prostitutes anyone in fact that were on the edge of accepted society.

His sense of humour was a destructive one, he used to find it hilarious to challenge complete strangers to a fight, he fought a duel, painted Melton red, and once painter the pasons horse with aniseed then proceeded to chase him down with blood-hounds.

Although he seemed to be the person that many people regarded as being responsible for the emergence of Spring Heel Jack he was never charged or even questioned. Although the attacks stopped in London reports of Spring Heel Jack continued from different parts of the country.

Then in 1859 it was reported that the Marquess had died in Ireland following a fall from his horse. Those that had been victims of Spring Heel Jack must have breathed a sigh of relief that no-one else would come face to face with the fire breathing monster. However that proved to be a little previous for the attacks by Spring Heel Jack continued until 1904...............So just who, or what, was it that terrified the country for over sixty years and brought terror to the eastend in 1838?

However fifty years after Springheel Jack's first attack in the eastend another Jack roamed the crowded streets in that part of London and his terror was such that even now his crimes remain some of the most gruesome in history.

The Mystery of the French Count

2011-12-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

There are hundreds, or more, statues in every city throughout the world and for the majority it's easy to find out the reason why they have been erected, sometimes however it's not that easy and it some cases the reason is lost , here is one such case.

At the junction of Abbey Road and Abbey Lane. The first name listed amongst the dead of World War 1 is that of Comte Robert de Lesseps, Legion d'honneur and Croix de Guerre.

Robert was the son of Ferdinand, Vicomte de Lesseps, the man responsible for digging the Suez Canal and Robert was also the great-nephew of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III.

The memorial is not a municipal one but that of the Crocketts' Leather-cloth factory, which used to be sited here. Robert died in 1916 and had been an early pioneer aviator and a friend and student of Bleriot. But why should Crocketts directors wish to remember him in this way?

Why indeed, that's the question I set out to answer but failed, the factory has long gone it was demolished in the 1960's and replaced by a council estate called Leather Gardens. So what of the man himself ? As it notes in the piece above he was the son of Ferdinand, Vicomte de Lesseps who was responsible for the building of the Suez canal which linked the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The origins of de Lesseps' family are traceable back as far as the end of the 14th century. His ancestors, it is believed, came from Scotland, and settled at Bayonne during the region's occupation by the English.

Robert was born in Paris on the 23rd May 1882, he was one of five brothers and six sisters, his mother, Helene Autard de Bragard was Ferdinand's second wife they married sixteen years after the death of his first wife Agathe Delamalle with who he had five children, only two survived to adult hood. Helene was twenty one when she married Ferdinand who was forty three years her senior, as well as the eleven children who grew to adulthood they lost one child in infancy.

The de Lesseps children grew up in an age when it was the fashion for aristocratic families to dress their children, whether they be boys or girls in an almost identical way. Robert was the tenth child born, but as one of his siblings, his sister Eugenie Marie had died in infancy in 1874 it meant Robert was the ninth child at the time the photo was taken. Therefore as he was at the time he must be the child in his mothers arms.
On the 27th February 1902 he married Marthe Sophie Alland in Belgium and they had two children, Nicole and Robert jnr.

As the brothers grew to adulthood were swept up in the frenzy of manned flight, as it seemed were the rest of the world, and maybe it was the flying feats of fellow countryman Louis Bleriot who inspired the de Lesseps brothers. He was the first person to cross the English channel in manned flight, this happened in July 1909 and as news of the successful event happened Louis Bleriot became world famous.Amazing as this seemed to the people of that time it was less than a year later in May 1910 that Jacques de Lesseps had following Bleriot's path and crossed the channel. Perhaps it was then that his brothers realised that Jacques would always be the 'star of the show'.

Six weeks later after various appearances across Europe and north America he was in Montreal with him were his sister Helene, his brother Bertram two mechanics and two planes. Once there he was invited to join the city's first aviation meet hosted by the Aero club of Canada. The Wright brothers, among other famous aviators of the day were competing. throughout the week the large crowds marveled at the stunts the each competitor did with such skill and daring, for this was the first time that anyone had seen such an amazing sight knowing that the slightest slip of concentration would bring the flimsy plane tumbling to earth which would mean death or serious injury for the aviator inside.

Perhaps today when we have seen man walk on the moon and probes sent throughout the universe we may find it hard to understand just how unbelievable it must have been for people in those days when they saw men flying these tiny machines, in the past they may have seen, or heard of, balloon flight but this relied on the weather to propel them through the air but planes were under the sole control of the aviator.

Back to the meet I think we can assume that Jacques wasn't the type to conform to the constraints of a flying meeting and we would be right. On July 2nd Jacques climbed into his La Scarabee and for nearly fifty minutes flew over the city of Montreal, becoming the first person to fly over a Canadian city. The local newspaper 'The Observer' recorded his flight as such ''Startled people in the streets cheered loudly at the sight of La Scarabee turning circles in the sky above them. Some women standing in a field near Valois waved a French flag as they cried "Vive le comte!"So impressed were the Mohawk elders of the Caughnawaga reserve that they made de Lesseps an honourary member of the tribe.''

1910 proved to be a busy year for the de Lesseps brothers. That year they decided to try a design that had been used a couple of years before for their next aircraft, it was based on the a bird in flight, the frigate bird as can be seen in the picture of Robert de Lesseps taking it for a test flight. Three 'La Fregate' monoplanes were built.

Also in 1910 Jacques attended a meet in Toronto where at the following dinner in one of the cities most exclusive clubs he met Sir William MacKenzie president of the Canadian Northern Railway. The two men got on so well that Jacques was invited to the Mackenzie which was a large rambling home in Kirkfield.

It was while Jacques was at the MacKensie home that he met Grace the youngest of the railroad president three daughters. Whether there was an instant attraction is not known but over the coming weeks the two grew very close. Later in the year Jacques went to compete in New York and the three sisters went to support him. While there he took Grace for a flight which made her the first Canadian woman ever to fly, news of this was carried in the New York Times and when Sir William read this he ordered his daughters home at once.

In spite of this their affair continued and the following year on the 25th of January 1911 Grace and Jacques married at the Roman Catholic church of St James , Spanish Place, London. The reception for their guests was held at Claridges, afterwards they spent their honeymoon in Egypt before making their home in Paris. Their first child was born in December 1911 and three followed, the last child born in 1918. All four children were born in France.

Although there is much about Jaques on record there seems to be little about Robert, we know that in 1910 he was testing 'Le Fregate and there is a claim that he was also promoting it but there is nothing to connect him with Crockett Leather Cloth Company.

It seems odd that the French flyer should have been connected with an eastend company. However with a little checking it became plain that it wasn't just a little backstreet business for as this poster shows the factory was at West Ham. Warehouses and Offices were in Cannon Street London, Portland Street Manchester and Boulevard de Sebastapol Paris. So perhaps it was the with Paris office that Robert had his connection with and when he died all branches marked his passing.

The link might be tenuous but there is nothing else to be found to link him to the company. The company was originally from Newark Jersey with the West Ham business as parteners.The leather cloth was advertised for all public service vehicles such as trains, coaches and in 1860 for use on stages. The New Jersey company where the leather cloth was invented and patented was later sold to their parteners in West Ham. As biplanes came into being it's not such a stretch of the imagination to see the material could also be used for the seating.

So far the brothers had used their skills for the amusement and amazement of other but fate had a very different use for those skills, On the 28th June 1914 a shot rang out in Sarajavo which was heard around the world and drew the de Lesseps brothers were drawn into the chaos and slaughter that was world war one.
Robert was recruited at Châteauroux as a lieutenant in the cavalry of the 27th regiment of Dragons, later he was seconded to the 7th armored cars and cannons. The bloodiest battle of the war began of the 1st July 1916 and ended on the 18th November the same year, today its name encapsulates the sheer waste of young life, it was the battle of the Somme.

On the first day there was a loss of 58.000 British troops a third of them killed, others badly wounded. The death toll continued rising through the summer months until the beginning of winter when finally it was deemed as ended, the ground gained was a mere 25 miles long and 6 miles wide but the cost in human life and suffering was immeasurable 420.000 casualties for the British, 195.000 for the French and 650.000 for the Germans. Among the French casualties was Comte Robert de Lessep who died of his wounds on the 4th of September 1916 of war wounds. Legion of honour and posthumous Croix de guerre

Robert wasn't the only one of the brothers who died during the war, his elder brother Ferdinand died a year before. Ferdinand was born 27th of November 1871, he was forty two when the war was declared.

Ferdinand hand represented France in fencing and Sabre at the 1908 olympics. In world war one he served as a cavalry officer. A year after the war had begun he was a captain in the third regiment cavalry unit serving in Africa. It was in the same year that Ferdinand was killed. His death certificate states he was killed during trench warfare on the 30th. September 1915.

The war lasted for four years from 1914 until 1918 and the measure of slaughter during those four years is the number of casuaties, although no-one has been able tocalculate the number correctly it's accepted that of the allied forces over five million troops were killed and suffered nearly nine million casualties plus over four million prisoners or missing. When the war ended in 1918 the world would never be the same again for a generation had been lost in a war that solved nothing.

Bernard was the last brother to die in warfare, he died on he 28th August 1918 just six weeks before the war came to an end. Like Ferdinand he was recruited in Paris, and also like Ferdinand he too represented France at fencing in the 1908 olympics. He was also accompanied Jaques to Canada in 1910, for he was just as enthusiastic about aviation as his brother.

Bernard was 'killed in action' at the battle of Catiginy Oise, this was the first time that the American troops, who fought along the French troops, had been involved in a sustained offensive. Jacques also served in the war using his skills as a aviator he flew at night to defend Paris against the German threat of Zeppelins.

He also flew reconnaissance missions enabling the allies to gain much needed intelligence of the German lines. In the last year of the war he had flown at least ninety five bombing missions not counting reconnaissance or photography flights. For his service he recieved the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur from the French government and the Distinguished Service Medal from the government of the United States.

When the war ended Jacques his former squadron leader form a company offering aerial photography, he asked Jacques to join him which meant using flying boat to get the photographs, sometimes the camera was mounted on the plane other times it was hand held out of the plane by a crew member.

In 1926 he was employed by Quebec's Ministry of Forests to photograph the Gaspe penninsular to enable the mapping of the area. In less than two years he and his mechanic had photographed over 80,000 square kilometers.

In October 1927 while on an exploratory flight over the Gulf of St Lawrence Jacques and his mechanic Theodor Chichenko. The wreckage of the plane was soon found, but for several weeks the body lay undiscovered in Newfoundland, the body of his mechanic has never been found. The funeral of Jacques de Lesseps was held in Gaspe on December 14, 1927. In 1932, and five years later a monument was erected in his memory in the town.

The last remaining de Lesseps brother Paul, who was the first man to fly around the Eiffel Tower died in 1947 following a spell of imprisoment The 14 Jan 1947 Time Magazine said about him that: ''Paul de Lesseps, 63-year-old son of the famed Suez Canal builder, was down with heart trouble and a sense of persecution in Fresnes Prison. The French Government said that Prisoner de Lesseps, who owned land in Turkey, had offered to sell it to the Germans, for bases from which to bomb Suez. De Lesseps' reply: the Government owed him five billion francs for land confiscated in World War I, now condemned him 'to avoid paying.' "

Perhaps I haven't answered the question as to why the Compte Robert de Lesseps is remembered at Stratford, and maybe I've spent too much time on his brothers, but by doing so hopefully there is a little more substance to a brave man than just a forgotten name carved in a monument far from his native land.

The Day St Paul's Was Saved

2010-12-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

Exactly seventy years ago today Herbert Mason, a photographer for the Daily Mail, stood on the rooftop of the newspapers office in Fleet Street watching as London burned around him. Flames leaped from building to building as the firemen struggled to control them.

This was almost half way through the London Blitz which had begun on the seventh of September 1940 and continued almost nightly until May the following year, but for the Londoners huddled in air-raid shelters listening to their city exploding around them it seemed the onslaught would never end.

There had been a short pause in the bombing over the Christmas period but now it had restarted, this time the target was the city, that square mile of London that was the financial heart of the country.

This time the reason for the bombing had changed, it was not just to cause as much damage as possible but to cause a 'firestorm', this is where intense bombing causes the fires to create a strong artificial wind which sucks in everything around it, including surrounding buildings until they become unstoppable.

As well as Herbert Mason there was another man standing on a rooftop watching the devastation in the streets below and that man was Winston Churchill. According to someone who was there Churchill turned to an aide and said ''the bastards will pay for this'', and continued ''St Paul's must be saves''.

As the firemen outside the church fought to keep it safe others, church workers and volunteers were inside ready to leap on any of the thousands of incedary devices that managed to land in the church, thanks to the dedication of all the nearest St Paul's came near to suffering damage when one of these devices fell on the dome, fortunately a firewatcher was near by and soon knocked it to safety, if not the surely the lead dome would have been severly damaged.

The firemen who on those nights were trying to do the seemingly impossible reported hearing an unusual low sound which was the wind beginning to do it's work. It has been said that another night of bombing would have brought the firestorm into an unstoppable force and the city would have ceased to exist.

Luckily this was prevented by our perverse weather, on what would have been the tipping point for the firestorm the weather changed and the conditions deteriorate which prevented the Luftwaffe from flying and the city of London escaped what looked like the inevitable conclusion. Sadly five years later Dresden's weather wasn't to be so kind.

During the brief respite firemen worked to the brink of exhaustion to extinguish the fires around St Paul's and Wrens church was saved, little did they know at the time that in the camera of Herbert Mason lay the image of their victory, an image that would represent the courage of the British people not to be cowed by tyranny but to rise above it as St Paul's rose above the ashes of London. An image which would outlive the war.

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2010-12-14T05:11:00.000-08:00

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Pie and Mash

2010-10-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

Anyone growing up in the east end of London will be familiar with this meal, pie and mash. Although I've not eaten it for some years it remains part of my childhood.

Every Saturday Mum would do the weekly shop in Roman road market and before going home we would join the usual queue at the pie and mash shop.

There were two pie and mash shops in this part of the Roman road, Kelly's which was the larger of the two but to a child seemed less interesting than Cooke's with it's traditional tiled walls interspersed with large mirrors, marble tables linked to wooden and wrought iron benches, even the sawdust covering the mosaic floor seemed in keeping with a time gone by.

Outside the shop was a stall with large aluminium tray containing live eels wriggling in their confined space until they were dispatched into the making of jellied eels, a so called delicacy I can say I never felt any inclination to try. Once inside the shop the fate of the eels wasn't in evidence for they were sold directly on to the customers through the widow to those waiting on the pavement outside.

Pie and Mash was sold in its out distinctive style, the mash was always flattened around the outside of the plate, this was to stop the liquor spilling over the edges. Knives were never supplied instead meals were eaten with just a fork and spoon, and although pepper is probably freely on the tables of today in those days it was kept be hind the high counter and had to be asked for, but salt and vinegar was always placed on every table.

Pie and mash was a substantial and relatively inexpensive meal that's why the shops were only found in the poorest parts of London. Before this pies were sold on the streets and at public houses by piemen, at first, and for quite a while only eel pies were sold, these were caught locally from the Thames and were sold for a penny, or you could be given the chance of 'tossing the pieman'.

Tossing the Pieman was a simple game of tossing the penny and calling 'heads or tails' if the penny came down showing the side called the customer would keep his penny and receive a pie, if he lost then the pieman would keep both the penny and the pie.
The game was a chance for the pieman to get rid of his pies, especially towards the end of the day and a chance to make some money.

Over time the Thames became more and more polluted and the eels began to die off, so with their scarcity the piemen changed their filling to scraps of meat and vegetables, sometimes adding the odd dead eel for bulk. About this time the Smithfield market was created and it was the impetus for a more regular supply of pies by offering them in shops, and the first pie and mash shops began appearing in east and south London.

Having to rely on repeat custom the shopkeepers made sure that their pies were wholesome and by adding mashed potato and liquor the whole thing became a complete and filling meal which has kept its popularity until today.

The First England/Australia Cricket Tour

2010-09-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Nothing it seems excites the ardent cricket fan more than the Ashes, a series of test matches that has been played between the England and Australia since 1882.

However the first time the two countries met was in 1868 and was unique in the fact that all the members of the Australian team were indigenous Australians.

It was on the cattle stations of Victoria where they worked at stockmen that they learnt the rules of the game and were soon playing against the settlers.

The matches proved so popular that it wasn't long before they came to the attention of two members of the Edenhope Cricket Club William Hayman, who had emigrated from England some years before, and Tom Hamilton.

Both men were impressed by the skill and athletisism of the team that they arranged for them to be coached by one of Australias most famous cricketers Tom Wills, as well as being a fine cricketer Tom Willis is credited as being one of the founders of Australian Rules Football.

Most, judging by his sporting prowess and the fact that he had grown up among the aboriginies and speaking their language, would have agreed that he was a good choice but Tom Wills was a complex man.

His Grandfather had been transportedto Australian having been found guilty of highway robbery, unlike today when having a 'convict' for an ancestor is a matter of some pride to Tom it was quite the reverse, the 'convict stain' was something he felt all his life this lead him to become an advocate for those emancipated convicts who sufferered discrimination by many of the institutions including the Melbourne Cricket Club, and it is an achievement of this advocacy and his personality that even with his convict heritage Tom Wills became an important member of the MCC.

Tom's father it seemed shared no shame in being the son of a convict, if he did he used it as an impetus not to repeat his own fathers failings and in time became a wealthy land owner and politician. With this new found respectability he was detirmined to give his son a good education, and to this purpose at the age of fourteen the young Tom was sent off to England to become a pupil at Rugby school. Although not a very academic student he excelled at sport and soon became captain of the school's cricket team and played the relatively new game of rugby, a game which had been 'invented' by William Webb Ellis when as a pupil he attended the school a few years before. During his time at Rugby he became known as one of the best cricketers in England.

He arrived back in Australia in 1856 when he was twenty-one where in 1859 his sporting prowess lead him, with others, to set up the rules for 'Australian Rules Football' although Tom was a fan of rugby he decided against incorporating it's rules into the new came because the ground in Australia was deemed 'too hard' compared with than in England. Finally the rules were set and Tom Wills is quoted as saying '' we shall have a game of our own''.

Two years after this his father Horatio Wills decided to leave his property in Brisbane and move to Queensland. This trek which was 800 miles north included women and children who travelled in bullock wagons and stockmen, including Tom who drove the 10.000 sheep. After eight months they reached their destination of Cullin-La-Ringo.

The first few days were spent erecting tents which would become their temporary homes and seeing to the stock, during this time the local tribe of aboriginals were given access to their camp, and Horatio who was used to having friendly relations with the tribes in Brisbane sought the same with those who wandered in and out of the settlement, at first it would be just a few passing through but gradually as the days passed more and more came until they numbered about fifty. whether the Wills saw this as a threat or just inquisitiveness we shall never know but they must have prayed it was the latter.

In the second week after their arrival Tom and three others left the camp to go to Albinia Station for supplies, the round trip would take a week. By this time the camp had settled into a routine the women sewed and washed the clothes while others watched the children as they played, the men built fences and tended to the stock while the cook in his tent prepared the meals for the day.

A few days after Tom and the others departure the aborigines came into the settlement as usual, this time there was nothing usual about their motives. This time instead of passing through as usual they milled around the camp until each was next to one of the Wills party, whether anyone noticed that each member of the aboriginal tribe were holding their hands behind their backs is not known but when a warcry rang out it was all to clear, and too late.

Hearing that sound Horatio grabbed his pistol and ran out of his tent but before he had the chance to fire one bullet he was felled by a tribesman waiting outside who brought the heavy tribal club down on his head, then the carnage began, children who ran to the mothers for protection were cut down as they ran never reaching the safety of their mothers arms, though little safety would be found there for they were to share the same fate as their children.

One man, the cook, was the only witness to the slaughter, he had been taking a break from the heat of his kitchen tent when the killing began. Gradually he made his way towards some of the men were working in a far pasture. After relating to them what had happened he joined them as they hurried back to the camp.

The scene that greeted them was one of complete horror, among the ransacked camp lay
the battered and bloodied bodies of ten men, two women and most heartbreakingly seven children. There was nothing else they could do for their friends except see to it they were buried decently. Tom and the others returned after the burials were completed and one can only imagine how they felt, if something like this had happened today they would hve been given help to cope with the post traumatic stress and the guilt feelings of being by chance the ones to have escaped the massacre. So this not being availble Tom used alcohol as a way to blot out the thoughts of the fear and panic that must have occured that day.

Over the years Tom's alcoholism grew worse until he descended into madness and finally commited suicide, so pehaps Tom could be regarded as a victim of the massacre too.

However to return to the subject of this piece the first, in 1866 Tom Wills coached an all aboriginal team with a veiw to bringing them to England, the finances were in place and the team travelled to Sydney only to find all the money had been embezelled by a Captain Gurnett who had been entrusted to set up all the travel arrangements.

Following this Tom seems to have given over his place as coach to Charles Lawrence a former Surrey cricketer and the team came to England in 1868, seven years after the massacre at Cullin-La-Ringo.

When the time came for them to leave they found that in Australia at that time there was a great deal of pressure not to let the tour go ahead, so the only way the team could get out of the country was for them the pretend to be fishermen, the ruse was successful and soon they were aboard the 'Parrametta' and heading for England.

After many weeks at sea they arrived at Gravesend, and began their gruelling tour of forty seven matches over a six month period. During that time they won fourteen, lost fourteen, and drew nineteen.

As well as playing cricket they also exhibited some of their native skills such as boomarang and spear throwing, also Dick a Dick one of the players would hold a
shield and parry off the cricket balls thrown at him by members of the public. It is noted that in the cricket ball competition all were beaten by a twenty year old young man by the name of W G Grace who threw his ball a massive 118 yards.

They arrived in London in May 1868 and a month later one of the team King Cole (he is the one with his foot up on the chair in the above photo) became seriously ill, once he was hospitalised it was diagnosed that he was suffering from tubercolosis from which he later died at Guys Hospital London on the 24th June.

His body wasn't returned to Australia to be buried his home state of Victoria but in the Victoria Park cemetery Tower Hamlets, perhaps it was the coincidence of the name that he was interred there.

The Victoria Park cemetery was started by a private company in 1845 intending to take advantage of the shortage of burial space in the local churchyards.

In 1846 at the western end of the site a superintendents house and a small mortuary were built.

Hoping to make it a viable concern it soon became aware this wasn't to be for Tower Hamlets was one of the poorest boroughs in London and with the high rate of infantile mortality it was the poor who became their clients.

It was described as Arthur H Beavan in his survey of London cemeteries as such:

'' Victoria Park cemetery, a dismal place, passed on the Great Eastern Line beyond Bethnal Green, is thickly studded with childrens graves, chiefly of the poorer classes from the overcrowded parishes from round about.

Pathetic indeed were the efforts made by the sorrowing parents to adorn the little mounds where their treasures lay; scallop and mussel shell, glass vases, bead work, miscellaneous china and tinsel ornaments, were all pressed into service: for flowers would not grow well, and the hardiest shrubs drooped and withered in the uncongenial soil and the atmosphere of this part of east London ''

In 1853 the cemetery went bankrupt but it carried on when one of the directors bought the business, from then until 1876 there were130 burials on sundays, but also nearly as many complaints because the ground wasn't consecrated.When it closed in 1876 it became a place where undesirables gathered on a daily basis. In 1884 the Disused Burial Gounds Act came into force which prevented any building on the site so the following year it became a recreational ground.

To return to King Cole who was buried there in 1858 it should be noted that a Eucalyptus tree, a symbol of his native land, was planted on his grave.

In 1891 the space was regarded as 'a disgrace' and was taken over by the 'Metropolitan Public Gardens Association' with the aim of creating a public park which was opened in 1894 by the Duke of York and renamed Meath Gardens.

The tree is still there above his grave and it's said that every Australian cricket touring team that comes to England pays its respect to King Cole at the site of the old distorted tree, the green space in which it stands is now called Meath Gardens.

In 2001 the Indigenous youth cricket team of came to Englanf from Australia bringing with them a pot of red ochre, and together with invited members of the local youth they sprinkled the ochre around the tree during a ceremony of symbolic respect.

Apart from the Eucalyptus tree and a small plaque marking the resting place of King Cole, native name Bripumyarrinin, the only thing left of the Victoria Park Cemetery is the original gate.

I wonder if they eastenders as they pass through the old gate to spend a sunny afternoon in the park know anything of its history.
If they do perhaps they wonder like me about what happened to the remains of the hundreds of east enders who were buried there.

When churchyard are sold off to be built on the remains are moved and the ground unconsecrated, but this doesn't apply to Victoria Park Cemetery for it was never conscrated when burials took place in the years gone by.

I haven't been able to find whether the remains were moved but if they were why leave those of King Cole was he considered not to be a Christian and that is why he was left, or is he just one among hundreds, many of them the ancestors of those living nearby, that lie beneath the grassy stretches of the park who unlike King Cole have been forgotten and unmourned.

A Little Part of Poplar

2010-09-05T02:56:00.000-07:00

When you start researching you family tree you begin by collecting just names and dates, but gradually you want to know more about them, such as what they looked like and also where they lived and nothing does this better than a photograph, unfortunately if they lived and loved in London's eastend there is little chance of that.

One of my family lines arrived in Poplar in 1855 to work in the London Docks, as did successive generations. It was the Docks that were to be the target of Hitler's bombers in the next century, apart from destroying the wharehouses any street built close to that area was also a target as houses were flattened and people were killed.

When peace came in 1945 Poplar was battered but not out, and to rehouse the families made homeless by the bombing the government embarked on the quick fix of assembling prefabricated houses on the debries where once houses stood.

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The 'prefab' as they were known were only supposed to be used for a few years but some remained until the 1960's/70's and it was during these years that the massive 'slum clearances' began. Whole streets containing families that had lived there for years were wiped away, young married people had no chance of getting on to the housing waiting list had had no option but to buy, and this meant moving out of the borough into Essex where housing was relatively inexpensive at that time.

Some rebuilding was done post war such as the school and flats in the above photo built on one of the many areas destroyed on the first day of the Blitz. The block of flats on the left of the picture was built in 1952 the same year as Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Everest and were named after him. It was demolished a few years ago and replaced by dozens of small houses. In front of the school was a playground and football pitch which is now a green space and a community hall used mainly by the Muslim community.

Behind the school where in the photo there are rows and rows of small terraced houses, and running down the centre from St Michael's church to East India Dock Road was St Leonards Road with plenty of side streets of housing running off at right angles all these have now vanished.

St Leonards Road was full of every type of shop and none was duplicated, and of course we there was the obligatory pub on nearly every corner, then it was designated for slum clearance and the shops were as were the surrounding streets, all shops that is except one a greengrocers owned by the Jolly family were determined they wouldn't bow down to the council diktat and remain they did.

As the shops fell around him Joe Jolly kept on trading until his shop was the only one standing, after a while the council decided he wasn't going to move so they grassed the area around him and that is how it stayed for some years.

At the far end of Jolly's Green as it became known stood Balfron Tower and Carradale House which mopped up some of the families from the streets that used to
stand there, including my Aunt and Uncles families and my nans whose house disappeared under Carradale House Just a small portion of Jolly's Green can be seen in the foreground.

Both Balfron Tower and Carradale House were the work of architect Erno Goldfinger, and have been designated as 'listed buildings' and part of the surrounding area a 'conservation area'. This doesn't however cover Jolly's Green.

Time however takes care of most things and the time came when Jolly's greengrocers became vacant and the only thing left to mark his being there was the name 'Jolly's Green' which the council adopted when building the new housing estate on the open space.

The houses of course have far more comfortable amenities than those they replaced, electricity for a start, nans house only had gas lighting until a couple of years before it was demolished, then there was an indoor bathroom, central heating, double glazing, fitted kitchens and so on.

In the picture at the top of the page it's the church of St Michaels and all Angels that stands out above the ranks of terraced houses where it's congregation once lived out their lives.

Although the church didn't suffer quite the same fate as the streets around it for it still stands but no longer functions as a working 'house of God'.

Like many other churches up and down the country it was sold of for housing some years ago. So now instead of being a living church it's become a curch people live in.

So this part of Poplar like almost every other part of the borough has changed beyond recognition from the place it was pre WW2, and maybe it's just sentimentality but I don't think the changes have been for the better.

As a postscript this is St Leonards Avenue, just one of the streets that ran off of St Leonards Road, as you can see the photo was taken in 1935, but it stayed the same until it too was swept away in the 1970's, it's the street where my G G Grandfather and members of his family lived, and it is the Poplar I like to remember.

A 'Ghost' in Plane Sight

2010-09-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's said that discussion of politics and religion aren't acceptable in polite company. but they seem to be the main stay of talk radio, running them a close second, or should that be third, is the subject of the supernatural.

So it was that a few days ago the subject came up once again when a listener sent in two photographs that he couldn't explain.

The story goes as follows that listener and his wife were in Memphis to visit the home of Elvis.....Graceland.

However when they got there through heavy rain they found it closed, the only person who was there was a security guard and when they told him they had come from England especially to visit Graceland it seems he took pity on them.

They couldn't be allowed into the house but they could go aboard one of the planes Elvis owned.

Now never having been to Graceland I don't know if there is a plane on site or nearby, but for the sake of his story we'll say there was.

So they reach the plane, and there is no-one else about and as any tourist they must have a photo or two as a memory of the occasion, the camera was nothing special just a small disposable but two photographs were taken a few seconds apart, he said, in the same door and this was the result.

Now is this really the same plane as insisted for there looks like quite a few changes, perhaps the most noticable the steps which seem to have moved. If however it has been photoshopped and the figure with the different background was inserted just to 'proved' an apparation had somehow decided to show itself, perhaps you have to ask why use such a substantial figure. Anyhow that's how it is.

Boris is Mayor

2008-05-03T07:14:00.001-07:00

When Boris Johnson announced he was to run for London Mayor a shiver of alarm ran through County Hall, and Ken Livingstone showed his concern by ordering his aides to search for every scrap of negative information that could be used against.

However with the broadcasting of a CH4 programme it seems the thought of running against Boris has him more worried than his supporters believe so much so that Livingstone, who has been running London has his own personal fiefdom since elected to London mayor, has seemingly found solace at the bottom of a glass of whiskey.

Now with the election over perhaps it'll take more than a glass of whiskey to wash away the sour taste of defeat, the question remains though is will Boris make a good mayor........well who knows maybe he will, and then maybe not. Those who put their cross beside his name perhaps weren't thinking this for he had one great advantage.......he wasn't Ken Livingstone.

Perhaps one thing is certain and that is Boris will make mistakes, it's in his nature, but also is a sense of fun and at the moment that's what London needs.

Benazir Bhutto

2007-12-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

Seconds after this photograph was taken Benazir Bhutto was being rushed to hospital with two bullets lodged in her head and chest, wounds from which she failed to survive, by that time her assassin had blown himself to pieces.

The fact that she was shot is very odd for there have been many so called suicide bombers but none has fired a gun first. The only conclusion must be that there were two assassins present.

Here we are in danger of creating a 'grassy knoll' conspiracy especially when the Pakistan government issued a statement that she wasn't shot, they claim she hit her head on the sun roof of the vehicle.

This has only served to fuel more unrest as the people believe that Musharraf must somehow be involved, and his claim that it was the work of al Quada is being dismissed as just another ploy to pass the blame.

With the death of Benazir Bhutto perhaps Pakistan has lost the chance to develop into a democracy, and the poorest in that country have lost someone to champion their cause.

Whether she could have made a difference we will never know, like so many before her the assassins bullet has robbed us of the chance to find out.

Benazir Bhutto 1953-2007 R.I.P

Taking Christ out of Christmas

2007-12-24T05:31:00.001-08:00

Today being Christmas Eve perhaps it is the appropriate time to look back over the year and recount how Christmas, and the Christian faith has come under attack this year.

Only last week Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, claimed that the 'three wise men' were merely myth, whether they existed or not is somewhat irrelevant because it is the gifts that were the important part of this story.

Gold: symbolic of earthly Kingship

Frankincense: used in religious ceremonies, when burnt its white smoke took prayers to heaven, by linking it with Jesus it marked his divinity.

Myrrh: A bitter herb used to alleviate suffering and used in funereal preparation.

So instead of concentrating on the 'wise men' perhaps the Archbishop could have pointed out that the combination of these three gifts, from wherever they came, represented that Jesus was the divine born into human form who came to take the suffering of the world on to himself and die as a result.

For years the tradition nativity play has been acted out in primary schools through the land but this too is under threat, a survey has revealed that head teachers are watering down or ditching the centuries-old Christmas story in favour of secular tales to avoid upsetting pupils of other faiths. and only one in five are performing the nativity.

A teacher from Albion Primary School in Southwark, South London, where 50 per cent of the pupils are from ethnic minorities, said that the school had not had a Nativity play for five years. The school, said this teacher, must "take account of all faiths", but isn't this just a cop out by the secular hiding behind those of other faiths, no matter what, to attack or water down the Christian faith.

However this has not gone unnoticed by all churchmen for The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan has chosen to speak out and warn that "atheistic fundamentalism" was one of the great problems facing the world, and went on to say it led to situations such as councils calling Christmas "Winter val", schools refusing to put on nativity plays and crosses removed from chapels, and "virulent, almost irrational" attacks on Christianity led to hospitals removing all Christian symbols from their chapels, and schools refusing to allow children to send Christmas cards with a Christian message.

He also said it led to things like "airlines refusing staff the freedom to wear a cross round their necks" also Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for The Wrekin, called a Westminster debate on "Christianophobia", saying attempts to move Christian traditions to the "margins" of British life had "gone far enough".

I agree for to believe in the Prince of Peace cannot upset anyone and if it does surely they should look into their own psyche and ask themselves why, and in the meantime leave Christians to put Jesus where he belongs.........at the heart of Christmas.

Madeleine McCann

2007-09-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

When three year old Madeleine McCann went missing way back in May I hoped that she had woken up, and finding herself alone had simply wandered off to find her parents and would be found safe and well either that night or the following day, sadly that hasn't proved to be the case.

Since then her parents Kate and Gerry McCann have launched an unprecedented campaign to keep her face in peoples minds, and it's unlikely that there is a person today who isn't aware of their campaign or of little Maddie.

There have been many false trails over the past months, sightings of little girls who could be Madeleine which turned out not to be so. Celebrities from David Beckham to J.K Rowling have made appeals for her safe return, but all have been unanswered and so the fate of Madeleine remains a mystery.

Perhaps we think we know all there is about this case, but if we sift out all the speculation what do we really know ? not a lot really just that the family were holidaying in Praia da Luz, Portugal and one evening Madeleine was put to bed with her twin brother and sister while her parents went out to dinner seventy five metres away, later in the evening when Kate McCann went to check on the children she discovered Madeleine missing.

If this had happened in Britain the police would have sealed the scene immediately, this didn't happen for the bedroom was only sealed as a possible crime scene two days after Madeleine disappearance after dozens of people had traipsed through the room destroying any evidence it might have contained, the police here would have engaged the help of the media and the public to gather as many witness accounts as possible, but in Portugal because of strict privacy laws this wasn't done.

So what more natural for the McCann's than to act in a way they knew was norm in Britain, if the police wouldn't appeal to the public then they would, at the time no-one could have known how their campaign would take on a life of it's own, but it did, and as it grew so did the criticism of the Portuguese police.

Time as gone on it's September now, still the parents are no nearer to discovering what happened to their daughter. However without any other suspects the police have turned their attention to Kate and Gerry McCann.

Kate McCann was questioned for eleven hours on Thursday and again the following day as was her husband with a view to having them confess they were involved not with the disappearance but with the death of their daughter Madeleine.

This turn of events relies of a piece of DNA, not blood as some newspapers report, being found in an hire car used by the McCanns, regardless of the fact that they didn't hire the car until twenty five days after Madeleine's disappearance, but according to British police it would be unusual not to have found Madeleine's DNA in the car seeing that her mother carries her little pink cat toy everywhere with her, and it's been proved that minute specks of DNA can transfer from one object to another.

The police case is that Kate McCann gave Madeleine a sedative that night which was either too strong or caused an adverse reaction which led to her dead, this of course she vehemently denies, then they claim that they covered up her death by keeping the body for twenty five days before disposing of it, hence the DNA in the car, surely with the intense media glare on the couple this doesn't make any sense. However the result of this claim means that the McCanns are now 'arguido' or suspects, and as such are forbidden to talk to the media.

Once designated 'arguido' the Portuguese police could have requested the McCanns hand then their passports, they didn't, and as a result the McCanns have left Portugal and flown home, of course some people will see this as a sign of guilt, but the fact is that they had intended to come home some weeks ago, they only stayed because they were told the police had new evidence, little did they realise that the 'new evidence' was a heavy handed attempt to put them in the dock, and with Kate McCann being offered a light sentence if she confessed to accidentally killing Madeleine.

So being effectively gagged and realising that the police had decided the case was 'solved' and were no longer looking for Madeleine staying in Portugal has become pointless.

One can only hope that the Madeleine McCann case isn't allowed to gather dust in a Portugese police station until it is remembered by only those who knew the pretty smiling little girl who went missing during a family holiday.

Pavarotti R.I.P

2007-09-06T02:33:00.000-07:00

Today Luciano Pavarotti lost his fight for life but his voice will live on in the magnificent repertoire he left behind.

Opera had been seen as the province of the rich and privileged until Pavarotti changed all that on one glorious night in 1990. Joined by tenors Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras to close the World Cup was the moment Opera stepped over into the mainstream.

Millions watched that concert which was shown around the world, and no-one viewing could have remained unaffected by the magic of that evening, especially as the clear sweet voice of Pavarotti soared into the warm Italian evening air.

It was also Pavarotti voice that accompanied the opening credits throughout the World Cup with what was to become almost his signature tune "Nessun dorma" and it was his voice that made even the most casual football fan realise why it is called the beautiful game.

What perhaps isn't as well known is the humanitarian side of Pavarotti, over the years he arranged benefit concerts for so many causes including 'War Child' and Diana Princess of Wales campaign to ban land mines. In 2001, Pavarotti received the Nansan Medal from the UN High Commission for Refugees for his efforts raising money on behalf of refugees worldwide.

Nessun dorma translates as 'None Shall Sleep' but sadly Luciano Pavarotti fell into eternal sleep today, but I like to think he is now among the angels vying with them to reach a perfect top 'C' together with those other great Italian tenors Gigli and Caruso and especially Di Steffano whose voices inspired him as a child.

He once said "I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent, and this is what I have devoted my life to "

Thank you Luciano for doing so R.I.P (1935-2007)

Two Nurses..... One War

2007-09-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

For generations of British schoolchildren Florence Nightingale was simply know as the 'Lady of the Lamp', a young middle class woman who led a team of nurses into the hell that was the Crimean war.

Over the past few years however those with a politically correct bent of mind have attempted to downgrade her efforts and to replace her instead with those of Mary Seacole, some even claiming that Mary Seacole was the real 'Lady of the Lamp'.

There is no doubt that Mary Seacole played her part in easing the suffering of the soldiers, but that doesn't mean that Florence 'rode on her skirt tails' as some would have us beleive. Mary was born in Jamacia the daughter of a Scottish soldier and a Jamacian mother, from whom she learnt her nursing skills.

In 1854 she travelled to London and applied to the war office to be sent to the Crimea, she was refused permission to do so, but undaunted she travelled there at her own expense and set up the British Hotel for wounded soldiers near Balaclava .

In the same year Florence Nightingale arrived at Scutari to take charge of the Barrack Hospital with a party of thirty eight volunteers. The hospital was filthy, running alive with various vermin, and in her alloted quarters Florence discovered the decomposing corpse of a Russian officer, and the wounded men lay in overcrowded and insanitory conditions.

One of the first things Florence did was to order 200 scrubbing brushes to clean the wards, and the patients clothes and bedding was replaced or at least washed. Florence's veiws on cleanliness were paramount, a thing that seems lacking in hospitals of the present day.

However not everyone was pleased with the arrival of a team of nurses, and to Sir John Hall, Head of Medical Services from 1854-56, who seemed to have a problem with Florence in particular. In his diary of the time which has come up for sale today he describes her a "petticoat imperieuse in the Medical imperio!" for we have to remember that in his time women of Florence's class didn't go out to work, let alone in such a dangerous situation as the Crimean War presented.

What seems to have outraged Hall more than anything, though, was the authority with which Nightingale went over his head to order in supplies - "for whatever she thought proper, without any reference whatsoever to the Medical authorities."

This was not something he was prepared to let go: "I have declined sanctioning [them]," he continues, "and shall contrive to do so until positively ordered to the contrary. He took particular exception to an order Miss Nightingale had placed for "500 dozen of Port Wine, 300 dozen of Essence of Beef and other articles."

These were unnecessary extravagances, he asserted. However I would have thought that both these would have been seen as an aid to convalesence for the wounded men.

When she dismissed a number of orderlies for being drunk and slatternly Sir John Hall replaced them with his own on the strict orders that they would take no instructions from Florence.

So why are some people intend in seeing these two women as a competition as who did the most, when Florence and Mary were so alike, both strong willed, both with a burning desire to alliviate suffering, neither afraid to step outside the Victorian model of how women should behave, and both suffered a degree of prejudice from a male dominated society.

http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/flo2.htm

http://www.maryseacole.com/maryseacole/pages/aboutmary.html

Diana Memorial

2007-08-31T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today we saw the tenth anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales which was suggested and arranged by her two sons, the princes William and Harry.

Of course the cynics, or those who never really liked Diana in life, prophesied that no-one would be interested. but the crowd was four deep outside the Guards Chapel, and were to burst into applause when Prince Harry finished his personal account of her life.

However it was always the case with Diana that she divided the people into those that loved her and those that didn't. There were some that said she almost destroyed the royal family, while others claimed she brought it into the twentieth century.

Today was intended to put an end to the speculation of her death and the celebration of her life, but with the results of her inquest still to be released it seems the speculation will not cease, not yet.

During her 1995 TV interveiw, after Charles had admitted his adultery, and she felt beseiged by all those who were once close to her she said 'I will not go quietly' and she has kept her word for just as much, if not more has been written about after her death as it was in life, but today it was a time for remembering the real Diana the person who when prejudice against those with Aids was at its height walked up to an patient suffering with the disease and took him by the hand.

That one photograph did more to dispel the hysteria against aids suffers than any other one thing. It wasn't just those suffering from terminal illnesses that Diana was drawn too those living on the margin of society, people that were 'unseen' by the rest of us such of those living on the streets, privately she would take her two young sons to homeless hostles instilling in them compassion for others less fortunate.

Of course there were many other causes which took her attention her last being a detirmination to rid the world of land mines, but the Diana her sons were also remembering today was simply person they knew and loved as their mother for as Harry said filled their lives with fun,laughter and folly, she was he said " our guardian, friend and protector. She never once allowed her unfaltering love for us to go unspoken or undemonstrated. She will always be remembered for her amazing public work. But behind the media glare, to us, just two loving children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world."

Comic Strip Shakespeare is No Joke

2007-08-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

It seems todays teachers are unable, or unwilling to teach the works of Shakespeare in our schools, so to 'get down with the kids' they have opted for a comic book version.

His language might be difficult for today's text generation to understand but is that any reason to abandon it ?

It's claimed that Shakespeare introduced hundreds of new words into the English language, and now we're cutting his works to the bare bones. Surely the larger the vocabulary the better the communication between people, and it must assist in more creative thinking.

Henry V will be available at the start of the new term, and the greatest writer in the English language will be dumbed down to fit in with the cultural desert that is todays education system.

However the odd thing about those who claim Shakespeare in his original language has no relevance today overlook the fact that, whether we know it or not, we are still using many of the phrases he created such as :

'Neither a borrower nor a lender be'

'In my mind's eye'

'In the twinkling of an eye'

'All that glisters is not gold'

'The course of true love never did run smooth'

'What's done is done'

'T'is neither here nor there'

'The green eyed monster'

Of course there are many more, too many to record here but you can find them at the following site:

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-quotes.htm

Poplarism

2007-08-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

There are not many areas of the country whose name is synominous with a form of politics, but there is at least one..........Poplar.

Poplar is part of Tower Hamlets in the eastend of London, it stands at the head of the loop in the river Thames, and although most people have heard of Trotskism and Marxism I wonder how many people have heard of Poplarism.

The name was coined in the early 1920's and was a blend of socialism,pacifism and Christianity embodied by George Lansbury who became Mayor at the same time that Poplar elected its first Labour council in 1919.

At the time Poplar was the poorest borough in the whole of London with nearly a quarter of the population living in dire poverty. The adult population were dependent on the local Docks and railways for employment, or the cluster of small workshops/sweatshops where there was no union representation to fight for a living wage. Child mortality was high among the overcrowded streets with there poor sanitation. This was the situation that the first Labour council prepared to change.

They began by building more houses, expanding the provision of libraries and parks, as well as swimming pools the establishment of a TB officer and a dispensary. Street lighting and cleansing was improved, free milk was distributed and electricity was brought to the area, and for its own employees the council established a minimum wage of four pounds a week for both men and women.

1920 saw the beginning of a recession which meant the as Poplar was reliant on foreign trade coming through the docks it was hit very hard. It was here that Poplarism separated from main stream politics. The Liberal government had introduced a scheme in which grants were available for public works, and Poplar council saw this as a way of helping the unemployed by creating schemes to improve the roads and sewage disposal of the area, the received three thousand pounds which enabled them to put three hundred men, rising to five hundred men into employment.

However there were conditions to the grants, and that was ex-servicemen must be offered employment first, the council disagreed claiming that those with the most dependants were in the greatest need, such as the unemployed railway men who through no fault of their own were prevented from serving in the first world war because their jobs were deemed too important to the war effort. So when King George V came to open a dock bearing his name he was greeted with a direct message, for large numbers of casual dock workers were laid off as the slump in trade continued.

This of course brought Poplar in to conflict with the government, as did the 'Poplar Rates Revolt' of 1921 when George Lansbury led the councillers and over 2.000 of his constituents to the High Court in a demand that rates be equalised across London, for at that time the burden lay far more heavily on the shoulders of the desperately poor boroughs rather than the richer ones. Their refusal to pay what they considered an exorbitant level of rates, instead they diverted the money into a voucher system to feed families that were starving. Up until that time the destitute had to rely of the Poor Law for their existance. The Poor Law came into being in 1834 and was as follows:

(a) no able-bodied person was to receive money or other help from the Poor Law authorities except in a workhouse;

(b) conditions in workhouses were to be made very harsh to discourage people from wanting to receive help;

(c) workhouses were to be built in every parish or, if parishes were too small, in unions of parishes;

(d) ratepayers in each parish or union had to elect a Board of Guardians to supervise the workhouse, to collect the Poor Rate and to send reports to the Central Poor Law Commission;

(e) the three man Central Poor Law Commission would be appointed by the government and would be responsible for supervising the Amendment Act throughout the country.

It was the opposision to this bill and the act of using the money collected in rates to feed and clothe the poor rather than passing it on to the government that led to the arrest and imprisonment of George Lansbury and the whole council.

However imprisonment was nothing new to George Lansbury for in 1912 he resigned his seat in the House of Commons and fought a by-election in favour of women having the right to vote. It was while he was making a speech in favour of the suffragette movement that he was arrested and imprisoned, once there, like the suffragettes, he immediately embarked on a hunger strike, eventually he was released under the 'Cat and Mouse' act.

(The Cat and Mouse act was spefically brought in to deal with suffragettes who went on hunger strike, following the public outcry over their force feeding this act enabled the authorities to release the women before their hunger strike lead to their death, and when they regained their health they could then be rearrested and the whole process started over again)

At this time George Lansbury wasn't fully the pacifist he was to become in the next few years, for by supporting the suffragettes more militant actions he was charged as "a disturber of the peace and an inciter of others to commit divers crimes and misdemeanours".

The Poplar Rates Revolt was a prime instance of Lansbury as the class warrior, and his ability to mobilise large numbers of ordinary people. His almost unique gift was seen at its best in the Poplar Rates Revolt. He was always remembered as the chief advocate of 'Poplarism' and this reputation remained with him for the rest of his political life and beyond. The term 'Poplarism' — defined since 1921 as the policy of giving outdoor relief to the poor on a generous or extravagant scale — entered the political vocabulary as a symbol of local defiance against central government and struck a deadly blow at the hated poor law system.

By 1914 George Lansbury was a commited pacifist and opposed the 1914-1918 war. Then when a second world war loomed he did all he could to prevent it, even going to visit Hitler but as history tells us it was to no avail. He died on the 7th of May 1940. Four months later war was declared and his beloved eastend was to be changed forever.

Boris For Mayor ?

2007-08-05T09:45:00.001-07:00

It seems that no sooner has Boris Johnson been mentioned for the possible prospective Conservative candidate for next years Mayor of London than Ken Livingstone's groupies have been scanning his record for any little thing they can use to his detriment.

Of course the charge of racism has raised its head with Dawn Butler Labour MP for Brent South and Diane Abbott MP for Hackney North claiming his views on race hark back to the 1950's Ms Butler sited the following:

"A 2002 article in which Mr Johnson referred to the Queen being greeted in Commonwealth countries by "flag-waving piccaninnies" and She claimed he also said that he expected, during a mooted visit by Tony Blair to the Congo, that "the tribal warriors will all break out in watermelon smiles to see the big white chief".

Also the mother of Stephen Lawrence has objected to his propose nomination by writing in the Guardian the following:

"Boris Johnson is not an appropriate person to run a multi-cultural city like London. Think of London, the richness of London, and having someone like him as mayor would destroy the city's unity. He is definitely not the right person to even be thinking to put his name forward.

"Those people that think he is a lovable rogue need to take a good look at themselves, and look at him. I just find his remarks very offensive. I think once people read his views, there is no way he is going to get the support of any people in the black community."

Mr Johnson wrote a series of articles at the time of the Macpherson inquiry, claiming some of its recommendations were born of political correctness and that the furore around the murder had created the whiff of a witchhunt against the police. The inquiry team found the police institutionally racist.

Mr Johnson was especially condemnatory of a "weird recommendation that the law might be changed so as to allow prosecution for racist language or behaviour 'other than in a public place'."

"Not even under the law of Ceausescu's Romania could you be prosecuted for what you said in your own kitchen," he wrote. "No wonder the police are already whingeing that they cannot make any arrests in London. No wonder the CPS groans with anti-discrimination units, while making a balls-up of so many cases."

He argued that "the PC brigade, having punched this hole in the Metropolitan police, is swarming through to take over the whole system" and went on to say that he feared "what started as a sensible attempt to find justice for the family of Stephen Lawrence has given way to hysteria".

In his articles - mainly in the Daily Telegraph - Mr Johnson also made it clear that he believed there had been "grotesque failures in the Lawrence murder case, and they may well have originated in racism", adding the police officers "may have jumped to the wrong conclusions due to a racialist mindset".

So much for Boris now for Ken Livingstone and his terms as London Mayor:

There was the case of the exchange between him and a Jewish journalist that went:

The journalist approaches him as Ken Livingstone is leaving a party thrown for fellow MP to mark his 20th anniversary of coming out. The journalist Oliver Finegold asks him if he had a nice even, then somewhat strangely Mr Livingstone asks him if he is a "German war criminal".

Mr Finegold replies: "No, I'm Jewish, I wasn't a German war criminal. I'm quite offended by that."

The mayor then says: "Ah right, well you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?"

Despite following requests to apologise the Mayor refused to do so.

Then there was the occasion when he told two Jewish businessmen David and Simon Reuben to "go back to Iran and try their luck with the ayatollahs" despite the fact that the brothers not Iranian.

Then there was the extraordinary attack on race chief Trevor Phillips, dubbing him a self-publicist who was "pandering to the right".

The Mayor said the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality had "gone so far over to the other side that I expect soon he'll be joining the BNP".
He also told politicians: "We need Crossrail to keep London's economy ticking over so that we can continue to pay for the Scottish to live the lifestyle to which they are accustomed." Thereby upsetting the Scots at an attempt with what he describes as humour.

Perhaps however for someone who claims to be a staunch supporter of democracy he has some strange bedfellows such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, even going as far as saying he is ‘the strongest force for the modernisation of Islam’, which is odd when you learn that he believes all homeosexuals should be 'punished by receiving a hundred lashes or sentenced to death, he also advocates female genital mutilation or circumcision and the right for men to beat their wives. He has also voiced his support for the suicide bombers who target Israeli men, women and children and has been banned from the U.S.A for his anti-semetic remarks.

So isn't it strange that those so ready to point the finger of racism at Boris Johnson are only too willing to overlook the faults of the present Mayor. Are they really angry about the things said five years ago, or is it then even without confirming his nomination Boris is already ahead in the latest opinion polls.

What's a Chauvinist ?

2007-08-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

This was the question asked by a nineteen year old university student who is a contestant on this year's Big Brother 8 reality show.

Any woman over the age of fifty must have wondered if the struggle of equal opportunities for women was really worth it, and those from an earlier generation who fought for womens suffrage must be spinning in their graves.

However perhaps the most distressing thing is that this young girl isn't an oddity but rather the norm for a large percentage of todays young people, and older housemate remarked that she found it sad the the younger members having a 'lack of intellectual curiosity', and they found another better educated housemate 'boring'.

The question is though are they to blame for their own lack of knowledge, I don't think so, instead they are the victims of successive government policies which not only deprived them of a sense of who they are, which means they judge themselves against the latest micro celebrity instead of the previous generations fought to give them the rights to which they themselves were denied.

It's may be true that they lack 'intellectual curiosity' but that doesn't necessarily follow that they are unintelligent, quite the reverse in many cases, but their intelligence has been left unawakened. Of course this suits governments of all colours who have learnt it's far easier to control people with the old Roman Empire dictum of 'bread and circuses'.

It used to be in a students 'job description' to demonstrate and protest, but sadly this is no more, for to do so a person needs to be politically aware and alas todays young people find politics 'boring' completely unaware that it governs their whole lives, but while they only dream of being famous if only 'for fifteen minutes' they will never achieve their true potential, and we will have generation after generation of young people who have failed to reach their true potential, and that will be not only sad for the country but most of all for them and the future generations they bring into being.

Luck of The Irish ?.....What Luck !

2007-03-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

This week the 200th anniversary of the of slavery is being marked throughout the country, and once again there are calls for Britain to apologise for their part in this evil and inhuman trade in human suffering, but amongst all the clamour one group of people have been quietly, and some would say deliberately forgotten, they are of course the Irish men, women and children that were bought and sold in the same way as their African counterparts.

If we look at the history of slavery we will see that it's probably as old as mankind itself, for it seems to be part of the nature of man to use others weakness against them. The Romans had millions of slaves, including those taken from Britain, as did the Arabs, Barbary pirates raided the western villages of England to carry of their booty of slaves, mosty women and children, but to get back to the subject.

In 1612 the first Irish slaves were sold to a settlement near the Amazon river, then in 1665 a ruling was made that all Irish 'political' prisoners be sold to settlers who had just started building plantations in the West Indian islands, but this wasn't enough so any tiny transgression was punished with enslavement, and slaver gangs were given leave to comb the countryside and kidnap anyone they pleased.

Everytime the Irish staged a rebellion in Ireland it was crushed and the soldiers exiled and their wives and children sold into slavery. In one period between 1641 and 1652 over half a million people were killed and 300.000 sold as slaves, and Irelands population dropped from almost one and a half million to just over half a million, so it could be argued that slavery had a more devestating effect on Ireland that Africa because of the differences in populations.

We think of 'ethnic cleansing' as something of our times, but the 'ethnic cleansers' of the Balkans were carrying on something that Oliver Cromwell had first tried in Ireland during what was to become known as 'Cromwell's Reign of Terror' literally hundreds of thousands of Irish men women and children were sold into slavery leading to the odd fact that throughout the 17th century more Irish people were enslaved than Africans, also as the African slaves had to be paid for the Irish were 'free for the taking' and therefore treated far more badly.

Between 1651 and 1660 it was decided that a "100,000young children who were orphans or had been taken from their Catholic parents, were sent abroad into slavery in the West Indies, Virginia and New England, that they might lose their faith and all knowledge of their nationality", in most instances even their names were changed, so not only was their freedom stolen from them but so was their history. Their nationality was stolen from the moment they were forced upon the ships in the Irish ports of Cork or Dublin, for every ships first port of call was London, Liverpool or Bristol and here their nationality was changed to English, and they were also given fake occupations such as servant, farmer or teacher when it fact they were all slaves.

To the slave masters both the Irish and African slaves were merely looked upon as stock, something to be bought and sold for profit, and noticed they could get more money for a light skinned African slave than one of a darker hue, so to boost their profits they began breeding Irish girls with African males to produce lighter skinned children who would then, when old enough, would be sold into slavery at a higher price. This pratice soon became the norm so that eventually legislation was passed "forbidding the practice of mating Irish slave women to African slave men for the purpose of producing slaves for sale.”

So the next time you hear a demand for an apology or reparation for the slave trade please remember the suffering of the Irish slaves, don't let them be air brushed out of history.

Are The Fit to Govern Britain ?

2007-03-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

Soon there will be a new Prime Minister, whether that will be Gordon Brown, David Cameron or someone yet unknown only time will tell, and does it really matter ? For whoever walks into No10 Downing street they will be but a shadow of the men who occupied that address in the past, and until we get back to a time when men, or women, of principle once again enter politics we will be left with those who see it as nothing but a good career move.

This week two photos were published one of Tony Blair and the other of David Cameron, and of course we have all done silly things in our youth. but then we didn't all get elected to the major parties of Britain, or in Tony Blair's case
become the Prime Minister.

Throughout his time as Premier the photo of Tony Blair's university days was seen as this.Nothing unusual there you might think, perhaps his hair is a little long but then we have to remember he saw his future in rock music and not politics in those days.

For the ten long years of his premiership, and like many things with Tony Blair, we never saw the full the full picture, well not until this week that is, and seeing the obscene gesture he is making perhaps it's just as well for him' So here we have it with his fellow students looking like a bad version of out of work actors auditioning for a film directed by Ken Russell set in the 1920's.

Now we come to David Cameron, the only thing we know about his days at Oxford was that he once smoked marijuana, but hasn't done so since, not a single word about the Bullingdon dining club, sounds quite innocuous doesn't it and of course they look very smart in their traditional uniforms which they wore for their annual dinner.

Yet an hour after this photo was taken the ten young men were rampaging through Oxford, where one restaurant had a plant pot thrown through its window. It was usual practice of the Bullingdon dining club to book a room at a restaurant under a false name, smash it up, and throw large amounts of money at the upset owners. That behaviour might have been tolerated a hundred and fifty years ago when the club was first set up, but is it acceptable for a future Prime Minister, no wonder Cameron says we must try and understand hoodies, for isn't the behaviour he indulged in just that of an upper class hoodie ?

Harry To Go To Iraq

2007-02-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

After weeks of speculation as to whether or not Prince Harry will go with his regiment when they leave for Iraq later this year the public have their answer......he will go, and he is said 'to be over the moon' about the decision.

Perhaps however there was never any doubt for Harry had made it clear that if he wasn't allowed to go with his regiment then he would leave the army. Of course there is the question of his safety, but shouldn't that be a governments priority towards all members of the armed forces.

Then there are those armchair soldiers who suggest that by going he is putting his men at risk, I don't think this is so because to the fanatics in Iraq all British and Allied troops are targets. Also those same critics if he had chosen to stay safely in England when his men shipped out they would be the first to query his courage.

If it had been decided that Harry shouldn't go do they really think the men in his regiment would have been any safer. I think they would have become a bigger target for it the warped mind of the fanatics what better way to humiliate Britain than to attack his regiment while Harry was cooling his heels in safety.

Harry's regiment is the ''Blues and Royals' and they have an history of being the target of terrorists, for in 1982 the I.R.A exploded a car bomb as the regiment rode back to their barracks, four soldiers and eleven of their horses lay dead on a London Street that day, and twenty guardsmen and soldiers were injured. Less than two hours later the bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets were playing a medley of 'Oliver' in Regents park when the bandstand exploded, six bandsmen died instantly, a further twenty four musicians and four musicians were injured.

These men were on the streets of their own capitol city, just a short distance from their barracks and yet they weren't safe, so will Harry be any more at risk in Iraq than here...only time will tell, In the meantime we should wish him well, as we do to all our troops and may they all come home soon and safely.

It's All Just Rubbish

2007-01-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

It seems over the last couple of years recycling has become the latest dictate of the fascist left. Perhaps we do need some measure of recycling, but rather than bullying every householder to put the right litter in the correct bag, and fining them if they don't, such as the man who put a slip of paper in the wrong bag, or the woman who was traced by her licence plate when instead of putting her bottles beside the recycling bin at the local council yard because she believed the bin to be locked. Wouldn't it make more sense to lobby manufactures to cut out the unnecessary packaging.

Also it's these same lefties that despise our past when oddly enough we recycled without even knowing it, the milkman brought our milk to our doorsteps in bottles not cartons, these same bottles when emptied would be washed and left for the milkman to collect the next day. Lemonade and Beer bottles were return to the shop to be sterilized and used again, food came in paper bags not plastic, and we took a shopping bag to do our shopping and didn't rely on plastic carrier bags.

Some of us believed the government hype that we would be saving the planet by separating our bottles into Green, Brown, and Clear when in fact this is just so much window dressing, when the bins are full along comes a lorry to empty the contents of the bins which is then crushed and used in laying roads. More roads mean more vehicles belching out pollutants into the atmosphere, but what does that matter as long as you are putting your newspapers into the correct bag.

Recycling would be a minor irritation, something most of us would agree with however grudgingly if it wasn't for the unpalatable truth of what really happens to our rubbish.

The image we are given is the clinical view of recycled goods being used to manufacture new items, of course this may be true for some, but it's also true that the bulk of so called recycled waste is shipped off to China to be sorted by the people of Lian Jiao, here the villagers, including children as young as three years old spend their days sorting through the rubbish from British homes.

For processing a shipment of about ten tons they get just £1.70p, many of the 3.000 villages suffer from fevers, coughs, skin diseases or cancer after working in these disgusting conditions. Thankfully this village has now been closed to further shipments, but how many other villages in China are people risking their health for a pittance.........so who is really paying the price for this mania of recycling while ignoring the real problem of overpackaging.

The Hand of Friendship

2007-01-23T05:14:00.000-08:00

In the western world it is courteous to shake hands when meeting people, it is a simple act of friendship that has its roots in the past.

When it was the custom for men to carry swords going about their daily life an extended open hand was a sign that they meant no harm, that they were greeting the other person in peace.

Now it seems that simple act has been vetoed amongst some of our citizens.

A young woman WPC refused to shake the hand of the Commissioner of police during her passing out parade, the reason was that she was a Muslim and it's not permitted in her religion for any woman to touch the hand of a man who isn't related to her, so that begs the question as to whether or not she can really perform her job as a policewoman if this is such an important part of her religion.

Just image the scenario of her being called to attend an elderly man attacked and assaulted in his own home, the first thing anyone would do would be to take the old man's hand, not only to comfort him but to give the unspoken signal that he was not alone and she was there to help, it would be something the man would understand but if she stood there aloof then he would feel lost and helpless as he had when being attacked.

There are many times when a policewoman would need to extend the hand of friendship in her job, and if this woman finds it offensive then I suggest she had no business applying to join the force in the first place.

Now We Have The Show Trial

2007-01-21T05:25:00.000-08:00

In 1936, when the Stalinist 'reign of terror' was at its height in the Soviet Union the poet Anna Akhmatova wrote: "I have seen faces consumed, glimpsed horror under lowered eyelids, cheeks etched by pain."

Even André Gide observed after his visit to the Soviet Union in 1936: "In my opinion, no country today not even in Hitler's Germany is the spirit more suppressed, more timid, more servile than in the Soviet Union." Or, as brigade commander S. P. Kolosov whose final fate is unknown expressed it in an anything but timid letter in 1937: "I am afraid to open my mouth. Whatever you say, if you say the wrong thing, you're an enemy of the people. Cowardice has become the norm."

The were speaking of the Show Trials implemented by Stalin to close all debate, daring to criticise either him or his regime would mean the 'midnight knock' and you would be hauled off to the Lubyanka prison to be interrogated, after countless hours of 'questioning' a date would be set for your trial as an 'enemy of the people'.

Most of those put on trial , and described as dissidents, were the intelligentsia, poets, writers, artists and so on, if they were lucky after being found guilty, which was the forgone verdict, they would spend years in one of the Siberian gulags, however if their ideas were considered too dangerous for the Stalanists then they would be put to death.

Even though the Soviet Union has crumbled no-one knows how many people were victims of these show trials.

Now we turn to Britain and a silly television reality show called
'Celebrity Big Brother' and an uneducated young woman called Jade Goodey, I wont go over the events again for they are covered in my previous blog, but I'm beginning to wonder if we are seeing the faint echoes of Stalin's Show Trials in the treatment of her since she was evicted from the Big Brother house.

Of course nothing she will suffer from here on in will ever compare with what was suffered by the so called Soviet dissidents, they spoke from their conscience knowing their lives were at risk, Jade Goodey spoke from unawareness and stupidity, but she too has been put on trial, albeit by media, and it has been suggested that she represents great swathes of the white working class in Britain, so it's not just Jade Goodey that's on trial but a whole strata of this country.

In her interview (trial) with a national newspaper she has said the following.

"No, I'm not a racist, but I accept I made racist comments".

"I'm not going to justify my actions because they were wrong. I was shocked to see how I behaved. I was shocked and disgusted at myself".

"I hold my hand up to my comments and to people reading them or hearing them and thinking I'm a racist".

"I feel ashamed about that. I'm ashamed about everything".

The Chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights Trevor Phillips has said the following "An ocean of crocodile tears could not wash away her shame. But she will now have lots of spare time because no sponsor or TV station will touch her. She could put this to good use by working, away from the cameras, with the Commmission for Racial Equality and charities such as the Runnymede Trust to persuade what young fans she still has that they too should turn their backs on racism".

This might well be a good idea but I just wonder if someone in the future will echo the words of seventy years ago and say of Britain "I am afraid to open my mouth. Whatever you say, if you say the wrong thing, you're an enemy of the people. Cowardice has become the norm."

Big Bother

2007-01-19T04:02:00.000-08:00

On the face of it it's nothing more than a clash of personalities, which was bound to happen when two strong willed women live temporarily in a small space, and both vie to be the alpha female,
but when one woman happens to be Indian, and the other is regarded as white, even though she is actually mixed race, it's then that the disagreements are taken to a new level by the politically correct.

I am of course referring to 'Celebrity Big Brother' a TV show which originally was supposed to be a psychological experiment, the brief was simple, put a group of strangers in a house for a number of weeks and see how they react to each other.

However this element of the programme has long since been forgotten and now it's nothing more than entertainment, that is until this year when disagreements between Jade Goodey and Shilpa Shetty have led to charges of racism, whether real or imagined it really doesn't matter the charge has been made and now it has taken on a life of its own.

The charge of racism has taken over the news media to the detriment of all other news, not only in this country but in India where effigies of Jade have been burnt, questions have been asked in the House of Commons, and Gordon Brown who is at present visiting the sub continent has recommended viewers to vote to keep Shilpa in the house, and radio phone in programmes have had there lines jammed with callers only wanting to talk about this one subject.

At the same time another programme was aired on the same channel called 'Dispatches', here an undercover reporter visited Mosques up and down Britain recording what the various Imam's were preaching to their congregations, the result was one of racism, homophobia, and what could be regarded as misogyny, peodophilia, and incitement to murder, yet very little has been said about this, no questions in the House, very little media coverage, and no phone lines jammed on radio phone -in shows.

For those who want to check out what was said in the Dispatches programme it can be viewed here: ......... http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=959#1

So what are we to make of this, afterall the complaints to Ofcom were started by a group of Big Brother obsessives who used their forum to drum up support for Shilpa and their hatred of Jade by printing Ofcom's details on the forum and encouraging others to lodge their complaint, which were fuel not by outrage but by malice.

At first just a handful of people complained, then when it reached 200 complaints it was carried as an item on the national news, it was then that the floodgates opened and people, whether they had seen the programme or not, jumped on the bandwagon and added their complaint which put wind in the political correct sails, now such is the furore that the whole of the working class in Britain is being branded as racists, there have even been calls for people like Jade to be 're-educated', which somehow smacks of the old Soviet Union's gulag system where also so called dissidents were sent for 're-education'.

Could it be that the media saw this programme as a convenient way not to have to comment on or criticise the true racism that is happening in Britain today, and that is happening in the Mosques and not the Big Brother house, for the former is more difficult to comment on or criticise, much better therefore to make an under educated young woman the scapegoat for all that ills Britain today.

So has the vastly over-reaction to this programme provided yet another nail to be driven in the coffin of free speech, or will we be brave enough to pick up the banner of Voltaire and state 'I may not agree with what you say, but will defend with my life your right to say it',

The New Normans

2006-11-08T03:26:00.000-08:00

The last time Britain was invaded it was 1066, and one of the first things William the Conquerer did was to build the Tower of London.

It was built as a visible sign of his power over a subjugated people. He then went on to build fortified castles throughout the land, forcing the people of Britain to accept Norman rule.

Old Anglo-Saxon churches were torn down and, the then strange and unusual, square turreted Norman churchs built in their place. Over time the people gradually forgot they were built by the descendants of the Vikings who had terrorised earlier generations, afterall they were Christian churches built for the glorfication of God.

Now ten centuries later more alien places of worship are dotted over the English landscape, but these aren't Christian but Islamic, well over a thousand Mosques have been built, many in converted Anglican churches, so far they have been tolerated, but will the new proposed Olympic Mosque be a step. or a Mosque too far.

The Mosque will be the largest in Europe having the capacity to hold 70.000 people. As this architects plan shows it will dominate the whole area, and will it be giving out the same message to the local non-Muslim people as the Tower of London gave to our ancestors?

Perhaps there are more similarities between the Tower and the proposed Mosque than our politicians will admit, for the Tower was built as a fortress which could sustain any attack, and if the Mosque is simply a place of worship why will it contain the following, residential accommodation, an inbuilt system for recycling water, an internal tidal power plant, combined heat and power units, wind turbines built into the minarets, solar panels to generate energy and CHP and photovoltaic technology.

It seems to be more akin to a self sustained fortress than simply a place of worship......but why?

The answer was suggested by Melanie Phillips in her recent book Londonistan. ‘The cultural significance and symbolism of a project on this scale are unmistakable. It would make the most powerful statement possible, on the back of the high-visibility Games, about the primacy of Islam in Britain . That is why it is being proposed.’

Is This Wheelie Necessary ?

2006-08-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

I can remember the time when all we needed to contain the household waste was a smallish metal dustbin, but with the expanding amount of over packaging of the consumer society these bins were no longer adequate, so came the introduction of the black plastic bags to help with the overspill.

Overspill is the right word, for soon mountains of black plastic bags appeared everywhere, especially outside cafés and restaurants, and of course these were attacked by any passing animal in search of a tasty morsel which sent the contents spilling out.

Something needed to be done, so enter the Wheelie Bin, a huge plastic monstrosity that would hold the rubbish of even the largest family. The Wheelie bin spawned a tiny market of its own with bin liners and colourful covers which tried to blend in with their surroundings but never quite managed it.

As time went by people gradually got used to this large bin sitting at the bottom of their garden or beside their front gate, but little did we know they were just lulling us into a false sense of security, for over half a million of these bins have been fitting with a little chip that has been spying on us and reporting how much rubbish we are throwing away.

To make things even worse the chip which sits under the lid was made in Germany ! As the bin is lifted up for emptying by council workers, a sensor on the refuse truck scans the chip, which carries a serial number assigned to each property in the street. This then enables the monitoring equipment to identify the bin's address and record the weight of the rubbish that is in the bin.

Once the truck returns to the depot, all information collected is downloaded onto a central computer. It's thought this is being done so householders can then be billed for the amount of waste that has been collected from them, even though they have already paid for rubbish collection services through their council tax.

The chip itself costs around £2 to make but the cost of fitting the equipment to a council dustcart is around £15,000.

However if you think you can get around this by removing the chip think again, for you may end up not having your rubbish collected at all.

Poles Apart

2006-08-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

For the past few years, especially since Tony Blair came to power, the subject of immigration has been taboo.

Dare to bring up the subject and you will be branded a racist , and any intelligent discussion on the subject will be closed.

Although Tony Blair and his friends among the chattering classes showed little inclination to discuss the rate of immigration that is turning England especially into a divided nation, among the ordinary people , those who see this on a daily basis, it has become one of the main concerns, and it could be behind the figures that one in five British families are opting to leave the country of their birth to live abroad.

However, as most of us know, Tony Blair and his cronies are masters of spin. So I believe about two years ago they devised a plan where they would seem to be heeding the peoples call to 'do something about immigration' but in fact they would do nothing at all.

For when Poland applied to join the European Union in May 2004 it was agreed by the majority of countries that Polish workers would have no right of entry for three years, but along with Ireland and Sweden Tony Blair's government said they could come to Britain straight away.

When questioned on this he stated that no more than 5.000 to 13.000 workers would arrive, we now know that over 600.000 have arrived, some have found work by undercutting the indigenous workers, while hundreds are homeless and rely on charities for their existence.

I don't blame the Poles for the were effectively encouraged by this government who knew exactly what would happen, it was what they had planned all along.

Now we have Tony Blair saying that in the next session of parliament, which opens in October, reduction in immigration will be his main priority for he understand how people are concerned about the influx of Polish workers..here again he deliberately misses the point. However for his spin to work he needs to keep our eyes solely fixed on the Poles for the three year term will end next year, and is likely all other EU countries will open their doors to Polish workers. We will then see many of the Polish workers leave Britain to find work in these other countries.

When that happens Tony Blair will stand up and claim his 'new immigration policies' are working, but as usual it will all be smoke and mirrors for the underlying problem will still exist...we will still have 17% of British Muslims who agree with the 7/7 bombers.

Prisons in Crisis

2006-08-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

So it seems that our prisons are full to bursting, something has to be done... but what?

The obvious answer is of course to build more prisons, but this seems something the present government is not happy with, of course we could stop imprisoning those who fail to pay their television license, or refuse to pay the above inflation increase in council tax, that may make a little more room, but surely something more radical needs to be done.

The Home Secretary's answer is to write to every magistrate in the country urging them not to remand suspects on remand, but to electronically tag them instead. At present there are over 10.000 suspects on remand in prison, they include those suspected of violent and sexual crimes, robbery and drug offences.

Those tagged will be expected to remain at home during the hours of 7pm and 7am, as if this will be any comfort to the people when in the past there have been cases of criminals who have removed their tag and gone on to murder, so, no Mr Reid this isn't the answer.

So if that isn't the problem what is the solution ?

Of course we could always rent prison space in eastern European countries, but I can imagine the outcry from the lefties about that as they wave the Human Rights act, so why don't we keep them in this country, in fact in their own homes.

Let me explain:

At present it is crime committed by young people that is concerning the public the most, over the past few days we have had an eleven year old questioned over the severe assault of a four year old, a sixteen year old boy stabbed to death by an eighteen year old, and a young father shot to death on his doorstep by a fourteen year old.

When these people actually get to court you can guarantee that some lobby or the other will call for them not to go to prison because 'they will be mixing with hardened criminals and come out worse than when they went in'.I ask you how could they get any worse.

So perhaps here is an answer that will satisfy all parties.

When a person is found guilty then one of the rooms in their own homes is effectively turned into a cell. Preferably a bedroom would be chosen, this is stripped of everything except a bed and a wardrobe, washing and toilet facilities would then be installed. bars fitted on the windows and the door replaced with a standard prison door.

This way the taxpayer would be relieved of the cost of paying for their food and laundry, this would be done by their Mother/Wife/Partner, and the bars on the window would be a visible sign to the wider community that at least justice was being done at last..

Not Such a Mini Nuisance

2006-08-02T04:32:00.000-07:00

Ask me what I consider one of the most annoying inventions of recent years, and mini motorcycles will come somewhere near the top of the list.

I've lost count of just how many times the peace is shattered by children racing around on these machines, which have the sound akin to a high pitched demented wasp.

They were originally intended for off road use only, but more and more are being seen on our street, and ridden by children without crash helmets, and without the strength to control these machines which can reach up to 60 MPO.

At last though something is being done about it, well at least we hope so but with this government you can never be sure, however John Reid has stated that if they are mis-used, in other words not driven off road, then they can be consficated and crushed........lets hope it turns out to be so, and these nuisances are soon delivered to the scrapheap.

An Hidden Agenda ?

2006-07-25T03:16:00.000-07:00

Has there ever been a people who have faced such opposition simply because they wanted to fly their national flag as the English?

Some people have been threatened with court action, others have been labeled racist, Cabbie's had to remove their pennants under the guise that it breaches the 'health and safety regulations'. Even prison officers were banned from wearing a small Cross of St George lapel badge.

However come the 2006 World Cup and the whole country seemed to be bursting at the seams with the red cross on a white background, but even then some Scots MP's criticised Tony Blair for flying the flag over Downing Street on match days.

Now it seems the regulation requiring permission to fly the flag, permission that was often witheld, for the law is to be scrapped, As the housing and planning minister Yvette Cooper said today "The regulations on flags are currently woefully out-of-date and far too bureaucratic, it is ridiculous that someone could be prosecuted for displaying their national flag."

At first sight this seems a good thing, but as always with the Blair government the devil is in the detail. The rule changes will allow national flags to be flown without permission however they are displayed. It will also apply to international flags, such as the EU, UN or commonwealth flags.

Now in the past many groups have lodged complaints about the EU flag flying over local and national buildings where it is given equal, or even a more prominent position than the national flag. They claim that as the EU flag doesn't represent a nation it is therefore classed as an advertisement, and as such shouldn't be flown on any government building.

So am I just being cynical when I wonder if this move isn't anything to do with making the national flag easier to fly, but to present the EU as a state in it's own right, and this was the real reason behind the governments change of heart, but as I say perhaps I'm just being cynical, though after nine years of Tony Blair's government can anyone blame me.

Put a Cabbage Leaf on your Head

2006-07-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

Most of Britain, and also large parts of Europe are suffering under the effects of the current heatwave, and with temperatures in the middle 30C's forecasted again for later in the week it looks like yet more uncomfortable days and sleepless nights.

To some experts this is merely a sign of' Global Warming' but are they right? It's true we have flooded our atmosphere with c2o in our rush to embrace every new technology, but if so what of the events in 1911 which seem to have been a mirror image of what we are experiencing now, but unlike us our ancestors didn't have the benefit of air-conditioning, electric fans, refrigerates for iced drinks, or in fact anything that makes the heat more bearable.

Also in those days lightweight clothing was frowned on, so women struggled in dresses with long skirts and high collars over whalebone corsets, and men tried to ignore the heat in three piece suits and starched shirts.

Of course, as usual, those that suffered worst were the poor, for as the temperature rose and the mercury reached 100F (37.8C) so did the deaths of the old and young, unlike the rich who could retreat to country estates with large airy rooms and vast tree sheltered lawns, the poor were forced to stay in sweltering, overcrowded slums, sharing a house with three or four other families.

Hundreds died in the 1911 heatwave through lack of sanitation or by eating food that had 'gone off', or tainted milk , in the first half of August child deaths rose by 50%, and thousands fell ill with heatstroke, and the only help one national newspaper could give was 'to put a cabbage leaf under your hat', well I suppose it may have helped a little to keep the suns rays off of ones head, but it's not recorded how many people tried it.

Thankfully the weather broke on the 14th August leaving people to pick up their lives once again, it was to be ninety two years before Britain experienced temperatures of 100F and that was at Gravesend in 2003, but the question is will we reach it again in the next couple of weeks....lets hope not.

What a Damned Sheik !!!

2006-07-21T04:16:00.000-07:00

Perhaps to those outside Britain who may not be familiar with the name Omar Bakri Mohammed, the self styled Syrian sheik (pictured) a biog is called for.

Omar Bakri arrived here about twenty years ago, after leading a failed coup against the Syrian government, and then being deported from Saudi Arabia, since that time he has married had seven children, and never paid a penny towards their up keep, he and his wife have brought them up on benefits, and they lived, rent free, in a large house situated in North London, once again at the British taxpayers expense.

Now some might say he has been treated very generously, so how has he repaid that generosity?

Well one way was to form the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, it's claimed this group has since disbanded, but it has merely morphed into something else.

Let us now look at some of the things Omar Bakri said during his time here:

He claimed Britain was "a land of war"

He described the 9/11 terrorists as "the magnificent 19"

Of Osama bin Laden: "Why I condemn Osama bin Laden for? I condemn Tony Blair, I condemn George Bush. I would never condemn Osama bin Laden or any Muslims"

The Beslan school killings: "The Mujahideen [Chechen rebels] would not have wanted to kill those people, because it is strictly forbidden as a Muslim to deliberately kill women and children. It is the fault of the Russians"

The London bombings: "I blame the British Government and I blame the British people. They are the ones who should be blamed"

Suicide bombings: "We call it self sacrifice. You must fight for the way of Allah - to kill first and be killed. If somebody decided to land an aeroplane over 10 Downing Street, for example - this is a form of self sacrifice"

Israel: "We are talking about a cancer in the heart of the Muslim world. It must be eradicated and removed"

Britain's foreign policy: "Evil. I think, they pushed the Muslims to the wrong direction"

Radical Muslims: "We are part of the solution and not part of the problem"

His potential deportation: "If God destined for me to be deported, or to be imprisoned, nobody can save me. I would never challenge the legal system"

This last point shows what a complete fraud the man is, for last year, after the arrest of Abu Hamza, he feared he would be next, with that the bravado vanished and he flew off to Lebanon leaving his family behind, from there he continued to taunt Britain via his website, however with the present conflict it seems his choice of destination wasn't a good one.

Now it seems this 'brave' cleric tried to sneak aboard a British warship evacuating women and children from the war torn area, thanks to a sharp-eyed officer he was refused boarding, he has since begged the Home Office for their help, but since he is no longer a British citizen he is no longer our problem...........perhaps while he was here he should have learned that old saying.....'you should never bite the hand that feeds you'.

(Thanks to The Times for quotes)

No Honour in 'Honour' Killings

2006-07-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

I wish I could understand what goes through the mind of a father, brother, or even a male family relative when they decide because of some perceived slur on their 'family honour' a young woman has to die.

On seconds thoughts I'd like to rewind on that statement, for to try to understand would mean trawling through their warped and debased minds, and that is a place no sane person would want to visit.

The latest young woman to have her life cut short
was Samaira Nazir (pictured above), she was a twenty-five year old graduate whose only crime was to fall in love with a man her family didn't approve of. The man was from Afghanistan, and was considered to be a 'lower caste' by her father. That simple act was enough to sign her death warrant.

Over the last ten years it's estimated that at least 110 young women of south Asian descent have been murdered in so called 'honour killings' in England and Wales, though the figure is thought to be much higher. If a young woman disappears, and if anyone questions it, then they are told she has gone to Pakistan to be married, when in truth she is probably laying in a shallow grave in some out of the way place.

All 'honour killings' are unthinkably horrendous, but in Samaira's death her father, brother and cousin took it to an even lower diabolical level, they made her two nieces, aged four and two, watch as she was stabbed eighteen times, this was regarded as a lesson for them, and a warning for the future, should they ever step out of line.

We can only speculate how long those dreadful images will haunt the minds, and dreams, of those two little girls.........and this is what they call protecting the family's honour.

Imagine What John Lennon Would Say

2006-07-20T01:34:00.000-07:00

To the world over it's known as an anthem of peace, and it was the song which marked John Lennon's death in 1980, but to a Church of England primary school in Exeter, Devon, the song 'Imagine' is seen as subversive, with it's lyrics deemed as 'anti-religious', and therefore it has been banned from the end of term concert.

The lines the school find unacceptable are 'imagine there's no heaven... and no religion too', the school governor Rev. David Harris backed the ban by saying "the song expresses longing for a different world and for eternal happiness, but it says you can have this without religion."

Perhaps you can understand their point, afterall they are a church school, but I think they are missing the meaning behind the lyrics, nowhere does John Lennon suggest God doesn't exist, it's surely a protest against organised religion, and just look around the world today and see the appalling death and destruction caused by those who claim to be 'following their religion', but in the consequence have strayed so far from God.

It may be subversive from the Church of England point of view, and yet if we all lived our lives in the spirit of the words of 'Imagine' would the world be a happier, more peaceful place?.........I somehow think it would.

Bonsai Danger

2006-07-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

Personally I've never seen the attraction of Bonsai, where is the satisfaction of taking a seedling, which is genetically programmed to grow into a magnificent stately tree, that will give pleasure to generations, and restrict it to the life of a stunted mutant, giving pleasure only to the collector who will never value it for what it could, and should have been, but simply for what it has become.

I suppose the answer by some Bonsai collectors will be that it is a harmless hobby, but that is no longer true, for it seems as the appetite for these poor little dwarf trees grows so does the danger to other species such as citrus trees, oak,beech and hazel.

It comes in the form of the citrus longhorn beetle, which has been found on imported Bonsai trees. It is not easy to detected as the adult lays eggs into the bark of trees and the larva develops inside the tree, taking one to three years to emerge as an adult.

If the beetle manages to adapt to our climate then we could see our woodlands and forests depleted of their most valuable species, and all for the vanity of man who feels, just because he can do a thing, then he has the right to carry on without any regard of the consequences.

Chelsea Tractors

2006-07-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, announced that from 2010 drivers of high-polluting cars will pay a £25 congestion charge in central London.

This will hit the drivers of 4x4's in particular, but is this going far enough or should the 'Chelsea Tractors', as they are known. be banned from all city centres.

Surely there is no place in crowded city streets for vehicles that are simply a fashion statement for those with plenty of money and no taste.

In the correct enviroment...e.i rural areas they are perfect, they were originally built for crossing muddy fields to care for livestock, but jamming up the streets while on the 'school run' doesn't actually equate with that.

Also their mere appearance can be quite threatening to some drivers. and should they be involved in an accident with a child, the driver will come off unscathed, but the child will more than likely suffer head injuries because of the height of the front grill.

Finally there is the matter of pollution and as the Mayor said "there is a growing sense of concern amongst Londoners about climate change caused by CO2 emissions, which is the biggest single problem facing humanity, and tackling this threat requires decisive action," he then added "'Chelsea tractors', many of which are responsible for some of the highest CO2 emissions of any cars on our roads, have to be dealt with".

So Ken Livingstone raising the congestion charge is too little too late, but isn't this always the case with politicians.

And They Dare Call Him a Terrorist

2006-07-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Corporal Jabron Hashmi was buried today, at the Central Jamia Mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham. He was twenty four years old, he was born in Pakistan, brought up in Britain, and died in Afghanistan, the first Muslim soldier to do so.

A family statement spoke of his pride at joining the army.
"Jabron wanted to join the British army as a young boy growing up in Pakistan," it said.
"He was proud of his role as a serving soldier and looked forward to his deployment in Afghanistan.
"He felt privileged to represent the Army as a Muslim British Pakistani who wanted to use his background and position to contribute at a time where there exists a lack of understanding of cultures, ideologies and religious identities."

He was a young man who believed one could serve both country and their God without the one conflicting with the other, it was the belief of a modern young man, and one anyone would be proud to call a good citizen.

However to others who share the same religion he is a terrorist, on the Islamic website Al-Ghurabaa, who described him as a "traitor to Islam and professional terrorist" and until recently they carried his photograph on the same website engulfed in flames, when this was brought to the notice of the media in general it was removed, not because they suddenly had an attack of conscience, but maybe because it showed them for the twisted evil little people they are.

To Old to Give Birth ?

2006-07-08T03:57:00.000-07:00

At 62 years old Patti Farrant has become the oldest British woman to give birth, her son, nicknamed JJ was delivered by caesarean section on Wednesday, at a healthy 6lbs 10ozs .

Of course everyone must be relieved that the pregnancy and delivery went well, but now the baby is here she is being criticised as being selfish for electing to have a child at this stage in her life.

Mrs Farrant is a child psychiatrist so surely she was aware of the difficulties, if any, that a child born to older parents may experience, and already having three children in their twenties from a previous marriage she is fully aware of the energy and patience needed to bring up a child, it's hard enough when a woman is in her twenties, so is she just fooling herself in thinking that her energy levels are still the same in her sixties.

Some people have looked into the future and said it's unfair to bring a child into the world who will, more than likely, lose both his parents before he is out of his teens, Mrs Farrant has prepared for this by saying
"We are both extremely healthy and I have always looked and felt very young, but nevertheless we have younger friends with children who have agreed to act as surrogate parents should anything happen to us".

"What is important in parenting is not how old you are, but whether you are meeting all the child's needs and we are very confident about doing that." and in this she is right, for afterall she has given life to someone who would never have existed if not for her actions, I'm sure he will be loved and cared for by his parents, however long that might be, and perhaps those so ready to condemn should save their concern for the children born to teenagers who have no concept of what being a mother is, for if we could ask the unborn child of a crack head mother living on benefits out of whose womb he would like to spring and somehow I think we know which he would opt for.

Made to Suffer Twice

2006-07-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

On the 7th of July London was brought to a standstill, three bombs had been detonated within one minute of each other on the London tube, and a fourth bomb exploded on a double decker bus in Tavistock Square.

The emergency services working in the enclosed stifling darkness of the underground worked, as always in times like this, with compassion and professionalism. In spite of their efforts fifty-two people were killed, plus the four homicide bombers, and at least 700 people were injured. some horrendously so.

The past twelve months the survivors have struggled to come to terms how in just one minute their lives changed forever. and the family and friends of those who died are still trying to understand why....why should someone born in this country feel such a lack of compassion, and bear such irrational hatred for their fellow countrymen/women that without a moments thought, or hesitation, they could place a rucksack filled with explosives amongst them.

As this wasn't enough to bear, the hideous mind that devised the bombings had one last assault planned, and that was the video, which was released on the eve of the first anniversary of the attack, the face of one of the dead bombers flickered to life for one last time to taunt the survivors and relatives. It was released with one aim only. that was to cause distress and fear, and of course in its first aim it succeeded, it did cause distress among the relatives, but not fear just disgust, not only for the bomber, but for those who manipulate the minds of others with their own corrupt version of a religion whose name is supposed to mean 'Peace'.

Should We Learn How To Cheat ?

2006-07-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

Has this World Cup been the worst one for diving and cheating? No it's not sour grapes because we have been knocked out, just look at what happened during the Spain v France match.

Here we had Theirrey Henry going down holding his face as if he had been pole-axed. What really happened was that the opposing player, Carlos Puyol, merely brushed his chest, but Henry conned the referee into thinking he had been elbowed in the face, he was awarded a free kick from which he scored taking France into the lead and eventually through to the next round.

However perhaps the match closest to my heart was the quarter-final between England and Portugal. Maybe if we had been a litte more aware we would have seen the omens for disaster were there from the start.

Wayne Rooney was standing at the centre spot ready for kick off when Cristiano Ronaldo came up behind him, first he gave Rooney a tame head butt, then said something, later those who could lip read said it was "I'm going to get you sent off".

All through the time Rooney was on the pitch two Portuguese defenders were all over him like a rash. Then came the incident, it occurred near the halfway line with Rooney battling to retain control of the ball and being pursued by defender Carvalho and captain Luis Figo.

Wayne Rooney appeared to be pulled back by Carvalho while at the same time Figo wrapped his legs around Rooney who then seemed to tread on his opponent's groin as he tried to disentangle his leg, but with no malicious intent.

Carvalho's reaction prompted Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo to sprint some 40 meters to the referee, apparently to demand a card against Rooney who pushed him and was sent off.

Television pictures appeared to show Ronaldo winking toward the Portugal bench as Rooney made his way off the pitch, as if to say 'a job well done'.

We are quite used to the Italian National team diving at every opportunity, that is almost expected of them, but have these two incidents taken cheating to a new low, and if so must our own England team learn to cheat just to survive?

By Blood or Birthplace ?

2006-07-01T11:01:00.001-07:00

I was listening to a phone-in radio programme recently when the subject of nationality came up. A caller who was born in Essex described herself as British because her parents were Scottish and Irish, the presenter then proceeded to berate her telling her she was English because she had been born in England, he then went on to say even though he and is wife are English his daughter was born in Scotland so she was Scottish.

So who is right? do we take our nationality from our parents or our birthplace? is the presenter is right and our nationality is governed by our place of birth, if so then Joanna Lumley (pictured) is Indian having been born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India, the same goes for Spike Milligan born in Ahmednagar India, Nicole Kidman would not be a noted Australian actress, but an Hawaiian one, and John McEnroe wouldn't have won Wimbledon as an American, but as a German. Doesn't this make a nonsense of birthplace nationality.

Perhaps this is an appropriate time to recall the words of the Duke of Wellington when someone queried whether he could call himself English having be born in Dublin, the Duke simply replied "I could have been born in a stable, but that wouldn't have made me a horse".

Castration by TV

2006-07-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

The image of Mr Muscle is so ridiculous that it can't possibly offend, and yet it's an example of what has been part and parcel of advertising for some time , and that is the attempted emasculation of men.

How many commercials can you name where the man is either a geek, a wimp, or simply an ineffectual idiot. In these commercials the man is usually accompanied by a much cleverer, more aware woman, and as a woman I find this unacceptable, it seems these commercials are run by those who believe that feminism means the denigration of the opposite gender, and if this is so they are completely missing the point, for equality means just that, equality for everyone.

That is why it's so sad that BT have chosen, in it's latest ad campaign, to use the image of a man who his so dim that he can hardly be seen against his far brighter partner, who seems to have moved in with him with her two children without him even noticing, but perhaps the most damaging is that BT have stepped up the anti-male bias by having even his partners children treat him with a sullen disregard, this subtle undermining of the male role in society is far more damaging than the cartoon figure of Mr Muscle

Drink to Oblivion

2006-07-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

To some it's called the 'British Disease' , to others this new phenomenon is simply binge drinking. It's been estimated that 50% of 16 to 24 year olds regularly drink enough alcohol to render them unconscious in the fastest time possible. In other words, it seems, they can't wait to reach oblivion.Of course there has always been a drinking culture in Britain, and sometimes it has been taken to excess, as evidence by this 1751 cartoon by William Hogarth.

However there are vast social differences between the present day and the 18th century. For those it was a life of struggle in overcrowded unhygienic conditions, so perhaps an alcoholic oblivion was an escape, but this can't apply to youngsters of today, most of which were born in the 1980's, a decade of power and material excess. So if the cause isn't deprivation where else can we look for the answer.

It might seem to have nothing to do with the problem, but there is evidence of mass alcohol abuse elsewhere, I mean of course among the Native Americans and the Native Australians.These two peoples, although on different continents, have much in common. Both are on record as having a history of alcoholism that didn't exist in their culture before their lands were occupied by others who didn't share their culture, beliefs or customs. It was then they gradually came to understand they were becoming second class citizens in their own land, So could this be what lays behind the drinking culture among our youngsters ?.

Not since 1066 have so many people arrived in this country, and at the same time attempts are being made to wipe the name of England of the map with the use of the EU regions act, couple this with an education system that teaches pupils little of their history, so is it any wonder that, suffering from a lack of identity, youngsters seek solace in the bottom of a bottle.

A Foreign Country

2006-06-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

For the opening line of his novel 'The Go-Between', L.P. Hartley chose the phrase 'the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there'.

Today that sentiment still stands, because less than forty years ago we did do things differently, we had a certainty in our future and our identity, we trusted our politicians to act for the benefit of all, rather than themselves, and on the whole this is what they did.

If you were unlucky enough to be burgled then a policeman would appear on your doorstep, now you're lucky to get just a crime number, and even luckier if a police officer can actually tear himself away from booking motorists to take down your details in person.

Children have always attempted to assert themselves as they near the teenage years, but I can remember when it was done through fashion or music, not by carrying a knife, of course boys of that age have always fought, but it usually ended with a black eye or split lip, not with a spell on a life support machine...or worse.

Hospitals were places that had their own smell, a mixture of disinfectant and ether, now the smell is of fear that a short stay, or a minor complaint may lead to contacting the MRSA bug, and they weren't places where a patient would spend hours on a trolley parked in a corridor while the staff grappled with abusive and aggressive drunks.

Schools would instill a sense of who they were in children, now, as in Stalinist Russia, little of their history is taught, so cut adrift from their roots, which stretch back thousands of years, so is it any wonder they flounder on a sea of binge drinking.

So was L.P Hartley right in stating that the past is a different country?...yes I think he was. Unfortunately it's a country which issues no passports.