Notting Hill Carnival

The Notting Hill Carnival arrived in town but without its usual swagger. Yes, the floats were vibrant, colourful and most of all loud but the atmosphere amongst the crowd seemed to be lacking. There were the usual middle class white kids in jumpers that were way too big but many people walked around, myself included, with our valuables in our pockets, hands on them and being more self aware than normal. Shops were boarded up, as were houses as the community appeared to turn its back on the event. You had the feeling that you were visiting an event rather than taking part in a community event.

The high policing levels and the fact that many people are currently in prison following the riots probably led to a few less ‘rude boys’ wandering the streets but there was still the sexism, cat calls and general misogyny that it all too common at the carnival. The floats, although as previously stated, were vibrant, colourful and very loud, they did seem a bit cobbled together. It’s no Rio carnival that is for sure.

Maybe I am missing the point and being too down on the whole affair but I am past the age where I want to see women who should know better wear thongs and bikini’s whilst gyrating to bad reggae in the street and I am certainly past laughing at the men who verbally lambast them for making the decision not to be groped.

I think this year’s carnival was marred by an undercurrent of fear. Only when it was over did people come out and declare it a success. To be an event with 200+ arrests and a near fatal stabbing isn’t a success but maybe I am just too middle class to enjoy these things anymore.

When the spirit got me I did have a little dance and took some pictures but my heart was never really in it.

It’s life I guess, some things die a death.

My weekend

It is Saturday night and I am sat on my bed writing to you all drinking a pre-mixed rum and coke...I have job applications to do tomorrow so I guess my weekend is already over.

Friday - I went to see Journey's End at the Duke of York Theatre, London.

This is a stunning and at times heart wrenching piece of theatre was admired by Winston Churchill and its first performance starred an unknown Laurence Olivier. Steeped in history it will not disappoint those looking for a first-hand account of life in the trenches.

It was written within ten years of World War One ending and by a man who fought in the trenches. Now that none of the brave souls who fought in that war are still with us, first-hand accounts of the conflict have also gone. A play such as Journey's End should be admired for bringing history to life.

The set is simple but incredible effective and the sound goes some way to expressing what it may have been like to live there. The battle that the play is set around saw over one million shells land on British trenches in five hours and as such, the sound will not convey that but it is certainly more than you would expect for a west end play.

Several first class performances really help you engage with the characters. You will laugh and cry and at the finale, you will sit in silence not really comprehending the immenseness of that war.

Saturday – Lots of thing!

We went to Loraine Pascal’s bakery in Covent Garden, Ella’s Bakehouse. I say with no word of a lie, their cupcakes are incredible. I had a malteser cupcake which consisted of vanilla sponge with crushed maltesers inside and a delicious creamy topping with crushed maltesers on. Their service was excellent, the cupcakes were excellent and although they were a bit pricey compared to a supermarket equivalent, there is really no competition and they are worth every penny.

Then we went to the Museum of Broken Relationships at the Tristan Bates Theatre just near Covent Garden. For those who don’t know the premise, it is a touring exhibition where people can donate items that they associate with a broken relationship. 

Highlights were a gnome that had been run over by someone’s ex as they drove away from their house and for me the most moving piece was a radio that someone had been given by a partner and that they had listened to the bombings in Yugoslavia on.

The exhibition originated in Croatia and so many of the pieces are from the Balkans but it is definitely worth it, the £3.50 entry is a bargain.

We then went to the press photographs of the year exhibition at the National Theatre on the Southbank. So many of the photographs are recognisable from newspapers but it is a treat to see them blown up in the glory that many of them deserve.

Brief I know but I thought you may be interested.

The Ginger Mourinho - What is his plan?

Gary Megson has taken the first steps to redemption for a crime he didn’t commit. The downfall of Sheffield Wednesday over the last fifteen year’s was not his fault but he is the one who is charged with the task of getting a once great club back to dizzying heights.

The first game of the season has come and gone. The anticlimax came about four hours after the final whistle. It gets tedious when fans of eight different clubs are giving jibes to each the others because they are top of the league. By the way, Sheffield Wednesday are currently joint top but still above Sheffield United on alphabetical differences.

Wednesday new boys Rob Jones and David Prutton scored a goal each to complete a 2-0 victory over Rochdale, a repeat of last year’s fixture at Hillsborough. Rob Jones got the opener from a set piece whilst “Jesus scored a wonder goal” was the general turn of phrase on twitter for a good while after Prutton scored the second.

After reading reports from the match afterwards, one thing has stuck in my mind, people are saying that we had done our research on the opposition and shut off all their effect channels of attack. It seems that good scouting combined with clever new acquisitions won the day.

For all those who may not like Gary Megson and his style of play, you cannot fault the fact that not only did we close down Rochdale who have a reputation for playing some quite good football at times. We got goals from defence and midfielders and the striker who was substituted, Clinton Morrison, still came off to rapturous applause.  This shows an all round good performance from the owls.

Gary Megson said of the victory, "It was a very good day because we scored our first goal, got our first point, first clean sheet and first win.

"That's a full house and great to get on the first day. I thought we were very good. We said to the players what we wanted out of the first game and got the lot.

Megson added: "It was something that Howard Wilkinson instilled into us when I was a player and we were fortunate enough to get all those things."

Under Alan Irvine there were too often players who did not seem to know what they were doing and heads went down if a goal was conceded. Although the next few games will accurately assess any real change in squad mentality, a telling point was the whole team celebrating together when the Owls scored.

If Wednesday win 2-0 in every home game for the rest of the season, the fans would be delighted but even more so, if the players and management team put in that level of planning and commitment, then the Owls won’t be far from the top come the end of the season.

On days like Saturday you can see hope, a tough opening game against a team who can easily capitalise on your mistakes and make you pay. The result was positive, the performance was positive and everyone went in the same direction. You lose together and win together, that is what Saturday felt like. Despite Megson's full house this time around, no one knows what his next hand is. More of the same is the hope.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to me!
x

My London riots

Sometimes it can be difficult, almost impossible to stand up and be a hero. The whole world can seem against you, fear can stop you as can threats to your life but we witnessed thousands upon thousands of Londoners stand up and say no. From the Sikhs and Muslims in Southall who protected each other’s places of worship, to the Turks in Hackney who protected their shops and homes, to the community of Eltham who protected their high street and the men, women and children who fought back with brooms and bin bags. Each act of defiance against people who so chose to go out and try to ruin their communities, only made their communities stronger.

I cried as I saw the people in Clapham and Hackney wave their brooms, I cried as I tried to help people negotiate themselves to safety when they were stuck and called me for directions and I cried a little after having to say “stay safe” to every public sector worker that I spoke to.

I work for a hospital that has 19 sites across London and I have spent three days ‘emergency planning’ and trying to ensure that our staff and patients are safe. I have had to prepare for a hospital in lock-down, I have had to prepare for violence against staff and patients and for an all out looting of our hospitals. As a team we did prepare and we prepared very well which meant that no acts of violence were taken against staff or patients. This action varied from people helping people seek safe passage to their homes, to providing shelter for people who couldn’t get back to their homes.

The people that rioted made the whole of London shudder. We lived under a dark cloud where we felt we had to go straight home of an evening instead of enjoying the glories of our city.

For those of you who live outside of the affected areas, ie, London, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham etc please believe me when I say that it is terrifying not knowing what is going on, where these people are travelling to and what they plan to do. I looked at people different, I looked at certain groups with distrust and I don’t like this. I want to face the world with a smile, not cross the road from them. I want to walk our streets, shop in our shops and drink in our pubs but I couldn’t.

I was texting my Dad as I made my way home from work, he said that they police should think about using rubber bullets if it carried on.

My response: They should use real ones.

His response to that: A bit harsh eh son.

My response: I want their fucking blood staining the streets. I want them dead. I do not want to live in fear.

At the time I was very upset but in hindsight, I really wouldn’t have cared if they had massacred the lot.

I do take excessive worry on board and I do take things personally but having to plan for the evacuation of 1,500 staff and countless patients did leave my very agitated.

There were so many things that I should not have to do. I should not have to fear for my life and the life of others, I shouldn’t even have to fear for my high street. I just felt so enraged at total disrespect of other people. I am still angry but it has dropped to a level that I can control and so that is okay.

The iconic images to come out of this:

The poor girl and her boyfriend who lost their flat and possessions

The poor lad being mugged whilst injured

The fireball surrounding Reeves in Croydon

But this is what I hope it is all remembered for

The Riot Cleanup Crew who brought London’s aching heart back to life.

Many reasons have been pulled out of the bag to explain this away.

Mark Duggan: After the apparently peaceful protest in Tottenham at the weekend it all started. My reaction then and my reaction now is that, a man who was in possession of a gun gets shot by the police, then well done the police. No one should carry fire arms in cars, on the street or anywhere else. To be it is genuinely irrelevant who shot first, well it’s not because I am glad the police shot first so that none of them got hurt.

I am a leftie but for all you lefties who will undoubtedly be tutting whilst sipping green tea as you read, imagine if that man had taken his weapon and shot one of your loved ones? If someone is prepared to take a weapon out in public, then they are either prepared to use it or too stupid for the gene pool. People condoned gun crime when a young girl in South London was made permanently disabled after being shot through the window of a shop. What if that gun was intended to be used for a similar incident?

Whilst I am not supporting shooting people on sight, I am supporting a robust defence of the city from people who so choose...CHOOSE...to carry a weapon.

Education: It is tough when you come from a poor area, when your parents don’t support you and your prospects seem limited. Although I had my parents support, I came from an area of high deprivation and my prospects were limited...until I bothered to turn up to school, listen to the teachers and suddenly, my prospects were massively enhanced. Everyone in the UK has a right to a free education until the age of 18. Even if you’re not that bright, turning up, doing your exams and respecting the authority of teachers will greatly enhance your chances of being employed. There is no excuse for not attending school and whatever anyone tries to say, everyone has a place at school and as such everyone should attend.

Parents: Not supporting a child in their education is one of the cruellest things that a parent can do. My parents supported me because they wanted me to have a good life. I cannot understand the mentality of any parent who will not support their children.

It is not acceptable that children are roaming the streets at night because there should be a home atmosphere that is welcoming to them. I don’t care if you do not have a television because unbelievable, people did exist before the rise of the idiot box. No i-phone, x-box or other such devise is an excuse either. Whether you’re a single parent or a family you should be aware of where your children are. I was once told off for going to my friends house for 20 minutes after school when I was expected home, I would never have been able to be on the streets looting. There is simply no excuse for this.

Cuts: These riots were not against the government, they were for TV’s and phones. You can tell the nature of the beast by the fact that only certain shops were looted in particular areas. When the students protested, the idiots who chose to be violent at least targeted specific places like banks and top shop. This was violence for products. Yes, funding for youth projects has been cut and yes, this is awful but people should know, through schooling and parenting (see above) that doing this is wrong.

I believe that for too long there has been too much support for those who don’t attend school. How about rewarding those kids who try really hard to get their education? I know that education should be its own reward but this week has proven that people may need incentives. That’s fine, I have no problem with incentives for good behaviour. A few years ago the council in North East Lincolnshire hosted a music festival and the only people who could apply were those that had achieved in school. It worked, it made people happy.

Bad children and children who can’t learn as well should never be isolated and yes, we do need to make more of an effort to understand what is really on their mind but we also need to be firmer, we cannot excuse actions for any of the above.

Would you excuse your house being burnt down, your business being looted or your family harmed for any of the following reasons:

The person chose not to attend school and was uneducated

Their parents didn’t support them

Their youth centre was closed

A gunman was shot by police in their area and they chose to rampage

I didn’t think so...however kind human beings can be and we have proven that we are with the riot clean up, we cannot excuse everyone forever.

Children develop quickly and as such, must take responsibility for their own actions. Adults should take responsibility for their children and if at the end, all of this fails, then society should be there to help.

Yes, all of the above is brief (I know it is so I don’t want the backlash because I have ‘over-simplified’ things) and doesn’t even begin to touch on the points in any detail but I wanted to mention my initial thoughts. Just how long can we be expected to live in fear before we actually chose to come down with a firm but fair hand on those that do not make any efforts to better themselves. There is always another way. So many people I know have proved that.

Your education, your choice

Your kids, your choice

Your community, your choice

All of these points have simple right and wrong answers. If you chose the right one, welcome and if you chose the wrong one, then I do expect the police and government to come down on you so hard you wish you had of made the right choice.

All in all, these last few days have been hell.

I wait with baited breath to see if they are over.

I would also like to extend a special thank you to the police, the fire service and the ambulance service for going out in extraordinary volatile circumstances to help save lives. I salute you *tips my cap*