Author Archives: johnengland55

Terror in the Skies

Posted on by

The UK Government’s suspension of British flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt over the last few days, whilst British security officials investigated and put in place their own safeguards, met with a mixture of approval and criticism. The move can hardly have come as a surprise following the downing of a Russian airliner over the Sinai Desert last week with the loss of 224 lives.

It has yet to be conclusively established how the crash occurred but, upon hearing the news, I’m sure that most people immediately suspected a terrorist missile or bomb. Evidently both UK and US Intelligence have recently warned of terrorist activity in the area so that was enough for our Government to take action.

It’s a difficult position for any government to be in because with 20,000 nationals currently holidaying in the area that’s an awful lot of responsibility. I suppose the Foreign Office could have said that flying in or out of southern Egypt at the moment is a real danger and then leave it up to the individual but that is not the way it works these days.

If a British airliner were to suffer the same fate as the Russian plane just imagine the outrage directed at the Government. Imagine too the huge raft of legal claims. One cannot blame the Government for its cautious stance, irrespective of the inconvenience to holidaymakers. Better inconvenienced than dead.

I’ve never had a favourable opinion of Egyptian security since the time I took an early morning flight on Egypt Air from Cairo to Luxor a few years back. The flight was scheduled for about 6am and at 4.30am or so, as the passengers went through security screening, the “guard” was fast asleep in front of his x-ray machine. It seemed funny at the time but not anymore.

Putting on a Show

Posted on by

The rugby world cup is over, won on Saturday by the best team in the tournament who defeated the second best team. It doesn’t always happen that way, of course, but in this case New Zealand demonstrated loud and clear why they remain the team that all others aspire to be (so obvious is this fact that I actually wrote these notes 5 hours before the final even started!).

We saw some wonderful games and some superb performances from teams with no or not much in the way of rugby tradition or background. Who will ever forget Japan, small in stature but with lion hearts, beating the might of the South African juggernaut?

We English may have been disappointed by our inept national team and understandably so. However, forget that, we may have been the hosts but the competition was never just  about England, it was about world rugby and the world of rugby is probably in a better place as a consequence of this tournament.

We may not be very good at the sport (at the moment, I add optimistically!) but when it comes to putting on a show we are right up there with the very best. Virtually all commentators agreed that this was the best ever world cup, best for the quality of the rugby and best, too, for the organisation and spectacle. As a nation, we can all feel pride in that.

No More Bobbies on the Beat

Posted on by

Earlier this week it was revealed by a leading police chief that soon we will no longer see British policemen on foot patrol, otherwise known as “bobbies on the beat”.

The reason given was that evidence shows that random police patrols do not prevent crime and nor do they make people feel safe. I have no idea what “evidence” they’ve been looking at but it seems a little strange. Maybe it is correct that “random” patrols are ineffectual but surely the same cannot be said of regular patrols or beats.

The law-abiding general public undoubtedly welcome the reassuring sight of police on the streets just as much as criminals feel the opposite!

In support of these cuts (and the continuing closure of police stations up and down the land) police chiefs assure us that crime is on the decline and detection rates are improving. Even if that is true, they ignore the fact that whilst crime detection is an important police skill crime prevention is even more so.

Britain’s criminals must be licking their lips in keen anticipation at the consequences of this latest step towards lawlessness.

Growing Old Disgracefully!

Posted on by

I recently watched a television programme about a renowned retirement community in mid-Florida called The Villages, I say renowned because it is something of a 21st century phenomenon which could well spread across the so-called civilised world.

The community is now more like a city with over 100,000 retirees aged anything between 50 and 100 years of age. It is completely self-contained and administered and is often referred to as Disneyworld for old folks. It could equally be regarded as a kind of benevolent prison with hints of Big Brother or that 1960s television programme “The Prisoner” (“I am not a number, I am a free man!”) such as piped music in public places and loudspeaker announcements to help you get through your day.

The community was recently scandalised when one over-exuberant 68 year old woman was arrested for drunk-driving. Worse was to follow when the same woman, clearly a lively soul, was arrested the following week for having sex in a public place with a toy-boy aged 49 years of age!

Investigative reporters have discovered that these incidents are not quite as isolated as you may think and the community, where women outnumber men by an estimated 10 to 1, has a record of drug-taking and sexually transmitted disease to rival even Miami!

The Villages are not for everybody but even so, there’s said to be a long membership waiting list!!

Health and Safety at Agincourt

Posted on by

This Sunday sees the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, October 25th, 1415 a battle won by the English (and Welsh) against all the odds.  I wonder what would have happened if a similar event had occurred in these politically correct days………….

King (to his troops) – “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers….”

Health and Safety Official  – “Hey you, what do you think you’re playing at?

K. – “Well, I’m just about to give battle to the French and I thought I’d try and rally the men.”

H.S.O. – “Really, and what do you think you’re doing with all those bows and arrows? Where are the safety guards for those sharp points?

K. – “We were going to fire them at the French.”

H.S.O. – “What! Have you any idea how dangerous those things are? Have you issued safety goggles to your bowmen and have you carried out a full risk assessment?”

K. – “I beg your pardon?”

H.S.O.  – “And what about those wooden stakes?

K. – “Er, we were going to put them in the ground so we’d have some protection if the French cavalry decided to attack us.”

H.S.O. – “Are you stupid, have you considered what would happen if the horses suddenly stopped and threw the riders on to those stakes? They could do themselves a nasty injury.”

K. – “That’s the idea!”

H.S.O. – “And these soldiers of yours, are they on minimum wage contracts?

King – “What?”

H.S.O. – “How much do you pay them?”

K – “Pay them?”

H.S.O. – “And have you made any provision for sick leave, parenting leave and fulfilled all the criteria regarding gay rights, religious discrimination and sex discrimination? Do you employ any female employees or people from ethnic minorities”.

K. – “Eh?”

H.S.O. “Are your employees incentivised? Do you give them targets?

K.  – “Oh yes, of course. We train them to aim for the head or the heart. Well the heart really because you can still cause serious damage if your aim is a bit off centre.”

H.S.O. – “Who are you anyway?

K. – “I’m King Henry V”

H.S.O. – “Yeah, yeah and I’m Julius Caesar.

K. – “No, I really am the king and I’m the undisputed leader of this fine body of men.”

H.S.O – “They don’t look very fine to me”

K. – “That’s because we ran out of supplies and they’ve been living on nuts and berries for the last few days and most of them have got dysentery.”

H.S.O. – “Alright, that’s it. I’m afraid I’m going to have to close down this operation  without further notice. There’ll be no more invading of  France for you, sunshine.

K. – “Sergeant-at-arms. I’ve no idea what planet this jester is from but, methinks, it’s certainly one unfamiliar to me. Take him away, remove his head and let’s start this confounded battle! Cry God for Harry, England and St George!”

(With apologies to William Shakespeare)

A Fine Memorial

Posted on by

Over the weekend I visited the One World Trade Centre, New York, the building also known as the Freedom Tower, constructed on the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Centre once stood.

I visited this place many times before the atrocities of September 11th, 2001 when nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, and have visited many times since. I have therefore taken a keen interest in how the building recovery has taken shape.

The results are at once spectacular and moving. The new tower is truly beautiful and the area where the original towers stood, now converted to square shaped memorial pools, is a fitting tribute to the victims. The water is said to represent not only the regeneration of life but also the tears of humanity for what happened over 14 years ago.

To read the names inscribed on the memorial, particularly the names of the policemen and firemen along with the numbers of their fire trucks, is heart-rending. Over 400 police and fire officers gave their lives trying to save others and that is perhaps the saddest part of the tragedy.

Glancing up at the magnificent tower gleaming in the Autumn sunlight I realised that the impressive structure is not only a fine work of modern engineering and a moving memorial to all those lost lives but a testament to the courage and resilience of this great city.

Genius Declared

Posted on by

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifetime romance”.

Today, October 16th, is the birthday of Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde or just plain old Oscar Wilde for short. He was born in 1854 in Dublin the son of Sir William Wilde, an eminent surgeon and writer, and Jane Elgee, an Irish revolutionary poet.

He was a prodigious playwright, essayist, poet and critic and has the distinction of being quoted probably more than any other literary figure, bar William Shakespeare. In spite of his talents he only wrote one novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, which was also made into a film.

He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford before moving  to London where he quickly made his name in literary circles as a scholar of the new philosophy of aestheticism.

His fame spread and so he crossed the Atlantic to begin a series of lectures for the American literary elite. When asked by US Customs whether or not he had anything to declare he allegedly replied “I have nothing to declare except my genius”! There are no records of the Custom officer’s response!

Although married with two children he was bi-sexual and after a well-publicised homosexual affair and allegations of liaisons with male prostitutes he was convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years hard labour. Unsurprisingly, imprisonment proved  a terrible time for Wilde, who wrote “I know not whether Laws be right or whether Laws be wrong. All that we know who lie in gaol is that the wall is strong and that each day is like a year”.

He was released in 1897 and moved to France, never to return to either England or Ireland. He died of meningitis in Paris in November 1900 at the relatively young age of 46 but left a body of work that still has a profound influence on the world of literature to this day.

“Ah don’t say that you agree with me. When people agree with me I always feel that I must be wrong”.

A Big World Out There

Posted on by

I spend a fair amount of time in the USA and am very fond of the country and its people. However, like many travellers from across the world I do get a little frustrated by the apparent parochialism of some of the television stations and other media which sometimes give the impression that America IS the world

I appreciate that the US is a huge country – the UK could fit into it 38 times! – but it’s not the only country in the world and it’s not even the biggest. Its northern neighbour, Canada, for example is actually bigger but that’s by the by.

What prompted this missive is the lack of television coverage of the current Rugby Union World Cup, a true world event with participants from across the globe, unlike for example, Baseball’s “World Series” which comprises 31 American teams and 1 Canadian. It’s somewhat risible that the winners of that annual competition are referred to as “World Champions”!

I was in Tennessee for part of the Rugby World Cup which for the benefit of any Americans not in the know, is taking place, right now, in little old England and Wales, two quaint little places across the Atlantic Ocean – basically take a right at New York and keep going once you reach Ireland!

I spent ages scrolling through the 250 channels or whatever on my hotel TV set and narrowed my search down to approximately 12 sports channels the majority of which were showing College Football (amateur American Football played by students), replays of College Football, last year’s ice hockey and Sunday’s fishing competitions. Rugby? I may as well have been looking for The Martian Decathlon!

It’s even more maddening when all bar a couple of Americans I spoke to in Nashville (and they were rugby players themselves) were even aware that the USA has a team in the competition. The US team got as far as England as it happens, but that’s not saying much in fairness!

Anyway, the point is this, America is a wonderful country with an awful lot going for it and an awful lot going on but, US television broadcasters take note, there really is a great big world out there just waiting to be discovered by your viewers; honestly!

The Mob Speaks

Posted on by

The behaviour of the estimated 100,000 mob, who attempted to disrupt the Conservative Party conference in Manchester earlier this week, should surprise nobody.

Claims that they were demonstrating against “austerity” (aka responsible government) were contradicted by their angry, snarling faces and mouths foaming with venom amidst shouts of “Tory scum” directed at anybody wearing a suit. This was nothing less than anarchy in its most raw form.

Unfortunately, our country now seems to be divided between those who work, or wish to work, and those who do not. This is the sad downside of the Welfare State, a system set up with the noble intention of providing a safety net for the vulnerable and disadvantaged in society and designed to prevent them from falling below acceptable economic standards.

The system has however allowed itself to be abused by those lacking in responsibility and with no intention of contributing to society. The good news for the taxpayer is that, at long last, we seem to have a government prepared to try and do something about it.

Our national mind set needs to change and hard work should be prized, encouraged and rewarded. Those who cannot work through disability and those out of work not through choice must always be safeguarded and maintained. That is why the Welfare State was set up.

It was not set up to provide an alternative lifestyle for those whose only wish is to sponge off society and contribute nothing. If these people feel hard done by they should travel a bit and take a look at the rest of the world. They might then just realise how lucky they are to live in a country like the UK.

Losers

Posted on by

Sometimes money cannot buy you everything as England’s hapless rugby team have just demonstrated for all the world to see. More players, more facilities and more money spent than any other competing nation, in an attempt to make them world beaters, have counted for nothing.

Inept, indecisive and uninspiring leadership from coach to captain. Poor team selection, naive tactics and indiscipline from many players put paid to any chance of repeating what their illustrious predecessors did back in 2003.

As with many English sports, our coaches are too obsessed with computer statistics, spread sheets and charts. When will they learn that their players are not robots and the qualities that determine winners cannot be measured by a computer? How can qualities like hunger, the will to win and a refusal to accept defeat be quantified? How can a computer measure a spark of brilliance?

There is no wonder that both coach and captain feel that they have let their country down. They are both decent men but sports fans don’t want decent, they want winners.