Mothering Sunday

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Most of us take our mothers for granted don’t we? Not through any lack of affection or disrespect, of course, but simply because, as children and beyond, she is always there for us. Parents shape our lives and have a huge influence on how we develop as human beings and our mother is undoubtedly the single most important person in all our lives. She carried us for nine uncomfortable (I would assume!) months and brought us into the world bestowing upon us her totally unconditional love and devotion.

The father may traditionally be the breadwinner and the nominal head of the family but the mother is the catalyst. She holds the family together. She is at the centre of our lives and we gravitate around her like planets around the Sun. There may be exceptions but a poor mother is a rarity.
We take our mothers for granted because we can. Her love is guaranteed and her loyalty, strength and dependability sustain us and guide us through the turbulent waters of childhood and adolescence. She’s the one who cleans the cuts and bruises, comforts us and wipes away the tears when things go wrong. She’s the one who nurses us when we are ill, who takes us to the doctor when we’re off colour and to the dentist when we need a tooth filling. Even when childhood is long past she continues to support and help us throughout our lives until death do us part. We trust her implicitly and let’s face it, if you can’t trust your mother who can you trust?
For a mother, bearing a child is the start of a lifelong sentence (in a positive sense hopefully!) and the beginning of a new life of unquestioning and unquestioned sacrifice. A mother never ceases to worry, fret and care for her offspring. And what does she get in return? Sometimes, or so it must appear, other than sleep deprivation, constant anxiety, worry lines and stretch marks, very little!
Mothering Sunday, or Mother’s Day as it is now called, was traditionally the day when English children honoured their mothers with small gifts, usually posies of flowers and demonstrated that on at least one day out of 365 love is not necessarily a one way street! We don’t always show it, of course, but I suspect our mothers know how grateful and appreciative we really are, not just on that one Sunday in March, but throughout the year. Thankfully, a mother isn’t just for one day; she is quite literally, as the adverts say, for life.

Arab Betrayal

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I visited Azraq castle yesterday, the castle in eastern Jordan where Lawrence of Arabia was based with his Arab forces in 1917. From here Lawrence led the successful assault on Damascus effectively ending  the Turkish occupation of Arab lands and precipitating their defeat in the First World War. The victory should have been a happy ending for the Arab Revolt but unfortunately it wasn’t.


To encourage an Arab revolt the British government had promised full independence and self determination to the Arabs if they were victorious against the Turks. However, they were at the same time concluding the secret Sykes Picot agreement with the French providing for the sharing of Arab lands between the British and French once the war was won; the complete opposite of what they had promised the Arabs.

Lawrence, of course, was absolutely furious and dismayed when he learned of his country’s duplicity, not least because he, in good faith, had personally encouraged the Arabs to rise up with the promise of independence at the war’s end. Lawrence, a great and inspirational leader and a true friend of the Arabs, worked hard to try to overturn the Sykes-Picot agreement but what could one man do, even a man such as he, against the collective will of two powerful governments?

Although his efforts assisted in the creation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1921, albeit under a British mandate (which ended in 1946), his pleas fell largely on deaf ears. Tired and embittered by his exertions Lawrence returned to England to write his autobiography (The Seven Pillars of Wisdom) and later joined the RAF as an ordinary serviceman using the alias of T.E. Shaw. 

He was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1935 though some people, particularly his many Arab friends, suspected the hand of the British government. Maybe they were right for who knows fully what goes on in the dark corridors of power? One thing is for sure though, the name of Lawrence of Arabia is still loved and revered in Arab lands and it is a tragedy that his country’s promises were broken. If they had been kept perhaps the Middle East would be a safer place today.

Human Rights For All?

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UK citizen, Christopher Tappin, was recently  extradited to the USA to await trial for allegedly selling weapon parts to the Iranians. He’s not actually been convicted of any crime in this country (nor it has to be said anywhere else) and it appears that he has lived lawfully and peacefully in the UK for all of his 65 years.

Without even a brief examination of the evidence compiled against him by the American authorities he was duly flown to the USA where he spends some 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. Earlier this week his application for bail before a Texas court, in front of whom  he appeared in chains, was dismissed. He will therefore wait in his cell until such time as the US government decides to try him.
Meanwhile back in the UK, Abu Qatada, a Jordanian national wanted by his country for various terrorist related crimes is free to remain in the UK because the European Court of Human Rights say that the Jordanians may well use evidence against him obtained through torture. This is a man who with his links to Al-Qaeda, was described by a British judge as “Bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe” . The UK government regards him as sufficiently dangerous to warrant the spending of £100,000 per week of taxpayers’ money on surveillance to make sure that he doesn’t carry out any of the threats he has repeatedly made to destroy innocent lives in this country and others.
In summary, suspected international terrorist and Jordanian national Abu Qatada has the human right to remain in the UK but UK citizen Christopher Tappin, suspected of crimes by the US Government, does not. There’s something not quite right here don’t you think? 

Maths and Ale

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I was going to post a blog about the news last week that nearly half of all adults in this country have the numeracy skills or maths ability of an 11 year old. I was then going to comment that that is only part of the story and that a significant proportion of the populace can barely read, compose a letter with any grammatical accuracy and have difficulty in communicating with their fellows save by text.

I was going to say that the idiots responsible for our education system (those in charge of the curriculum rather than the poor teachers who have no choice but to teach it) have failed at least the last two generations, ignoring completely the lessons of their predecessors who knew only too well the value of teaching the three Rs (reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic). Then I thought, it’s too depressing and we know all this anyway; so why waste my time and yours by blogging about it?!

So, I decided to comment instead on the wonderful news contained in yesterday’s Sunday Times concerning the micropub revolution. Well, it’s not quite a revolution yet but it is at least a movement in the right direction and a real hope that pubs can become pubs once again. In micropubs only proper (real) ale will be sold, lager will certainly not and conversation amongst customers will be encouraged.

Certain micropub owners have apparently banned all sorts of entertainment, proscribed fruit machines and other noisy distractions and have made clear to all customers that the use of mobile phones will not be tolerated. One owner imposes fines on mobile phone users, the proceeds going to charity, and another has even gone so far as to confiscate the phones and nail them to the wall. How good is that?

Imagine going to a pub where they only sell traditional English bitter and people actually converse with (rather than shout at) one another. Goodness me, whatever next, honest politicians? Now I am being silly!

World Service

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This week the BBC World Service celebrated its 80th birthday, having started out life as the British Empire Service way back in 1932. A lot has happened in those 80 years, not least the fact that there is, of course, no longer an empire for it to serve!

During the Second World War the BBC Overseas Service, as it was then known, provided a vital service both in supplying news of the outside world and moral support to those struggling in Nazi-occupied Europe. Those years were probably the finest in the history of the BBC World Service (its name was changed in 1965) though in the long years since the end of the war its broadcasts have been heard and relished by many people around the world lacking the freedoms that we, in the free world, take for granted.

There is a natural tendency, now that the UK is no longer a major player on the world stage, to regard the BBC World Service as something of an anachronism and to an extent that may well be true. However, according to figures released this week, some 7 million Iranians regularly tune into the BBC World Service. That would seem to indicate that the Service is alive and kicking and if it can provide information and hope to those suffering under that cruel regime then clearly, it still has a vital role to play.

…….Is No Life At All!

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Like many people, I suppose, I am still saddened and sickened by the events relayed in Friday’s post. I find it hard to believe that we have sunk to a level where we have allowed the zealots of fear and political correctness to put petty rules above the saving of a human life.

Of course, as a lawyer I can see the sense in rules and regulations and even an element of supervision of the people by the State (without it there is anarchy) but what we must not accept is interference bordering on control by a Nanny State. It is patronising and demeaning, removing as it does the responsibility for our own actions and thoughts. Truly, we have now reached the Orwellian vision described in “1984” a book that should be compulsory reading for every free thinking person.

There is always an element of risk in life, there has to be. If people didn’t take risks how would we develop? There would be no inventors or explorers, no scientists and no rebellion against the stifling conformity of traditionalists. Free thought and action is what has enabled the human species to survive and progress. There is a poem called “To Risk” which should be sent to the Health and Safety departments of every local council and company in the country. You can read the poem on Google but the last few lines are worth quoting –

“To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the
Greatest Hazard in life is to risk nothing.
People who risk nothing, do nothing
Have nothing, are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow
But they cannot learn, feel, change,
Grow, love and live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves:
They have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.”

(PS. I’d like to credit the poem to somebody but several people appear to claim it as their own. Anyway, whoever wrote it, they were surely right!)

Life Without Risk

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An inquest took place this week into the death of a man who drowned in a lake in Gosport, Hampshire. When the emergency services arrived at the scene the man was lying face down in the water but a witness said she didn’t think he’d been there long and told the crews that if they hurried they might be able to save him. It was at this moment that the scourge of the modern age, Health and Safety, reared its ugly head.

Whilst a policeman and a paramedic wanted to jump in to try to save the man they were ordered not to do so, the inquest was told. The reason given was that emergency personnel are specially trained to deal with specific types of emergency and if the emergency is outside of your area of expertise then you are not allowed to intervene; too much of a risk, presumably. In this case the officers concerned were only trained up to level one meaning that they could only enter water that went up to their ankles (no, I’m not making this up), and what was required was the expertise of a level two officer who is trained to enter water up to chest height.

Since no level two officer was present the officers who were there were told to stay on dry land. Eventually the level two officers arrived and when they, heroically no doubt, entered the water they discovered that the man was dead. The water, by the way, was three feet deep.

Nobody knows for sure whether or not the delay prevented the victim from being saved because nobody knew for sure when he drowned. However, a doctor told the inquest  that it was possible that he could have been saved if he’d been taken out of the water 10 minutes after falling in. This is not the first such incident involving the strict rules and regulations of Health and Safety.

A couple of years ago a woman fell down an Ayrshire mine shaft and was left there for 8 hours because the winch, present at the shaft, was only to be used to save rescue workers. When the emergency services eventually reached her she was dead. A year or so prior to that a young boy drowned in a Wigan pond because the police officers arriving on the scene were not authorised to enter the water.

It is almost beyond belief that this should be happening anywhere let alone in this once great country of ours. No comment is necessary since the facts speak for themselves but I will say that modern Britain’s obsession with risk management, quality control, health and safety and all the other examples of politically correct nonsense are slowly choking the life out of us; quite literally in some cases.

The Mobile Takeover

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According to figures released last week by Cisco, the vast American networking hardware manufacturer, 2012 will see the number of mobile phones exceed the number of human beings worldwide. That is a pretty amazing statistic. Of course, in the UK mobiles already outnumber the population by some distance according to statistics disclosed at the end of last year.

The mobile phone revolution (and no other word more accurately describes the phenomenon) which began over twenty years ago shows no sign of abating and a brief look around any public place will show just how important mobile phones are to our every day lives. People are forever communicating with one another whether by phone or text, playing games and videos, listening to music and even watching television on the more sophisticated devices. It is quite incredible when you think back to the days when none of this was available to us. If you were to tell somebody under the age of twenty five that there was actually a time when we didn’t use mobile phones they will no doubt wonder how we managed to survive!

Mobile phones have many benefits, the ability to make contact in an emergency such as a car breakdown or a medical crisis immediately come to mind but there is always a downside if you don’t want to be contacted. Still, you can always ignore it or turn it off, can’t you? Maybe not.

There was an amusing tale in yesterday’s Sunday Times (taken from the Police Magazine) concerning a gentleman arrested for drink driving. Whilst being interviewed at the police station the sergeant asked him if he wanted to read the unread text message on his mobile phone before the phone was switched off and placed in the property bag. The man replied “No, I usually ignore the s**t the missus texts me”. The sergeant asked him if he was sure whereupon the man said “Oh go on then”. The message read “Don’t drive home, pigs w8ing 4 u round corner”!

The Dangers of Motorcycling

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Only one percent of the UK’s road users are motorcyclists but that tiny percentage accounts for a staggering twenty percent plus of all fatalities on our roads. Put another way, motorcyclists represent a mere one out of a hundred road users yet they account for over one fifth of road traffic deaths. There have been various campaigns to increase awareness of motorcyclists (for example, the “Think Bike!” advertisements) but at the moment there are no compulsory motorcyclist related questions in the Department of Transport driving theory test. Meanwhile the casualties continue to mount.
There are, of course, questions in the test relating to motorcyclists but the questions are selected at random so therefore many people pass their tests and are let loose on the roads without having answered any motorcycle related questions. There is therefore no guarantee that they have any awareness at all of motorcyclist related safety. As a biker myself I have to say that a sizeable proportion of road users seem to drive without any thought or awareness of motorcyclists, whether it be driving too close to a motorcycle or pulling out of side streets totally oblivious of the motorcycle heading towards them on the major road.

I’m sure that all motorcylists will agree with this and will confirm that it is only their defensive riding that prevents the occurrence of even more accidents. I personally have lost count of the number of times that a car has pulled out directly in front of me so much so that I don’t even bother to remonstrate with the car driver any more. The dangers to young and/or inexperienced motorcyclists cannot be over estimated.

Now, leading UK motorcycle insurance specialist, Bennetts, are campaigning to ensure that motorcycle related questions are made compulsory in all driving theory tests. When you consider a statistic quoted by them that the motorcyclists casualty rate is 61 times greater than that of other road users you can understand why. If you agree then log on to http://www.bennetts.co.uk and sign their online petition to be presented to the Department of Transport in order that the format of the driving theory test is altered without delay.

Speak English?

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One of the joys of travel is having a stab at foreign languages even if it’s just ordering a beer or wishing somebody good morning. Putting the boot on the other foot I’ve often thought that the English language with its many inconsistencies and anomalies, must be extremely difficult for foreigners to master; let’s face it, it’s not exactly easy for us at times!


Many countries, such as Thailand, from where I’m writing this, have a different alphabet (the Thai alphabet has 44 letters as opposed to our 26) so that can hardly make it any easier. In spite of this, and in spite of the fact that we British are probably the worst foreign language speakers in the world (due of course to the fact that most of the world speaks or understands English) we still laugh, rather uncharitably it has to be said, when foreigners make a hash of our language.


I was walking through a city plaza in Chiang Rai the other night when my attention was grabbed by a menu outside a cafe. When I’d managed to control my helpless laughter I copied it out word for word  –

The moustache is tiny squid roasts – sold out
The demon moustache squid roasts – 20 baht (40p)
The banana squid/egg squid roasts – 30-50 baht
The ark shell scalds/burns – sold out
The shrimp burns – 60-100 baht
The meatball fries. Every the wood – 50 baht

If I’d had a translator with me perhaps I might have tried something; certainly the demon moustache squid roasts sounded interesting! However, I gave it a miss and carried on walking until I saw another place advertising “North Eastern Labrador”! I was told that it was, in fact, a pork dish but bearing in mind that they do eat dog in some parts of the country I wasn’t going to take a chance!

Travel certainly broadens the mind alright.