blowing an immigration 'dog whistle'?

Ultimately, this is not just about immigration to the UK. People will always seek safer and better lives for themselves. I arrived in Britain over 3 decades ago from a former colony, which was politically unstable. The reasons for its instability can be laid squarely at Europe's feet.

While I was fortunate enough to make most of the chances available, it would have been useful then to have been given a chance of legitimately working. Instead, I was treated like a petty criminal  every time I mentioned the 'e' word. Yet, personal resourcefulness stopped me from being a state burden.

Europe, including the UK and most of the so-called 'developed' world, continue to exploit my country. UK has vast manufacturing interests there, yet fails to pay workers the recommended minimum wage. It gets around this by hiring workers though 'local' contractors. I cant begin to imagine what  tax avoidance must be like.

By perpetuating old colonial methods, deliberately keeping people poor simply by not giving them a living wage or a fair price for their goods, the UK is creating conditions for further immigration. Naturally, at the earliest possible opportunity, many of these people will try and 'escape' their 60p-a-day lives. Before you say "that's a lot of money out there", consider this:  the only way you are going to pay rent or a mortgage, food, transport, energy, medical and other expenses for yourself and 2 children is to top-up your 60p a day working for Marks&Spencer by another 120p borrowed at unbelievable cost....

More at: guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/22/politicians-put-down-immigration-dog-whistle

whizz-kids!!

Whizz-kids, a charity that helps children with a disabilities lead full lives, puts its aim simply as:"... to ensure that every disabled child has an opportunity to be something special…a kid."  Doing that needs money - lots of it. So what better way than to have 2 'whizz kids' - people who have overcome great personal challenges themselves - raise money for them at the Virgin London Marathon in April 2013?

Lorna Rixon is a keen runner. While doing her PhD, running took a lower priority, as did her usual healthy lifestyle. It wasn't long before Lorna found herself overweight, over-exhausted and overwhelmed. It took tremendous tenacity, determination and hard work  to turn her life around while completing her doctorate and working full-time. Lorna is now nearly  32 kgs lighter and regularly runs 25 Km. In her justgiving page, Lorna says:"...I have gone from not being able to run 26 steps on a treadmill, to now attempting to run over a 26 mile marathon. I would now like to celebrate my improved health, whilst raising money for a great cause. "

Jeanne Barrett takes last summer's Paralympics as her inspiration. " It made me to want to do something for kids and  Whizz-Kidz seemed like the right charity to make a difference in at least one child’s life" she says. Coming from a family of 11, Jeanne adds in her justgiving page;"...our family has been fortunate, but when I think of how special kids are in this world, my heart just says YES.  Kids are the future – we need to do what we can to help them."  A one -time dance teacher of children aged 3 - 14, Jeanne knows how vital a part confidence plays in shaping young lives.

Whizz kids running for whizz-kids deserve a whizzing lot of cash. If you are inspired by these two whizz kids as I am, then I hope you will whizz all the money you can can spare to help whizz-kids.

More at:  justgiving.com/Lorna-Rixon and justgiving.com/Jeanne-Barrett

don't go yet

In Summer 2008, a mix up with rail tickets brought me to London on an unplanned visit. It was a lovely, sunny day and at the height of 'sales'. London's Oxford circus was crowded and all seemed well.

Having found what I considered the best bargain in a long time - a 50 GBP 'designer' hoodie for 14.99 - I queued to pay for it. Then suddenly, I felt I had to leave that shop and head for the cemetery in Surrey where my dad is buried.

My dad died suddenly in 1988. Although his health was failing, it was a complete shock to my family. By that time, I was speaking to dad on the phone every other day. He and I successfully bridged the 240 km geographical gap between us.

Picking up flowers en route, I went to dad's grave. Having tended it for around 40 minutes, I placed them on it. I was about to leave, when an overwhelming thought came flooding into my head. It simply said:"don't go yet." I sat on a bench nearby, in the warm sunshine; checked my text and phone messages. I wasn't thinking of anything in particular. About an hour later, I stood up to leave. The thought was no longer there.

Friends and others I know have offered explanations. Maybe it was a supernatural experience; some sort of warning; something to get me away from Oxford st...? I keep an open mind. Robert Lanza MD, has a theory that we don't actually die; just our body does. Our energy simply 'slips' into a parallel existence. So from there, is it possible we can selectively communicate?

More at robertlanza.com

Sri Lanka through cricket... An interview with Commonwealth Writers 2012 Book Prize winner

Kris...

Kris Shah's recent death after a short illness completely stunned me when I heard about it.

It must be at least 15 years since I first met Kris. Working then for a university spin-off, it was inevitable our paths would cross. I spent a fair time zipping-in-and-out of a shared computer room. Kris' gentle sense of humour often helped sort what seemed pressing issues at the time; lack of resources and network capacity. Kris always had time to hear me.

Our chats were not just about fibre optic cables - they soon become philosophical. I was not as patient with the university; Kris had a more relaxed view. He accepted easier than me that a bigger ship would take longer to turn. When a director's job became available, I urged him to apply. I'm not sure if he did. Maybe the mandatory daily lunchtime at a bar - which seemed an intrinsic part of that job - didn't appeal to him.

When someone once mistook me for Kris and discussed at great length, a meeting they had been to earlier, I told him about it. We wondered how long we could carry on this interchangeability before anyone noticed. At his funeral, someone asked me if I was Kris' brother. Although I said no, the broader answer is yes. When Kris once remarked that I dressed "like a student", I countered with:"...well, it's better than dressing like an old man...."  Kris was definitely like a brother.

I miss him a lot more than I'll probably write about. At his funeral, I felt we celebrated a life well-lived, rather than mourn a sad loss.

Rest in peace, Kris. Huge respect.

using a bus...

This is horrendous. Anyone who thinks that cyclists are the cause of all evil and that everyone panders to their whims, should think again....Mercifully, the cyclist escaped with his life.

While you can't condemn the whole company for one employee's actions, I wonder what kind of quality monitoring they do on staff, performance and fleet. Bath-based Buglers coaches ran the no 500 service bus involved in this incident. Thankfully, Bristol city council recently made it a cutback.



In the past, buglers have run the 532/533 services in South Glos from Keynsham to Staple Hill. Their commitment to quality was poor:

Buglers' Minibus  |  Midibus

Whenever I used these, I found the vehicles shoddy and badly driven. Re-registering them to disguise their age isn't a solution. I'm glad the contract passed onto Wessex connect.

In the absence of an integrated transport authority, you are reliant on traffic commissioners to monitor standards. Doesn't appear as if much of it happens in Bristol or Bath.

not all public sector work has good benefits...