If You Are Innocent You Have Nothing To Fear

Oh yes? Yeah right.

That's the argument we get when anybody protests about the growing surveillance that's happening in our society. Standard response "If you are innocent you have nothing to fear". How about "BECAUSE" I am innocent I have plenty to fear? Because if I happen to be coming home late at night on my own the nice protective camera operatives (you know the untrained, unregistered, potential pervert ones) can "keep an eye on me" to make sure I get home safely. Nothing wrong with that? Except that now, they know where I live. Think about that. Pick any person going about their lawful business, causing no trouble for anybody, all innocent and above board and anybody can use the surveillance cameras to find out where they live and, if it's after dark they'll have a pretty good idea whether they person they are watching is going home to an empty house. Then they tell me I have nothing to fear.

What about my kids, and all the other nice innocent little kiddies on their way to school, or to the park to play with their friends? Being watched by some pervert on CCTV, because no harm will come to them will it? Except somebody knows where they live, where they go to school, and where they are right now. I don't know who's watching my kids, my innocent kids, who have nothing to fear.

Right now somebody you don't know is watching somebody you care about, your kids, your mum, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your aunty, your granny. They know where they are and then know who they are with, they know where they have been and they can probably make a guess where they are going. They can watch who goes into your home and who comes out. They can guess when you are alone and when you have company, they can see when you go to bed, they can see when your home is empty. If they watch long enough they can build up a picture of your routine, and they can make sure the CCTV cameras are pointing away from your home when they want them to.

Nothing to fear? I think not.

Date posted: 05 Apr 2009

When is an assault not an assault?

When it's a boy groping a girl's tits in class and then saying "she doesn't mind". The girl looked quite upset but when I spoke to her said she didn't want me to report it as an assault. So I reported it and her being disrupted and her learning harmed by this intrusion on her personal space. When the same boy tried to snatch the report from my hand as I was writing it, and then try to prise my fingers from the card and tell me that I should give him good grades for the lesson (even though he had done no work, failed to follow instructions and disturbed the rest of the class) I wrote that incident report up as an assault.

Do I expect anything to come from this? No.

Why not? Because the boy is from Afghanistan and the whole school bows down to the need to go gently on those kids. So they get away with whatever they feel like doing and think they can continue to do so. One day they will do something outside school and get their head kicked in by some aggrieved boyfriend or husband, who will no doubt be accused of making a racially motivated attack. We are doing these kids no favours by continually making allowances. It's a tough old world outside the school walls and they have to learn how to deal with it without getting slaughtered, and that means a bit more integration and a lot fewer kid gloves.

Date posted: 31 Mar 2009

New Seasons

Yep. Tonight we had our first bbq of the year at home. It will probably be the last one for a while since we used up the last of the charcoal and it'll be Easter likely before the shops have any in. That's what'll replace the Easter eggs on the shelves (the Easter eggs replaced the Christmas stuff) I expect. Then as soon as the BBQ stuff is gone we'll be having Halloween stuff and then Christmas again. These are the new seasons; Easter, BBQ, Halloween, and Christmas.

Date posted: 28 Feb 2009

Christmas Commandments

Erk! Christmas is upon us. If you've been looking at the shops recently it might seem that Christmas has been upon us for weeks. Not in this house! I absolutely refuse to even think about Christmas (other than presents for the family if I happen to see something they would like) until December. I have still got significant birthdays to get through before Christmas, Himself, one of my best friends from school and my mother all have birthdays in December - and not early December either! Today we put the Advent Calendar up and at some point in the future we will get the tree and the decorations down from the loft, but the real festive activities won't really start until the end of term.

Thinking about Christmas and end of term and whatnot I remembered my "Christmas Commandments" it is something I wrote ages ago for the entertainment of my students (mainly male late teens to early twenties in age). It is a performance piece and was delivered as such during the end of term "party".

Christmas Commandments

Hear now the word of the boss, let thee take heed, lest by ignorance thou fallest into error and confusion, and embarrassment and dismay come upon thee, and thy loved ones scorn thee. Listen now, and learn, for these are the commandments, handed down even unto the fourth generation, that the wise may profit whilst the foolish perish.

1. Thou shalt not commence the festivities in a state of sobriety. The season is to be celebrated with frivolity and enjoyment. Be of good cheer and celebrate, even though thy heart is heavy, for is it not so that those of glum countenance and miserable demeanour, and those who do nothing but berate those around them are left alone to ponder the error of their ways?

Indulge thyself in the joys of the season, in the sweetmeats and the beverages associated therewith, even that which is brewed and that which is fermented may be enjoyed. Share your indulgence with those that are near thee, lest they become morose and unbalanced and criticise thee. Be generous I say with the distribution and ingestion of beverages, but mix them not. Take not that which is brewed with that which is fermented, not that of the grape with the of the grain. For so it shall come to pass that the dawning of the next day shall become an abomination unto you, thy dog shall become bald, and only darkness and silence will please thee.

2. Thou shalt honour the cooks, and ply them with beverages and brews, but in moderation only, lest they become forgetful of time and technique, and conflagration and disaster ensue.

3. Thou shalt let no morsel of food be left upon thy plate at the conclusion of dinner, for this is an abomination in the eyes of those who have laboured long in the production thereof. Eat it I say, leave no scrap or morsel, not even that which is called the brussel sprout, though thy stomach is uneasy and revolts within thee, for the wages of waste is washing up even unto the Day after Boxing Day.

4. Thou shalt not cast thy nutshells upon the carpet, nor yet the crumbs of mince pies. Avoid all littering of the floor with the festive debris even that which is repellent unto thee, for, without a doubt, it will wait until thy naked foot is upon it, and bite thee.

5. Thou shalt not ingest the silver sixpence from the festive pudding, nor yet the novelty from that which is named a cracker and yet cracks not, lest the local hospital become thy residence, and thy family and loved ones see thee not for many days.

6. Thou shalt not scavenge upon the carcass of the turkey, nor anything else which may be displayed within the house for lack of space within the cooling places. Neither should thou permit thy cat or thy hound to do so. For this is a sin in the eyes of the cook and thou wilt be berated and condemned for such a thing.

7. Thou shalt not deposit the contents of thy digestive tract upon the carpet, nor upon the bedding, nor upon any item which belongs to thee not. Instead thou shalt make haste to the place which is prepared for such things, and then cleanse and anoint thyself in gratitude that thou hast not found disfavour in the eyes of those who share thy dwelling space. Failure to achieve the sanctum is a grievous sin in the eyes of many, and the fault must be rectified, with much washing, and the anointing of the place with strong smelling liquids, even that which is called "Dettol" and the spraying of that which sweetens the air and removes the taint therefrom. Even though thy stomach is in revolt, and thy head falls from thy shoulders thou must clean up after thyself.

8. Be kind to the elderly, and honour them. Even if their gifts please thee not, be generous with thy thanks. Mock not the handworked items, even though they are abhorrent to thee and of a size unfitting your mature state. Give thanks with a glad face and grimace not in dark corners, nor deride these gifts with your companions, lest the givers take offense. For truly it is said that it is better to give than to receive, and even a thought is counted worthy of gratitude and respect. Remember that age and forgetfulness come to all who survive and the passing of the years is heeded not, nor the ages of the offspring of the nieces and nephews. Neither their growth nor their age is remembered. Remember all ye gathered here that there is an abundance always of places where charitable people may dispose of that which is unwanted and unattractive. Hope always that the next festive season will bring the chariot of great speed and impeccable design such that even thine enemies are set at nought and many stand and gaze at thy coming and going, even those with whom thou wouldst wish to find favour.

9. Eat heartily of the cooked meats, and complain not, nor seek to procure alternative sustenance elsewhere lest thou be condemned to the turkey sandwich, even unto the twelfth day after Christmas.

10. Thou shalt not lurk in hope near unto the Mistletoe, lest they whom you dislike come unto thee and embrace thee and cause blushing and stammering to fall upon thee. Even though there are many nearby who find favour in thine eyes, lurk not. Nor shall thee clasp the mistletoe in thy hand nor attach it to thy person or to thine apparel for such shall make thee an object of scorn and derision. Be warned that such devices are unnecessary in a meeting of true hearts and troublesome to those whose desire is for other activity.

Here endeth the lesson. Mark it well and forget it not, that ye may enjoy the fruits of the season and suffer not the dark despair which is called the "hangover", and that thy spirits shall be uplifted and thy soul refreshed and that thee may be better fitted to return to struggle with the delights of the the assessment and the examination.

Date posted: 30 Nov 2008

Ooops, Sorry guys!

I knew I should have kept my mouth shut! See what I mean about being a jinx?

Date posted: 16 Nov 2008

Come on you Spurs!

Oh wow! I'm a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, I have always been one, when you grow up in Tottenham as I did it kind of goes with the territory. It has been, as they say, a season of two halves. In mid-September (before things got really bad) I was discussing Spurs' awful start to the season with my mother, who is also a Spurs supporter. I said "You watch, they won't win anything until about the end of October and then they won't lose for the rest of the season." Don't you just love being right?

Of course it took a new manager to get it sorted out and it's now too late for them to finish top of the Premiership there are just too many points to make up, but things are heading in the right direction.

I just hope I haven't jinxed them by saying that. I'm a jinx in cup matches, which is why I never watch them. I haven't seen Spurs win a cup match since about 1971. Not because I don't want to watch, but because I know that if I do they will lose, so I deliberately avoid watching them. I have been known to switch channels on TV for 30 seconds to check progress only to see them concede a goal. Some risks aren't worth taking. Spurs can lose (as we have seen) without me, but they never seem to win with me unless I'm actually there. Given ticket prices that's not likely to happen very much.

Date posted: 13 Nov 2008

It's a Parent thing

No. 1 son is late home. He has been on a trip to the Schools Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. He told me he was going to be back at school by 11pm. Then this afternoon he phoned and said that he would be dropped off in the town here and not have to go the extra miles to school. That's good. I checked the times, the concert isn't scheduled to end until 10pm. It is now almost midnight and not a word, though they'd be doing well to leave there at 10pm and get back here by now. He's not answering his phone. So of course, being a parent, I'm getting stressed.

Worst case scenario is that some disaster has befallen the Royal Albert Hall and everbody is dead, but we haven't seen the news so we don't know. Next worse case, some disaster has befallen the coach and everybody is dead and the police haven't got to us yet, so we don't know. Next worse case the coach is broken down and they are stranded miles away, or maybe he's fallen asleep and is now at school on his own wondering where we are and can't phone us because his phone battery had run flat or he's lost his phone.

Of course what's really happened, most likely, is that they are actually almost here and he's asleep and somebody will wake him up just in time for him to phone and say "come and collect me". It's what parents are for isn't it, worrying about what might happen to our kids.

Date posted: 10 Nov 2008