Athletic Bilbao

Another game and another victory. Watching the highlights, it appeared to be an easy game, at least until the substitutes came on.  It is too early in the season to comment accurately on how it will end, but victories like this are important for team morale. 

Arsenal and the victory on the weekend

I managed to watch the highlights of the Arsenal game. It was great to win again, even more so against the old manager of The Scum. Our second position in the league is on goal difference. I know I should be grateful that we have finished second, a position other teams would love to have finished in, but I cannot help but be envious at the trophies other teams have won. 

True patriots accept that our nation is multicultural

When Djed Spence played for England, I had mixed feelings. I was glad to see the first Muslim player take the field, and annoyed that a Spurs player was on the pitch.  When we were in Bristol on the weekend, the hotel we stayed in hosted the England (Women’s) Rugby team. There was no racism about them representing our nation. The Union flag and the flag of St George was flown outside the hotel as it has been for ages, but the roundabout near it had lampposts adorned with Union flags, but like with many places in the country, due to where they are, it is like they are at half mast.

On the weekend, there was a far right march. While the march for Palestine Action had more arrests, most were for peaceful protest. On the weekend, the far right decided that Blue Lives don’t matter and they attacked the police, the arrests being for violent conduct. 

The Union flag is one of inclusion, taking in languages other than English, the same with the flag of St George. Those who insist that only English is spoken on our shores are not aware how Cornish is a native language along with Scottish Gaelic and of course Welsh. Yiddish and Hebrew have also been an important part of our nation, with speakers being back on our shores in large numbers since the 19th century.

The flag of our nation represents values and ideals that people literally risk death to be part of. It was welcomed refugees for centuries and intolerance to them has been present in darker parts of our history as it is now. If you like the music of Queen, remember that Freddie Mercury was a refugee. Rita Ora, singer and actress, was a refugee as was Mika, another singer. And of course, our nation has Christian values, and Jesus was a refugee from The Middle East.  

I have met some Asylum Seekers. Many have terrible tales and we should accept those, but I have met a minority whom I would argue could seek refuge within their nation, with no actual need to travel to the UK. A change in European law is needed to ensure that those who need to come here do, while those who do not have to are not given asylum, for there is no doubt that our generosity is being abused.

Last of all, we housed the homeless during the COVID pandemic. It is right that we offer shelter to asylum seekers, but we should be doing the same to the homeless as well. 

Back home

We are back at home after our drive back. We checked out of the hotel after breakfast, delivered our last item to my daughter and took her for a coffee while we heard about her first night in university accommodation.

After that, we met up with friends who travelled from Wales whom we have not seen in a long time. It was great to meet in person and to catch up. My wife took a bit of pleasure showing pictures of Tony and I from his 50th birthday. Both he and I honestly could not remember them until they were shown to us. 

And then it was our drive home.  And it rained and rained. When we started off, it was not too bad, and then it got worse. When my wife and I swapped over it started to rain a lot more. Traffic was so bad, we had to drive the wrong way around the M25. My son was amazing, he kept us entertained with music and now we are back at home resting. 

Daughter drop off

Another exhausting day. My daughter is now dropped off and hopefully is enjoying her first night at University. Taking her to university was easy, it was getting a few items that my wife felt was needed which made things worse, that and a lunch that never came.

However, we have had dinner at a restaurant called Nadu, one my son, wife and I would recommend and hope to return to. All in all, a productive, but as noted before, an exhausting day. 

Soon to say goodbye

We are in Bristol. My daughter moves into university accommodation tomorrow. My wife booked a hotel for us to stay in, she has been here before, this being when we had come for an open day. Then she used the spa with a friend.

This turns out to be the hotel the England Rugby squad are using, but I have no idea who the star players are as I don’t watch rugby that often and have not watched any of the women’s games.  I will be letting one of our friends know as his daughters play rugby and he loves the sport having played rugby himself when younger. 

We are all going to miss her, but I am also envious and excited that the next stage of her life is to begin. 

Charlie Kirk and the costs of school shootings

Let me start by saying that the murder of Charlie Kirk is wrong.

I have listened to The Newsagents discussing the murder of Charlie Kirk. On the day he died, another school shooting took place in the USA, but this was not discussed.  This is because yet another school shooting in the USA is no longer news.

His comment about how it is “worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment” is a price many advocates of Gun Rights do not pay. Sadly, this price was also paid by students at Evergreen High School, and I suspect that like many Americans, they did not agree with the price to pay for “Gun Freedom” in the USA.

I do feel a bit sorry for Charlie Kirk and the huge grief his loved ones feel, but my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the school shooting that day, and the many other Americans who were murdered by gun violence yesterday, the deaths of whom are not getting the coverage of Charlie Kirk.