Heritage Day in Colchester

Today was heritage day in Colchester.  And we took advantage of this.  First of all it was a quick drive around town for Pokemon Go, but after breakfast we explored one area we had not been to before.

Following the local politicians on Twitter I learned that a local private school had its doors open to allow people to take in the view from its battlements.  Three girls from my daughters old school go there, so she was understandably curious and my son and I both were as well.  And it was worth the walk there.  The staff there were pleasant and friendly teaching us a lot about the history of the building and allowing us (and others) to take in the view.  She is glad that she got into her school, but if she had not, I imagine that she would have loved to go there.

After that, it was a walk down to the boys Grammar School and again a tour where we learned about the history of the school which was fascinating.  My son would love to get into the school, and time will tell if he can or not.

Anyway, we ended the day watching Strictly Come Dancing and the kids are getting much needed rest.  I say we ended, as I have stayed up to watch Arsenal on Match of the Day.  It is always great to see Arsenal play, though this game against Bournemouth did not really test our suspect defence.

Things that go bump in the night

The kids are back at school.  When I say back, that is my son.  But my daughter has started a new school, having technically not belonging to any school for six weeks.  She seems to be enjoying things, though she has been very tired in the two days that she has been there.

And this meant that my son got to ride his bike into school today, something he has wanted to do for a while.  And he did well, cycling up a slope for the first time.  I think that he enjoyed it and I think that he is looking forwards to this again next week.  Well that is what he told me anyway.

When it came to me and my cycling, I had to do more than usual for an after school meeting (though not at, or anything to do with school).  That meant cycling home, collecting my son, cycling home, waiting for my daughter, and then a trip to the meeting, again by bike.  And now my thighs hurt.

And the post refers to my daughter falling out of bed last night!

In Arsène we trust(ed)

Sorry, but I am having a crisis of faith.

I used to think that Arsène Wenger should stay, but my thoughts on this have become less certain.  And when I say this, I do not wish to say that Arsenal does not owe him lots.  As does all of English football really for the way he has transformed how football is played in England.

But now it may be the time to go.

He is still a great manager, winning the FA cup so many times is not the mark of a failure, but I honestly think that we have a team capable to winning the league.  Or if we do not now, we certainly did two seasons ago when Leicester City won the league.  We were top of the league that season but blew it, only finishing in second place thanks to a surprise result on the last day of the season.

It may be that I am being too premature, as Chelski did not do well at the beginning of last season, and still won when people thought that it was not possible.  But they did not have a defence that had conceded eight goals in the first three league games.

If he leaves, things may not be any better, as only one team can win the league.  And for the record, I would love him to prove me (and other Arsenal fans) wrong.

However, I do feel ALL Arsenal fans should support the team on the pitch and NEVER boo them off.

Invasion Colchester 2017

We had a great day today in Colchester.  Today was Invasion Colchester and it is something that I have been looking forwards to with my son for ages.  My daughter, when I had first discussed it, was not too interested in it, but she changed her mind on this.  So my son walked in with us, dressed in a jacket we got him a few years ago when The Force Awakens came out.  Although he had wanted me to dress up in something, I had refused but did wear a Star Wars T shirt while my wife and daughter wore normal clothes.  

And of course, this meant that we played Pokemon Go while my wife was very patient and did not complain at all.  We split up when my wife and daughter went into a shop and my son and I continued walking about to catch more Pokemon, but later, we met up again.  But this was in the town centre itself, and my son and I had encountered some of the characters invading the town.  This included two Predators, and later I had my photo taken with Wonder Woman (no not my wife, the other superhero).  

My son of course had no idea what the Predators are, and of course, being so young, he is not going to find out for a few years.  But he was in ecstasy when we saw an Ewok.  Culver square was full of other people, including Batman and Harley Quinn as well as the Joker, but we had to meet up with the other who, who had encountered some Wizard and Witches.  Both my son and daughter were sorted into houses, sadly neither into Slytherin, but time will tell.

Later it was a walk to Castle Park, where a Pokemon raid was to take place.  My daughter, now she has seen some of those who play Pokemon, is not as keen on it as she was before, but this means that I might get access to her account!

Anyway, she met up with some friends and left us to shop with them (a first) while my son had us by himself for two hours.  Later, we ate at Mamma Mia, a restaurant three of us had been to before, but my daughter had not and we had an amazing meal there.  

Once at home we rested and watched The X Factor. There were some good singers, but this one is amazing.


And last of all, while the kids have not played chess that much, I have continued to do so, and I have realised that I have not continued to post much on it.

So, my performance includes the following finishes.
1st place
12th place out of 19 players
203rd place out of 507 players
2nd place out of 100
19th place out of 100 players
52nd place out of 100
5th out of 99 (I was annoyed to come so close to a top three finish!)24th place out of 99 players
150th place out of 533
9th out of 16

Ben Shapiro has forgotten some facts with Muslims

I have been having an interesting discussion with someone about Islam and extremism.  This person has decided to use a video on YouTube where Ben Shapiro has cited various polls to make an argument that there are loads of radical Muslims.

The problem is that the polls are silly. One refers to Indonesia, one of the worlds largest democracies. If the poll that Ben Shapiro cites is true about how 50% of the population want strict Sharia Law enforced, that would be reflected during the elections.  I have visited Indonesia, and when there I was able to drink alcohol.  Another refers to Egypt wanting strict Sharia Law, and while the Muslim Brotherhood won the presidential elections there (until the coup and subsequent western backed crackdown on democracy) it was a close thing.

Basically, I know that there are many Muslims who will have different views to me. But most are not supporters of terrorism and most would like to live in a democracy.

Ben Shapiro is guilty of manipulating statistics and ignoring evidence that shows a wider picture on the world.

He has implied that it is only Muslims that engage in FGM, a common misconception, but one that is false.  And for the record, in order to end FGM, we must dishonour the crime of inflicting this on people in all groups, not just Muslims.

He cites Nigeria as well with support for Sharia Law, but forgets that most Muslims there are against groups that would bring that in.

He also cites the support that exists towards groups working against Israel, notably Hamas, but forgets that the reason that many are against Israel, is the way it treats Palestinians.  An example being the murder of an unarmed terrorist, after that person had been incapacitated.

And of course, his example of the support that there is amongst Muslim Palestinians want Sharia Law ignores the issue of how Hamas, the organisation that wants Sharia Law, is cracking down on groups opposing it.  Something that would not be needed if the figures he cites reflect the population there.

And his view that Muslims wanting a legal prosecution of cartoonists depicting Mohammed in the UK being extremists beggars belief!  While I disagree with the idea of prosecutions, that does not mean that they are extremists.

I live in the UK which in addition to threats from extremists calling themselves Muslim, faces threats from terrorists calling themselves Catholic.  I have helped to treat the victims of terrorist attacks by the IRA.  And that does not even count the threat posed to Catholics by paramilitaries who term themselves to he Protestant (thankfully, not anywhere near the issue this once was).

While I believe in God, I do not call anyone who disagrees with homosexuality to be an extremist.  I think that they are wrong, but an extremist?  And the same applies to other issues, such as abortion, sex outside marriage etc.

The Natural History Museum

Yesterday was a day spent with the kids.  Due to issues with childcare I had to spend time with them.  I guess that if I had really really tried, I could have arranged something, but yesterday was the last Wednesday before they return to school. Next week, my daughter will be in secondary school (which does mean more quality time with my son) and before long, she will have left home.

We had to visit the doctors and after that, it was a walk into town.  The kids enjoyed a milkshake, and until my son had a sulk, they also enjoyed Pokemon Go.  Of course, my daughter was a bit stressed when she was told about a few issues with her uniform but that did not last too long (and was amusing to watch).  After seeing the headmaster of my sons school we went to the Natural History Museum.  I have wanted to visit it for ages but the kids were not too keen.

But they liked it a lot more than they expected.  It was a great way to learn about the natural history of the local area, it had interactive exhibits that stimulated them.  I think that they were surprised at how much they enjoyed it.

After that it was a trip for food where they ended up eating my burger and then home.  Days like this will become fewer, especially when my daughter visits the town centre with her friends.

Bring me to life

Time for a quick post as I am hoping to get enough sleep to watch the series finale of Game Of Thrones.  Needless to say, last week I expected death, but not that death to occur.

Anyway, today we traveled to London to see my mother.  She appreciated this as she had not seen the kids in a while.  They were fed chocolate which they always love and gave her come fudge from our holiday in Devon.

After this it was a drive into town where my wife and daughter shopped for perfume and my son and I went on a Pokemon related walk, which he seemed to love.  His ban on my iPhone being used to run his Pokemon account ends soon, but he was able to use his iPhone, until I put a ban on it for this week as later he was using it in the car after he had been told to stop.

Anyway, Arsenal lost to Liverpool by four goals.  Not sure what to expect this season.  Hopefully we will win something and learn from this defeat.