A new car

Well, this weekend was a hot one, and one that was not expected, though not always hot otherwise my son would have been able to play cricket on Saturday morning.  But in addition to that pleasant surprise the kids got to enjoy our new car.

It was sad to leave our old one, or rather the old one of my wife.  It has been in the family for years, and while it has been a faithful helper to the family, it has not been as reliable as it was before.  And over that time, the technology in cars has changed.  So while my car has changed a few times, we have been exposed to how things have changed with it.  The kids now that they are older want to listen to music that they like.  And they find it easier to do so on their phones.  So now we have two cars where they can do so.

Thoughts and Prayers May 2018

Yet more shootings have occurred in US schools.  Again.


The above video was recorded last year in response to the way that US politicians keep blaming mental health for these shootings which do not occur anywhere as frequently in developed nations with decent gun controls.

I am grateful that I live in a nation where I do not have to worry as much as parents in the USA that my children will be murdered at school. Danger is everywhere in all nations and the mass murder of children can happen in any western nation. It last happened in the UK in 1996, following which a ban on handguns was imposed. Before this, following a mass shooting in 1987, semi-automatic weapons had been banned.

Since then, we have had incidents where the murder of more than one person has occurred, but these have been rare, one example being, how Derrick Bird killed many innocent people, followed by the murderous rampage of Raoul Moat. But this was in 2010 and while mass murder has occurred since then on several occasions, firearms have not been used in this manner to kill so many. The thing is that guns are still legal in the UK, though there are restrictions on what guns can be owned.

Gun crime exists here, but the rates are far lower than in nations like the USA, just like how the overall murder rate in the USA is higher than in other developed nations. The call in the USA by many is for assault weapons to be banned. Those who are against it cite the second amendment to the US constitution which allows the right to bear arms. But this was made in a time when a well trained person would take almost a minute to shoot three times. I have discussed this with my wife, and she is of the view that nothing will change in the USA. And to be fair, she may be right. After the murders of very young children in Sandy Hook, assault weapons are still legal, and this is probably due to the campaign contributions made by organisations like the NRA to protect the right of Americans to have assault rifles, though this has meant the continued murder of children in schools. Something that does not happen anywhere near as often outside the USA.  And when it is okay to kill kids aged between six and seven, teenagers have no chance of being protected by gun laws.  Which means, that other than the ban on bump stocks, Trump is not going to act to stop the continued mass murder of American children in schools.

All weekends are equal, but some are more equal than others

Today, we decided not to do the sensible thing, which was to stay at home and work on the garden.  Instead we went out for a trip to Southwold.  We have been here many a time and the children do not seem to mind the drive there, as now they have control over the music that we listen to.

Once there, we were lucky to find a parking space, but it was a bit colder than we had expected.  After some time on the pier where he had some lunch, enjoyed the sun, and gazed at the sea, it was a walk into town.  My son was amazing as he was willing to walk quite fast, though this was related to Pokémon Go.  This has been amazing for him when it comes to exercise and I have to say I was impressed with his endurance.

After that it was a drive home where my wife fed us some amazing pasta and we snuggled up on the sofa to watch a film.

Trump and his christian values on abortion

Ireland have agreed to a change in the abortion laws that have saved the lives of many babies who had mothers who were unable to afford a trip to the United Kingdom.

Do not get me wrong, like many, I think that abortion should be safe, legal and rare.  Working in healthcare, I am in a situation where I have helped people to obtain this, and when I do so, it is with a heavy heart, knowing that this is the least worst of several bad options available.

What is interesting are the christian values that a man on his third wife claims to follow.  We know for a fact that he started to see the woman who was to become his second wife while he was still married to the first.  While there have been allegations that he had assaulted other women, he can always say that this is not true.  People are innocent until proven guilty, and Trump has not been found guilty of such charges.  And while he has engaged in 'locker room talk' where he stated that he had taken part in unfaithful behaviour, again, he has not been found guilty of this and denied doing such things, and later tried to cast doubt about these things that he had said.

However, there are two allegations, strong ones, that Donald Trump, not only has been unfaithful, but has attempted to keep both quiet.  One with Karen McDougal and the other a single encounter with Stormy Daniels.  Again, these allegations are not proven.

So, while allegations have been made, which are unproven, the man is an admitted adulterer (who is now on wife number three).  How the Christian religious right can back him so much is beyond me.  Maybe one day, someone will let me know.

But back to the point of this post, if a man, one that many Christians on the right (but not all) respect, cannot be trusted to be faithful, how can those on the religious right expect other men to stay faithful?  And if they are not to be trusted, should a woman be forced to bear a child she does not want and risk being a single mother before her time?

I got one!

Since my last post about the family, my daughter has left.  She is away on a school trip for the next few days, and for now, my son does not seem to miss her, though my wife and I do.  Today was interesting as I got back from dropping my daughter at school to return home, finding that my son annoyed his mother, so I cooked him breakfast, and then, when he refused to eat it, made him eat it.  For the evening, we went to see Isabel and Tony were we ate dinner and then home.  A new hob was fitted and then it came to putting a draw back which had to be removed to fit it.  That was fun, though my wife and I made up after the slight discussion on now to perform this task!

Anyway, when it comes to Pokémon GO, on Tuesday, I had to go to the doctors.  On the way, I was able to attend an EX raid, where someone kindly caught my son another Mewtwo, and also, after it was defeated in battle, helped me catch it.  Which meant that it was third time lucky for me.  But he is ecstatic that he has two of these rare Pokémon while only have one.  But, I can boast that, for now, one of my Pokémon is still in a gym in Sri Lanka!

Arsenal without Arsène Wenger

Okay, I will admit it, I cried when it came to the last home game for Arsène Wenger.  Also, I was very glad, and surprised that we won our last league game, especially as it was an away game.

Also, I am optimistic about the next season.  People I have said this to think that I am insane, but the reasons that I am looking forwards to this is the legacy that Arsène Wenger has left the club.  While he won several FA Cups recently, the team has not performed to its potential, a big example of this being when Leicester won the title.  Do not get me wrong, they deserved it, and took advantage of the weaknesses of other teams.  But Arsenal was top of the league at New Years and should have won the title.  But it is our home form that gives me hope.  Our away form has been terrible, but our performance at home has only been second to the champions.  And a team that can have that home record is a team that is capable of winning the title, or at the very least, finishing second in the league.

Things will be hard.  Players that the team need will be attracted to other clubs.  It is thanks to Birmingham City that this is the case, as we were to have won the league in 2008, only for our season to fall apart after Eduardo was badly injured.  It was humiliating to finish third in a two horse race for the title, especially when we had a commanding lead. After that, players left for glory elsewhere, and while we would not have completed with wages in the 2008-09 season, being champions would have kept players at Arsenal and would have attracted others.

And on the topic of players, it is sad that Santi Cazorla is leaving the club.  He has been amazing.

Did Putin do it?

Sergei Skripal was discharged from hospital this week.  I have no idea about what state he is in or if he has had any residual effects from his poisoning.

What was interesting at the time, was that the poisoning made no sense.  Over the years, may Russians have died in mysterious, or not so mysterious circumstances.  So while some forms of arranging an accident of a spy may not be possible, others were.  And it is the use of a nerve agent that made me think that Russia was innocent.  Until this interview.


Russia has claimed innocence over many issues, this including the destruction of MH17, the accidental invasion of Crimea and the way that opponents of Putin keep dying.  All sorts of conspiracy theories have been put forwards by them.  And it is the way that the Russian Ambassador decided to cast doubt on the poisoning taking place which finally swung it for me.

However, while I do think that Russia is responsible for the poisoning, I still doubt that Putin himself was behind it.  To murder someone (or rather try to,) using a method that would be bound to antagonise the west in a manner that has caused a lot of collateral damage which will cause worldwide outrage is not something that the leader of a nation would do.

I do wish Sergei Skripal and his daughter the best. But, while I do not trust Putin, I do hope that an alternative leader who is worse does not replace him.