Why I thank the Lord that I was born and raised in Mill Hill

On Saturday night I watched Joe Angel and the Pamodzi band perform a set of the finest reggae music known to man at The Three Hammers pub. The whole place was one massive party united in a love of music. On Sunday morning I read about the shootings in Charlestown, where a deeply disturbed young man with a legally owned firearm went on the rampage, wishing to start a "race war".

There are many conclusions I have drawn from these two events, but I guess top of the list is to thank the good Lord that I was born and raised in Mill Hill rather than a culture where nutcases owning guns is seen as a constitutional right and where ethnic divisions are rife. God Bless London for its sanity and diversity (I hope those of you who are non believers subscribe to this sentiment if not my wording, it is the best figure of speech I can come up with to describe my feelings).

Charlotte Church summed up how I view our country and nationalism very well in a recent speech at a rally "i'm proud to be british because of our nhs, the welfare system and david bowie, not because of the union jack....we will not be silenced."- It is worth listening to what she had to say.

Please don't let anyone destroy the things that really make our country great. You don't have to look very hard to realise that we've actually got a great country and a great society. Sadly the biggest threat to our country is one from those at the top, who don't believe in fairness and social justice.