Rog T's Food Blog #3 - Two great restaurants in two days!

One of the things I've been looking forward to writing about here is the great places to eat that I visit in London. Last week, I visited two. One was a second visit, the other was a new place for me. Lets start with Friday night. We were going to see Lovers Rock legend Carroll Thompson at Ronnie Scotts. A group of seven of us were meeting beforehand for something to eat. Last year we had a good meal at Prixe Fix on Dean Street. They do a deal where you get a discount if you order before 6pm (sorry I couldn't find the deal) so we booked for 5.45pm. We have been there before and always had good meals and found the staff friendly. For a starter I selected Aubergine roulade stuffed with chickpea & tahini mash, tomato and fresh basil sauce to start and followed that with a main course of House smoked, braised Beef short ribs with smoked aubergine, mushroom and barley Risotto. For dessert, I had Traditional Apple Tarte Tatin with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  We washed it down with the House Red. The aubergine was very tasty and enjoyable. The ingredients were fresh, which to my mind makes a big difference, especially with herbs like Basil.  

The smoked beef short rib was delicious, falling from the bone. I loved the smokiness. I've never thought about doing a smoked beef short rib, so it will definitely be something I try myself in the summer, when we get to barbeque season. For me, this was a successful visit as I got an idea for a recipe to try. I've never tried smoking meats before and this really pricked my interest. Should this work out, I'll share it. The apple tarte was perfectly pleasant. I am not really a pudding person, but we had time to kill so it seemed polite to have something! The staff are pleasant and the ambience is good. I would go as far as to say it's probably our current favourite pre show restaurant in the West End. In short good food and good value. Trip advisor rates it as #610 out of #21,617 London restaurants. I had a look through the reviews and the bad ones were by and large pretty old. I suspect that it would score higher with recent reviews.

On Saturday, we were in Camden Town for funk legends, The Real Thing at The Jazz Cafe. We again met friends for a pre gig meal. We settled on Andy's Taverna on Pratt Street. If I am honest, Greek cuisine is not something I eat a lot of.  Grilled meats and kebabs are something I tend to associate more with holidays to the Med, where after a few days of the same sort of food I get bored with it. However our friends were keen and I am not a Prima Donna, so we agreed. I was pleasantly surprised. I opted for the mixed Mezze for £22. It would give me a chance to sample a wide range of their wares. It included a Kleftiko, which my Greek mates tell me is usually the way to gauge a good restaurant. The cold starters, humous, tzatsiki, taramasalata, etc were the usual fare. Tasty and fresh, the bread was also nice and fresh. The hot starters of calamari, haloumi and bacon were also fresh and tasty.  The main course was a selection of grilled meats, chicken, lamb, sausages and the aforementioned kleftiko. When they came out there was suitably large portion and it was all cooked to perfection. The Kleftiko was superb. Our group all agreed that it was excellent and we will definitely be back. The restaurant is ranked #24 of 21,617 London restaurants. The ranking is well deserved.

Two great gigs, two great great meal's. What is not to like! As  a general rule (and rules are made to be broken) most of my reviews will be of places that are great places to eat as part of a night out. It will be one of the themes of the food blog. To me, food is part of a picture and I think this is something many other food bloggers seem to miss. 

Donald Trump has just started the Third World War but no one has noticed!

 Something very strange is going on in the World today. We have a war between Russia and Ukraine. We have a terrible conflict between Hamas and Israel, where tens of thousands have died and despite a ceasefire, it is almost impossible to imagine a scenario where there will be a fair, just and lasting peace deal. You would think that a new President, taking over the mantle of Leader of The Free World, would be looking at this situation and thinking "How can I make sure all of my allies are lined up behind me, so we can present a United front and ensure maximum leverage on those parties that we need to force to the negotiating table". That is not how Donald Trump thinks. His first major foreign policy moves are not in these regions. He has targetted neighbours and allies, Canada and Mexico with trade sanctions. The most bizarre aspect of this, is that the pretext is to stop the cross border trade in Fentanyl (a super strong opiate). He has also informed Denmark that he wants them to hand over Greenland to the USA, starting a row with a small country on a different comntinent that has, up to now always been a staunch ally. He has told the EU, an organisation I would have assumed he'd want onside against Russia, that he is planning sanctions against them. China, not an ally, but the one country with some sort of leverage against Russia is also in his sights. 

Now the obvious observation is that he is cracking the whip to show both foes and allies who is the boss. He is laying down his cards to get massive trade concessions. He is acting like a property speculator, ruthlessly trying to put together a mega deal, and using every trick in the book to maximise his profits. That was my assumption when I first started to hear of these proclamations. Then I thought about it and analysed what he is doing and saying. He has said that he wants both Greenland and Canada to become part of the USA. He's not talking about doing nice trade deals that are a bit better for America, he's talking about a full on land grab. Western Democracies have made the mistake in the past of misreading the territorial ambitions of despots. Wars rarely start with armies marching across borders. They start with a period of economic attacks on the enemy, ever increasing claims a false flags, negotitations that are designed to fail and when all of these have set up a permissive environment, the troops walk in. 

When I first heard about the link between Fentanyl and the sanctions I was completely baffled, but Trump is portraying this as a threat to Americans that needs to be dealt with. The genie is out of the bottle. He has to do something that demonstrated that his policy is working or he will look like a fool. If he'd said that Canada and Mexico simply had bad trade deals, that would be a completely different thing. He hasn't. The USA has the most robust economy on the planet, Mexico and Canada combined do not have the GDP of California, let alone the USA. The concept that these economies are a threat to the USA is ridiculous, so Trump has chosen drugs. There is no doubt that Fentanyl is killing a huge number of Americans. Nearly 90,000 died of drug overdoses in 2024. If this many people were killed in an atatck by a hostile power, it would be a devastating act of war. Trump playing this card against Canada and Mexico is one that is hard to see as anything other than the start of a very hostile campaign against his neighbours. The sad truth, one which Trump ignores, is that it is the failure of US policies that has caused the crisis, but one that suits an expansionist agenda.

It is highy unlikely that trade tariffs will disrupt the movement of narcotics across the borders of the USA and I don't believe that this is what Trump is looking for. I believe that his goal is to enshrine himself in history as the greatest ever US President and I am coming around to the idea that he believes his lasting legacy will be to expand the territory of the United States of America. So what does he really want? Lets start with Mexico. I don't believe that Trump wants to conquer Mexico. If the country becomes the 51st State, then every Mexican could move to wherever they wanted in the USA, which sort of defeats the policies he's been espousing for years. Far more likely however would be a limited operation to carve out a buffer area between the USA and Mexico. Just suppose that between the current US border and Mexico, there was a 'sterile corridor' 20 miles deep, then it would be a hell of a lot more difficult to climb over fences or tunnel under them. Mexico couldn't hope to win a war against the USA, something Trump knows. Maybe he could bully them into such an idea or maybe he could just send the army in to do it and tell Mexico that if they shoot at his troops, he'll send a full scale invasion. Would Mexico risk a retaliation? The one thing we can all be 100% sure of is that Trump doesn't give a stuff for Mexican sensibilities. 

Then there is Canada. Trump has spoken openly about Canada becoming the 51st State. The USA and Canada are democracies. I really can't see how Trump could compel Canada to join the Union if they didn't want to. If the USA was set on invading Canada, they clearly could with not too much of a problem, but sooner or later, Canadians would have to vote to ratify the union and that might prove rather embarrassing all round. I'd be surprised if bullying Canada to do anything would prove to be anything other than very counter productive. But who knows the mind of Donald Trump. Canada is a rich country with huge mineral wealth, which Trump clearly feels is ripe for picking. His property developer mentality will surely not take much convincing that a bit of bullying, a few threats and some sort of nice carrot to go with the stick, might get him what he wants. 

As for Greenland, again there would be no obstacle to the USA if he just chose to annexe it. Denmark is clearly not in a position to defend itself. I can see no reason for Trump to raise this issue if he isn't serious. Given that Denmark is a member of NATO and the EU, any annexation would surely spell the end of NATO and a huge stand off with the EU.

In George Orwell's 1984, there were three great political blocks. Oceana, Eurasia and East Asia, all constantly shifting alliances, all in a constant state of war, but mostly conducted as skirmishes in remote places. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Trumps shenanigans will push the EU closer to China. It strikes me that if China play their cards right then they can be the big winners of the Trump era. The US sanctions will make them keen to open up new markets and do new trade deals to fill the gaps. The US seems intent on upsetting its friends, so this opens up possibilities for a regime that can take the long term view. By the time the US has a president who is interested in engaging with the outside world as friends and partners, the damage will be done. It is not a given that the next President will be any more international in their thinking than Trump.

I've long been of the belief that the third World War will not be fought with guns. Nuclear weapons make the concept of a large scale conventional war ridiculous. Putin has found that having half the worlds stockpile of nukes has done him no good at all in Ukraine. Israel has seemingly had a major victory over it's main Geopolitical adversary, Iran, without a single boot setting foot in Iranian territory. Blowing your enemies to bits with dodgy pagers and mobile phones is a very 21st century way of doing war. I suspect that before the end of the century, we'll see a country lose it's sovereignty purley as a result of hacking of it's computers, banking systems, transport systems and finance systems. If you woke up one day and your computers didn't work, all your cash was gone, there were no trains, buses or planes and no TV or Radio, you might find yourself under a foreign juresdiction without even realising and without a bullet being fired. Information will be the new weapon. 

Which brings us to today, 3rd February 2025.  I believe that Donald Trump has started this war. I believe it will escalate over the next few years. It will cost us all a lot of money and make a lot of things we currently take for granted a lot more difficult. I don't think too many bullets will be fired, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if a few maps need redrafting in the not too distant future. 

Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to mention. The US economy has always done very well when there is a war and I am sure that Trumps rich backers are all too happy to see the benefits of what is going on. 

Welcome to the new world!

The Sunday Reflection #40 - Why don't they teach us how to grieve at school

 Friday was the 38th anniversary of the death of my Dad. I was 24 at the time. It was totally unexpected and I was completely unpreprepared mentally for the shock. I'd naively assumed that he was indestructable. A massive anuerism proved me wrong. For many, if not all of us, the most difficult thing in our lives to deal with is a death of someone we love. A child, a partner, a parent. I've spoken before about how badly we are prepared for the practicalities of bereavement, but it has recently occurred to me that we are even less prepared for the mental effects of the loss of someone we love. Unless we die young, the chances are we will all suffer the experience. What troubles me is that we do not have the tools to get our heads in the right place when this strikes. 

I have long been of the opinion that our schools are not fit for purpose. We have-12-14 years of enforced education about things that most of us will never use, algebra, the shifting nature of tectonic plates and the life of Henry II. All fasacinating stuff if you like that sort of thing, but for me it was like a mental cold shower. When it comes to educating us to actually deal with a sudden tragic death, we are on our own. How did I deal with my Fathers death. In two ways, alcoholic excess and denial. I believed that discussing it and sharing my pain was weakness. I didn't want to think of it. I gave my Mum alost no support, in truth I was a bit angry with her. She was even more bereft than me and she couldn't really share her feelings either. She took to her bed with her bad back and other ailments and was thoroughly miserable for the best part of a year. This is not a criticism. Much later, we became a lot closer. She confided that she always thought they'd die together in a plane or car crash. She had felt it was written in the stars. She was angry with my father for having the audacity to die and break this sacred pact. My mother was an intelligent woman, who had far more experience of life than me at the time and her admission was something I found bizarre at the time. I came to realise that my father had always tried to cultivate an aura of invincibility and he'd totally fooled my mum and the rest of us. 

So what should we be taught in a lesson. The first thing is that none of us are immortal and many of us will die unexpectedly. That is all part of the journey planet Earth makes as it circles the Sun. The circle of life, the circle of death. Some of us will get the chance to prepare ourselves. Some of us won't. For some of us, we just get a phonecall or a knock on the door, or like my poor Mum, you get up to make breakfast and find your partner dead on the floor. Realising that all of these things can happen is little help, so we then need to know what to do next. We also need to prepare ourselves for the stages of grief and the implications of these. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. When my Dad died, the denial lasted a year. It only ended when a mate's Dad died and I saw what was happening with perspective. The bargaining phase, where you try and make a deal with God to bring the person back or to reconcile your own unresolved issues is the hardest to understand, depression sets in when yoy realise that there is no bargain to be done. The hand has been played. Acceptence comes when you finally are ready to move on, celebrate the life of the person who has passed and celebrate the life of the person you love. It is worth mentioning that some people never get past the first, second or third stage. I think acceptance is easier with a parent than a partner or a child. These processes happen at their own rate. You can't hurry on the denial or depression stage, but you can make them easier to bear. 

We should never be afraid to share our experiences with other people in the same situation. I only started to move on, when other friends started to lose parents. In recent years, friends have lost children and partners. I don't have any experience of this, but I have experience of listening and I hope I have enough compassion to help. But again, it does strike me that anything I've learned is by trial and error. Surely it would be compassionate to eliminate the errors. If schools taught about the phases of grief, how we deal with them and how we be a good friend to someone going through that cycle, it would save a lot of hurt.

I expounded this theory to a particularly obnoxious person I know a few years ago, when we were still on amicable terms. He laughed and said "School exists to support the economy, provide us with the skills to contribute to the wealth of the country, not to cheer people up when they are miserable". I was shocked, this may have been the first clue that we would not have an enduring friendship. As I was in a period of grief at the time, I was unprepared for the comment and just sat their with my mouth open as the said person sniggered. I have realised that his comment was actually enlightening. This is the reason why our schools are so dysfunctional. He made the same mistake that so many people who design school curriculms make. You see, when someone is gpoing through grief, they are not only sad and miserable, they are less productive. So even if you are heartless and only see things through the prism of the economy, it still make sense.

I still miss Dad. Many of my songs reference him. He did love a party, so this is how I best love to think of him, organising mad parties in the 1970's. Just a quick reminder the False Dots are playing our 46th Birthday Party at The Dublin Castle, Camden from 2pm on Sunday 16th February. Please come along! 

The Saturday List #470 - Ten things I didn't appreciate at the time

 As often happens, The Robert Elms show on BBC Radio London informs my choice of this list. Sometimes, I have a few lists in the cupboard. Sometimes the cupboard is dry. I don't do lists when I can't think of anything interesting. Our Saturday morning routine is pretty fixed. My beloved brings me the paper and a cup of tea in bed at around 8am. I listen to Carrie and David Grant on BBC Radio London then Robert Elms at 10am. I then get up around then and make us both a cooked breakfast. I haave porridge made with water in the week, so it's a treat. Usually it is an omlette (she doesn't eat meat). I then do my Saturday blog. If the cupboard is full, it's a final edit and press publish. Today, I was eating my omlette and trying to think if there was anything that would make an interesting list. As it's the 470th, the low hanging fruit has been picked. Then Robert announced his 'Fourfer' - four tracks selected by callers on a theme. Todays theme? Bob Marley. Robert mentioned he'd seen Bob at an open air gig at Crystal Palace. He stated that he didn't like open air gigs. I had completely forgotten that I'd seen the gig as well. I googled it. It was bizarre, there was a lake in front of the band, which sort of destroyed any sense of intimacy. All I really remember was sunshine, beer and smoke. I also remembered vowing I'd never go there again. It was like a day at the seaside with your mates in the sun, with a band in the distance. I don't think I listened to the band at all. It was the only time I saw Marley. it was his last UK gig. We didn't know. I didn't appreciate it. I wasn't massively into Marley. As he#d become a massive superstar, I felt he'd lost touch with his roots. I preferred more grassroots bands such as Misty in Roots, Culture, Aswad and Black Slate. I also preferred Ska to more sedate reggae. But I got a ticket, possibly via my Sister, who knew someone at Marley's label (if my memory serves me correctly). I went for a day out. A good day out was had. I didn't appreciate it at all. 

In truth, I only recently properly revisted Marley's work. It's not that I didn't like it, It just wasn't on y playlist. I had a bit of a snobby view that most of my mates who eulogised Marley didn't listen to any other reggae and he was their token like in the genre. My view changed when my I saw my mate Joe Angel's band. Joe did a lot of Marley songs. You can't get more authentic reggae than Joe and I realised I'd been arrogant and silly to not appreciate how fine Marley was. 

Anyway, it got me thinking. What have I not appreciated at the time, that I now love? A fine topic for a list

1. Bob Marley.  See above!

2. The Clash. This is a bit of a dark secret. When I first got into punk rock, I didn't really like The Clash. I had liked their first album. Then they released Give 'em enough rope and I thought it was terrible. I hated it. I saw them at a Rock Against Racism gig at Victoria Park and I would say they were no good, but in truth the sound system was inadequate. So I didn't bother going to see them in their prime. When they released Combat Rock, I loved it, but I wasn't there at their best gigs. 

3. SPL International. My first 'proper job',  I started there in 1983. They were a UK based software company based on Windmill Street. The culture was completely bonkers. The vast majority of staff were recent graduates, from all around the UK. Every night and most lunchtimes, we''d all go to the pub. Fridays we'd go to the Neel Kamal on Percy Street for a curry, then to the White Hart for a beer. The boss had a drinks cabinet and if any staff were feeling down, he'd pour them a scotch and have a chat with them. We played 5-a-side football, got bacon rolls from Lawleys cafe on Goodge Street. It was amazing. Sadly, in 1984, Systems Designers bought the company and ruined everything. I assumed that all jobs were like SPL. How wrong I was. I still go on holiday at new year with the mates I maade at SPL.

4. Smelly diesel trains from Mill Hill. When I first started at SPL, I'd get a smelly diesel train from Mill Hill to St Pancras and then walk to Windmill Street. The trains were always boiling in summer and freezing in Winter. Shortly after I started, they were replaced by brand new electric trains. You may wonder what is to be missed? Well there were three things I loved. The first was when you sat at the front, if the driver was nice, he'd leave the privacy screen blinds open and you could watch him drive the train. When I was a kid, the most exciting bit was going through the Belzise New Tunnel under Hampstead Heath. It is over a mile long. You can't see the end of the tunnel when you enter it. All of a sudden there is a glimmer of light as you approach. It was wonderful. The new trains do not allow such fun. The second thing is the seats were really comfy. The third was that they had manual doors. You could jump on even if the train was pulling out. Highly dangerous, but a real buzz!

5. Woolworths. One of the most common and annoying (to me) myths of common times is that the reason Woolworths went bust was because the business model was not fit for the 21st century. This is a complete fabrication put around by asset stripping bean counters. Woolworths was a robust business with a huge property portfolio. A bunch of asset strippers bought the business, sold the property to developers and then rented the shops back to a hollowed out shell. The cash raised was not put into developing the business, it was paid in massive dividends to the asset strippers. The shops were rented back, on a rent fixed for a period. When this was up, the property developers hiked the rent, to force the business out, so they could make a killing on new leases in prestigious High Street locations. But to me Woolworths was great. I'd take teh kids for pick and mix, buy them toys, buy CD's and cheap tools. I believe that the decline of High Streets was brought about by the ransacking of Woolworths. Woolworths was just always there, when it went I realised how much I missed it. 

6. The other long lost small shops of Mill Hill. This was the subject of the 12th list in this series

7. Smoking in pubs. I don't smoke. Why would I miss something that I hated at the time? Because when smoking was banned, a huge percentage of the patrons stopeped going. It was the end of pubs as we know it. In my opinion, the ban ruined British culture. I never thought I'd miss something as disgusting as that, but I do. 

8. The smell of bonfires in the autumn. You'd always know it was autumn because neighbours would burn their garden waste. I loved it. These days we have green bins. I can't recall the last time I smelled leaves being burned in a Millway back garden.

9. Gerry Anderson. Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett, UFO. Proper childrens TV shows. The idea that children would enjoy science fiction series on TV seems to be a long lost concept. I even wrote a song celebrating the genre of sci fi TV shows! (See below). I just took it for granted at the time.

10. Mrs Grover. Mrs Grover was my next door neighbour for many years. She was a lovely old lady, who lived with her sister, Sadie. Sadie is now someone we'd describe as having learning difficulties. She was always pleasant. We'd have a chat. I'd occasionally do an errand for her. One day, Sadie came out and told me she wouldn't wake up. She had passed away. I asssume Sadie went to a home to be looked after and the family sold the house. The flat was sold to a scouser, who turned out to be a mass murderer on the run from the Police. He made the front page of The Sun. His family let the flat out to a succession of tenants, some lovely, some horrible. All got booted out because they fell out with their landlords. A couple of years ago, they sold it. We've had nothing but building works since. I really miss the Grovers, their apple trees, loganberies and smiles.  God bless them.

As promised, here's a tune from The False Dots recalling my obsession with Sci Fi.

And finally, please come along to our next gig. Have a beer and say Hi! Click on the image for ticket info.

Friday Fun 31 January 2025

 As is our tradition, we always start with a bit of fun.

I took our new car to the carwash for a valet yesterday. The guy asked me if I wanted it waxed. I replied that I hadn't realised it was hairy!

(Hat tip to Robert Wilkinson)

Borough of Barnet music round up.

Friday 31st

Elephant Inn 8.30 Dex & Mercy (funk soul)

Barrington 8.30 - midnight Karaoke with Johno

Ye Olde Monken Holt 9.30 pm – late DJ Sadie (DJ)

The Haven 8pm – 11pm Denis Cook – Musician/DJ)

Saturday 1st

Just Jammin' (Rock / Blues, 4 piece) at The Three Wishes, Edgware 

9.30pm - 11pm

Butchers Arms 9pm – 11.30pm Rockit Science (Rock/covers)

Ye Olde Monken Holt 9.30pm – midnight James Or (Acoustic Covers)

The Arkley Club 8pm -11pm £5 cash Pip in Boots (Pop/rock)

Maddens 9.30pm – midnight Undercovered (pop/rock/funk)

Sunday 2nd

Maddens 7.30pm – 11pm The Cruisin Mooses

Butchers 8.30pm – 11.30pm Pauls Jam

Monday 3rd

Ye Olde Mitre Inn, High Street 8pm – 11pm (stables room) Barnet Acoustics Sessions

Tuesday 4th

Black Horse 7.30pm – 11pm Open Mic Night

Maddens Bar 8pm Open Mic Jam hosted by Jeff and band

Wednesday 5th

Ye Olde Monken Holt 8.30pm – 11pm Open Mic Night

Thursday 6th

Ye Olde Monken Holt 8.30pm – 10.30pm  Traditional Irish Session (Irish Folk)

And finally, please put a note in your diary to come along to The Dublin Castle to see The False Dots 46th Birthday party on Sunday 16th February at 2pm. There are two amazing bands playing with is with strong Barnet connections, Pete and The Lovehearts and The Colours!

Rock and Roll Stories #23 - How the False Dots started a full scale riot in Mill Hill in 1979

In the history of The False Dots, there has been a hell of a lot of fun. There have also been some rather dark moments. Perhaps the darkest and most unlikely was the Mill Hill riot of 1979. This saw a massive fight on Mill Hill Broadway between a gang of Mods and gang of Teds and Rockers. One of the rockers car got set on fire, in his drive on Hartley Avenue. Not the usual Saturday afternoon that you associate with Mill Hill! So what happened? Well given that The False Dots were neither a Mod or a Rocker band, it is a strange tale, that entered the hooligan mythology of Mill Hill, but almost no one knows why it happened. The truth can now be told.

It all started about a month before, in June 1979. I was walking down Mill Hill Broadway with fellow band member Pete Conway. We had a band rehearsal and we were walking from my house to our studio in Bunns Labe. As we turned onto the Broadway, walking towards us were three blokes dressed in a Mod style attire. They were a bunch of likely lads from Burnt Oak, who I'd never seen before. As they approached us in our punk rock attire, one of them made a comment to Pete saying he looked like something you found under a hedge. Pete responded by ridiculing him, with pointing out that he looked stupid wearing a Fred Perry shirt with a tie. As used to happen, before we knew it, we were all squaring up to each other. Pete was quite small, but I've always been a big guy and I got in the leaders face and told him to do one. They backed off and walked down the road issuing profanities. Pete yelled at them "My names Pete Conway, your worst nightmare" or words to that effect. I'm not really into violence, I was happy they backed down. Pete was all for starting a fight and called me a pussy or something, for letting them "get away with it". 

A couple of weeks later, I'd forgotten about it. I went to a gig in town and arrived at Burnt Oak station on the last tube home. I'd missed the last bus.  As I started to walk back, I heard a shout. One of the "Fred Perry and ties" shouted from behind me "Not so brave now without your mate". I turned around and the three likely lads were there. I didn't like the odds. They chased me all the way from Montrose Avenue to the Bridge at Mill Hill Broadway. By this time, my adrelanline was pumping and I was furious. I was fit and have always been a decent long distance runner, so I easily outpaced them. They were totally out of breath. I turned around and shouted "Stay there, I'll be back in a second and you'll be sorry". They shouted "Come on then".

In an act of supreme stupidity, I ran home, picked up a crowbar and ran back. When they saw me running towards them waving a crowbar, they lost their bottle and ran. I chased them all back into the direction of Burnt Oak, screaming all of way. I lost them in Lyndhurst Park where they hid in the bushes. I realised how stupid I was being and went home. A day later, I told Pete what happened. He thought it highly amusing. I realised that it could have got very ugly. A couple of weeks after that, Pete and I were going to see Crass, the anarcho punk band in Town. He was meeting me at my house and we would get the tube up to town. At the appointed time, Pete turned up. He was in a terrible state. He was covered in blood with his lip almost hanging off. We were shocked. It seems that he'd got off the bus in Mill Hill Broadway and bumped into The Fred Perrys. They had given him a proper beating and told him to pass on the message that I was next. I realised that it wasn't fun anymore. My mum wanted to call the Police and take Pete to the hospital, but he was adamant he was going to Crass, so we patched him up and off we went. He said he "wasn't a grass". 

Two weeks later, I was in the Wimpy in Mill Hill with four of my mates, who were in the Polecats. I was at the counter ordering a burger, when the Fred Perrys walked past. Seeing me, but not my rockabilly mates, they entered looking to 'settle the score'. As soon as they entered, they realised their mistake and we chased them out. They scarpered, but challenged the Rockabillys to a ruck the following Saturday. The Polecats had a bunch of Rocker / Ted mates and at the appointed time, they gathered at the Wimpy. I think maybe they thought that a rockabilly riot would give them some notoriety. A group of 15-20 Rocker/Teds had gathered for the ruck. At the appointed time, a larger group of Mods turned up. There was an almight punch up. One group of Mods broke off. One of the Rockers lived on Hartley Avenue and had a customised car with a Rebel flag on his drive. The Mods set it on fire, whilst the main ruck was taking place on the Broadway. The police eventually turned up and everyone scarpered, with both sides claiming victory. Most of the participants seemed to enjoy the experience. It wasn't what you expected in sleepy Mill Hill. One of the Fred Perry's, the original protaganists, had been given a good duffing up. We assumed that was the end of the matter.

Sadly, it wasn't. Two weeks later, The False Dots had a band rehearsal. Our drummer was a guy called Dave Edwards at the time. His girlfriend Mandy was the sometimes singer. After the rehearsal, Dave and Mandy were waiting for a 221 bus back to their flat in Finchley. The Fred Perry's had spotted the four of us walking from Bunns Lane. Pete and I went to the pub, the Railway at the Green Man for last orders. They decided to follow Dave and Mandy. As they waited for the bus, the Fred Perrys ambushed them, throwing Dave through the window of WH Smiths as Mandy screamed. Their crime? Being Pete Conways mate. Dave received a severe laceration of his arm. He managed to get away and tried to run up the Broadway. They followed him and threw him through the window of the Jewellers, where Rockman is now. One of them severed a tendon. Luckily for Dave, a Police car passed. Two of the Fred Perrys were arrested. The one with the severed tendon was taken to hospital. Dave had run off, but the police found him by following the trail of blood. He was also taken to A&E, sitting opposite the bloke who'd thrown him through the window, who was handcuffed to an copper. 

The two Fred Perrys who got caught were given eighteen month custodial sentences. Dave left the band and I never saw him again. Mandy came to see us in Camden in 2011, and told us they'd split up a year or two later. As for the third Fred Perry? Well about six months later, Pete Conway excitedly called me. Pete was working at Dewhursts in Mill Hill. Fred Perry 3 had just been taken on as an apprentice butcher. Pete said that the manager, Mickey Rees always went to the bookies at 12.30. As soon as Mickey went to 'lunch', I appeared and we bundled the said chap into the meat fridge as he protested that it wasn't him, it was the other two. We left him in there for ten minutes, only letting him out when he stopped screaming. Rather oddly, Pete ended up becoming friends with him, having decided that scores were settled. 

I'm not a fan of mindless violence. Graham Ramsey, who is our drummer now, was a Mod at the time and recalled the events, but never knew what it was all about. All he recalled was that the local Mods were well up for a punch up with the rockers. I also discussed it with Boz Boorer from the Polecats. Boz didn't get involved in the trouble and could only recall the car getting set on fire. No one seemed to recall what it was all about. Two people in prison for 18 months one with a severed tendon, someone with a severe laceration, a classic car set on fire, a riot in Mill Hill Broadway. Why? Because someone objected to being wound up for wearing a tie with a Fred Perry shirt, as two musicians went to a band rehearsal.

The whole thing set the band back a year. We split up when Dave officially left in September 1979. We'd been scheduled to support The UK Subs in Derby, Pete was mates with them. That never happened.  We had an interview with Xpert-I fanzine that went horribly wrong. Pete and I reformed the band in January 1980. We did our first gig in December that year. Our then drummer Dav Davies recorded it on a cassette player. This was what we sounded like! We celebrate our 46th Birthday as a band on the 16th February 2025 at The Dublin Castle at 2pm. Please come along. We promise you a riot, but only in a good fun sense!

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Should the British state execute Axel Rudakubana for his crimes?

The terrible crimes of Axel Rudakubana in Southport has once again raised the subject of capital punishment. Should he be hung for his crimes? This is a subject that I am sure we all have a strong opinion on. As someone who has long opposed the death penalty, such cases are deeply problematic for me. Firstly, in this case, which is absolutely cut and dried, if we had the death penalty on the statute book, I'd shed no tears if Rudakubana was hung and I'd make no argument against it. Murdering children is inexcuseable and the planet would be well rid of him. As far as I can see, there is no realistic prospect of him ever being released. I would suspect that he'll have to be kept apart from ordinary criminals for the rest of his life. You could probably argue that it would be kinder to put him out of his misery. There are only two ways his life will develop. He will either realise the error of his ways, and if there is an ounce of decency in his soul, he'd accept his fate and not complain or petition for release in 52 years, or he'll go to his grave thinking he was right. There must be no prospect of him ever coming out, in my opinion. He will be 70 when he's elegible for parole. I know plenty of 70 year olds who are fit and healthy, so as far as I am concerned, he would still be a potential threat to children.

However, the real world situation is that capital punishment is not on the statute book in the UK, whether we like it or not. To change this situation, we'd need to change the law. Sadly, Axel Rudakubana has already been sentenced, so even if we could rush a bill through Parliament, it would be no use at all in his case. You can't change the law and then change the sentence. Sadly, the law doesn't work like that. You may wish it did, but do you really trust politicians with the power to change peoples sentences after the process of law has been applied. The law works in the way it does to protect us from dodgy government. So the best any of us could hope for, would be to get a change in the law on the books for the next Axel Rudakubana. Whilst we all hope that such a person doesn't exist, none of us would be genuinely surprised if another such monster exists.

The horrific truth about lunatics who are motivated by religious fanaticism, is that often they believe that the death penalty will guarantee them a free ticket to heaven as martyrs. It might possibly encourage such people, as their sick logic thinks it will give them the key to heaven. Being locked up for life doesn't give them the free ticket to paradise that they so desire. Now, it may well make us all feel better to see them sent to Hell early, but I'd rather they were discouraged from their sick folly by removing the offer of a free pass. 

As to changing the law. As far as I am concerned, if we had a referendum and capital punishment was restored, anyone who voted for the proposal would be personally responsible for the death of every person executed, just as they would be if they pulled the trigger or the hangmans lever. I can honestly say that in the case of Axel Rudakubana I'd have no personal qualms pulling the lever. The man is a monster, but sadly the UK has a history of catching and demonising the wrong people. The IRA bombings in Guildford and Birmingham saw just this. There were calls for these innocent people to be hung at the time. No one culpable has ever faced justice for these atrocities, which is a scandal as big as the wrong people being locked up. No justice for those victims. The idea that not only the innocent victims of the bombs, but the poor suckers who took the rap would all be dead now is horrific, as I am sure that they'd have faced capital punsihment when convicted, if it was on the statute books. 

When there are horrific atrocities, there is huge pressure on the police. When culprits are caught literally red handed, such as Rudakubana, the police job is pretty straightforward. When they are not caught at the scene, there is huge pressure to offer up a sacrifice. Nothing made me more aware of this than when Jean Charles De Menezes was shot on 22 July 2005. I was working in Aldgate and it was pure luck I wasn't on the tube that was blown up on 7/7. I knew personally a few victims from our office. Martine Wright MBE, who lost her legs on that day's brother Grant is a schoolmate. When the news came through, into our office that a "terrorist" had been shot (when the news of Menezes death broke), we all cheered and went to the pub to celebrate. We felt safer. I joked that I'd have shot him myself if I had a gun. Then we found that Menezes was an innocent man. The police lied about the circumstances. They lied about their mistakes. I hang my head in shame to this day, thinking about my response. 

To this day, when I visit Aldgate to see mates and have a beer and a curry when passing through Aldgate, I see the memorial to those killed. Every time I see that, I say a private prayer for their families and prayer of apology to Jean Charles for my shameful response on the day of his death. A quick google showed that there was a 20% rise in miscarriages of justice claims in 2022. It rose from 1,198 to 1424. Twenty five cases were referred back to the courts, incuding six murderers, and seventeen were overturned. So, if for arguments sake, five murderers a year are wrongly convicted, that would be potentially fifty a decade, who potentially would be hung when innocent. This was one of the reasons that capital punishment was originally abolished. I don't want the deaths of innocent people, often fitted up by the Police because they are vulnerable, on me. 

There are three other reasons that capital punishment can be counter productive. The first is that juries are far less prepared to convict people if they think they may be executed by the state. No one wants innocent blood on their hands. More people will walk free, if there is the slightest doubt in their mind and clever lawyers make their livings planting such doubts in a credible manner. The second is that someone like Rudakubana would have an incentive to plead innocent and put families through the mill and maybe, just maybe, get off. He pleaded guilty at the last minute. Of course it was cut and dried, but we all know that lawyers can sometimes find loopholes and legal arguments, that would let a monster walk free. The third reason is that the police will have to put far more resources into cut and dried investigations, due to the two reasons above. They simply couldn't risk the prospect of someone like Rudakubana finding a loophole or trading on the sympathy of a few anti capital punishment jurors to get off. Bear in mind, juries are randomly selected members of the public and a sizeable percentage of people do not agree with capital punishment. You only need three out of twelve and that is a mistrial. We'd see more mistrials and retrials and jurors bottle the decision. 

The world isn't perfect. With my mystic Meg hat on, I'll make a prediction. We've not heard the last of Rudakubana. I fully expect other prisoners to attack him. I don't think he will live long enough to see his parole date. He is a marked man in prison. He will have few, if any friends inside and he's got his whole lifetime ahead of him, stuck on his own, watching his back, having God knows what added to his food. It is a miserable, pathetic existence. As time goes on, I expect to see apologists for his behaviour come out of the woodwork. I expect to see people claim he was just a child. I expect to see people claim that he was the victim of the system and an injustice. All of that is to come. 

And then there are the families of the three little girls. Their life sentence is even worse than Rudakubana's. They don't have to watch their backs, they don't have to check their food, they don't have to sit in solitary confinement. But those Mums and Dad's will never have a day when they don't feel the loss. Losing a child is awful beyond comprehension. To lose it to a monster, and face a lifetime of being reminded is horrible. At some point, they will turn on the telly, radio or look at a website and see some bleeding heart making the case for Rudakabana. That is the most awful aspect of their life sentence. In truth, they have already been the victim of capital punishment. Rudakabana mercilessly executed a part of their heart. He does not deserve to live, but in this sick world, we have to share our oxygen with him.  

The title of this blog is Should the British state execute Axel Rudakubana for his crimes? if the law allowed it, of course it should, but at the same time, given the place we are, we have to accept that it won't happen, because if we allow the law and then sentences to be changed retrospectively to suit public mood, we will end up in a far darker and more dangerous place, where dodgy governments can go after those they deem to be troublesome, after the court has taken judgement. 

The only solace I can really take is my belief that he will never be released, he will have a horrible life, always watching his back, locked up with other monsters. If any of the bleeding hearts who feel sorry for him have any real compassion, think of the parent and STFU. At least give them some peace and quiet to grieve in. 

I must finish this piece by stating that of all the blogs I've ever written, this was by far the most difficult. I have never felt more revolted by a case or had a more difficult challenge to my personal beliefs. I am prepared for a barrage of people telling me I got it wrong. But if you are a blogger and you feel strongly about something, it would be cowardly not to speak, not to advance what you believe are rational arguments and to bury your head in the sand. I deliberately did not discuss the issues around whether Rudakubana should have been labelled a terrorist, not because it isn't important, but todays blog is solely about his sentence, not the issues around his background. For the record, I think when you attack children, for any reason, be it if you are a paedophile, a terrorist, a lunatic or just someone having a bad day, you should be locked up and the key thrown away and the reasons really don't matter. 

 If you disagree, by all means leave a comment. If it does not contain profanities or libellous statements, I'll publish it. We still live in a free country and we are all allowed a view. Write to your MP, write to the Attourney General, write to Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper (Home secretary). We deserve answers and we owe it to the parents to get them. 

Rog T's Food Blog #2 - Pub Snacks - Tuesday is food day

Welcome to the second installment of my food blog. I promised that this blog would be different to most food blogs. Today we look at a topic that is a much overlooked genre of bar food, one we often don't even give a second thought to. The good old bar snack. As I've said on many occasions in this blog over the last seventeen years, one of my greatest pleasures in life is to sit on my own in a pub, with a pint of the finest ale, a bag of nuts and the Evening Standard.  Not a session, just a quick drink, a moment's quiet and a snack, before facing the journey home.  I've written a song about the joy of doing this, it didn't make the final cut of our album release, but it's a song I rather like. A demo version is still on our Soundcloud page (See the Bottom of the page)

Sadly, the Standard is no longer published. It has been superceded by people staring at their phones. There is a whole generation who doesn't know the serenity of a pint of warm beer, a pint and a paper. On Saturday, I had a pint and a bag of crisps in the Dublin Castle in Camden. I was passing through and had fifteen minutes to waste. Sadly no paper to read. Nonetheless the pleasure in just wasting fifteen minutes of my life was wonderful.

As often happens in such moments, I got to thinking about the blogs I had planned for the week. I got to thinking about the bag of crisps in front of me and my food blog series. I have no idea of the total value to the UK economy of bar snacks sold with pints etc, in pubs in the UK in a year. Whilst the pubco's that have embarked on a mission to ruin our pubs have decided that "food is the future of the pub industry", there are still some of us that actively avoid foodie pubs when meeting up for a drink. That doesn't mean we don't get a bit peckish. In Spain, they invented the concept of Tapas. These were small snacks, that you nibble as you drink. Originally, Tapas were things such as olives, small bits of tortilla and perhps fried potatoes with a chilli sauce (patatas Bravas). Now we have Tapas restaurants. The concept has been lost. The food is accompanied by the drink and they have full main courses. 

When I started going to pubs, often the snacks were free. You'd see little dishes of crisps and salted nuts on the bar. On a Sunday, it would be salty roast potatoes. These were salty snacks, given freely to make customers more thirsty and drink more beer. The Pubco's then cottoned on to the idea that they could charge customers to make themselves thirsty. Now we have to buy our own snacks.

Now when such snacks were free, I never thought about it. Now the quality of such snacks in most pubs irritates me. Now I am not calling for pubs to become Tapas bars. Sure I'd love small plates of chorizo and gambas with my pint for a couple of quid, but I'd settle for a little bit more imagination. Most pubs these days sell Walkers crisps. To me, these are horrible. The Salt and Vinegar crisps use acetic acid rather than viengar (citric acid), it is shrp and tangy but has no flavour. The less fat crisps have the flavour of cardboard. The cheese and onion crisps taste of sweaty feet, not cheese or onion. As for the nuts, they sell Nobbys nuts. These are all uniformly shaped. They are designed to please the eye, not the tastebuds. They taste of wood chips. If you get proper, old school nuts, such as KP, you notice that the nuts are odd shapes. They are different types of peanuts, the round ones have a different taste to the flat ones and are more expensive for the suppliers to buy. In short, the old school nuts are a better product. Next time you are in the pub, bet some KP nuts and contrast how the different shaped nuts taste. 

Some of the best bar snacks are rarely found. Pork Scratchings are rare, pickled eggs even rarer. I cannot recall the last time I had a free roast potato. Now for the pubco's this doesn't matter. They look at profit margins on products. They are run by bean counters, who do not understand the value of a premium brand. They are not interested in selling beer, they want the food sales and see snacks as potentially damaging this. People eating crisps are taking up the space that a customer spending ten times as much on a plate of substandard food might spend, or they would be if pubs were full....

However, it is rare that I've been in a full pub recently. The exception has tended to be in central London and generally the pubs are pubs that are wet pubs (focus on selling beer). I've noted that these tend to sell better quality crisps and nuts. They also appear to have staff who know what they are doing. Maybe it's just me, but when I am in a pub and the beer is good and I enjoy the bar snacks, I am far more likely to make a mental note to go back. Of all the foods, it occurs to me that bar snacks have the most subliminal effect. No one will concsiously ever go to the pub because they sell great crisps and nut, but if they do, you are likeley to feel happy and develop a liking for the pub. 

I'll end with a few of my favourite bar snacks.

Whelks with black pepper & vinegar. Not had them for years. Back in the day, you'd get blokes with trays doing the rounds of pubs. Whelks, Cockles and Prawns all on offer. I've not seen one for donkeys years.

Roast spuds. I've mentioned these a few times. Delicious with a pint of  best. There was a time when all the local pubs would put them out on a Sunday.

Picked Eggs with salt and pepper. An acquired taste. I especially liked one of these inthe pub after I played football on a freezing Saturday afternoon in January. It just seemed right.

Burts sea salt and malt vinegar crisps. Taste like proper crisps. There was a phase when these seemed to be everywhere, now hard to find, even in supermarkets. They actually taste of salt and vinegar.

KP Original salted peanuts. The best. Simple as that!

 

The False Dots · Intermission In The The Ship

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