Too busy to blog! A little catch up

 Regular readers will have noted that I've been relatively quiet over the last couple of weeks on the blogging front. Well there has been a good reason, I've been too busy! Last week I was away. Reular readers will know that I volunteer with a charity called HCPT, which takes people who need a degree of assistance to Lourdes in France. We actually stay at Bartres, which is about 2km outside of Lourdes and is in the foothills of the Pyrenees. I've been going with pur group since 2001. In that time my mum, who was housebound following a stroke and my cousin Tessie, who had Downs syndrome accompanied us. ince 2016, when Tessie became unable to travel. I've assisted others. I love going, it puts life in perspective and makes me realise just how lucky I am. Two of my children came as adult volunteers this time, both have been numerous times. They choose to go and I am proud of them for making the commitment and they were brilliant. Having damaged my shoulder recently, my ability to lift people was limited, although I did assist with lifts onrto the plane ( a couple of our VIP's need physically moving from their wheelchairs to their seat). I did a lot of guitar playing. The last night is always party night, where everyone has the chance to do a turn. I did a solo performance of one of the False Dots songs (with a rather long intro). The song is called Brotherly Love and is based on my experience growing up with older brothers, who used to delight in teasing me!

 It is a great experience and if you want to do something good and remind yourself of why we should value our blessings in life and appreciate everyone I'd thoroughly recommend volunteering woith HCPT or a similar charity.  

As tomorrow is my birthday, yesterday we had a rather special night out with friends. We took a luxury train trip around the Surrey Hills with friends, on a vintage train, hauled by a steam locomotive. We had a blast. We were due to do this last year, but the trip had to be postponed as I was having surgery for cancer. The company Steam Dreams are wonderful. I'd thoroughly recommend it as a special treat. 

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I must say that the food and drink on the trip is wonderful. It is a great way to spend a few hours with friends. We were sat next to a lovely couple celebrating their Ruby wedding and had a good laugh with them as well. It is a really relaxed environment.

Having taken a week off work, I had a weeks worth of work to do to catch up. My business was devastated by the pandemic. We shut completely for four months and the music scene has only really fully recovered this year. We went from being cash rich in 2019, to a position where we scramble to pa bills. Although the government assistance helped, the truth is that it did not even pay the wages and rent for the period. The comapny has gone from being highly profitable and debt free to just about breaking even and being saddled with debts. The first six months of the year were great, with us starting to pay off the debts etc, but the Euro's and the Olympics have been a major spanner in the works, as many small venues were showing football etc, rather than having bands on. This means less people coming  through. Whilst our takings had been 20% up on 2023 for the first six months, they were about 18% down from the start of the Euro's to this week. We have had to invest a lot of money at the start of the year to try and get the business moving, as we did little maintenanace since 2020 and it was starting to show. We now have a new website as well. It seemed the strategy was working, but football tournaments always hit us hard. I'm pleased to say that this week, with the end of the olympics, things have improved significantly, but as we have  a VAT bill, it will be a struggle. Micro managing cashflow has never really been an issue before, but there was a lot to be done to keep the show afloat. Our turnover will be around 10% less than it was in 2019 and our bills have gone up astronomically. We've done some sensible cost cutting, but things like electricity are hugely expensive compared to then. To be doing anything more than break even, we need about 35% more trade. It will probably take is two years to get there, even if our cost base stays the same. As we get busier our costs go up, and we will have to do work which has been postponed. It is a different challenge to the one we've had before. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we have just about reached the end of the road for balancing books by cost cutting. What we do is vital to the UK music industry. No rehearsal facilities = no UK music industry, but we get no help at all from anyone. Having said that, we are on the right track and we have survived a calamity of unprecendented scale. If I'd not had my cancer scare last year, I'd have definitely taken some IT contract work to plug the holes in the budget, but I am glad I didn't and we are getting back on track. 

We are really hoping for a strong end to the year from here on in, but if I've learned anything since 2020 it is that man makes plans and God laughs. 

But I must add that my work with HCPT has also taught me to appreaciate what you have. This time last year, I still had stitches and a cathetar in. It puts it all in perspective. 

The Sunday Refection #21 - The hardest thing in the world

I really try my hardest to deal with important things in a calm rational manner. I never send email replies when I am angry. If I get something that is rude or insulting, I give myself a time out. If someone is deliberately trying to push my buttons to rile me, I do not play ball, if I can possibly help it. Generally I either excuse myself, agree with them or if they have said something so unpleasant that I can't, I will say something along the lines that "That's your opinion and you are entitled to it", and leave things there. Of course there are times when something needs to be confronted. If you see someone bullying someone, indulging in racist/sexist behaviour in a way that is causing someone offence, it cannot be let go, however in this episode of this series, I am not discussing these issues. I will return to them in a later one. I am referring to a situation where there is some sort of personal issue and you find yourself getting angry and upset with someone and you feel they are deliberately upsetting you. 

So if  you are in a situation where you've tried to end the conversation but they continue trying to push your buttons. In these scenarios, I just let them have their say and don't respond. Sometimes, they will still push for a response. If they will let not let things go demanding a reply, I will tell them that I need to think about what they've said and I will respond when I have a suitable response as the points they've made are very interesting. 

It is very easy to get cross, start a slanging match and go down in flames. You may feel that you've behaved heroically, but both parties lose when that happens. When you find a situation that is seemingly impossible and the choices are difficult, the first thing is to take a time out. Then collate as much information as possible, so you can get your ducks in line. 

For me, often the most difficult scenarios are ones where someone is right and feels highly upset and expects you to take action on their behalf. This often happens in my blogging life. People will contact me, explain that there is sone terrible injustice going on, then demand I get involved. Often I'll say "Have you contacted the council". Usually the reply is "I think you should, they will take more notice of you". I always say "Actually, they will take more notice of you. I suggest you email them and if the response is unsatisfactory, then forward it to me. You'd be surprised how often people get cross about this response. What they don't realise is that if something is directly affecting you, the council will be far more likely to deal with it, than if an uppity blogger writes an email about an issue on the other side of the Borough, and just says a "read informed me" without a name and address. With regard to the blog, I never get involved until the council has had a chance to recitify an issue. Sadly some people think that "the fact it's gone on for years" is reason enough. However if they've not actually told the council, how will they know?

There are many areas of life where this is true. People see things that are wrong and don't call it out. Then they wonder why nothing ever happens and get cross about it. I realised that the reason I started writing this blog, was because there were plenty of things I was cross about and I was doing nothing. Writing the blog for 16 years and being involved in many campaigns has taught me that a calm rational approach is the best way to approach any difficult subject. At times it is the hardest thing, to bite your tongue and not lash out, but if getting the right result is more important than sharing your feelings of irriattion, it is always the right approach. 

I try and avoid people who make me angry. If I can't, then I try to manage my dealings with them, so they are on my terms and they don't have the opportunity to upset me. It isn't easy, it's the hardest thing in the world sometimes, but ultimately I've found that life is happier when I don't let people rile. Of course, in the short term, I get irritated, but the less you react the better you feel. 

Time for a new generation to Rock Against Racism

 

Here’s a picture of me proudly wearing my Rock Against Racism badge. I’ve worn not at every gig I played with The False Dots since I was given it by a friend at Orange Hill School in 1978. When I was given it, there were two things I couldn’t imagine. One was that I’d still be wearing it in 2024 playing gigs with The Dots. The other is that it would be so relevant still. The awful truth is that we need a new generation of musicians to take over the batten and rejuvenate RAR. I will wear this rusty old badge til the band is no more, but we need young musicians to be loud and proud. That’s all.

Here’s some music from The False Dots

The truth about the riots and the anti fascist rally in North Finchley

 It has been an appalling few days for everyone in the UK who genuinely cares about our country. It started with the murder of three schoolgirls at a Taylor Swift dance event. As a father, the horror of what happened sickened me to my very core.  What was even more worrying on a personal level for me, was that I run a business that hosts just such events. We had a quick review of our arrangements. How can you legislate for a lunatic armed with a knife forcing their way in and stabbing people? Of course we have made some sensible adjustments to our protocols but it was a horrible thing to have to contend with. We have panic alarms connected  to the police and CCTV coverage and a few other changes to our protocols, such as not giving information about summer courses to people unless they are in reception and are parents etc. I suspect our security is far superior to the many such events at Church halls etc, but something is wrong when you have to plan for such atrocities.

When hard right yobbo's started rioting, it made what was a tragic scenario repugnant. As a small business owner, I feel for the shops which were looted. I know quite a few Asian small business owners. All are people who work long hours and work incredibly hard. In Mill Hill, we had the terrible situation where a muslim shop worker was murdered by thugs a few years ago. I helped to organise a multi faith reconciliation event at The Sacred Heart Church, where all faiths were welcome. At the time, it seemed that we'd managed to bring something positive from a tragedy. That was simply a robbery, there were no political overtones. Since then, the situation has become ever more toxic. Sadly, we have a new generation of populist Islamaphobes, who use platforms such as Twitter to spread hate. They are a tiny minority, but are well able to rabble rouse and get dim hooligans irate enough to cause trouble (with the bonus of a free tray of pies from Greggs). I spoke to a mate who is a retired TSG Police officer on Monday. He told me that this current wave was very small scale compared to many riots he'd seen. Apparently police leave was not cancelled and they simply asked for volunteers, keen to get a bit of overtime. But the images of burning hotels is a powerful one. 

As the days went on, the trouble seemed to be spreading. On Tuesday, I got a phonecall from a friend. They live in North Finchley, are of Jewish Israeli heritage and told me that there was a planned far right protest in Percy Road, near Tally Ho Corner on Wednesday evening. They also told me that there was a counter demonstration by Anti Fascists being planned to show the local community that such behaviour wouldn't be tolerated. They asked if I would be attending. I had a long standing commitment elsewhere, so I couldn't, but I asked if they could keep me informed of what was happening and supply pictures etc. They promised me they would. They also told me that there would be Twitter #Tag of #NorthFinchley.

As Wednesday unfolded, two things became clear. The first was that the planned fascist rally did not materialise, in the face of a large demonstration. The second was that a huge row had broken out about a leaflet which included Zionists in the list of groups not welcome in North Finchley, along with fascists, racists and nazi's. I hadn't seen the leaflet until it appeared on the Twitter feed. Newly elected Jewish MP Sarah Sackman unsurpringly took extreme exception to the leaflet, reporting it to the police. There was also some comment that the protest had been 'Hijacked by Palestinian protestors'. There was a developing narrative that the protest was an anti semetic mob in an area with a large Jewish population. So what was the truth about the actual rally. 

I checked through the tweets, etc. Reports of the crowd vary from 250 (Brian Coleman's estimate and he hated the protest) to 3,000 (from an organiser).  From what I can see, the number was somewhere in the middle.  As to the claims of it being hijacked by Palestinian protestors, the best video I could see, there appeared to be one or two Palestinian flags and a bloke riding up and down the road on a bike with a big flag (probably less than 1% of the people who attended). The video in this tweet seems to give the best view of what went on. Look for yourself and form your own opinions.

London , Finchley , 07.08.2024 at 7pm

Dozens of protesters holding “Stand Up To Racism” posters have continued to demonstrate in North Finchley. pic.twitter.com/FjuIVhZNf2

— Babasola Kuti 🇬🇧 🇳🇬 (@RealSolaKuti) August 7, 2024

Here are couple of other tweets with pics and videos

No sign of any racists in #northfinchley pic.twitter.com/gCTEZdpHpG

— JTE (@joe01138203) August 7, 2024

It seems that Fascism is defeated on one street of #NorthFinchley in front of Pecry Road. #UKRiots pic.twitter.com/IpH9MKYlLS

— Jay# (@DoResearch2020) August 7, 2024

For balance, here is a tweet from someone who was upset by the presence of Palestinian flags. I have to say that when I looked at her picture, I again saw two Palestinian flags. As to the pre Taliban Afghan flag,  this is an unfair comment. Barnet has a fair few Afghan refugees who fled due to the Taliban, many who worked for the British armed forces. A Taliban flag is a completely different matter.

Lots of Palestine flags and a few of the pre-Taliban Afghan ones. Still no sign of an anti-immigration demo from what I can see. #NorthFinchley pic.twitter.com/IPqqeZk6oX

— Georgia Leigha Gilholy (@llggeorgia) August 7, 2024

I contacted an organiser for comment. This was their response.

"Last night there was close on 3,000 anti fascists all organised in two days notice. Many of the stewards were locals who you would know. They were going round the demo checking and being visible to everyone and asking if people were ok. In any protest there is likely to be some with their own agenda. The organisers made it clear they did not support the poster which had been tweeted on social media. The demo was friendly one chant was “we are black white Muslim and we’re Jew” which was loudly sung. Lots of young people. A few far right turned up a few tried to provoke but it was quickly dealt with. Police were fine. Even the Daily mail acknowledged the counter protesters as dealing with the far right"

So what is the truth?  The facts that can be established from these tweets are as follows. The protestors were peaceful. There were a couple of Palestinian flags in a protest of hundreds or thousands, depending on whether you believe Brian Coleman or the organisers. The video seems to indicate somewhere in the middle. The organisers have, sensibly, distanced themselves from the poster mentioning Zionists. As far as I am concerned, the poster was out of order and divisive. Given the history of the Jewish community with the far right, it was offensive, highly insensitive and doubtless put off perfectly decent people who would have otherwise joined the protest.

In some circles there is some debate whether Zionist = Jewish. It is 100% true that not all Zionists are Jewish and not all Jewish people identify as Zionists (I know a fair few left wing Jewish people who are avowedly anti Zionist). That will be the argument that whoever designed the poster will say, but if you are a Jewish person and you see a poster like that, I would not blame you for feeling intimidated. The last thing that any truly anti fascist person should ever do is seek to intimidate people in their own neighbourhood. By adding that one word, they have needlessly alienated many people who would be more than happy to see Fascist thugs chased out of Finchley. I am of the opinion that if your aim is to bring people together, you have to have a bit of respect for people's feelings, even though you don't agree with them on every single issue in the world. We have to start mending fences rather than building them. It is just a shame that something that was a hugely positive event in the Borough of Barnet had this completely unneccessary issue and I really hope that whoever designed that poster reflects on what they have done. 

What is patriotism?

A trip to Twitter (or whatever it's called now) and a search on the subject of the riots will reveal a lot of posts from people with handles like @englishpatriot1534 (I made this one up). They will have profile of pictures with lions roaring, St Georges flags and all manner of other things that the right perceive as English (oddly no old ladies having cups of tea, Vicars on their bicycles or rained off cricket matches, I wonder why?). It got me wondering, what exactly is a patriot. I've always considered myself a patriot. I'd put my life on the line to defend our country against an attack, as my Dad did when he flew bombers in WW2 to protect us from the Nazis. He drummed it in to me that the most important thing you can do is protect the people you love from aggressors. His generation volunteered in huge numbers to put themselves at risk. When the job was done, the lucky ones came home to their families and rebuilt our country. My had been a prisoner of war and so had seen a repressive regime at first hand. I was surprised when he told me that the German and Romanians he met in the POW camp were decent people, who just happened to be on a different side. It was clear the war was lost in 1944 when he was shot down. They just wanted it to end and the carnage to stop. 

My Dad suffered personal loss as his best mate, his plane's rear gunner Spud Murphy was killed when he was shot down. The Romanian air force buried Spud and the pilot who'd shot them down was there, paying respects. My father appreciated the gesture. The fighter pilot told my Dad that the rear gunners were the bravest of the brave, as they were always the first target. As a child I found it hard to understand, how my Father could admire an enemy who'd killed his best mate. Now I understand completely. It wasn't personal, they were all doing their job. After Spud was buried, my Dad commented at how sad it was that so many allied airmen were in the graveyard. The air force commander who was looking after him, asked if he wanted to see the Romanian Airforce cemetery. It was three times as big. He paid his respects. The Romanian Airforce them gave him dinner and a drink. It was the last decent meal he had until he escaped two months later and made it back to Italy, where his squadron's base was.

In 1978, I bought a Rock Against Racism badge, as the UK music community united in horror when Eric Clapton made racist comments supporting the National Front. When Dad saw it, the subject of the NF came up (The National Front, not Nigel Farage). We had a long chat. Dad expressed his total disdain for organisations that promote disharmony. He had seen the end result first hand. He had even less time for people who affect military symbols but who haven't served in the forces. As he died in 1987, Twitter and Facebook didn't exist. All we saw was pictures on the news. The stories usually started with fattish blokes marching with flags, and ended with shops being looted and cars burning. Dad commented that most rioters did it for a new colour telly rather than any deep rooted political beliefs. These days, it seems that nicking pies from Greggs is the order of the day. 

Dad explained to me that his view is that someone who is a patriot is someone who contributes positively to the country they live in, not for gain, but because they want it to be the best place to live. They have jobs, they work hard, they support local charities, they run local clubs and other organisations. They support the rule of law and respect the outcome of democratic elections, especially when they don't agree with them. As he said, there will always be another election and if your side are saying the right things, they win. 

Which brings us to @englishpatriot1534 and all his mates on Twitter etc. Now we live in a country where freedom of speech is the order of the day. I may not like what he has to say, but so long as he's not inciting anyone to acts of violence, he can say what he likes, have any profile picture he likes and paint his house with any flag he likes. That's his business. When he starts encouraging people to break the law, then it is a different matter. Ass far as a am concerned, the most cowardly thing anyone can do is go with hundreds of your mates and try and burn down hotels, housing defenceless women and children.  That is not brave, it is supremely cowardly. It is not Patriotic. The English believe in fair play and huge baying mobs attacking people unable to defend themselves is the opposite of fair play.

If you want to change the law or the government, you do it the English way. You vote in a new government when you can. As that will be in four years, you use your time campaigning for that. I've stood for the local council several times. Often, I've met people who violently disagreed with me, were of what Sir Keir Starmer calls "Hard Right". I am always polite and reasonable. The conversation is always the same "I don't vote, there is no point". In all the elections I've stood in, there has either been BNP, UKIP or Reform. I ask why they won't vote for them? "There's no point". These people refuse to engage with democracy and then complain that they can't win. On a couple of occasions I've asked why they don't go out and knock on a few doors, the answer "It's pointless". I then point out that I'm a Lib Dem and it's highly unlikely I'll get in but I consider it my patriotic duty to get off my bum and make the case for what I believe in. This usually highly irritates them. It is odd though that people who call themselves English Patriots will not engage with the political system that we developed, which has made the UK a rich nation that people which people want to live in, but will engage in lawless thuggery, which is the antithesis of what our armed forces fought so hard and many gave their lives to oppose. 

The most patriotic thing any Englishman can do is to state their case calmly and rationally and not resort to violence when they don't get their way. 

Rog T's Cancer Blog - My one year post radical prostatectomy operation review

 Today, I had my one year review, a few days shy of the anniversary of my radical prostatectomy last August. I had a PSA test last week and I knew that the PSA level was undetectable, which meant that I knew the review would be a pleasant chat. My continence is good and I have a level of sexual function, with some assistance from my trusty tablets. In short, I am in as good a position as I could reasonably expect. This time last year, I was in a state of turmoil, not knowing what the future would hold for me. The blog I wrote regarding my pre op assessment clearly contained hints of the disordered state of my mind. 

A year is a long time. A lot has happened. My recovery had several stages. The first two weeks, I had a cathetar, so was pretty uncomfortable. When that came out, the question was whether I'd be continent. I bought a stack of pads, but from day one, I didn't need these. Occasionally, there was a small dribble if I was inpatient and didn't empty my bladder properly. I've found there are two situations which can be problematic. One is where I drink more than four pints of beer and do not have a loo handy. The other, which can be more problematic, is where I am sitting down and I suddenly reach down to my left or right to pick something up off the floor. The strecth seems to open the sphincter to the bladder. A small amount f leakage will occur. The time this is most a problem is at band rehearsals, when I am setting up guitar pedals. It is not really enough to constitute a problem, but it is not pleasant. I did my pelvic floor exercises before and after, which I believe helped. I have tried to limit my caffeine input to three cups of caffinated tea a day (in the morning) and I try and avoid having more than four beers. If I am on a sessions, I'll have a single shot of whiskey instead for the round. Much of it is learning to manage situations. I don't go on massive drinking benders particularly often, so it isn't a big problem for me, but on a couple of occasions I've got carried in the moment and realised my mistake. Fortunately Thameslink trains have loo's. It's when I've taken the tube I suffered. 

As to sexual function, that is more of a work in progress. With the help of Cialis genre drugs, I can function sexually. I've not had what you'd describe as a sponatneous erection without them. I have full feeling when sexually aroused and can reach a climax. It is odd as the sensation is exactly the same but nothing comes out. One of the main reasons that men don't have surgery is fear of losing sexual function. It is not great to have to take pills, but on balance, it is better than death and I have a supportive partner. I discussed this with my surgeon and he said that male sexual function starts to decline from 55. As I am 62 this month, I should accept that I can perform with tablets and not be too hung up about it. 

So what was the alternative? Radiotherapy or do nothing. If I'd had Radiotherapy, I'd have been on hormone therapy for three months, had six weeks of radiotherapy and then had another year of hormone therapy, so I'd still have six months of treatment left. Theoretically, when this was done, my sexual function would have returned to normal. I was very much leaning towards this initially, when the team at UCL told me I'd have no sexual function post op. When Professor Eden told me that the neurosafe surgical procedure offered a far better chance of preserving function, I decided to go for that. I was pleased that I did. I would not like to still be in treatment. As to doing nothing? Well he said that I couldn't be sure, but most likely within a couple of years, given the pathology of my prostate, it would have spread. Then I'd have been on hormone therapy for life. 

The neurosafe procedure is only available privately. I was diagnosed originally in 2011, when I was 49.I have no idea how I'd have reacted to the news that my sexlife would be over.  I personally think it should be a default for all men under 55. It is expensive, but cheaper to the NHS than long term cost of men declining treatment and dying of the disease. 

Life moves on and life goes on. I was considering the future of this series in the blog. For the foreseeable future, I'll still be having quarterly PSA test and bi-annual consultations. There's a more than reasonable chance that it might be a rather boring series of 'everything is OK blogs', I certainly hope so, but only time will tell. Should I continue with it? I'm not a doctor so all I can really do is pass opinions. At some point, I may well put it all in a book of some sort. Would anyone be interested? It cast a shadow over a decade of my life. There are quite a few books on the subject, few have been satisfactory to me, as someone on the journey. Enough blokes get the horrible condition to make me think there is an audience. Who knows.

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About Rog T's cancer blog.

For those of you who are regular readers and have read the previous posts on Cancer, there's what this is all about. I write this blog because knowledge is power and if you know what you are dealing with, you have more weapons in the locker to fight it. It is a personal view, I'm not medically qualified. This is for the sole purpose of information for those who are interested.This is the latest installment in my occasional series about how I'm adjusting to living with a big C in my life. 

 For those of you who aren't, here's a quick summary. I'm 61 years old and in October 2011 I had a prostate biopsy following two "slightly high" PSA tests - 2.8 & 4.1. The biopsy took ten tissue samples and one of these showed a "low grade cancer" which gave me a 3+3 on the Gleason scale. I was put on a program of active monitoring. In early February, I got the results of the a PSA test - down to 3.5 and an MRI scan which found absolutely nothing, two more tests in 2012 were at 3.5 and 3.9, in 2013 my test was 4.0, Jan 2014 was 3.8, August 2014 was 4.0, February 2015 it was up to 5.5 and my latest in August 2015 was down again at 4.6. In October 2015 I had a transperinial Prostate biopsy, that revealed higher grade cancer and my Gleason score was raised to 3+4 (Small mass + more aggressive cancer). On 22nd Jan 2016 I had HIFU (Hi Intensity Focused Ultrasound) treatment at UCHL). 

My post procedure PSA in May was 4.0 which was down, followed by 3.7 in August, and 3.5 in October which means that the direction is positive . However in January the follow up MRI revealed "something unusual which requires investigation" After a follow up biopsy, it appeared this was nothing to worry about. My two most recent PSA tests were Ok (3.7 and 4.6) and an MRI scan in March was very positive. A PSA in October 2019 was 4.6, so stable and good news, the last in May 2020 was 5.45 a small rise, so worrying, however after a review against the most recent MRI, it was decided that this was fine. This was followed by two in February 2022 was 6.7 and October 2022 was 6.6 was stable. 

In March 2023 had an MRI scan that showed 'significant change'. This lead to a biopsy that indicated a tumour of 4mm that had a gleason score of 4+4. A PSA test in June saw a rise to 12. On 9th August 2023 I had a RARP radcical prostatectomy procedure that, God willing, has addressed it. 

Got the picture?

Here is a song I wrote to raise awareness amongst men of the need to get checked for Prostate Cancer

Is Keir Starmer happy to see 'anti asylum seeker' riots

 One of the benefits of getting old is that you tend to have seen it all before. Through my life, every ten/fifteen years there are major outbreaks of civil unrest. The last time was 2010, when it seemed like just about every high street had a riot. A warehouse was burned to the ground in Croydon and for a few days it felt like the new Tory government and the police had lost control. There was a general sense of panic in the air and the news coverage was clearly a tad nervous. This time, it all seems a bit odd, a bit strange. Much of the footage seems to show far smaller groups of rioters than previous riots, with far smaller groups of police trying (or not) to control them. There is no talk of the army on the street, no regualar breifings from COBRA meetings, no Prime Minister emergency broadcasts. 

I have always found that when something doesn't look right, it probably isn't. I follow a huge range of accounts on various social media platforms, as it helps me form a balanced view of what is going on. A lot of extreme right wing accounts are getting very excited, bleiving 'there time has come'. I hate to upset such groups, but it is pretty clear to me that it hasn't. Firstly, the groups storming hotels and libraries are small groups of people, I see more police at Manchester City when I go to football than I've seen on the coverage. The Police seem to me to generally be taking the view that protestors can shout and jump up and down all they like. The arrests are in the hundreds, in a population of 60 million a tiny percentage.

Most people seem more than happy to sit at home and watch the Olympics. The BBC haven't interrupted their Olympic coverage. When I watched the horrific scene of the attack on the hotel, it seemed to me that the Police were very passive and their numbers were totally inadequate. The more I watched it, the more something seemed to not a up. Why on earth are we in a sitaution where pictures are broadcast across the globe that asylum seekers, coming to the UK for refuge aren't safe? I am 100% sure that the UK Police have more than enough resources to absolutely crush these small groups, if they were ordered to by the Home Secretary. So why haven't they? The horrible thought then occurred to me that maybe this could quite suit Sir Keir Starmer. If you were an asylum seeker in Calais and watching the news, maybe you'd think twice before coming to the UK right now. 

Starmer has always struck me a both highly intelligent and highly duplicitous. Ask any Jeremy Corbyn fan what they think of him and they will tell you of his scheming and betrayal of Corbyn. He was happy to drink from the same cup as Corbyn, but as soon as he could, he shafted Corbyn and all his former left wing mates. So what is the biggest threat at the moment to Starmers political power. He doesn't seem too bothered about the Tories, who have decided to engage in a lengthy period of navel gazing, as they try and select a replacement for Rishi Sunak. I get the feeling that Starmer would be more than happy to cut a deal with the Lib Dems, who generally only take Tory seats, if his support wanes.

The one area that could turn nasty is Reform. There is a suspicion that the red wall, which turned Tory in 2019 and returned in 2024 is an area that Reform see as ripe for harvesting. It is clear that the government is keen to brand the rioters as 'Far Right'. There is no doubt that if this sticks it will severely damage the Reform brand and Nigel Farage. When arsonists start burning down hotels where they think asylum seekers may be staying, it is puts Farage, who has made a career out of demonising such people, in a difficult place. It seems strangely ironic that all of the hard right thungs at the heart of all of this may simply ensuring that Keir Starmer's two biggest domestic problems are dealt with. Could it be that he realises that this will damage Reform and so falling in line with Sunak's line is a pretty shrewd move. 

I would be amazed if we don't see a massive fall off in numbers of boats crossing the channel. In a few months time, the riots will be largely forgotten by most of us, but when the annual figures for small boats are released, it will look like Starmer has got a grip on the issue. It is interesting to see that Rishi Sunak is not putting the boot in to the new government. 

Now of course I have no inside info. What I write is pure supposition, but one thing I've learned over my nearly 62 years is that when odd things happen and the person making the decision is a huge beneficiary of what is going on, things become a lot easier to understand. So if you are a right wing extremist and you think burning down hotels is giving Sir Keir Starmer a problem, think again. You might just be doing him a massive favour. Oh and don't forget that when this is done and dusted, Starmer will probably pass new laws, allowing him to tap your phone, hack your facebook account and lock you up. Don't say I didn't tell you in five years time when Starmer starts his next term, whilst you are banged up, for breaking some yet to be passed law. 

As for me, I'll just sit back, crack open a beer and watch the Olympics. It is pretty clear to me what is going on, but then again, I love a good conspiracy theory. One thing I have learned is that whatever happens, the politcal classes always win in the end. 

Updated 5/8/2024 - It seems I’m not the only one puzzled by the lack of energy in Keir Starmers response. Tory Leadership hopefully Tom Tugendhat said this in the Express today. He is ex military so his views have a degree of gravitas

The Sunday Reflection #20 - There are good weeks, there are bad weeks, I've had both this week

 Have you had a good week? I've had a winderful week, I've also had a terrible week. You may ask how can this be. Well, we went on holiday for a couple of days in the middle of the week. We started with a day on the beach at West Wittering, which was wonderful. It has been listed as the best beach in the South East of England and I wouldn't argue. It is glorious. 

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We stayed at our pub of choice, the Hampshire Hog in Clanfield. It is dog friendly and serves a very decent pint. It is also good value. On Thursday we went for a rather lovely walk around the South Downs, on Butster Hill. It has spectacular views, you can see the Isle of White from the top. As you can see from the piccies, it is glorious.

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The doggies enjoyed some doggie Ice Cream from the cafe (I had a nice cup of tea!).

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Yesterday, I went to watch Hadley FC play in the Pre qualifying round of the FA Cup. They were playing Basildon FC. I got a train to Billericay, met up with a couple of the other supporters in a rather decent micro brewery. We had a couple of pints of rather good real ale, then went to the match. The result was disappointing. Hadley lost 2-1, but it was nice to be watching footie again. When the match finished, I got the train back to Camden Town, had a delicious dinner at Peron No 4 Restaurant, then watch the Skapones, a pretty decent Ska band from the North East. 

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Sounds like a decent old week, doesn't it? Well it would have been, but for the fact that we came back earlier from the South Downs. One of my daughters partner had been taken into hospital for an emergency operation (he's fine now, but it was a nasty shock for all). I had a band rehearsal scheduled for the evening. As I was getting ready, my phone rang. It was one of my oldest and best mates. We went to St Vincents and FCHS together, he came out to see me when I was living in Stockholm, and was a fixture at all of the bands early gigs. He lives in Mill Hill and has been his elderly parents carer for a few years. His Dad was a brilliant guy, he used to plat five a side with us into his 60's, and was also a member of our table tennis league. He was by far the best player and won the singles championship every year, despite being 30 years older than the rest of us. Sadly, the call was to say he'd passed away. He'd been very poorly for the last few months and it was expected and in truth it was a relief in some ways, but it is rather sad and there will be a huge gap in my friends life. 

Having taken that call, I got to the studio, to find that our bassplayers girlfriend was ill and he couldn't make it. I decided to do an hour's guitar practice on my own, which I probably needed. Usually when I do solo practice, I don't use my amp, so it was nice to ramp it up. My friends Dad was the person who proposed me as a member of the Mill Hill Services Club,  so I decided to go for last orders at the club and raise a Guinness to his memory. 

I started to think about life and death. When my Dad died in 1987, all of my close friends still had their parents. I felt that there was no one I could talk to about what I was feeling. In truth, I was in denial and shock. A year later, a friends Dad passed away after a failed kidney transplant. He had his funeral at Hendon Crematorium chapel. Half way through, I was overcome with emotion. All of the feelings I'd suppressed for a year came flooding through. I had to leave the chapel. After the service, a mate found me outside, in floods of tears. His comment "I didn't realise you were so close to Steve's Dad". I was unable to explain. Sadly, over the years, just about all of my mates lost their Dads. I suspect that the forthcoming funeral will be the last of the Dads to go. 

Three years before my Dad passed, I had some serious medical issues. My Dad took me to Edgware General and I had three months off work. I lost five stone and had to be taught walk after a few weeks in bed. My Dad told me that he was terrified I was going to die, when I was taken up. I was throwing up blood and looked like a ghost. He said that no Dad should ever lose a son. The inverse of that is that every son should lose a Dad. Losing parents is one of the worst things most of us go through. Fortunately it is relatively rare to lose children (I just touched wood). I think that must be the worst thing possible. My daughters boyfriends operation brought home to me, the sheer random nature of life. In the last few weeks, three friends have lost parents. I guess it is a symptom of my age. Over the last few months, it's seemed that every week someone we know has either passed away or lost a parent. 

Ten years ago, I would have probably dealt with this in a different way, as I'd had far less practice, however now it simply makes me want to enjoy my time on this beautiful planet a little bit more. As I write this, I am a bit tired and hung over. Yesterday was a long day and in truth I drunk far more than a sensible person would. I am lucky that I havean amazing family,  good friends, a love of music and football and at 62 I am still in good enough shape to enjoy all of these things. A year ago, I was preparing to have surgery to remove my cancerous prostate. A year ago today, I wrote a blog detailing how stressed I was.  Tomorrow I have my one year consult. Life has it's ups and downs. They don't usually come so thick and fast in the same week though. Have a great Sunday and here's a little song from our band's reportoire to cheer you up, dedicated to The Dublin Castle, as we had a great night there.

The Saturday List #450 - "What have immigrants ever done for us?" - My personal list

 I normally avoid 'matters of the day" but hey ho, rules are made to be broken. With the current riots etc, the contribution of immigrants is in the spotlight. So I think it's fair to say "What have immigrants ever done for us?". Here's my personal list.

1. My Dad. Well he was an immigrant, came from Australia to fly bombers for the RAF in World War Two. He was not alone, his squadron (40 Squadron) was a Commonwealth Squadron and all his crew, apart from his rear gunner ('Spud' Murphy) were born outside of the UK. His squadron included at least one Indian Muslim crew, who he told me were ordered by the Medical Orderly to drink three large scotches after each mission to help deal with the stress and nerves. Alcohol is not prohinited by Islam for medicinal use. Dad met up with them in the 1980's and asked if they'd drunk since. They all said no, but explained that they'd have cracked up if they hadn't, the stress being so great. I published a blog of my Dad's diary from 1944, detailing his missions back in 2008, for Remembrance Sunday. It is pretty harrowing but funny at times. Dad never gave up his Aussie passport and always referred to himself as a Commonwealth Citizen. 

2. My Grandad (Mums side). He was an immigrant from Dublin. He served in the cavalry in World War One. He was gassed in the trenches and his health never recovered, He passed away in 1948 in his sleep at the age of 66. I wouldn't be here but for his efforts. 

3. Just about everyone who treats me in the NHS. I've had a long and interesting relationship with the NHS. My Doctor growing up was Dr Moodaley in Burnt Oak. My current Doctor is Dr Amasanti- De Bono at Millway. When I had surgery for cancer, this time last year, all of the nurses were either African or Phillipino, as best as I could tell. 

4. My band. Where to start? Fil Ross, our bassplayer for the last 22 years is Portuguese. We've had two amazing female singers, Venessa Sagoe, who is half Nigerian

L/R Adam Francis, Rog T, Venessa Sagoe, Paul Hircombe, Bill Pithers

Connie Abbe who is South Sudanese.

Pete Conway who started the band with me, was Irish. Paul Hircombe, our bassplayer for 28 years was half Austrian. Sorry if you don't likeit, but I'll always stand by my mates and the people who've put faith in me and joined my band. 

5. Currys and Chinese food. Last night I had a rather tasty curry with a mate at The Mill Hill Tandoori. I have done this most Fridays over the last 45 years. The Good Earth Chinese restaurant in Mill Hill has also been a favourite of the family. The Chinese boss saw my Dad being robbed by two thugs with a baseball bat outside Lloyds Bank in the Broadway, whilst collecting the wages for Mac Metals in 1984. He followed the thugs, took their car number and they were arrested, getting 18 month sentences. For that I will forever be grateful.

6.  My patio. When I needed my Patio doing, I mentioned it to my former next door neighbours, who lovely Romanian builders. Did a great job and did it very cheap!

7. Sausages.  I'm tucking into some rather tasty sausages as I write this, procured from Boucherie Gerard, run by Gerard, who is one of my favourite Frenchmen and who has kept Mill Hill fed in style for decades.

8. My customers at the studio. Probably 75% of the customers of my studio are immigrants or are directly descended from immigrants. They pay mortgage. I put together a playlist of some of our best customers a couple of weeks ago. It tells the story. 

9. Football. I support England, Manchester City and Hadley FC. I've seen some of the worlds most talented footballers. My sporting moment of the summer was when England won that penalty shootout. in the Euro's. It answered a lot of people. I could make a list of players, but it would be very long and if you care, you know them all anyway.

10. Ska and Reggae music. My favourite genre of music is Ska. I'm going to see a Ska band tonight at The Dublin Castle. It was the sound of my youth. The UK leads the worlds music scene because we embrace and assimilate different genres and styles of music. Bands such as The Specials, The Beat and The Selecter formed and shaped my musical tastes. No immigrants means no Ska. 

Sure, there are problems, of course governments of recent years have not covered themselves in glory with their policies, but never forget that everyone is a person, an individual. Most people just want to get on and get by. Any politician who demonises any group purely by their race or religion is a charlatan and a chancer. By all means moan about the policies of governments of the day. Don't take it out on some unfortunate person who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Put your house on Kamala Harris winning the US Presidential election!

I don't really follow US Presidential Race,  and until yesterday, I'd have put my house on Donald Trump winning the US election. It seemed that all the stars were lining up for him. Joe Biden seemingly losing is marbles, Trump literally dodging a bullet. It all seemed to be going swimmingly for the Tangoman. 

We were having a break for a couple of days on the South Downs, walking dogs and at the beach in West Wittering, so I wasn't watching much TV or listening to the radio. I'd managed to avoid the news. We returned last night, I nipped down to the studio to get some practice in and to work on some new material. When I got home, I put the news on. The top international story was the exchange of prisoners between Russia and the West. It seems that the Russians have been collecting poor suckers for a few years, as bargaining chips to get a few of the KGB/FSB hitmen etc back. The talks had been going on for a couple of years behind the scenes, making little progress. There had been talk that opposition leader in Russia Navalny was part of the deal, before Putin bumped him off. 

I was gobsmacked to hear of the deal. For Putin, it is what is known as Realpolitik. Such deals are designed to achieve the maximum political gain. I had assumed that the deal was on hold until Trump was in the White House. That would give Trump a big win early in his career and show that he was a big player on the world stage, who could do the big deals. It would show that Putin was a man who the west could do business with and would be a precursor and an excuse for a 'deal' on Ukraine.

Then I got home and saw that it would be Kamala Harris and Joe Biden welcoming the hostages from the plane. It would be Harris who got the exposure and looked like the person who could get deals done. Why? It is pretty clear to me that Putin has made up his mind that Trump is going to lose and he needed to garner some political capital with Kamala Harris. Now you may think "Why should Putin be able to predict the future any better than anyone else?". Well, firstly he has the Russian state and the FSB/KGB working for him and advising him. The Russian state spends billions on intelligence. The second thing is that the Russians invested a huge amount of effort in getting Trump elected in the last two elections. This payed dividends in 2016, but when Biden won in 2020, it meant that there was already an ingrained hostility. The last thing Putin will want is another hostile US president. A Harris presidency offers the prospect of a reset. If he were to throw the kitchen sink at her with his army of Twitter bots etc, and she won, he'd be where he's been for the last four years. It is pretty clear to me that Putin does not want that. Whilst it may seem as if the war in Ukraine will grind on forever, for Putin this means that his economy will be miredin sanctions and ever more reliant on the likes of China, Iran and North Korea. Whilst this is a necessity for the current situation, it is massively holding Russia back. The support of Russia, North Korea and Iran comes with its own unique costs and problems. 

If Putin can reset his relationship with Harris, negotiate a face saving deal in Ukraine, get some territory and a 'lasting peace deal' that he can sell at home as proof it was worth it, in exchange for a winding down of sanctions, he will be happy. Putin knows that Harris will be a far less sympathetic face in the White House, but we live in the real world. If Harris can broker a deal that is can be sold and wind down the tensions, she will have a good start to her presidency. Putin knows this.

Since Biden departed, Trump has seen ever more old, out of touch and perhaps slightly deranged. His behaviour is, shall we say, not Presidential. Whilst his opponent was even more doddery than him, this wasn't a problem, but Harris is unruffled by the attacks. The latest one, where Trump claimed she'd only been black for a few years was truly bizarre. I suspect Trump is simply slinging mud until he finds some that sticks. The trouble is that when it doesn't and he simply look silly, spiteful and a bit past it, it undermines him. Many Republicans are saying that his choice of Vice President is a disaster and the polling numbers have turned. Trumps USP was that, to his followers, he 'tells the truth'. The trouble is, when the sort of truth he tells are like the mutterings of a much loved old relative who's lost his marbles and just spouts embarrassing stories at weddings and wakes, it loses it's appeal. I have no doubt that the Americans who love Trump will vote for him come hell or high water, but the people in the centre, who were drifting towards Trump as they felt Biden had lost the plot are rapidly backpeddaling. 

Now I don't advocate gambling. In fact I wrote a song called "Long Shot Didn't die" warning of the dangers of it, but of I was going to put a bet on anything, I'd put a bet on Harris. Paddy Power now have her at evens and Trump at 8/11. They say the bookies usually get it right, but it seems to me that the polls are turning and I think the price on Harris is a bargain. In the US, the Independent reports that Harris is bookies favourite for the first time. I suspect that you won't get this price again (unless Trump does a Biden and the Republicans find someone who is up to the job). 

As it's Friday, here's a tune to cheer you up. As mentioned above, here is Longshot Didn't Die. A cautionary tale about gambling shenanigans.