Snap snap! Click click!

London, greatest city in the world, no doubt about it. Mix of history, culture, landmarks, great places to eat, great places to go out and diversity like nowhere else. I feel privileged to have been born here and lived here my whole life, it would be a cold day in hell before I decide to leave this incredible place. But with all this glory comes an annoyance, an annoyance that showcases itself as a double edged sword. Almost like a hot cup of tea – you know you want to take a sip while it’s nice and hot, but when you feel the burn you just want to put it straight back down! Ladies and gents, for me, that cup of tea syndrome is tourists.

I didn’t realise how much this bothered me until I started working in the Westminster area. I found walking towards the station was turning into a gruelling Krypton Factor style obstacle course, dodging wannabe paparazzo’s taking pictures of a lamp post that was once leaked upon by a royal corgi. Now I know it can be fascinating for a first time visitor to take pictures of landmarks such as Big Ben, but does having a camera around your neck and a bright orange visor cap automatically make you lose all sense of the world around you? I mean, do tourists forget to pack common sense when stuffing their suitcases? You see them almost climbing on top of each other to be able to take a picture without any idea that they are in the middle of a busy road – something that I will come back to a bit later. At first I used to stop and wait for the tourists to take their pictures, let them get their positioning right, big smiles then ‘snap’! I would walk for another few seconds then stop again as the next group decide they want to take a picture of the pavement. Then I had enough, I reached the end of my tether and began ploughing through like a hot knife through butter. I’ve probably ruined more family photos than the weird uncle who everyone pretends to like. Even then you still can’t help but be caught out by the wild shrieking like a banshee of a tourist when Big Ben starts to chime, the funniest thing is when tourists begin clambering toward the clock in order to take pictures while the bells toll...

                                                                                                          

I understand that tourists bring millions and millions in revenue to the UK but the people counting the money don’t have to go through the daily grind that us regular people have to. So, going back to the road scenario, why is it that tourists think standing in the middle of a road while cars are trying to get past is a normal thing to do? Do they not have traffic control where they are from? I’ve lost count of the amount of times where furious drivers have had to literally scream and honk their horns to make these wanderers realise that they are about to be turned into goulash! And even then they just turn and look at the cars as if to say “why are you in the road trying to drive when I am busy taking a picture of another pointless street sign that I can’t even read?”

But I think my single biggest annoyance is the way tourists just decide to stop slap bang in the middle of the pavement without any regard for people walking behind them or anything that is going on around them. Countless times I have been in full flow only to walk into someone who just chooses to park themselves right in front of me. It is worse when there is a big group of them and not only do they walk so slow it’s as if they are going backwards, they also lose all concept of space and take up the whole width of the pavement! I mean come on, surely they have some sort of rules and common courtesy instilled in them before boarding that plane?

I have a solution for this...I honestly think that areas such as Oxford Street, Westminster et al should have a ‘tourist lane’ installed. Much like a bus lane on the roads, there should be a lane whereby tourists can walk as slowly and stop as often as they want, and a separate lane for everyone else who just wants to get to work, home or wherever it is they need to. How would this work I hear you ask? Well the tourist lane just needs to be sign posted with directions to every landmark the UK has to offer and you will soon see a filtering process, they will join the lanes in their droves, all with the common goal of reaching the promised land of Buckingham Palace amongst other places. I don’t think it’s too unrealistic, it could be done, it would certainly improve my journey to work that’s for sure! Dangling directions in front of a tourist is like a kid in a sweet shop – they will go nuts with excitement! But until that happens I guess I just need to grin and bear it...and continue to ruin those magic photo moments!

Pedal Off!!

This morning reminded me why I find cyclists so frustrating and annoying!! It’s not that I ever forgot, but I had managed to restrict my irritation towards them by giving them a small amount of leeway...just a small amount. However this particular incident made me think there was no need for me to pull out the violins.

                                                         

I never used to have any grievances against cyclists, not until I started driving. But even then I remained courteous and gave them the benefit of the doubt; giving them way, allowing them enough space to turn, holding back on the accelerator so that they had a chance to push off. However in the last few years cyclists seem to have notched it up a level in regards to angering drivers and pedestrians. There has been a lot of talk about the way they ride through red lights and refusing to stop at zebra crossings – both of which can lead to serious collisions with people crossing the road legitimately.

Coming back to this morning, I witnessed a woman crossing the road due to a red light and the cars stopping, but this cyclist decided he was going to surpass this Highway Code and carry on going at full pelt through the light. As you can imagine he couldn’t brake hard enough and the woman couldn’t get out of the way quick enough so there was a fast, hard crash. The poor lady hit the road but fortunately she didn’t hit her head as she landed. The idiot cyclist was also on the floor and looked like he had avoided any serious injury; however his cycle didn’t look too pretty. It wasn’t surprising that along with me, most people who witnessed this went straight to the lady to help – I personally think this was not to do just with the fact that she was a woman but more so because pedestrians are fed up with the way cyclists conduct themselves and think they are immune from road laws. It wasn’t long before a helper questioned the cyclist as to why he didn’t stop; there was no response, just a grunt as he examined his torn lycra. He did apologise but the damage was done, the lady was in shock and in tears. There were a couple of community support officers going by who came and took over, but as I headed off to work I couldn’t help but feel really worked up and angry about what had just happened.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened and certainly won’t be the last, I witness near misses on a regular basis and I have nearly been hit by over enthusiastic riders. For God’s sake, the roads of London aren’t the velodrome! If they want to put on shiny one piece lycra suits, weird looking helmets and whizz around like they own the place then pedal off somewhere else! Pedestrians have a hard enough time as it is crossing the busy roads without having to keep an extra eye on some mad man/woman on two wheels riding like they are on their way to save the world. I know there will be some who give the whole ‘cyclists are considerate of the environment’ argument, what do they want, a pat on the back? A Blue Peter badge? Go hug a tree or something because as far as I’m concerned they lose the validity of this by their behaviour on the road.

Ok so it isn’t every single one of them and I do see many who obey the rules, but it is human nature that you remember the ones who do wrong more than the ones who do right. Incidents like this morning stay in your head longer and its cyclists like this who give the rest a bad name. They say they should have more rights on the roads and more cycle lanes, well I don’t think they have a right to these until they begin changing their attitudes. They need to get off their environmental high horse and either accept the rules of the road or face the type of hatred that drivers show towards them. I’m not condoning drivers purposefully intimidating cyclists but they shouldn’t be shocked when they get abuse hurled at them for doing what they do. Me personally, I would like to get rid of them all, I find them a nuisance and they do nothing for my aim to calm down on road rage (obviously getting rid of them all will never happen, but hey, a man can dream). 

The Blame Game - Part 3

The Youth

And now we come to what many see as the biggest piece of the puzzle – the youth that took part in the riots. What made these youngsters, many who are still in primary school, go out on the rampage and cause so much destruction and chaos? Well one thing for sure is that not all of those involved were youngsters, there were many grown men and women also taking part. One of the first points I want to tackle is this whole notion of them not having anything to do, not having jobs, not having anywhere to go. Fair enough, the job market is very tough out there at the moment and many youth clubs and centres have closed down. But I find it really hard to feel sympathy when I’m hearing them complain about their current situation. I’ve heard time and time again that society has failed them, the school system has failed them and everyone is to blame apart from themselves. I went to an inner-city London secondary school and made the decision (with my parents support and influence) to study, do my homework and try and achieve good grades in my GCSE’s, this led me to doing my A’Levels, a degree and a postgraduate degree. However there were many of my peers in school who decided they weren’t going to go for that route and it’s sad to say but a lot of people I knew ended up doing jail time within a few years of leaving school. These kids roaming the streets make the decision to bunk school, to be disruptive in class, to take no interest in their education – and then they have the cheek to blame society and expect others to feel sorry for them?? No, enough of this ‘feeling sorry for yourself’ culture, you need to stand up and take responsibility for your actions, don’t try and now pass off the blame on the school or the teachers. Just like me, there are thousands of other kids who go to the same schools and have to work with the same teachers, resources and within the same environment as these ‘failed’ pupils and they still make something out of their lives. This country provides us with a free education up to the age of 18 but so many disregard it like a waste of time. Obviously it helps if parents are playing an active role in the education of their child, but the child also needs to accept a level of accountability. It’s hard enough for someone with qualifications to get a job so obviously for someone who didn’t even bother attending school it will be a nightmare, but don’t blame the employer for this, take a look at yourself.

My final point on the youth is that I sit and wonder what makes them want to take part in these types of events, is it out of sheer boredom or is out of the sense of belonging to something? Maybe they just want to hit back at the system they feel has deserted them? The press have reported many different types of youngsters took part including the daughter of a millionaire – I mean what made her want to get caught up in this? Surely she didn’t need to loot to get herself some new trainers? For me this is an example of why the government need to ask themselves how broken must this society be that people seem to take part just for the sake of it. One harrowing event that stuck with me for nearly all of my life was the brutal murder of toddler James Bulger by a 10 and 11 year old. I clearly remember the furore that surrounded the fact that the killers had been watching horror film Childs Play and how this was a massive protagonist in their action. To this day I refuse to just accept this as the defining reason and still question why in this modern day and age two little boys would even contemplate doing what they did. It infuriates me seeing these judges and ministers passing the blame from one thing to another, but never actually tackling the real issue at heart which is what kind of society, what kind of world do we live in that makes little boys commit murder. Yes I accept that the media is very influential and plays a big part in our day to day lives, but stop pointing the finger at the media alone and making it a scapegoat for the ills of society.

I have no doubt that in the weeks to come we will see many well constructed PR events of David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Boris Johnson and others sitting down with the ‘youth’, blazers off, ties off and sleeves rolled up. I’ve had enough of these gimmicks, I want actions, I want to see change and I want to see the real people making the change. Politicians will always have an end game – a seat in parliament – but for the real people their end game is life and life is certainly worth struggling for. 

The Blame Game - Part 2

Parents

Inevitably the parents have received a lot of bad press over the riots, especially considering that many who took part were children as young as seven. The question of good and bad parenting rose to the forefront in many discussions and debates and many angry fingers were pointed at what is deemed to be poor parenting and a lack of family values. So firstly, looking at the issue of bad parenting, yes it does exist and yes it is a major factor in the behaviour of the youngsters involved. Long has there been talk of the effect of a broken household, the lack of a father figure, children going from foster home to care home to hostels and getting lost in the system – these are all important things that need to be tackled hard and head on. I am not a parent myself but having witnessed family and friends who are, I can say it is quite possibly the hardest full time job you will ever go through. It’s not the type of job where you can have a bad mid-year appraisal and set yourself objectives for the end of the year, it is the type of job where every decision, every action and every moment causes a knock on effect.

On a regular basis I see young kids roaming the streets in my local area late at night, drunk, high, being abusive and I wonder to myself where their parents are? Why aren’t the parents dragging them by their ear back home? I guess for me it is alien purely because of the upbringing I had, I could never have got away with being out after 9pm on a school night, at the time I used to moan and whinge about how restrictive that was and what a bore it was but now looking back I thank my parents for the foresight they had. My father always said to me that I wouldn’t understand his way of parenting until much later in life, and now I do. The parents are the front line and have the biggest responsibility of all when it comes to their own children, that is why I feel so strongly that parents need to set boundaries and guidelines from a young age. It doesn’t guarantee perfection, not at all, but it does help to shape this young person into an adult. But I can see how this can seem too idealistic, and am fully aware that even if parents try their best the young person still has a mind of their own.

But lets not just scream and shout at the parents. The flipside to this is that there are thousands and thousands of parents out there who due to the society we live in have no choice but to give their children free reign. We live in an age now where the cost of living is sky high; welfare reforms, tax changes, pensions and other financial constraints are meaning that there are many out there who are having to work two, maybe even three, jobs a day just to make ends meet and make sure their kids have a roof over their heads and food on the table. Where does David Cameron or any other politician for that matter think these parents will find time to engage with their children? At what point do they have the opportunity to sit down and ask their child how school was today, what homework they have, who their friends are and what they have been up to all day? For many parents youth clubs and after school clubs are a God send as it means their child has somewhere to go while they are at work, but with these closing up and down the country, where do these kids go now? We clearly saw many mums and dads taking part in the looting and for me that showed the desperation that many are facing. It does not justify their actions in any way but raises questions as to why whilst living in one of the richest countries in the world people still have to steal to survive.

Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin called for parents to stop their children from going out and taking part in the riots, how did he expect them to do this? When there is a 16 year old young man standing in front of you telling you he is going out, apart from sheer physical force how else are you going to stop them? This in part is down to the way authorities have taken away what I believe to be the power to exercise discipline in the household. Children know how protected they are and many use that to their advantage, the threat of ‘you can’t do anything to me, I’m a minor’ reverberates all over the country. Parents are scared to even take a firm grip of their child who is running out into the middle of a busy road out of fear that someone may report them for ‘child abuse’. I’m not condoning violence and domestic abuse towards children, but parents should not feel scared of disciplining their own children, they should be able to implement rules without the fear of looking like an abusive parent. David Cameron boldly stated that “if you are old enough to commit these crimes then you are old enough to face the punishment” – really?? What has he got in mind for the seven year old, or the 11 year old? I mean we live in a society where if an under 18 commits a crime then they are given complete anonymity in the press, why? Why should they not be exposed just like every other criminal? These kids need to realise the severity of their actions and telling them off whilst wrapping them up in cotton wool is not going to achieve that.

I end this segment with a special mention to Tariq Jahan, the father of Harun Jahan, who bravely and confidently stood in front of the country and delivered a message that reached the hearts of millions. In a matter of minutes this father, this human being, achieved more than any do-gooding politician could ever do. It is people like this that we need to have at the forefront leading the way for a better society. My thoughts and condolences go out to the Jahan family, and the families of the brothers Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir, may they rest in peace. 

The Blame Game - Part 1

Police and Government

So let’s begin with what is deemed the ‘authority’, the people in charge of providing us with law and order and a sense of control in the society we live in. What we have seen since the riots is the typical ‘handing over the blame’ scenario that seems to take place after any major event. The government have been critical of the police handling and the police have hit back at the governments slow response. How does that help us in any way right now? What solution has that given us? The government’s much publicised and criticised proposal of cutting the police forces in the UK faced its first major test this week and promptly called for a rethink. The current governments heavy handed cuts and tax reforms are being used as a reason for the escalation in disaffection amongst the people of the country, however if you pose this to David Cameron he will happily tell you it is all the fault of the previous government, who will in turn no doubt tell you they were left with the ruins of the government before them (you see a pattern emerging here right?). Cameron talks passionately about a ‘big society’, about community, but what is he actually doing to encourage this? Is his message reaching the ones who need to hear it most or does it get lost at all the fancy black tie events?

With the police we have seen many instances where they have faced criticism for their handling of community affairs. One of my earliest memories of police negativity came during their handling of the Stephen Lawrence case and the impact this had on the perception of the police from the grass roots members of society. Another sticking point is that since 1998 there have been 338 deaths in police custody but not one officer has been convicted – for the general public that leaves a lot to be answered. Most recently we saw the controversial shooting of Mark Duggan which many have cited as the reason for the riots, the actual events of that shooting remain to be seen and could prove pivotal in what I am sure will turn into yet another lengthy, drawn out inquiry....

Look, no one is saying the police have an easy job, far from it, but their past and present conduct has left a bitter taste in many mouths and if the law enforcement of the country loses the faith of the people then you will have problems. When we saw scenes of people in Enfield and Southall coming out to protect their communities we felt a sense of pride, a feeling that we are united and standing up against what is wrong – but what message did this send out to the police and the government?  Did they feel undermined or did they also feel proud that the people of this country showcased a type of togetherness which saw it through two world wars? Whatever their perception, for me it clearly highlighted that the police’s blood, sweat and courage was just not seen as enough. People wanted harder, faster responses and the police just couldn’t give them that, taking the law into their own hands was a desperate plea for more support, understanding and a sense of cohesion. These ‘protectors of the community’ were showing their frustrations at what they deemed to be a sluggish response, but I come back to my earlier point about the police not having an easy job and I take my hat off to the many men and women on the beat who had to withstand the type of barbarity we all witnessed.

Another major scapegoat for the riots was the use of the digital media services so readily available to us now. We all saw the sensationalised headlines of how social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry Messenger (BBM) were almost labelled as aiding and abetting the riots. There was even requests made to have the BBM service suspended to prevent any further communication, raising it to an almost ‘Enigma’ machine status from the Second World War. Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick angrily asked on Question Time why the police hadn’t been on Facebook looking at wall posts inviting people to join in the riots, why the police weren’t looking at all the Tweets and re-Tweets giving information on where everyone was heading. Now there is talk of the police being allowed to ban sites such as these and constricting the amount of freedom that they espouse. What baffles me is that do they honestly think by banning all of these social media facilities they will prevent something like this happening again? Lets go back a few years and look at the riots in Broadwater Farm, Brixton, even the race riots in Oldham and Bradford, these took place without the use of social media but still led to hundreds of people coming from different areas to join in. People have been rioting long before wireless internet became a must have so the powers that be need to stop looking for an easy route out by yet again blaming anyone but themselves.

No one likes to accept blame, but the only way forward is to stand up and admit to your mistakes – and what better way to start than the authorities taking the lead and admitting they have a lot to improve on. 

The Blame Game - Intro

Being born and bred in London, and proud of the city that I call home, I felt compelled to air my views on the events of the last week. The pictures, videos and reports tell a grim, horrendous depiction of what could simply be categorised as pure and utter ‘madness’. I’m not claiming to be able to provide answers, if anything I am posing more questions, the issue is a complex one with many underlying factors. Too many people are trying to pin the reasons for these riots on one group or one institution or one type of people – I’m not going to lie, initially I also fell into that category – but having reflected on all of this it is evident to see that the riots are merely scratching at the surface of what is a multifarious problem.  I want to raise concerns over what I believe to be the contributing factors - pre and post riots – and I’ve split it into three areas, all of which in some way or another intertwine with each other.