It feels wrong to celebrate...

It does feel somewhat wrong to be preparing to celebrate Christmas when their are 27 shattered families and relatives on the other side of the Atlantic, their lives devastated.
Many would say that life has to go on. I suppose they are right, but for the families involved, they must be feeling their world has come to an end.
I listened last night to BBC Radio 5's Stephen Nolan Show. It's a phone in discussion programme and the main topic was the tragedy in Connecticut. I normally listen to just a few minutes, depending on the subject, but last night I felt compelled to stay with the programme until 1am.
A couple of the calls were from the area affected. One was from an English teacher who worked at a school in a neighbouring state. He talked about how school teachers and children are trained for situations such as those seen on Friday. The training is mandatory and as he explained what he would have done in a similar situation, he began to break down. His thoughts had turned to the children in his charge and the realisation that it could easily have been his class that had been lost.
Another call was from a father in the UK. He simply could not understand how it could be right for a member of the public to have access to weapons normally seen only in the military. He too broke down and sobbed as he tried to articulate his feelings, the anger clear in his broken voice. The weapons used by the lone gunman on Friday are designed to cause maximum damage and injury. They are death machines and can be found in use by the Navy and those serving in Afghanistan. Why, he asked, are such weapons so widely available? 'There has to be something seriously wrong with a country that allows this'. How right he is.
Something that dis stick in my mind was a quite from a law official in the US who informed us that there are in use in the US more than one gun per head of the population. That is a huge number of weapons, all of which are in use. Is it any wonder tragedies like this occur?
As more detail emerges, so too we will hopefully begin to answer the big question, 'why?'. The police have announced they have found evidence that shines a light on this question and may go some way to provide a motive for the gunman to have done what he did. This will be of no consolation to the parents of those killed, but may in some way help to prevent something like this ever happening again. It may help those in contact with children and young adults to recognise the signs before it is too late. It is more likely than not that the signs were there. They may have manifested themselves in odd behaviour, a reluctance to mix with others or a hatred for teachers or figures of authority. It is possible these things could have been pushed aside and put down to the actions of a normal adolescent, finding his place in society. It's likely we will never know.
It would be so wrong for nothing of any real good to come from this tragedy. There has to be progress on all fronts, progress in restricting gun ownership and the penalties for illegally using firearms and progress in understanding how and why young men are driven to commit such acts. 

Another tragic waste...

Yet again, we see another tragedy involving guns in the United States. This time, 27 innocent lives have been taken in the most horrific way, at an elementary school in Connecticut. Twenty of those killed are children, all aged between 5 and 10 years. My son is nearly 6. As a parent, my heart breaks as I try to imagine the overwhelming sense of grief and loss that the parents must be feeling at the moment. I know with some certainty that if anything happened to my son, I would not be able to live without him and I would shortly follow him.
Again, the gun law policies in the US are under the spotlight. Surely, enough is enough and this latest 'massacre' has to be a turning point. Restrictions simply have to be implemented on who can legally own and use a gun, of any description. There have to be age restrictions and a complete ban on anyone owning a firearm if they have suffered mental health problems. There is speculation that the perpetrator suffered mental illness. Here in the UK, people find an outlet for their illness by self-harming. In the US, a firearm provides an outlet that turns the effects of their illness onto others, in the most lethal of ways.
For as long as the gun laws in the US remain unchallenged and unchanged, we will continue to see incidents such as the one we have witnessed.
Yesterday we all saw a president wipe tears from his eyes. His words were sincere and the words of a parent. But he is in a unique position to prevent this from happening again. I really hope he does.

Tony Nicklinson

I took my time before writing my thoughts on this and it's something I feel quite passionate about. Tony Nicklinson has been living with 'Locked-In Syndrome' for seven years following a massive stroke in 2005. Today, Tony took his case to the High Court to grant permission for his life to be ended by doctors without fear of prosecution. Sadly, he lost his case and was distraught at hearing the news. He is appealing the decision.
None of us can imagine what it must be like to suffer with Locked-In Syndrome. Although Tony has lost the use of his body, his mind is active and he is able to articulate his thoughts through a computer aided speech device.

This is a very difficult issue. Tony has no quality of life. He has made this very clear and is in the process of writing a book which he wants to complete. For me, I struggle with any situation where suffering is prolonged. Tony is suffering daily - he has told us this.
I am trained to prevent suicide, yet I do believe there are situations where life can be unbearable for some who suffer chronic illness with no hope of recovery. Every day is a struggle and the pain is constant. Many are house-bound and totally reliant on others to carry out tasks such as washing and eating. They have no dignity. Life is literally a living hell.
If a dog or cat falls ill or is in pain, we put them down. The same is true of horses where an injury as small as a paper cut can justify a vet's stun gun.
I strongly believe there are cases where the choice to end life should be granted. Tony wants to end his life, but he cannot do it himself. He needs help, and it is because of this that this option has been taken from him. He is forced to live in agony until an appeal can be raised. Surely this cannot be fair? There is of course Dignitas in Switzerland, but why should he have to travel hundreds of miles only to end his life on the edge of an industrial estate? He wants to die at home, and shouldn't this be his right? His basic human right?
I hear arguments that we will set a dangerous precedent if we allow people such as Tony to end their lives. I would counter this by saying that there should be strict guidelines in place which include input from more than one doctor or specialist, family members and where possible the individual concerned. Quite how this should be structured isn't for me to say, but we mustn't lose sight of the person concerned. There is a real danger that we forget that at the centre of this is an individual who is suffering. A human being of sound mind for whom life has no benefit. The law must be amended.

Injunction madness

I cannot let today pass without adding my comments to the many thousands circulating the Internet regarding the utter madness that is the latest injunction to prevent freedom of speech in the UK.
I simply cannot believe anyone let alone Ryan Giggs can think that preventing Internet users to speak freely can possibly keep a lid on his antics. As I've said before, if you don't want people to know about it or if you're ashamed of it that much - don't do it in the first place. Simple. Now, I don't for one second believe this person is stupid - they can kick a ball around after all - but gagging the Internet...? Think again.
For anyone who thinks the UK is a country of freedom and liberty - they are wrong, very wrong. This latest round of injunctions just goes to prove that censorship is alive and well and if you have lots of money, then you have the power to censor the press and the media at large. If you don't have money - tough.
The only 'freedom' we have is in Cyberspace. Take this away and we might as well be living in China or North Korea. I am pretty angry about this whole matter, as you can tell. I am ashamed of this country and its ridiculous legal system and draconian laws. It's about time the people running this country woke up...

My son's first swear-word & Friday road idiots

For a Friday, today was quite typical. It will though now be remembered for the day my 4 year old son uttered his first swear-word - 'Shit'. There were witnesses to it - my mother-in-law and my wife heard him say it as he rolled about the floor in a small tent. He's managed to get himself stuck and out came the expletive. Now, I'm against bad language generally - especially where children are concerned - and I can only assume he's picked up this new word from playschool, for the language used by other children his age is really terrible. It's no great surprise when you meet some of the parents responsible for these little budding brain surgeons and airline pilots (not!) - they communicate only by shouting at the top of their voices and every other word is an expletive. You cannot blame the children when they are growing-up in this kind of environment and I shouldn't be surprised at all that my son has brought the word home with him. I'm actually quite resigned to the fact that his language will become more diverse and expletive ridden the older he gets. He knows what guns are for and associates them with instant death, as he demonstrates on his mother and father (and the dog) regularly. I suppose I don't really want him to grow-up. The world is just so full of nasty things and equally nasty people. I must face the fact that I can't protect him from everything...

I can guarantee at least one idiot every Friday evening flouting our road laws or endangering road users. This evening was no exception. Once again the new and clearly marked 50mph limit was ignored by two drivers who shot past me at 60-70mph, and once again I was nearly pushed off the road by some idiot who had no idea how to safely overtake. The standard of driving in this county has to be the worst I have ever seen, and possibly the worst in the UK. It's no wonder Lincolnshire has some of the highest incidents of road accidents and fatalities.
Enforcement is the answer and I don't think education is. Those breaking the law are young and education has either failed them or they simply can't be bothered. It's sad, but it's a fact. But all the while there are fewer and fewer police on our streets, they'll simply continue to get away with it. If you want people to drive according to the law, I'm afraid you have to make them.

Rhubarb crumble

Yesterday was a 'good day'. It was one of those days when things got done and we came out of it a little better than when we went into it. An insurance policy I had to cover my finances while I was poorly paid more than was needed into an account so that I am now in credit by a tidy sum. Being the honest guy I am and fearing the wrath of God should I just decide to take it, I called them to check that it was in order and to ask whether the money was legitimately mine. I was pleased to be told that it was and that I could do with it whatever I pleased.
Hoorah! That now means I am about half-way to funding the training I need for my CPC. I just need to raise the remaining funds through my request for a Careers Development Loan and I should be behind the wheel of a coach in no time.
The other minor, but by no means insignificant success yesterday was with the Citizens Advice Bureau who have agreed to support my case against 1st Class Trucking Ltd to get my money back - which they've already been ordered to do by a Court of Law - an order they have chosen to ignore. After a discussion yesterday afternoon, it's been agreed that we'll go back next Monday afternoon to see their legal person. Any movement in this area is fantastic as I've felt so literally powerless, despite the fact that the Courts had ruled in my favor. As I've mentioned previously, there is simply no help or support available to Joe Public and you're required to fork out money hand over fist to get anyone to do anything. Everything it seems boils down to money - even the Law - which has to be wrong.
So, all in all I'm quite chuffed with yesterday - hard work but worth it.

As I type this, my darling wife is making an apple and rhubarb crumble - one of my all time favourite deserts. I can smell the rhubarb now and look forward later on to enjoying it with a little custard. Oh blow the Diabetes!
 So, I'll end this entry on a high - the sun is shining, things are moving in the right direction and my wife's making apple and rhubarb crumble... things are good.

Justice

I've decided that there is no justice here in the UK. I suppose I decided that a while back when I began fighting to get my money back from a firm I'd bought a course from. As I mentioned previously, and to cut a long story short, they didn't provide the course and to date, haven't returned my money - a not so small £1,140  This was March 2010, so a year ago.
After countless unanswered letters, I decided to go to a solicitor. This was the mistake, thinking that a solicitor's letter would provoke a response from them. Wrong! So another was sent. Still no response. It s then recommended I take it to a small claims court. So taking the advice of my solicitor, that's what I did. By this time, I had received an invoice for £600. Thinking I would get this back, I paid it. The judge ruled in my favor after the firm failed to respond to any of the court's requests and they have ordered them to pay me back my money plus a measly £180 in costs... Shortly after this, I received another invoice for £400 from my solicitor.
So, I've actually got nowhere. I called the court and it turns out there is no guarantee the firm will follow the order of the court and that if I want to pursue it, I have to pay out more money for a 'Warrant of Execution'. Even then, there is no guarantee... It turns out the court have absolutely no power to force them to pay up. So where the hell is the justice in that???!!!
That's where I am, increasingly frustrated that I've got absolutely nowhere in 12 months. I cannot complete my training and therefore cannot pursue my new career, my 'plan'.
Arrrrggghhh!