Was Powell a racist?

As regular readers will know I am currently ploughing through Simon Heffer's stately biography of Enoch Powell. The question most often asked about Powell is whether or not his 1968 speech in Birmingham was racist in character and furthermore was the man himself?

I believe that their is no easy answer to this question, I suspect that Powell did hold some deeply racist views but he was not a racist in the extreme sense of the word, ie someone who hates someone purely for the colour of their skin. His use of language and belief in Englishness of blood rather than citizenship or birth makes my skin crawl. For example when he said, quoting a letter, 'the black man will have the whip hand over the white man' he expressed the deepest and darkest racist sentiments of fear based on race, fear of the savage, fear of the stranger and fear of being weak in the face of overwhelming primitive force. Many of the excuses made for Powell and his speech are feeble given the man's intelligence and ambition, he knew what he was saying and he knew the impact it would have. There is no excuse for quoting rumour and prejudice as evidence and no excuse for pandering to fear of difference.

Interestingly much of the thought behind the 'Rivers of Blood' Speech came from his time in America and his perception of race relations in the USA. I wonder how he would have reacted to Obama's election as US president?

Powell was not a monster but he was foolish and arrogant. His belief in the English nation and its qualities was based on the boys own comics he read as a child. He believed in a a permanence of institutions, culture and values that not does not exist either here or anywhere else. Nothing is permanent and English values and customs are constructions largely Victorian in origin but often with deep roots. My favourite example of this is England's reputation (or myth) as a land of animal lovers when over a few generations ago we revelled in bear baiting, fix hunting, hear running and cock fighting.

Anyhow I shall continue my adventures in Enoch land and report further findings later.

Birmingham's leaders

This is the Birmingham Conservative group, Notice anything...............................

.....apart from the fact they are a bunch of lookers.............................hardly representative of modern Birmingham are they? Surely they could find just one or two Asian or Black councillors

Royal Mail - Is there an alternative?

Mandy is now in for a proper fight over the Royal Mail part privatisation now that Jim McGovern (who you ask!!) has resigned as a PPS. No doubt the CWU will be up in arms and there will be strikes galore, but what ultimately is going to change if the left of the party has its way. The Royal Mail will remain a business with the mother of all pension problems and another, perhaps less sympathetic generation of politicians will have to deal with the problem.

I consider myself to be to the left of the current government but on this occasion I think we have no options left but to consider part privatisation as a way to secure the future of the Royal Mail. But lets make sure its on a fair basis for the tax payer and the consumer not like the Rail and Utility privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s.

When capatalists go bad....

So those lovely Barclay Brothers have decided to close all their businesses on Sark because the people of that island had more sense than to vote for their cronies. I suggest we form a solidarity pact with these brave people to promote revolution and the overthrow of these despots.

How dare the people use their vote to promote their own interests rather than those of the wealthy few.

RIP Oliver Postgate

Thanks for all the fun.

Well worth a look

A good local blog that has only just caught my attention is Hagley Road to Ladywood. If it manages to produce articles like this on a regular basis then it will become essential reading.

PS Congrats to Villa and Mose this week as both pulled out storming results.

Powell & Foot

I have just starting wading through Simon Heffers weighty biography of Enoch Powell, something struck me almost instantly. Powell had a tendency to idolise his fellow man it began with Nietzsche and moved on to other characters later, some famous some just friends. This struck me as being rather similar to another old time politician Michael Foot, whose biography by Kenneth Morgan i read recently. Foot was another man who had a tendency to gravitate towards strong characters, including Powell himself. This same point was made by Harry over at Crooked Timber, who points out Foot's negative role within the Labour Party.

Both men were also highly intelligent but had blind spots and obsessions the size of Jupiter. Both were rather negative and both had absolute faith in their beliefs. Foot in the power of socialism and Powell on the importance of the 'nation'. My belief is that either would have been disastrous Prime Ministers but the fact they both came close shows how powerful the cult of their personalities was. Foot, whose politics I sympathise with, was foolish when it came to understanding politics he wanted to educate not to change the country because to do that you have to win. The same could perhaps be said of Powell, but as I have only just started his biography I will hold my judgement until I know a little more.

What I do know, however, is that Powells upbringing and personality made for a very strange young man.

A Grand Night Out

I and the lovely Mrs OscottLocal spent a lovely evening last night at the George Coller Memorial Fund' s annual ball. The charity, which I have been known to help out with on occasion, is a wonderful Birmingham institution that aims to help children with asthma. It was founded after the death of the Chair's son a few years back following a prolonged battle with asthma.

But beyond the serious message of the evening and the serious fundraising work we were entertained by the likes of Jo Enright, Andy Townsend and Ben (the guitarist). I would urge anyone who wants to help the charity to give them a call on 0121 681 9587.

Brummie of the year

Birmingham: It's not Shit asks you to cast your vote for Brummie of the year.. my vote went to Adam Smith a nice guy and a journalist form the old school (i.e get pissed before sending copy)

A very bad idea?

So Damien Green the Conservative Shadow Immigration Minister has been arrested and his offices searched. Regular readers will know that I am no fan of the Tory Party but i have very serious concerns about this action. There will be a perception that Labour is using the Police, a point made well by PoliticalBetting. Even if the Police are acting on their own initiative then this is very dangerous territory for a democracy to be getting into.

Green has clearly annoyed someone at the Home Office a great deal and I do not believe for one instant that this was not done without the knowledge of the Home Secretary. I am sure the truth will come out in the wash but whatever Mr Green has done this is no way for the British Police to behave. Whatever your feelings about the way Mr Green uses sensitive information we must respect the position of parliament as an institution.

Big City Plan

So Birmingham's ruling Tory-Lib Dem coalition have set out the first stage in the 'Big City Plan' - their vision to make Birmingham a more pleasant place to live and do business.

Some of the ideas sketched out so far are actually quite could like providing better links to Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter (surely the best two parts of the city). But lets not forgot that it was the Labour party under Dick Knowles and Albert Bore that began the process of breaking down the Queensway Collar which did so much harm to our once glorious city centre. For those readers who don't know Birmingham well, the Queensway is a giant 1960s ring road that encloses the retail and commercial heart of Birmingham and has acted as a deterrent to growth ever since it was built.

I just hope that the final plan includes a proper proposal for dealing with mass transportation. Whilst I accept that Birmingham may never get the tube system it so desperately needs we should at least see a tram (or the existing metro scheme) extended to bring more areas of the centre of our city into the zone of prosperity that extends from the Bull Ring to Brindley Place.

Its Aubry....

By just 102 votes Martine Aubry, daughter of Jaques Delors and founder of the 35 hour week, has become the first secretary of the French Socialist Party. This means that the Socialist nomination for the next French Presidential Election is wide open. Royal may yet prevail but this is a boost to the anything but Royal camp.

From a British perspective the battle for the leadership of the PS should be used to shine a light on how our own leadership battles work, do we have powerful regional fiefdoms? and if so what role do they play in the selection of our leaders?

The French Socialists - It's a virtual draw

Congratulations must go to the PS for managing to cock up the relatively straightforward process of selecting a leader. Aubry (of 35 hour working week fame) beat Royal by less than 1% and already accusations of dodgy voting are circulating. At least Gordon Brown's 'succession' as Labour leader resolved the issue quickly this dispute could go on for months.

How not to write a law...

Jacqui Smith, who I am normally a big fan of, today announced plans to make the buying of sex from a women forced into prostitution or who has been trafficked illegal. This is a noble idea indeed but I cannot begin to imagine how it will work.

Do prostitutes who have not been forced into the trade get a certificate of some kind?
Are men meant to ask prior to the commencement of the 'transaction'?
Or are men simply assumed to be psychic?

This Bill is going to get torn about in the Commons and will probably end up as a meaningless shambles. Nice idea through.

Sports Report

Well done to Aston Villa, a fine win away at Arsenal. Just a shame they managed to cock it up at home to Middlesborough. I still think 4th is beyond them but 5th really should be the target from now on, it's worth remembering that Villa could get to the final of the UEFA cup an still not be in Europe next time round unless we get that 5th spot.

Moseley continue to fight hard for scant rewards as they went down to a wet 19-12 loss to Doncaster at Billesley. Fair play to Donny, they are a decent side and fought hard defensively to ensure Mose never really looked like winning. A slightly worrying sign was the small crowd obviously the weather and the England international has an impact but if we want Mose to stay competitive in the 1st Division then we need to start getting more fans through the gates. On the pitch Mose must learn how to hols their lineout in the face of pressure from a bigger team, as the old syaing goes 'you don't win nout without the ball'

Idiot Journalists

Can someone please tell all journalists everywhere that a percentage point is a different thing to a percentage. for example when describing cuts in interest rates a cut from 5% to 4% is not a 1 per cent cut it is a a cut of one percentage point. This may seem picky but this annoys the crap out of me.

Home News & the International Story of the Day

On the Oscott front our esteemed local Councilllor Keith Linnecor has launched a campaign to save local shops, I wish him all the best it would be a real shame to see our part of Birmingham become a wasteland like some parts of South Birmingham where all the little independent shops closed a long time ago. One of my greatest complaints about the UK is the dire state of independent retail, we must value our little shops as they are what give our towns and cities their character.

Away from Home (in France to be precise) comes the news that Ségolène Royal will run for the leadership of the Socialist Party. For those not well versed in the ways of French politics the story so far runs a little like this. Ms Royal's former partner and father of her children, Francois Hollande is the current leader of the Socialists he is standing down, Ms Royal stood as the Presidential candidate and lost to Sarkozy, she blamed those inside her own party for not supporting her, M. Hollande wanted the gay mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë to be the next leader, it was speculated that rather than stand herself Royal would support a weak third-party candidate, but now it appears she wants to do a Sarkozy and have the party to herself. (Thanks to French Politics for most of the info)

The EU Audit

I've always considered Iain Dale to be a reasonably responsible blogger. but today he seems to have got his wires crossed. The BBC had widely reported that for the first time in 14 years the EU accounts have been passed by the annual Audit . Regardless of your feelings towards the European Union this must be viewed as a step in the right direction, however Mr Dale sees it differently.

Hmmm...

Go Mose Go

Another win for Moseley RFC as they continue their fight for mid-table safety. This time the Black & Reds travlled to Sedgley Park (its between Bury & Manchester) and coming away with a 17-44 win. Good news, I am sure you will agree. But with the visit of Doncaster to Billesley next Saturday Mose are heading for a much tougher test.

It's just a shame Villa coundn't show the same kind of steel as they surcumbed to the mighty Middlesborough 2-1 at Villa Park. Lame.

Glenrothes - What it all means

There is no way to argue that this result was anything other than a slam dunk victory for the Labour Party. The SNP will try to claim that a slightly increased vote share is a positive result. it isn't, not by a long way. The most interesting aspect of this election is that Labour got more votes than it did at the last election, the party's base therefore remains strong (in Fife at least)

3 things we learn from this result.

1 - The Lib Dems are F**ked
2 - This result will have very little to do with anything that may happen in England at the next election
3 - Salmond and Independence have very little traction in Scotland as a whole.

I will ponder over the weekend if i can describe myself as a Unionist... I have always assumed I was not but maybe its time to consider my position properly.

Can this week get any better?

Holy Crap..... Labour holds Glenrothes by nearly 7,000 votes. Labour actually increased its share of the vote. This is an outstanding result and one which illustrates that Salmond is a busted flush.

Congratulations to all involved especially Lindsay Roy MP!

More thoughts later..

A great day

No words can really describe the feeling you get on a day like today. It was a wonderful night and the United States has a president it's people can be proud of. Rather than go into a long diatribe about why this result is important, i'm pretty sure you can all read newspapers and other blogs for that sort of thing, I just thought I would give my highlights of the night.

10 - Watching Simon Shachma go toe-to-toe with John Bolton on the BBC
9 - Florida going Blue
8 - Wolf Blitzer on CNN - what a name!
7 - Hillary Clinton trying to look happy as she cast her vote
6 - A Million people crowded into Chicago's Grant Park
5 - Al Franken battling to become a Senator in Minnesota
4- Elizabeth Dole losing
3 - Ohio
2 - Jesse Jackson crying like a baby as California declared
1 - Obama and his family stepping on the stage, the moment it became reality rather than fantasy

So there we have it a true moment of history, i just hope our US cousins enjoy it.. It is their May 1st 1997.

US Election

To all my US readers... make sure you vote and for all that in holy and good in the world vote Obama. Not just because he is a Liberal, very intelligent, surrounded by wise counsel and will symbolise the victory of decent America but also to stop nut bags Palin getting anywhere near the White House.

As for me i shall be staying up late, eating chili and not going to bed like i did in 2000 thinking the Dems had one only to be horribly shocked at 7 in the morning by the news of idiot boy Bush's win in Florida. It still hurts.

Five for the morning

5 interesting things spotted on the web:

1 - As my girlfriend put it 'Obama should win just because of this'
2 - Excellent new history of Birmingham website (hat tip Birmingham: It's Not Shit)
3 - A convincing argument for a European Stability Fund (hat tip: French Politics)
4 - The excellent Michael Tomsky on Sarah Palin
5 - Cllr Bob Piper on the Stamford Millions

Enjoy

The day cricket became a joke

Congratulations to the ECB and Alan Stamford for turning cricket into the biggest sporting joke since Eddie the Eagle. For those not well versed in the politics of our beloved national game essentially the England cricket team has prostituted its self to a Texan Billionaire. He has then treated the players (and there wives) like the cheap whores they have become, much to the players surprise.

Welcome Back Ollie

Glad to see Ollie Thomas back where he belongs.

One of my abiding memories of watching Moseley as they battled away in National Division Two was seeing Ollie kick points from all over the pitch including from behind the half way line.

Unfortunately however good a kicker he was his physical strength and passing let him down on more than one occasion but a stint down in Cornwall for the Pirates should have done him some good in that regard so hopefully he can make a substantial impact and help Mose push on against Esher this weekend.

Burrrrrr....

Good lord it's cold.

Polls, Polls and more Polls

New ComRes poll out today in the Indy shows Labour slowly gaining ground and cutting the Tory lead.

Is a crisis always good news for the incumbent?

My gut feeling is no, however Gordon Browns reputation and approach to politics seems to suit the moment this could be his time. Next week will will have the result of the Glenrothes by-election and that will be very interesting indeed. I suspect the Labour Party would never have let Gordon Brown do walkies in the constituency if they thought a defeat was on the cards. But we shall see.

An odd weekend

I am not sure anyone will care but I had a slightly odd weekend. Not least because we got locked in the Bull Ring on Saturday night and then got locked in New Street Station on Sunday Night. Weird. Turns out the former was the fault of a rampaging mob of Bluenoses and the later remains a mystery.

In between these imposed confinements I also had the chance to catch Russell Howard of Mock the Week Fame at the Alexander Theatre. One line he came up with struck a chord. Birmingham he said is "titling on the edge of gentle lunacy".. brilliant and spot on.

Sport round-up

Another trip to the Westcountry and another narrow defeat for Moseley, this time at the hands of the Cornish Pirates (that's a team for those who think Cornwall still resembles a Robert Louis Stevenson novel).

Meanwhile Aston Villa cruise to a 4-0 win at Wigan ..easy..easy...easy. It was in fact a fairly kind result for Villa as Wigan are a decent side.

Also well done to Redknapp for getting the Spurs job, i have always liked the man and so wish him well even if it would be deeply humorous to see them go down.

Couldn't happen to a nicer man

Just to lighten the mood... did you hear about the homophobic Austrian politician who crashed into a tree after visiting a gay night club to console himself after breaking up with his long term gay partner and successor as party leader.... shame.

It the big R

So i suppose we had better get used to the fact that the UK is entering a recession. I can hardly remember the last one, but what i can remember is the high street of the small town I grew up in losing almost all of its shops. I can recall there only being a butchers, a newsagents and a chemists. Today there are dozens of shops many of the them catering to a wealthy clientele. There is even a cheese shop in which Rory Bremner has been spotted. I fear for that cheese shop.

Euro elections: why the pundits are wrong

Now that Brown seems to battling through the current crisis and the Tories appear to be on the backfoot commentators now seem to agree that losing Glenrothes by-election will not bring about a coup. Instead they have, en masse, decided that the Euro & Local elections will be the crucial point. I disagree.

Let us remind ourselves that Labour got a mere 22.6% of the vote at the last Euro's and elected just 19 MEPs but then the Tories only got 26.7%, the reason UKIP. at the next election i expect UKIPs vote share to plunge to around 10% as a result both the Tory and Labour vote will recover. Brown can therefore claim an improvement. As for the locals we hardly have any seats left to lose.

I am convinced therefore that Brown will survive a poorish result and lead Labour into a 2010 election.

Opps - Gideon on the Ropes

This is what we all like to see, a good old fashioned Tory scandal... Money, yachts, Chums from Oxford etc etc. Clearly the Tories forgot that Mandy is back and one thing you do not do is mess with Lord Mandy.

The fact that even the True Blue Telegraph and Mail are running big with this story suggests that Cameron has a battle on his hands. I'm sure anyone who saw him on the ten o'clock news will agree that he looked more flustered than he has in the past. This is a true test of his abilities to manage a crisis but it could also be an opportunity to offload a potential rival before the next election.

Freaks of Nature? Birmingham's MPs

For those who don't follow local politics here in Birmingham I though I would do a few pen pics of our local politicians. The good, the bad and the utterly useless. Part One, i.e this part, will focus on the current crop of Members of Parliament that have the privilege of representing Birmingham at Westminster.


Richard Burden, Labour, Northfield

Old fashioned sort of Labour MP broadly on the left but fairly mainstream. Strong supporter of Palestine and various other traditional left wing causes.

Liam Byrne, Labour, Hodge Hill

Blairite high flyer with a strong reputation in Westminster. Has a local difficulty with a popular Liberal candidate. Now in the cabinet as a legislative enforcer.

Roger Godsiff, Labour, Sparkbrook & Small Heath

Little known outside his constituency. But does have an unnerving habit of appearing on the radio but only to talk about football.

John Hemming, Liberal Democrat, Yardley

Verging on being a comic strip character. A self made millionaire turned play boy liberal with a taste for Councillors. Largely responsible for turning South East Birmingham into a Lib Dem Fortress. Not to be taken too seriously, but a decent enough local operator who knows the value of press coverage even for daft stories.

Lynne Jones, Labour, Selly Oak

Trendy leftie with a thing for Palestine. Lost out to McCabe in the battle for the new Selly Oak seat after major boundary changes.

Khalid Mahmood, Labour, Perry Barr

A Controversial but cunning politician who has battled his way into parliament. Raised in Birmingham and one of the few genuinely local figures in the Parliamentary Brummie Section. Traditionally viewed as being on the right of the party but has lent further left in recent years surprisingly supporting Jon Cruddas for deputy leader.

Steve McCabe, Labour, Hall Green

Scottish, Trade Unionist and Whip. Fairly typical of the mainstream of the Labour Party. Descent man who uses a pretty straight bat.

Andrew Mitchell, Conservative, Sutton Coldfield

A True Blue Tory through and through. Dull but effective with a history of low status jobs in Westminster currently Tory Shadow International Development Secretary. Having a massively safe Tory seat should be around for as long as he wants to be.

Clare Short, Independent Labour, Ladywood

Looks and sounds like a primary school teacher but has proven to be an extremely polished politician both in opposition and in Government, as Secretary of State for International Development, a role in which she excelled. Resigned from Blair's cabinet over Iraq War despite voting for it. Has clearly gone a bit barmy since.

Sion Simon, Labour, Erdington

Previously a Blairite but then signed the infamous Curry House Letter that led to the downfall of Blair. Holds a safeish Labour seat but with a resurgent local Tory Party led by the boy wonder Bobby Alden. Now a government Minister for Skills. Has been known to jog past my house.

Giesla Stewart, Labour, Edgbaston

First ever Labour winner of the Edgbaston seat a crowing moment on the 1997 Election Night. In recent years has made a few enemies by railing against Browns leadership and the Lisbon Treaty. Can be considered to be doomed but a changing demographic could see her scrape home at the next election.

Moseley RFC

Upon my arrival in Birmingham one of my first ports of call was the local Rugby Team, at that time Moseley were battling away in National Division 2 (the 3rd Tier of English Rugby) since then the club has been promoted into Div 1 and they finally are starting to get a bit of stability after years of uncertainty.

For those unfamiliar with the clubs history, Moseley were one of the biggest team in England boasting many internationals and a tradition of success streaching back into the mists of time. Sadly the club failed to make the transition to professionalism and not only did it slip down the leagues but it also neatly went under and lost its home ground in Moseley. After three years of struggle at the Birmingham University Ground the club is now resurgent with a permanent home at Billesley Common. Planning permission is in place for a brand new stand that will make the facilities at Billesley permanent.

The team are now sat confrotably in mid-table and look to have put the bad times behind them. But we still need more people turning out to watch what is some of the best quality rugby available in England. The atmosphere at a rugby club on match day is so different to any on offer at a big time football team that it ensures every game is fun regardless of the result.

Blogging Thoughts

The world of blogging seems to be becoming more divided between what I describe as professional blogs, opinion blogs and expert blogs.

Iain Dale, Mike Smithson & Paul Staines fit into the professionals section, as they earn significant money from their work and have a large audience, by blog standards. Whilst Dale and Staines are pioneers of political blogging they are massively partisan and therefore fit fairly comfortably with the older world of print journalism.

Opinion blogs are blogs like my very own, strictly amateur, covering every subject under the sun, often poorly written and usually falling well short of excepted journalistic standards.

Then we have the expert blogs like this or this. These are often tied to traditional media and on the whole are less partisan, more in depth and as one would expect more reliable sources of information.

I am sure that blogging moving out of its eraly stages into a more professionalised era, it remains however a great bastion of free speech. We may more interconnection and professionalism in blog jouralism but also a more corporate approach being taken with better branding and advertising.

Best Internet Game Ever

This has to be the most fun you can have on a desk.

For myAmerican & French readers .. its cricket.

Bob the Builder

One of my many little obsessions, i.e subjects I can get very angry about without actually knowing much about, in architecture. I think there is a great debate to be had on the relative merits of different buildings but it is a subject that often seems to stifle proper debate. On one side with the majority who prefer, in fact adore, classical design and view any building built after 1920 as an expression of function rather than having any aesthetic qualities worthy of comment. Then there is the much smaller group of people, who tend to be involved in architecture, who view modern buildings as paragons to mankind's brilliance and who view the majority as backward looking conservatives who clearly do not understand the beauty which they are presented with.

I like to think there is a happy balance to be struck between the two. Birmingham is an ugly city, there is no hiding from that fact to pretend otherwise is just plain weird. It highlights how architects can get urban design incredibly wrong. Many of its modern buildings are impressive structures that if stood alone would look bold, innovative and yet have a certain majesty for example: The Bull Ring

















Unfortunately collectively these buildings make Birmingham look like a complete mess, because it has seemingly has no overall structure holding the city together. I just wish that planners would work more closely with architects to develop an urban environment that has a level of symmetry. Beauty is often not so much to do with the design of one building but in the way it fits into its surroundings. The best example i can think of to illustrate requires a short hop to the North and into Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The Royal Museum of Scotland, below, sorry about the picture quality, is an example of how to work within an older street setting and yet produce a beautiful and functional building.


Let this be an example to those who seek to once again re-develop Birmingham.

First Proper Post

Anyone who has not been living under a rock can have missed the fact that the economy has gone a bits tits up lately. I think we can draw several lessons from what has been going on in recent months;

1 - If you deregulate the market greedy people will push the new rules to their limits.

2 - Sometimes even the most freemarket of administrations will have to use state power, all politicians are hypocrites when faced with a crisis.

3 - National governments are powerless in the face of global trends (ok so we already knew this but its worth highlighting again in case anyone forgot about the whole Globalisation thing)

4 - My house is now owed by the British taxpayer

5 - Very few of our elected leaders, civil servants or bankers understand the flow of money around the globe.

Finally, isn't it lucky that a big power happened to be in the Presidency of the EU during this period. Would the PM of Slovenia, Finland or Ireland been able to cut a deal like Sarkozy managed at the weekend?

A Pointless List

As a man, I do enjoy a good list, So here's a rubbish one

Top 10 places in Birmingham

1 - Digbeth in general
2 - The Lord Clifton Pub, Hockley
3- Moseley Rugby Club, Billesley
4 - Sutton Park
5 - The Jewellary Quarter
6 - The Barton's Arms Pub - Aston
7 - The Mac Cinema, Cannon Hill Park
8 - The Anchor Pub, Digbeth
9 - Villa Park
10 - Victoria Sqaure,

Not another new blog

Just when you thought there were too many blogs in the world along comes another one. But this one is different... well no actually its pretty much the same as all the others. You know the usual stuff; self opinionated rants, trivial facts and petty squabbles with fellow bloggers.

Mostly this is just an excuse for me to write something creative every now and again. So i hope you enjoy my first foray into the wonderful world of blogging and please don't get too worried if it all goes quiet occasionally as i do have few other things to keep me busy as well.