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Monday, November 30, 2009

New Google Search.....

Steps to check new Google Search interface>>>>


(2)put this code into address bar.....

javascript:void(document.cookie="PREF=ID=20b6e4c2f44943bb:U=4bf292d46faad806:TM=1249677602 :LM=1257919388:S=odm0Ys-53ZueXfZG;path=/; domain=.google.com");

(put only this code....you need not to keep http://google...... in the address bar)
and hit enter

(3)then search for something and hit enter

(4)you will be taken to new google interface which looks like this.......


Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Swiss go Cuckoo


Posters of the far-right Swiss People's Party depicting a woman wearing a burqa against a background of a Swiss flag with several minarets. It reads in French 'Stop - Yes to the ban on minarets'

Switzerland’s popular democracy with the right to call referenda looked far less attractive today as it descended into racism and intolerance. The country voted to ban the construction of new minarets, in a surprise result certain to embarrass the neutral government and which the justice minister said could affect Swiss exports and tourism. The Swiss news agency ATS and other media said about 57.5 percent of voters and all but four of the 26 cantons approved the proposal in the nationwide referendum, which was backed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP).

The government and parliament had rejected the initiative as violating the Swiss constitution, freedom of religion and the country's cherished tradition of tolerance. The government had said a ban could "serve the interests of extremist circles". "Muslims in Switzerland are able to practise their religion alone or in community with others and live according to their beliefs just as before," it said in a statement. Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the outcome of the vote reflected a fear of Islamic fundamentalism, but the ban was "not a feasible means of countering extremist tendencies".



A group of politicians from the SVP, the country's biggest party, and the conservative Federal Democratic Union gathered enough signatures to force the referendum on the initiative. Its campaign poster showed the Swiss flag covered in missile-like minarets and the portrait of a woman covered with a black chador and veil associated with strict Islam.

This is not the SVP’s first run at a deliberately racist campaign. In 2007 it launched a poster campaign depicting three white sheep standing on the Swiss flag, with one craftily kicking away a black sheep, which was plastered on to billboards, into newspapers and posted to every home in a direct mailshot. The poster was, according to the United Nations, the sinister symbol of the rise of a new racism and xenophobia in a country where one in four, like the black sheep in the poster, are now foreign immigrants to this peaceful, prosperous and stable economy with low unemployment and a per capita GDP larger than that of other Western economies.

This latest referendum is a disgrace in a state which found no problem in being bankers to the Nazis and handling stolen goods from around the world generally. Let's go the whole hog and bar steeples, roadside shrines, crosses on the skyline and Stars of David on Synagogue windows? Still, Switzerland’s Cantons were the result of vicious sectarian warfare? This should serve as a warning that the world is still building barriers and stigmatising people based on race and religion. It is surely the mark of a mature and confident society that it welcomes diversity and the contribution of different cultures to enriching society for everybody? It seems the cuckoos in Switzerland are not just in the clocks.

ATP Tour Finals


Roger Federer knocked out by Nikolay at the ATP Tour Semi finals. (Getty)



Tough game for Nikolay but he secured the position at the final. (Getty)


Another player knocked out by Nikolay and he is Rafael Nadal. (Getty)



Del Porto getting into the final again. (Getty)

Actions at the Q2 arena has been intense and thrilling as the top players played their best to win this tournament. Although Roger Federer has won the World no.1 title again but they are able to win this trophy to be another no. 1 for this game of course. But sometimes it is not the world no. 1 or trophy that matters it is the feeling of winning the best players around that gives great satisfaction or basically being good at this game that they all love. Top players both World no. 1 and 2 have been knocked out and they have been knocked out by the same person. Del Porto has also made into the final and he will not be meeting Roger Federer this time instead the person who knocked him out Nikolay. Both players are pretty good at what they are doing therefore this is certainly another good match to watch even though it is not between the world no. 1 and 2.


Saturday, November 28, 2009

New Logo For Google Search!!

Google is testing new interface of Google Search.
So, google has also changed its logo and new logo looks like this.......


New Google logo has lesser shadow effect and lesser white light effect as compared to its old logo that is the one which is in use now a days. Obviously its looking more attractive than its previous versions which are >>>>>>



Friday, November 27, 2009

[CARTOON] Crib Recall




"This week's post is partially a public service announcement. It seems that 2009 is garnering the year of recalls, ranging from toys, cars and now cribs. There have been some recalls made earlier this year and now we have one that concerns Stork Craft. Apparently, issues such as entrapment, falls, and suffocation are once again being pointed out and for the new parents and others who are still making use of cribs, be aware of the one you are using. Here is a list of cribs affected:

* Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo
* Cribs with plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware
* Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009 (Wow, it only took them 16 years to figure this out??)
* Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo that have manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004.

It's probably a good idea to look up your crib's manufacturer even if it is not on the list above, as I am sure this is not the first crib recall ever.

As always, I try to see the lighter side in my cartoons. So if you have a faulty crib, send away for a repair kit before your baby scores from '4th and inches'."


Copy the code below to add this cartoon to your personal blog or website:

Conor Maguire


Conor in Finland for his 50th Birthday

Some journeys are the hardest to make and some words are the hardest to write. This time last year on the plane from London to Dublin my head was in a swirl as I tried to take in that Conor my friend of over 35 years was gone. His death, just after his 52nd birthday, was unexpected. Compared to the rest of us most of the time Conor was whippet like and was physically active enjoying the outdoors and bringing his big and boisterous Alaskan Malamutes for a walk or a run most nights. He had told me a couple of years earlier a health screen had picked up on his blood pressure but he was on tablets for it and watching his cholesterol so I thought no more of it. His work responsibilities in the computer industry were heavy and when our paths crossed I was sometimes astonished at the travelling he did but Conor had done much in his career and was riding the Celtic Tiger.

His active lifestyle probably masked that he was suffering from congestive heart disease as his heart rate and so on seemed strong and healthy. He died unexpectedly in his wife’s arms early on the morning of the 27th November in the Mater Private Hospital Dublin. It was a great shock as he was due to be discharged that day and had responded well to his treatment and the stents which had been inserted to clear blockages. But it seems he had had probably four heart attacks in the previous days and though everything had been done he was just very unlucky.


Raising the flag, Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow 1977.

The large crowd which attended his removal and funeral in Dublin spoke of the diversity of his interests and of those he had touched; there were of course family and friends, members of 5th Port Sea Scouts and others from the Scout Movement, from traditional music circles, from the Poolbeg Yacht Club where he had been Mooring Officer, from dog breeding circles, Neighbours, colleagues from the Irish and International Computer Industry and many more. And then, first and foremost, his wife Frances, his daughter Roisín and son Shane. What we all had in common is none of us wanted to be there for our friend Conor had been taken too early when he still had much to give and much he had planned to do.


Conor at the Woodstock Jamboree 1978

Conor grew up in Finglas West in a family where his father was a Fianna Fail activist who gave him a keen awareness of the Maguire family roots in Co. Fermanagh. He never forgot he was named after the Irish Patriot, Conor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen. The Earl of Enniskillen took part in the rebellion against English rule and the attempt to take Dublin Castle in 1641, was arrested and sent to the Tower of London. He was tried, convicted and hanged, drawn and quartered. The seat of the Maguire’s was the still extant Enniskillen Castle and Conor always felt a visceral sense of grievance when he saw the flag of St. George flying over the castle.

Conor wouldn’t thank me for saying so but over the years Finglas West did much to earn its epithet in Dublin of “The Wild West.”


Conor & me, St. Patrick's Day Parade, Dublin, 1978

Conor impressed at school but did not excel being interested in nature and crafts but even then as the Celebrant at his funeral who had been his teacher observed he stood out from the crowd, avoiding fads and peer pressure and wearing a hat when that wasn’t fashionable. Indeed this became his trademark over the years gaining him the nickname of “Conor the Hat.” The more practical reason is the male genes in the Maguire family dictated that they were follically challenged! The big influence when he was younger was a remarkable character called Dick Vekins who was the Scout Leader or “Skipper” of 5th Port Sea Scouts in Dollymount. Always demanding the best from each scout he instilled values of doing their best and achieving their potential. He strongly believed that scouting had something for everyone and this is reflected in the events that he organised from the most physically gruelling boat or canoe race to a poetry competition. Dick was an accomplished metal worker and craftsman who ran his own business and was an accomplished mandolin player.


Conor presenting the shield to 5th Port Sea Scouts, Crow's Nest, Dollymount.


5th Port Shield carved by Conor

Shipwrecked as a Marine during WW11 and left virtually crippled he restored his mobility by exercise and willpower and took up wrestling representing Ireland in international competition and becoming president of the Irish Amateur Wrestling Federation. His association with 5th Port left Conor with a lifelong love of the sea and the outdoors, craft, music and poetry and enduring friendships. He also learned from Dick that setting high standards for yourself and influencing others by example is more effective than any other way.



Leaving school Conor started off as an unhappy apprentice plaster. Soon, not seeing a future in such hard, dusty and damp work he got a job as a warehouseman at a local pharmaceutical distributor and then as stores controller at a bustling clothing manufacturers, Jack Toohey in Marrowbone Lane in the Liberties of Dublin. After a number of years looking for a challenge he became logistics manager for Rexel Ireland, an office supplies firm. The computer manufacturer Hewlett Packard was setting up a major manufacturing plant in Ireland and Conor joined them in logistics. Soon he was flying in from Chicago with whole production lines and developed his reputation in the computer world whilst gaining membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and becoming expert on customs law. In 1999 he was headhunted by Novell systems as their International Trade Services Manager EMEA and in 2005 was headhunted again by Microsoft. In September 2008 he was once again headhunted by Symantec. By any standards this was a remarkable career trajectory largely built on his drive, personal reputation and being trusted in a hugely pressurised industry, but there was another element. Once, when we were talking, I worked out some probabilities he was discussing and gave him the answers. He turned around and said “God, I hate you!” I was a bit shocked but then he explained something I had never realised, that he was severely dyslexic and resented that I could always work out maths in my head but he couldn’t. When people threw numbers at him he had to write them down, go away somewhere quiet and work them out on paper. Knowing this you had to admire his career achievements all the more.


Conor & Frances working on the St. Patrick's Day float 1978

We have a saying in the Gaelic which is not really translatable into English “Tá mo chleamhnas déanta” but “my match is made” or more idiosyncratically “This is THE one” might do. When Conor and Frances O’Callaghan met this was the tune which he was humming and they formed a strong partnership with Frances’s practicality balancing Conor’s idealism. We all knew each other well from nearby neighbourhoods, scouting and mutual friends, I used to see Frances’s best friend. Their relationship endured such trials as going on a canoe trip from Dublin to the river Boyne when Frances was six month’s pregnant. In October 1979 I got the call that Frances needed an urgent lift into the Rotunda and around 1.30 in the morning after spending an incredibly boring 7 hours in the waiting room Conor emerged and uttered the immortal words “Dave – it’s a girl and I’m still happy!” Well they were both really happy and when 8 years later after the sadness of a miscarriage their daughter Roisín was joined by their son Shane their happiness was complete.


Shane, Roisín and Frances at Roisín's 30th Birthday Party, October 2009



Conor wrote a poem for Roisín, the first time the garden pond froze and they were able to put her standing on the ice and she was mesmerised to walk on the water and look down - it is called "The Cotoneaster Berries" after the bush which formed the back drop to the scene.




For Roisín, now almost grown.

The cotoneaster berries are scarlet now
Set against the waxen green gloss leaves
Stark contrast to the naked apple bough
And deserted swallow’s nest beneath the eaves.
The ice set thick upon the goldfish pond
Last night with winter’s first full frost
And trapped inside a fern-like frond
A tender keepsake of a summer lost.
The Rowan stands guard above the scene
Aloof and proud though stripped of autumn’s glory
A sad reminder of the things that may have been
As we turn another page on this year’s story.
The sweet innocence of children’s play
Like the scattered leaves lies strewn upon the ground
And in hidden places where I hope that it will stay
And in some other’s springtime be refound.
She is growing up so fast I know
That someday soon we’ll have to let her go.


©Frances Maguire MMIX


"Conor the Hat", My Stag Party, Brazen Head, Dublin, 1991

To know the context Conor & Frances bought a modest house in Clonmel Road which had a huge splayed back garden. Over the years Conor created a wonderland there with a pond, a dovecote, a tree house, a hot tub and sauna, dog kennels and even an Irish telephone box. He remodelled the house completely adding a full length conservatory with sail like blinds of his own devising which doubled as his studio for painting and woodcarving, a fireplace in the living room he built from cobblestones he “rescued” when Marrowbone Lane was resurfaced and a porch with the “Maguire” name carved in the corner post. All this was a huge success if you ignored the bitumen smoke emanating from the cobblestone fireplace for the first couple of years!


Conor with one of his paintings


Daithai Santa, Xmas 2007

Their neighbourhood has a really wonderful community spirit with every Xmas an illuminated tree on the green and a children’s party attended by the Man with the White Beard himself! So it was on my pre-Xmas trip to Dublin in December 2007 I found myself conscripted as Santa to give out presents to kids, young and old, at the neighbourhood Xmas Party. I did a ceremonial procession around the Green with my bell and staff led by a sleigh hauled by two lovely Alaskan Malamutes and escorted by two of Santa's helpers on motor bikes!! I took my place on Santa's rocking chair and after asking the standard questions, (have you been a good boy / girl, have you pulled cat's tails, etc :) I distributed presents. I wasn't sure if it was a new career, the work seems a bit seasonal! There were many happy memories in that house not least the “spontaneous” New Year’s Eve parties which Conor kept threatening to stop but where he always ended up being the MC for the sing song. I was not to realise that this was Conor’s last Xmas and that is the way with memories, sometimes we don’t realise we are making them or that they will be so important.


Kodi & Buck with their sled on Dollymount Strand



Conor’s brother Páraic wrote on his Blog http://quiz.eblana.eu

“He was passionate about many things - his family, singing, painting, writing - but he was especially fond of his dogs. He surprised many people around the Northside of Dublin as he sped past aboard his three-wheeled sled, pulled by his harnessed Alaskan malamutes.”

Well Conor’s parents must have had a gift of prophecy as his name is derived from the Irish name “Conchobar.” The meaning of the name "Conor" is that of "lover of wolves", or "Hound-lover" and he always had a love of and kept dogs particularly the Alaskan Malamute, a lovely big husky type dog as he said himself “Since first reading Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" when I was 10 or 11 years old, I've been fascinated by everything outdoor and dog related.”

http://ironmountainmalamutes.blogspot.com

One of Conor & Frances’s happiest memories was the trip they made to Finish Lapland for his 50th Birthday where they stayed in an Ice Hotel and went on sleigh drives with dog teams through the snow.


Tiborne Snow Dogs, Scotland

He also wrote about nature and wildlife and this is a piece called "The Young Hawk" which he often recited at the traditional music sessions in North County Dublin (Fingal) in Oldtown and Ballyboughal. Some of the traditional musicians would support him softly during the recitation and when he finished they would raise the volume and continue with the tune.

The Young Hawk.

(Words to be spoken to the air of ‘Inisheer’) Conor Maguire

Once, on Mullaghmore headland
Where the sea-pinks grew
White horses dashed on golden sand
And my thoughts turned, again, to you.
The wind whispered gently through the trees,
A promise of the rain to come.
A young hawk hovered on the breeze,
Heart a-beating like a drum.....
And when he struck to take his kill,
He fell from Heaven like a stone,
Then disappeared across the hill
And I was left there all alone.
You left me too that day
And I still recall the tears.
When there was nothing left to say
You fled back home to Inis Oir.
My days pass quietly now.
Yon boat drifts slowly into night
And like the sailor on her bow
Returning would be my delight.


©Frances Maguire MMIX

Conor was a great lover of Irish music and he and I were regulars at the sessions and in the campaign to keep the oldest Guildhall in Dublin, Tailor’s Hall, open as a traditional music venue. This was a special place with a turf fire in the basement, a skillet on the fire and traditional musicians from all over America, Brittany and famous Irish musicians such as The Furey Brothers and Pete St. John gathering informally for wonderful and genuine music sessions. Our great buddy Liam Weldon who hosted the sessions had a saying that “there is a great difference people who sing traditional songs and traditional musicians.”

See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/09/liam-weldon.html

Conor was a traditional musician who felt what he sang and his love of life was reflected in his love of poetry, nature, carving, and painting and above all his love of song. As somebody who couldn’t hold a tune to save my life I was always in awe of his ability to lead a room in song. This is one of the songs he wrote, the inspiration was the camping spot in Knocksink Woods where he and Frances would go to chill out, enjoy nature and the scent of wood smoke. He always bought Frances yellow roses because they have a better scent and last much longer than the mass produced red roses which are grown in sanitised greenhouses with no perfume and flood the market for Valentines Day each year.

Forever Mine

If I gave you yellow roses
And we shared a glass of wine
If I told you that I loved you
Would you say that you would stay
Forever mine?
There’s a wood out in the mountains
It’s a place where we could go
We could live our lives together
Just you and me, so peacefully,
No one would know.
Scented pine logs on the fire
Heather dancing on the breeze,
Songbirds sing in upland meadows
And as we kissed, the swirling mist,
Bejewelled the trees.
So I gave you yellow roses
And we shared a glass of wine
When I told you that I loved you
I heard you say, that you would stay
Forever mine.


©Frances Maguire MMIX


At sea on "Roshane"

As I mentioned his association with 5th Port Sea Scouts and the nautical skills he picked up left Conor with a lifelong love of the sea. A few years ago he bought a boat, a small “Fifey”, a wooden clinker built boat which was a smaller version of the herring boats originally constructed by William Fife & Co. in Scotland. It has good sea keeping qualities from its trawler like hull with a central console cabin over the diesel engine and small fore and aft cabin and a pump out “head” down below. In this most modest of nautical contraptions he made a number of costal trips and gaining confidence went to the Isle of Man and to Holyhead in Wales. The ship was proudly christened “Roshane” after their children and was initially and conveniently moored at Grand Canal Dock and then at the Poolbeg Yacht Club in Dublin Harbour where Conor & Frances were active members. Then in flotilla they went on some major expeditions such as to the Brest Maritime Festival in France.


Conor on the mast of "Roshane"


The crew in Oban

However his favourite was the trip they made to the Western Isles of Scotland to Oban and Islay. Once, Argyll and the Isles were along with Ulster part of the Gaelic Kingdom of Dalriada. After the English conquest of Ireland the Scottish part of Dalriada was separate from Scotland as the Gaelic speaking “Lordship of the Isles” (Triath nan Eilean) of mixed Gaelic / Norse rule only being incorporated into the Kingdom of Scotland in 1493. Conor was something of a connoisseur of Scotch whisky and I can still remember his sheer joy at telling me of being able to smell the peat from the distillery kilns 20 miles offshore from Islay and his subsequent tasting tour of the single malt distilleries in the island.


Scotch with ice?

My last face to face conversation with Conor (neither of us were to know) was a few weeks before he died in our “local” in Dublin was about the tumble down cabin they had bought as a weekend retreat for his retirement on 8 acres half way up the “Iron Mountain” in Co. Leitrim. Guarding the Southeastern shores of Lough Allen, 585m-high Slieve Anierin is one of the best known summits in Leitrim. The peak is commonly known by its Irish name, Sliabh An Iarainn, which translates as 'the iron mountain' and provides a clue to the role the hill has played in recent history. An ancient Irish legend relates that the Tuatha De Dannan (The pre-Celtic druidic people in Ireland, literally “The People of Magic”) landed in Ireland in this very place. According to the legend they descended in a thick mist and on discovering iron, forged metal weapons. With their superior armour, they then set to battle and defeated the Formorian tribe at the battle of Magh Tuireadh. It is a beautiful area where walkers stand in awe at the breathtaking panoramic views over the West and Midlands of Ireland, or wonder at the amount and variety of flora and fauna encountered; foxes, hares, rabbits, badgers, raven and Peregrine Falcons. Also tellingly for Conor, on the other side it looks over the Lakeland’s of Fermanagh and the ancestral lands of the Maguire’s. Conor had intended to reforest all eight acres of the land in native timber.


Iron Mountain, Co. Leitrim

Some journeys are the hardest to make and some words are the hardest to write. We laid our friend to rest in Dardistown cemetery about 400 yards beyond the take off threshold on the runway at Dublin Airport. Conor and I shared a disrespectful sense of humour and I can almost hear him say “If there is a plane crash there will be bodies everywhere!” Indeed over many years and ups and downs we were almost the proof that people are friends despite knowing each other. He has a fitting plain headstone of Wicklow granite from the beautiful county south of Dublin which he and Frances loved but I cannot bring myself to say it is what Conor would have wanted for he loved life, Frances, Roisín, Shane, people, music and the land of Ireland too much to want to leave. At his funeral we said goodbye but none of us were there, after such a life, to mourn Conor Maguire. Rather than mourn a life which had ended instead we gathered to celebrate a life which had been completed, albeit far too soon.


Conor & Frances (and a Troll) in my flat, Dublin, 1985

At Conor's funeral for the first time in many years I met his boyhood friend Gerard Cowan who was living in America and who had been battling a brain tumour for nearly 10 years. While he was very obviously not himself he was still delighted to catch up with the old gang. I told him that Conor would have really appreciated he was there and he just said "Conor would have done the same for me." There was a lot of decency about Gerard and we felt for him in his fight against his illness. It is odd and unsettling that the two West Finglas friends who grew up two doors apart on Kildonan Avenue have gone from us in such a short time as Gerard died two months afterwards in February 2009. I penned a short appreciation

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/02/gerard-cowan.html

and was hugely humbled and touched to receive this note from his 11 year old son, Ben;

“Thanks for writing this about my dad. It's nice to hear about when he was young and see the weird pictures. I love the outdoors and nature as much as he did. Mom, my sisters, and I miss him a lot, but Mom says he's with Conor having a great time now.”

I sure Ben’s mum is right and wherever Conor is he is taking off his hat and leading the sing song. Ben’s sentiments brought to mind the poem “The Prophet” by the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran;

“Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."

And he said: You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”





Conor Maguire

15th November 1956 – 27th November 2008

“Gone Home”




See also,

Gerard Cowan;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/02/gerard-cowan.html



Ballymun Scouts

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/ballymun-scouts.html

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

World Number One is still the first for the fifth time


Roger Federer silent joy after winning Andy Murray at Q2. (AP)

It was a classic moment and it came in timely for the tennis great Roger Federer to win Andy Murray at the recent Q2 match. That match has shown that Roger Federer is just a brilliant player at his game coming back to win Andy after losing the first round where he had just kept on sustaining and performed strong attacks to win the next two rounds.

This match has also made Roger Federer ahead of the Spainard Nadal Rafael and it is also confirmed that he has once again won the World No. 1 title for the fifth time with more to match against the great tennis legend Pete Sampras. Soon at Q2, there will be another exciting match to watch which is the match between the the current no. 1 player and the man who won him at the US Open.

It is probably another match to show who is really better this time round. Players get intense, spectators get excitement at the next round of Q2.

TUESDAY: Candlelight vigil to remember Ian Tomlinson


Ian Tomlinson walking past the police before he was struck

There will be a Candlelight vigil to remember Ian Tomlinson at Royal Exchange by Threadneedle Street, London, EC3V 3LL on Tuesday 1st December 6pm - 7.15pm.

The United Campaign against Police Violence would like to encourage all our supporters to come along to this vigil for Ian Tomlinson on Tuesday. It has been called by the Ian Tomlinson Family Campaign. It is important that we keep Ian’s memory alive and continue the fight for justice, I hope as many people can come as possible.

Speakers include:

Ian’s family

Samantha Rigg David - Sean Rigg Justice & Change Campaign

Deborah Coles – INQUEST

John McDonnell MP



A still from the Guardian video shows Tomlinson in the moment before he was struck, with an officer behind him holding a baton

The Ian Tomlinson Family Campaign said: "Ian died in tragic circumstances, an 'innocent passerby' trying to get home, after a police assault at the G20 protests on April 1st 2009. Eight months on, our family are preparing for our first Christmas without him and still waiting for justice. "We have been grateful for public support this year and would like an opportunity to hold this public memorial gathering to remember Ian, with our friends and supporters around us. We ask that those who attend please wear black as a mark of respect and remember that this is peaceful event. "


Ian Tomlinson remonstrates with police after being pushed to the ground, minutes before he died.

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING so we can estimate numbers and please send messages of support - a number of these will be read out at the vigil.

"RSVP to iantomlinsonfamilycampaign@gmail.com"

Background;

Ian Tomlinson (1961/62 – 1 April 2009) was a British newspaper vendor who died in the City of London, London's financial district, during the 2009 G-20 London summit protests on his way home from work. A first post-mortem indicated that he had suffered a heart attack because of coronary artery disease, and had died of natural causes.

His death became controversial a week later when The Guardian obtained video footage, taken by an investment fund manager from New York, showing that Tomlinson, who was not a protester, had been struck on the leg from behind by a police officer wielding a baton, then pushed to the ground by the same officer. The footage showed no provocation on Tomlinson's part, who at the time was walking along with his hands in his pockets.


Ian Tomlinson being treated by Paramedics - Scotland Yard wrongly claimed on their website that police were pelted with rocks and glass as he was being treated - The later took down the claim

After The Guardian published the video, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) began a criminal inquiry from which the police were removed. A second post-mortem, ordered by the IPCC and Tomlinson's family, indicated that Tomlinson had died from an abdominal haemorrhage, the cause of which remains unknown. The officer in question has been interviewed on suspicion of manslaughter. A third post-mortem was conducted at the request of his defence team, the results of which have not been released.

The incident has sparked debate in the UK about what appears to be a deteriorating relationship between the police and the public, about the extent to which the IPCC is truly independent of the police, and about the role of citizens in monitoring police and government activity.

See also;

Jean Charles de Menezes

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/death-in-london.html

Remember Sean Rigg

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/08/remember-sean-rigg.html

Ian Tomlinson on Wikipedia


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Ian_Tomlinson


A police cordon during the G20 summit protests. Thousands of protesters had been "kettled" by cordons as Tomlinson was trying to make his way home.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Welcome back Woolpack


Welcome back Woolpack!

The Sage has previously chronicled the dolorous tale of one of his local pubs burning down resulting in a 50% reduction in drinking outlets in Stoke Mandeville, the drawback of living in a small village. The Woolpack burnt down in the small hours of Saturday morning 25th April 2009. Apparently a tumble drier was left on a timer after the pub was locked up for the night and the fluff / lint caught fire. An object lesson for all of us, always make sure you de-fluff first and never go to bed leaving yours spinning away.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/04/woolpack-stoke-mandeville.html


The way we were

The local paper The Bucks Herald reported at the time;

“THE Woolpack pub and restaurant in Stoke Mandeville has been destroyed by a huge fire. he building was described by Bucks Fire and Rescue as 100 per cent damaged by the blaze. Fire fighters were called to the pub, in Risborough Road, at 3.37am on Sunday morning.


Woolpack ablaze last April...


.... and afterwards

It took more than four hours for the fire to be extinguished, and crews are likely to be at the scene for 'some considerable time' yet. Gas cylinders were removed from the two-storey building. Ten crews from Aylesbury, Winslow, Princes Risborough, High Wycombe, Great Missenden and Amersham attended the scene.”



Rebuilding underway

Well in a resurrection which would have made Lazarus proud the newly refurbished Woolpack reopened for business on the 6th November 2009, less than 6 months after it was a 100% loss in the disastrous fire. This is in itself a minor miracle of project management, particularly as the woolpack was both a thatched and listed building. Inside it looks much as before but there is a distinct improvement externally and internally. The toilet annexe on the left hand side of the front elevation always had a “stuck on look.” This has been now tidied up with the exterior showing a traditional looking dark weatherboarding and improved toilets inside with the side corridor gone.


The old sign - with the happy sheep

Otherwise the interior is much the same as before which is no bad thing, traditional with a certain blingly panache. The menu is also much the same as before, not too cheap, but good big plates of fresh food well cooked with a continental twist. The only grump I have is that salads are listed under the poesy heading of leaves! Seeing this and the equally poesy “Breakfast Goods” on a gastro pub menu always sends my toes into an uncontrollable spasm of curling. One final note; Spend Xmas Day at home as the Wolly is booked out!

Otherwise Welcome back Woolpack!

http://www.woolpackstokemandeville.co.uk/


The new sheep free sign - Baa!!Baa!!
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