Maria Sharapova has moved on to the semi-finals of the Bank of West Classic tournament and she had a marathon game of 2 hours and 47 minutes with fellow Russsian Elena Dementieva before doing so. It was also at this match I felt that Maria Sharapova is back on something. She has shown some of her best moves and probably the determination to win and more importantly the focus in the game.
It is not that she is not good but sometimes it seems she is just not that focus. She has managed to outlast the Elena the second seeded of the game at this match and shown her focus despite the longer hours of game than usual. It was a good match both had played well.
Bartoli the defending champion had lost to Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka and top seeded Samantha Stosur continued to advance after wining 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 at the game.
I was extremely excited when I received an email telling me that my Blog had been nominated for a Mydeco Design Democracy Blog award. I really only have you guys to thank as I am ever so grateful and really appreciate every single one of you who stop by, It means the world to me :)
I was asked to write about what 'Design Democracy' means to me.I feel there is no real definition but it is being able to communicate your design ideas and actions in a totally liberal manner. Design your house how you want, express your opinions and share your inspirations, this is what Design Democracy is about.
My Blog is a place where I share all of my thoughts, where I can interact with amazing people and where I am free to be me and have no one tell me what is right or wrong. It is where I bare my soul and am not afraid what people think. Design is my utmost passion and I am at my happiest when I am able to share this with people around the globe, bringing us all closer together for the one love we all share, DESIGN!
All of my influences come from daily surroundings, whether everyday life experiences, magazines, TV, books, websites, travelling, and more importantly the amazing blogs that I read on a daily basis, what would we do without them :) I am ever so thankful that design democracy exists!
Voting starts on August 1st till 31st August. If you have been enjoying my blog and I have inspired you in some way or another then please do click on the link below and vote for me, it would really make my day!
The last few weeks I have been getting my bathroom done up which is rather exciting.....I just hope its ready by Friday as I'm off for some sun, sea and fun :)
Lately I have been frantically sourcing for funky cool wall tiles to add some va-va-voom to my bathroom. With so many on the market at the moment it has been a real treat looking around.
Here are my favourites, let me know what you think?
These are my utmost favourites, simple design with lovely colours. Grau Blue and Grau Aubergine available from Fired Earth @ £5.99 each.
This is a funky design which I have been very tempted for my bathroom. Baron in Mono from Dominic Crinson @ £300 per sq m.
The killers of Ekram Haque; Leon Elcock and Hamza Lyzai and their victim in hospital
There is widespread disbelief and anger in the UK about the message given to society by the sentences passed on three London teenagers who attacked a man leaving a mosque with his three year old daughter. It was called a “happy slapping” attack and resulted in the death of the pensioner who was attacked “for fun.” Local MP Sadiq Khan has described the sentences as “truly shocking”, a sentiment which is widely felt.
Shocking footage shows a man dying in the street after a “happy slapping” attack as his bewildered granddaughter stands by his side. CCTV footage released today shows 67-year-old Ekram Haque lying flat on his back as his hooded attackers aged 14 and 15 flee. They ran up behind and felled him with a powerful blow for the fun of it. Ekram Haque, a retired care worker, was standing outside the local mosque in Tooting in August last year. He had been there to pray because it was the Holy month of Ramadan. Hospital doctors turned his life support machine off a week later.
A judge ordered that the boys, previously granted anonymity because of their age, be named and shamed. Leon Elcock and Hamza Lyzai struck as Mr Haque waited with three-year-old Marian outside the Idara-e-Jafferiya mosque in Church Lane, Tooting, last August 2009.
Ekram Haque and his grand-daughter Marian
In the film she is seen playing at a railing under his watchful eye when the thugs, who had filmed previous attacks on a mobile phone, attack. The girl goes to his side, falls to her knees, her hand pushed out across his chest towards his face as if pleading with her grandfather to get up and show he is all right. A man in white robes, believed to be Mr Haque's son Arfan, rushes out of the mosque and takes the little girl inside before phoning for help. Elcock was on bail for an attack on an elderly Asian couple at the time.
Judge Martin Stephens told them: “You committed a series of very serious, cowardly, deeply unpleasant offences against elderly and vulnerable men and women. The attacks were entirely gratuitous and done without thought for your victims. Some of the attacks carried out on earlier occasions, although not of the same seriousness, were filmed by you as part of what you saw as fun. As a result of your so-called bit of fun, Mr Haque was deprived of a full and content life and his family were deprived of a devoted, inspiring and beloved father and a grandfather.” Three teenagers were originally charged with the murder of Mr Haque but lawyers accepted pleas to lesser offences after consulting the victim's family. Elcock, now 16, and Lyzai, 15, both from Tooting, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Elcock was sentenced to four and a half years and Lyzai to three and a half. With time served already, Elcock could be free in 18 months while Lyzai could be out in just over a year. The charge against a third defendant, who was 14, will lie on the file. He was sentenced to six months detention for two other attacks.
The judge said his powers of sentence in relation to the assaults were “very limited” because of the defendants' ages. He lifted restrictions on naming Elcock and Lyzai as a warning to others “who may be tempted to indulge in such appalling behaviour”. Outside the Old Bailey, Arfan Haque was furious that Elcock had been let out on bail after a previous attack, saying: “The Crown Prosecution Service needs to buck up their ideas, because they are being bailed and just walking free. My father is dead, it's just a disgrace.”
Lawyers for the “happy slap” gang claimed they were simply bored teenagers craving entertainment. Oliver Blunt QC told the court: “They are young, bored, listless youths who sought entertainment in this extremely unpleasant and distorted fashion.” Throughout the Old Bailey case the three defendants did not show a flicker of remorse, sitting impassively as they watched the sickening violence on CCTV film. Leon Elcock, the oldest of the three and the gang leader, was said to recruit his “foot soldiers” with the same ruthless intimidation he showed his victims. He shares a council house in Tooting with his mother and five siblings. A serial truant after being suspended from school for assaulting a teacher, he is suspected of committing several robberies. Hamza Lyzai is Ugandan-born. Neighbours claim he was transformed from a polite boy into a killer when he joined the gang.
The youngest defendant, who was not named, photographed the gang's attacks. All the “happy slap” clips recovered by police were found on his mobile. A teacher told police she found him watching internet clips of elderly people being happy slapped and he was “laughing hysterically.”
Can anyone actually explain why these loathsome individuals were given such lenient sentences? Reading the Home Office guidance would suggest anyone aged over 10 but under the age of 18 can be given "Detention for life" for manslaughter. So how exactly does a pitiful 3 and a half years come into play? And if the judge is in fact constrained by the system then the system needs changing. A man has lost his life, a family had theirs irreversibly blighted and the perpetrators will be back on the streets laughing about it in a year and carrying on their trend of violent crime on their next unfortunate victim.
It is difficult to see how the sentences meet the needs of retribution and rehabilitation. Is anybody in any doubt how these totally unrepentant feral teenagers will behave on the streets of London when they are released in just over a year’s time? It is even more difficult to imagine how the family of Ekram Haque will be able to explain to his grand daughter Marian when she is older that her beloved grandfathers life counted for so little in the eyes of the justice system. All of our lives have been devalued by this lenient sentencing which says you can cause somebody’s death for “fun”, record and leer at the scene on your mobile phone and get away with murder with only minor inconvenience in your own life. These shocking sentences which do not address the need for retribution and rehabilitation cannot be allowed to stand.
Morning all, sorry if I have been a bit absent from blogger land but have been a very busy bee finishing up all lose ends as I am officially going on holiday this Friday. This week is going to be manic but am very very excited to go to my beloved Italy to see my friends and family :)
A friend of mine recently asked me if I knew where I could find pretty French beds that look authentic. I don't know about you but I have always found it hard to find beautiful beds that give that reminiscence of authenticity. However a little light bulb did switch on in my brain as I remembered coming across The Sleep Room while reading through my beloved Elle Decoration magazine. They do such gorgeous beds that really do resemble the antique era but with a slight modern twist.
I am quite excited to have discovered this website as so is my friend. Now I am tempted to change my bed for one of these romantic choices :)
"O'Donoghue's Opera" is a unique and hilarious film starring Ronnie Drew and his band of bohemian merrymakers who include 'The Dubliners' and other favourite Irish musicians of the time like the McKenna’s and Johnny Moynihan. Made in 1965, Ireland's first musical was never completed due to financial difficulties and remained unseen until veteran filmmaker Tom Hayes brought the out-takes to Sé Merry Doyle who painstakingly restored the gem and launched it at the 1998 Dublin Film Festival. Based on the ballad 'The Night That Larry Was Stretched', sung by a young Johnny Moynihan, Ronnie Drew finds himself caught in a hangman's noose as a reward for his dubious career as "the best burglar in all Ireland". The film which is tongue-in-cheek (all the way) has the flavour of an Irish Spaghetti Western and captures the spirit of Dublin camaraderie like no other work before or since. The Guinness, the music, the wit and the grit, its all there in abundance. It says it all, when we see Ronnie fully decked-out in his stripy burglar outfit, trying to evade the law by disguising himself with a pioneer pin.
Ronnie Drew
O'Donoghue's Opera is an Irish film starring Ronnie Drew and his bandmates in The Dubliners. The film is a mock opera, based on the ballad "The Night Before Larry Was Stretched". It was shot in 1965, but was left uncompleted after the film's production ran into financial difficulties. In 1996 filmmaker Sé Merry Doyle oversaw its restoration, and it was first shown at the Dublin Film Festival in the late 1990s.- Wikipedia
The movie “O'Donoghue's Opera” on Google video; approx 37 minutes
“The Night Before Larry Was Stretched” is an Irish execution ballad written in the Newgate cant. The ballad is estimated to have been written around 1816. Will (Hurlfoot) Maher, a shoemaker from Waterford, wrote the song, though Dr. Robert Burrowes, the Dean of St. Finbar’s Cork, to whom it has been so often attributed, certainly did not. The Newgate cant in which the song was penned was a short-lived colloquial slang of 19th century Dublin. "This is only one of a group of execution songs written in Newgate Cant or slang style somewhere around 1780s, others being 'The Kilmainham Minuet', 'Luke Caffrey's Ghost' and 'Larry's Ghost' which, as promised in the seventh verse, comes in a sheet to sweet Molly."
Kimainham Gaol, Dublin
A French translation of the song called ' La mort de Socrate' was written by Francis Sylvester Mahony, better known as “Father Prout” for Froser’s Magazine and is also collected in 'Musa Pedestris, Three Centuries of Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes [1536―1896]', collected and annotated by John S. Farmer. In 'Ballads from the Pubs of Ireland', p. 29, James N. Healy attributes the song to a William Maher, (Hurlfoot Bill), but doesn't note when Maher lived. However, the song is attributed to a 'Curren' in 'The Universal Songster', 1828, possibly being J. Philpot Curran or J. W. Curren.
The song provides the narrative basis for the film 'O’Donoghue’s Opera' which was filmed in 1965 with members of The Dubliners with 'The Night Before Larry was Stretched' performed by Johnny Moynihan. Elvis Costello recorded the song on 1996's 'Common Ground — Voices Of Modern Irish Music'. The film and ballad is based on the strange but true premise that in Dublin jails the tradition grew up of the family and friends being allowed to wake the deceased when he was still alive (!) the night before the hanging as they would not receive the body afterwards as condemned prisoners were buried in quicklime pits in the prison grounds. This may seem strange today and it was a courtesy only extended to “Common Criminals” (Not murderers or political prisoners) at a time in the Georgian era when over 200 crimes, mainly against property, attracted the death penalty. Similarly families were allowed to bring food into prisons otherwise the prisoner would starve. Finally the hangman would be paid to get the prisoner drunk so he wouldn’t show fear on the scaffold.
I The night before Larry was stretched, The boys they all paid him a visit A bit in their sacks too they fetched They sweated their duds till they riz it For Larry was always the lad, When a friend was condemn’d to the squeezer, He’d sweat all the togs that he had Just to help the poor boy to a sneezer - And moisten his gob ’fore he died.
II The boys they came crowding in fast; They drew their stools close round about him, Six glims round his trap-case were placed For he couldn’t be well waked without ’em, When ax’d if he was fit to die, Without having duly repented? Says Larry, ‘That’s all in my eye, And all by the clargy invented, - To make a fat bit for themselves.
III ‘’I'm sorry dear Larry’, says I, ‘For to see you here in such trouble, And your life’s cheerful noggin run dry, And yourself going off like its bubble!’ ‘Hauld your tongue in that matter,’ says he; ‘For the neckcloth I don’t care a button, And by this time tomorrow you’ll see Your Larry will be dead as mutton: - And all 'cos his courage was good’
The Dubliners
IV "And then I'll be cut up like a pie, And me nob from me body be parted." "You're in the wrong box, then", says I, "For blast me if they're so hard-hearted. A chalk on the back of your neck Is all that Jack Ketch dares to give you; So mind not such trifles a feck, Sure why should the likes of them grieve you? - And now boys, come tip us the deck."
V Then the cards being called for, they play’d, Till Larry found one of them cheated; A dart at his napper he made The lad being easily heated, ‘So ye chates me bekase I’m in grief! O! is that, by the Hokey, the rason? Soon I’ll give you to know you d—d thief! That you’re cracking your jokes out of sason, - And scuttle your nob with my fist’.
VI Then the clergy came in with his book He spoke him so smooth and so civil; Larry tipp’d him a Kilmainham look, And pitch’d his big wig to the divil. Then raising a little his head, To get a sweet drop of the bottle, And pitiful sighing he said, ‘O! the hemp will be soon round my throttle, - And choke my poor windpipe to death!’
VII So mournful these last words he spoke, We all vented our tears in a shower; For my part, I thought my heart broke To see him cut down like a flower! On his travels we watch’d him next day, O, the throttler I thought I could kill him! But Larry not one word did say, Nor chang’d till he came to King William; - Then, musha, his colour turned white.
VIII When he came to the nubbing-cheat, He was tack’d up so neat and so pretty; The rambler jugg’d off from his feet, And he died with his face to the city. He kick’d too, but that was all pride, For soon you might see ’twas all over; And as soon as the noose was untied, Then at darkey we waked him in clover, - And sent him to take a ground-sweat.
This is a moving and sentimental ballad in 9/8 time about a lad who is about to be hung. They really did put your coffin (trap case) in your cell and let your friends in to wake you on the night before the hanging in Dublin around 1816. Glims are candles.
"Jack Ketch" was the generic name for the hangman, as "Chips" was for a ship's carpenter and so on; the original Jack Ketch was "the common executioner 1663(?)-1686. He became notorious on account of his barbarity at the executions of William Lord Russell and others." A "Kilmainham look" may be something like a Ringsend tango or a Ringsend uppercut (a kick in the groin) - or perhaps not. Kilmainham was the county jail in former times, and later was the scene of the execution of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. Larry may have been confined in Kilmainham or in the Green Street prison, the "new" Newgate which replaced the old Newgate in the 1770s. Kilmainham is remembered in another prison ballad called "The Kilmainham Minit", i.e., "minuet", the dance of the hanged man.
“He came to King William;” - This was an equestrian statue of King William of Orange, erected in 1701 at College Green in Dublin. Always controversial, it was repeatedly daubed, defaced and blown up; in 1929 it was blown up for the last time, and later broken up for smelting. Presumably the bold Larry was important enough to be hanged in the large public space of College Green rather than at the prison itself (Maurice Craig's book on Dublin - whence the information in this paragraph - included an old photo of Newgate, showing the hanging-apparatus over the main door, "as in most Irish gaols")
Few publicans in London can compare with Gerry O’Brien, colourful landlord of The Churchill Arms, who this weekend celebrates 25 years at the award-winning Kensington Church Street pub. I’ve a soft spot for Gerry as he hails from the County Clare and if I described him as a Mad Irishman he would take it as a compliment for he is a true eccentric and has made the Churchill Arms into something rare in London a brewery owned tenanted boozer with real character where people literally come from miles around to visit.
Churchill memorabilia in the bar
Now generally I am of the illiberal opinion that a brewery owned pub should be a capital offence negating a right to trial before execution. However the Brewery in question Fuller, Smith and Turner is one of the last traditional brewers based at the famous Chiswick Brewery in West London with family members still involved in running it and producing a proper range of real ales for which the name of their flagship ale, “London Pride” speaks for itself. Since taking over this typical London boozer 25 years ago Gerry has infused it with both his wacky contents and his unique personality and gained something of a cult following in the process.
On the outside, the Churchill is festooned with hanging baskets and window boxes, which regularly scoop up any flower awards going. On the inside, the pub is crammed full of dangling chamber pots, a collection of exotic butterflies, mementos of Winston Churchill and more hanging baskets. Oh and I forgot to mention Gerry’s collection of old radios “wirelesses” which I gave up counting after twenty.
On the significant days in Gerry’s calendar — sporting events, St Patrick’s Day, any anniversary remotely connected to Churchill — the interior is further enlivened with all the balloons available in London in the appropriate colours. In case that was not enough, the host regularly makes his way tirelessly around the premises, sometimes with a fake Guinness glass to tip over the unwary. Favoured guests are tooted from the premises with an old car horn.
The irrepressible Gerry O'Brien, Landlord of the Churchill Arms
Now Gerry is having a big party at the Churchill to celebrate his 25 years, having turned what was a dull old boozer into a cornucopia of nutty passions. Not the least of these is his devotion to Thai food, of which his pub was the first purveyor in London. “We can shift some beer with this stuff,” he remembers thinking. There are few regrets but the smoking ban saddened him: “I miss the time of smoking — not cigarettes, but giving a light to a lady or seeing someone light up a pipe.”
The conservatory eating area
The Churchill Arms is, without doubt, one of the best and most famous pubs in the UK. You won't find a warmer welcome anywhere else. 'London in Bloom' winner two years in a row and from spring it is easy to see why - the flowers and baskets literally tumble off the outside of the pub. The food on offer is Thai but you can also enjoy a selection of English classics, the Sunday roasts are also very popular. Events are the speciality here - 'Churchill Night' (30th Nov) is a must, as are the patron saint days. Indeed Gerry must be the only Irishman to throw a birthday party for Churchill and patrons return the compliment by turning up on the day in boiler suits and ARP helmets. St George’s day, uniquely in London, gets the full Paddy’s Day treatment for Gerry is nothing if not inclusive. This is one London pub you will want to come back to again and again.
St George being saluted by the Churchill arms on the 23rd April, St George's Day
Many years ago Gerry roofed over the back courtyard of the Churchill Arms and franchised out the catering to a Thai family and introduced Thai food to London Pubs. For over 15 years, the highly skilled chefs at the Churchill Arms Thai Kitchen have been preparing authentic regional dishes. From the soft and mild tasting noodles "Pad Siew" to the very hot jungle paste curry of "Kaeng Par". Family recipes handed down through generations are served in the wonderful butterfly-themed conservatory. So come and meet Gerry, Powe, Tai and Po for a real taste of Thailand. This is not the Thai banquet food you get served in restaurants but hearty Thai country food served in an ample portion with an equally ample portion of perfect Thai sticky rice. It is for people who enjoy strong flavours and are hungry – not using food as a fashion statement!
Real Thai food!
Kensington Church Street where the Churchill Arms is situated meanders from High Street Kensington to Notting Hill which is the end where you’ll find the Churchill Arms. It is one of London’s more interesting streets being lined with antique shops and with the block of flats where TS Elliot lived and where his widow, Valerie, still does. Even in such august surroundings the Churchill Arms stands out in every way and either with friends or groups I’ve never failed to enjoy being there for good food and drink but above all for that something you can’t easily define real atmosphere. On a more practical note there is no where else in Kensington you can buy a pint of real ale to wash down real food and still have change from a tenner. So here’s wishing Gerry O’Brien from the County Clare slán agus beannacht leat for the next 25 years.
Churchill Arms decorated for Xmas with 43 Xmas Trees!
Churchill Arms 119 Kensington Church Street London W8 7LN
Perhaps it is time for Maria Sharapova to do some real resting for the thoughts on how to go on better. Sometimes a good rest can help to relax the mind and then start moving forward to all the games. Although she did not do that well at the tournaments for some time and some said that she is not the player she used to be. One thing from Maria Sharapova which is this, "If I didn't feel like I had it in me, I wouldn't be going out on the court every day and working to become a better player," Sharapova said. "I wouldn't be fighting to win my tennis matches." has shown she still has the desire to win and that probably says she still have the skills. More importantly, these players should show that they enjoy their sports at all times.
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 - They later took down the claim
There is outrage in the UK that yet again there is one law for the public and another law for the police. An official decision to bring no charges against the policeman who struck Ian Tomlinson minutes before he died at the G20 protests came under intense scrutiny as it emerged that the Independent Police Complaints Commission had backed a prosecution for manslaughter.
Yesterday on the 22nd July, on the fifth anniversary of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube station, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) presented their report into the death of Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper seller killed in the City of London as he tried to make his way home past the police during the G20 protests on 1 April 2009.
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.
Ian Tomlinson walking past the police before he was struck
His death became controversial a week later when The Guardian Newspaper 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. Dressed in a bright yellow reflective jacket, black uniform and helmet, Pc Harwood’s identity number was covered up and he had a scarf across the lower part of his face.
Let us now pause and toy with a remarkable statistic. Despite over 1,000 people dying in police custody or due to police action since the late 1960s if the police officer who the DPP said had assaulted Ian Tomlinson was charged with manslaughter it would have been the first time this has ever happened in Britain. Ask yourself the simple question - what is the statistical possibility that these over 1,000 human beings who died in police custody or as a result of police action were all killed lawfully? They include Blair Peach killed (according to the police’s own investigation) by a TSG member at an anti-racism demonstration in 1979, Jean Charles de Menezes shot with 3 bullets in the brain 5 years ago, Sean Rigg and Joy Gardiner who died in police stations and Harry Stanley, 46, from Hackney, east London, was shot in the head and the hand by the Met officers in 1999 carrying a chair leg in a plastic bag which the two officers thought was a sawn-off shot gun.
Ian Tomlinson being helped by a member of the public just after he was assaulted by PC Simon Harwood circled in the background. Police initially claimed they went to his assistance when he became ill and they had no previous contact with him
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, acknowledged there was evidence that the officer, named as PC Simon Harwood, assaulted Tomlinson minutes before he died. But he said there was no realistic prospect of conviction because of "sharp disagreements" between pathologists. He said the police officer captured on film striking Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests in London will not face criminal charges over his death because of conflicting opinions about the cause of death. Dr Freddy Patel conducted the first post-mortem on Mr Tomlinson's body and ruled he had died of a heart attack. That was contradicted by two subsequent post-mortems, which both found that the 47-year-old died of internal bleeding caused by a blow to the abdomen.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also said it could not bring an assault charge because such a charge must be brought within six months, and it had taken 11 months to reach a decision. A charge of misconduct in public office was also considered, but rejected. But a direct challenge to the CPS also emerged tonight from Dr Nat Cary, the second forensic pathologist who examined Tomlinson's body. He told the Guardian prosecutors made a factual error in dismissing a charge of actual bodily harm. He said his report contained clear evidence that Tomlinson suffered injuries sufficient to support a charge of ABH. But the CPS dismissed the injuries as "relatively minor" and thus not enough to support a charge of ABH in its written reasons given to the family.
Cary, speaking for the first time about the case, told the Guardian: "I'm quite happy to challenge that. No the injuries were not relatively minor. It is a flawed approach. He sustained quite a large area of bruising. Such injuries are consistent with a baton strike, which could amount to ABH. It's extraordinary. If that's not ABH I would like to know what is."
The CPS said Patel's findings would provide a jury with enough reasonable doubt that the attack by the officer contributed to the death, and as a result they would acquit. By coincidence Patel today faced a disciplinary hearing at the General Medical Council for allegedly conducting four other autopsies incompetently. He could be struck off and the Home Office has suspended him from its approved list.
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.
But another entirely strange aspect of this tragic case emerged today. Pc Simon Harwood, 43, retired from the Met a decade ago on ill health grounds while facing a misconduct hearing for an alleged road rage incident. The officer was working for the Met during the 1990s when he was accused of a road rage incident while off duty, but retired on health grounds. He then rejoined the force as a civilian computer worker, before moving to Surrey Police as a Pc after passing a medical and vetting process, during which it is understood that he made a full disclosure of his background. He moved back to the Met in November 2004 and later given a place in the force's controversial Territorial Support Group (TSG) unit. The TSG are referred to by other police officers by their nickname “The Filth” as they have a fearsome reputation as “hardmen” even within the police service and officers who have “aggression issues” are often taken off front line policing and assigned to the TSG. One commentator asked why PC Harwood was facilitated in rejoining the service, a very good question which deserves a very good answer. Was he a brother Mason, perhaps?
Let us think how it would have happened if it was the other way around? If a police officer had been assaulted by a protestor and died minutes later. Would there have been “mistakes” in collecting evidence which meant charges were time expired? Would they have waited 16 months to decide not to prosecute? The police are paid from our taxes to protect us not to kill us. They must operate with our consent and within the Law and they must be held accountable.
The DPP decision in the Ian Tomlinson case is a whitewash which destroys confidence in the police and in the Rule of Law. No matter how much the Police talk about a new era of policing and enshrining the right to protest, the establishment has once again have allowed police officers to kill an innocent man.
The Guardian obtained this footage of Ian Tomlinson at a G20 protest in London shortly before he died. It shows Tomlinson, who was not part of the demonstration, being assaulted from behind and pushed to the ground by baton-wielding police.
It's my Birthday today, so I am taking a break from the interior world. Birthdays are always a time where even though I am getting older I feel like a child and love to be thoroughly spoilt with lots of cakes, cards and obviously presents. It is also a time of great fond childhood memories, with each birthday having a special place in my heart.
It really is an excuse to never grow up ;) See you tomorrow my lovelies.
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