All I have to say is…

(Date set for England smoking ban)

About ******* time. Mind, I’m still more tempted to live in Hanoi or Seoul for a year than go back home. I do notice, however, that England is the last place in the UK to enact a ban which is – frankly – ******* pathetic. Pretty much like our government. Hell, it’s only taken the Welsh so long because of the way they were forced to be tied to English law.

Now where are those papers for the Kiwi “work toward residency” scheme?

A wonderful email

Today I received one of the nicest emails ever. I wasn’t sure what it was about at first, but something tickled at the memory bells and I had a dig through the archives to find this post.

It’s almost four years since this young man’s life was taken from his family. He never got to see his second daughter, and she’s grown up without a father. I only hope the filth that did this never get out.

However, even though she’ll never meet her dad – enough people know what a brave man he was. A great example, and someone she can be proud of.

This is the email I received, and the reply I tried to send but which was rejected by the mail server for some reason.

my name is naila hussain, you wrote an article about my late husband tasawar hussain it is only now nearly four years later i have read this i just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart your words describe how i feel to some extent, and put a smile on my face thank you someday i will let my young daughters know that good people do exist and your words will help. thank you

Reply:

Naila,

Thank you for your kind message. I had to check back through my archives, though your message did ring a few bells. I remember writing that article all those years ago and I still stick by every word.

I hope those men never get out. And I still stand by the fact that your husband is one of the bravest men I have ever heard of. You are right – good people do exist. The world is short of one after the events of that January. I could only hope to be as good a person – and I admit to hoping I never have such an opportunity to find out if I could rival Tasawar’s courage.

I won’t apologise for the language in the article I wrote. The waste of such a valuable life is always something that makes me angry, and I’m glad it didn’t shock you too much. I understand that you’d probably not want to show it to your daughters, but please just let them know that there is a person currently sat here in Singapore who never met their father – but who thinks he was an amazing person.

Best wishes to yourself and the rest of your family. I hope you are all well – I appreciate that anniversaries like the one coming up can be bad times. My ex-girlfriend lost her mother at an early age and still remembers her on the same day every year.

Take care, and again – thank you for getting in touch.

Iain

Greedy ******** after more money

What a surprise. Sports agencies and companies that are worth a mint are crying and blowing bubbles into their milk as some people are getting to watch the overpaid sports stars for free, courtesy of Satan’s own child the internet.Boo ******* hoo.Now, I’ve not used the web to watch anything, simply because I’ve never been anywhere with a decent enough connection. If I were at home, I’d go watch a match live or at the pub. I’m currently in Singapore and have spent some time around Oz, NZ and SE Asia. What matches are shown is dependant on the TV stations choosing them. Newcastle are rarely one of those choices now, simply because we’re **** and not entertaining.At home, I’d listen to the game on the radio if it was on. No such luck any more. 5-Live rarely covered our games anyway, and Century choose to cover Boro or play music on the internet when we’re on (you can only get NUFC matches if you’re within broadcast distance of their north transmitter). While I’m abroad, I’m ****** due to the rules governing the UK radio companies and the limitations on their internet transmission of sporting events.If I ever turn to “illegal” broadcasts it’s because I can’t keep up with the games by any other means, purely down to the clampdown by the governing bodies. Look, let’s face it – there’s a gazillion dollars in football these days. There has been for years. It’s not exactly losing money because a few people aren’t going to watch live games. They’re not going to live games for two reasons: a) in our case, we’re **** and b) it’s too ******* expensive. You’re looking at £100 for ticket, transport, lunch and a couple of beers. Ramp that skywards if you’re taking the kids.So stop wasting time and money trying to close down internet sites. They’ll always be one step ahead and at least they’re letting people follow the sports they pump their money and hopes into. Which is better than can be said for the greedy ***** running the sports bodies these days. Sport is for fans, not the money-grabbing crotch-monkeys who’re walking around with my ******* money in their sweat-stained pockets.

Read more at news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ent…

Do-gooders at it again

Simply as they have **** all better to do with their time, a bunch of bureaucrats have taken it upon themselves to discipline no fewer than 100 members of the police force for forwarding on a humorous series of pictures.The slideshow depicts a man running from police in the US. He jumps off a flyover and is decapitated on some railings. The caption is “Don’t Run From The Police”.Grisly, perhaps. But the reason for the reprimand? The man in question is black so therefore the clip is racist. For ****’s sake. Are you trying to tell me that it would have been fine and dandy if the man had been white? Apparently the mail is “at best, disrespecful to the black people that live in Hertfordshire”. Bollocks. Complete bollocks.The only people who have drawn attention to the race of the ****** who took it upon himself to run from the police are the beancounters who have to justify their positions within the force.Worst case, I’d say the police should have more to do with their time than forwarding on joke emails. But on the other hand, they’re human and deserve a giggle just like the rest of us. There’s no mention at all in the article of anyone actually making a complaint, or feeling racially harassed. Has anyone bothered to ask any coloured staff if they felt racially humiliated as a result of seeing the pictures?Nah, didn’t think so.Now, does anyone know where I can get a copy of the mail so I can laft at the daft criminal of non-important racial heritage who took it upon himself to jump off a flyover?

Read more at news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/eng…