An Epistle to my Children

I am travelling abroad with work this week to quite a dangerous place and so felt it was expedient to put something in writing.

An Epistle to my Children 2012 pdf

                                                                            An Epistle to my Children

Tranquility and contentment will grow in you with age, but it does not come to us without seeking it and wanting to grow as individuals as we travel through life’s twisting passageways, learning the lessons from each experience, that happen, whether they are good or bad.

Time is both our friend and our enemy and to grow closer to any friend we must constantly stoke the fires of our friendship. A fire which is fuelled by both people burns brightly, but when fuelled by one person it withers and flickers without purpose and when without fuel, it is allowed to die and extinguish, becoming cold and unwelcoming in the grate. Treat time as a good friend who can help you to discover all the wonders that the world has to offer. Treat your friends similarly and they will remain loyal. Assume nothing and seek the truth always.
If you are a man or a woman take pride in your masculinity or femininity and always be accepting of others, for we are all human beings whoever we are and others maybe born to follow a path which may not always be as clear as the one you have chosen. All people are intrinsically good and treat them as such and you will receive good things in return.
Always thirst for knowledge, particularly of yourself, for it is free and can only bring you great joy and wisdom, to help you to help others and yourself. Remember money, has only an instrumental value and pursuit of it will never bring you true happiness but the intrinsic value of love, in family and friendships is irreplaceable, costing nothing, but your time and care and will bring you the greatest happiness.
Always be proud and dignified in your cultural heritage, recognizing all the parts and qualities that make you who you are and who you wish to become and make sure that you pass this knowledge onto your children so that they may also have a strong sense of identity, as this is the cornerstone of self esteem and self worth which is the springboard into a confident and successful life.
Hurt no-one intentionally but always stand firm by your principles recognizing that others may have different ones, which mean as much to them, as yours do to you.
It is not necessary to have a faith to behave ethically and so always strive to do the right thing and acknowledge when you have not. An apology costs nothing, but repairs all, when given sincerely.
Remember once you have lost your honour, you may never get it back; it is the most precious thing you have and will bring you through all the adversity that you may encounter in life.

Keep your honour safe and close to your heart, love unconditionally and without judging, your family and your friends. Seek knowledge assiduously, for its own sake and life will always look kindly upon you and yours.

Your Dad

20th January 2012

Posted January 23, 2012 Posted in general | Leave a response

Stephen Lawrence and Double Jeopardy

So after 18 years two people have been brought to book for this heinous crime and all because of the overturning of the “double jeopardy” rule.

Initially I was against the rewriting of this cornerstone of British justice as I thought it may lead to trial by the media and public opinion, but times and technology change and in order to keep pace with this, surely it is right, that given strict safeguards, if it means more people being brought to justice for their crimes, then it is generally a good thing.The fact that it is based on new evidence leads me to believe that the sureness of a safe trial is of paramount importance. Did the defendants receive a fair trial? on balance I believe they did.

In any crime there are only 3 types of evidence:-

Forensic, Witness and Admissions and all evidence which is gathered will always fall into one of these categories. There may tend to be an overreliance on Forensic nowadays and we should always remember that this evidence only places the person at the scene, it does not allow us to know what they did whilst there. Hence the “contamination defence” in this trial as the defendants never explained the forensic link to the scene, pursuing instead a now proven lie supported by others that “they were not there”

We have now been fortunate as a society with this trial to have shone a chink of light through an open door into the dark and murky world of racist thuggery, which still exists in our society and is demonstrated by many contingent instances. As recently as this festive season and in the form of the murder of an Indian student in Salford for no apparent reason other than he came from a different cultural background. Let us continue to force the door open to expose this awful crime to the world and demonstrate how we as a nation deal with those who peddle this hate filled animosity to others of a different background.

As the good people of this country demonstrated after the riots, by clearing the detritus of riot from our streets, let’s do the same for racist thuggery. There may not be any forensic evidence now to link others to  this crime due to the time delay or lack of forensic ability, but it is inconceivable that arrogant and ignorant young men such as the other people who participated in this vile act have not boasted to others of their deed and now is the time for the police to use all means at their disposal to help overcome the fear or misguided loyalties of people who know what happened and help them to come forward as witnesses and say so in open court and convict the others involved and shine the light fully so that justice is seen to be done and the Lawrences’ as a family can grieve at last for their son.

Times have changed and these racist and xenophobic views are diminishing day by day but we must never be complacent because like any pandemic they can metamorphasise, gain credence and momentum and return at any time.

Posted January 4, 2012 Posted in Current Affairs | Leave a response