Coeliacs With West African Roots
One of the big differences about London, after coming back to live after forty years, is that now everybody tends to talk to each other a lot more. A black lady and myself had a big laugh about it, after we’d walked up the road talking about our ailments and remarking that twenty years before we’d have been on opposite sides of the road.
One thing that has surprised me is the number of coeliacs, I’ve come across with West African roots. I have written about the chef in my local pub from Sierra Leone, who is a coeliac, but several times, I’ve been asked in the supermarket about the gluten-free food in my basket, by shop staff and others, who are coeliac and have some roots in West Africa.
If it was just once or twice, I’d put it down to a random chance, but it is more common than that! Remember though that gluten has little part in the traditional West African diet, which is based on sorghum.
Hopefully the diagnosis of Michael Obiora; the actor, who was born to Nigerian parents, with coeliac disease, will help spread awareness of the disease.
Condolezza Rice Invited To Join Augusta National
Augusta National seems to have forgone it’s ban on women members, by inviting two women to join, one of whom is Condolezza Rice. It’s all here in the Guardian.
I remember a tale from a few years back, where someone in Houston, was employing a new secretary. One of those who came for interview,said, that she was a woman, black and Jewish and therefore she ticked three boxes. She got the job, as coincidentally, she was also the best applicant.
So did Augusta choose Connie because she ticked two? The other lady is white and blonde!
I have a feeling that Tiger Woods is not a member!
But then I’m very much in agreement with Groucho Marks on clubs.
I wouldn’t join any club, that would have me as a member.
But then, I’m a member of that dark club called widowhood.
Race, gender and sexual orientation are not restrictions as to membership.
Has London Got Friendlier?
Every Sunday morning, I take the Overground to Shadwell, where I switch to the DLR and go to Royal Victoria station, from where I get the Emirates Air-Line over the Thames to the O2. From there, I go to Canary Wharf station, where I have a late breakfast in Carluccio’s. This was my intension this morning, but I left my Oystercard behind, so I took the Jubilee line from Canning Town station to get to Canary Wharf. I’ve done it now perhaps six or seven times and it allows me to get a good view on the mood of London. Today everybody was very chatty and there was a generally friendly mood.
This wasn’t the first time, that I’ve noticed this upbeat mood on a personal level in recent weeks. One particular feature, is that I’ve had more talks with black people lately, than I’ve ever had in my past sixty-odd years. Could it be, that the Olympics is helping us to live together better, as in fact we all have more common interests, than those things that divide us?
In one instance, I walked away from a bus, with a black woman about my age, chatting about our health problems, both of us remarking that twenty years before, we’d have probably not said a word.
If this is the legacy of 2012, I’m all for it! Or is it just that finally we’ve developed a modern society?
Racism Is Less Of A Crime Than Bentner’s Underpants
At Euro-2012 Croatia have been fined €80,000 for racial abuse and throwing fireworks, but Nicklas Bentner has been fined €100,000 for wearing a pair of dodgy underpants. it’s reported here in the Daily Mail.
So I think that we now know where UEFA stands on racism!
Orient Fans Defy Racism
On Double Take this morning on BBC Radio 5, they interviewed three hardy Leyton Orient fans, who’d gone all the way to support England in Donetsk. One was white, but the others were all or part-Bangladeshi. They were having a great time and had been made very welcome by the locals.
Let’s hope it all stays as peaceful.
Luckily for England, it seems most of the trouble so far is down to old problems with Russia, like these when they played the Czech Republic last night. Hopefully UEFA have got it in hand.
When I went to Belarus, there were no problems, but a Russian lawyer, I met who supports England, talked of the problems between Russia and its former satellite states.
The Racism Has Started
Why did the old farts in charge of UEFA take the tournament to Poland and the Ukraine, when they knew it might happen?
This incident involving the Dutch is actually in Poland.
I don’t think that the Dutch govenment will take this lying down.
The Netherlands are playing their first match against Denmark tomorrow.
I wonder what the odds are that we don’t through the first round without racist trouble.
It’s Backs to the Wall Lads!
England at Euro-2012 are starting to look like the last time we fought a war in the Ukraine. And I mean after the Charge of the Light Brigade. At least though the medical services are very much better.
I was listening to Sportsweek on Radio 5 Live and John Barnes, who probably knows more about suffering racism than most, was advising the players to concentrate on the football if the chants got bad in the Ukraine, like they might do. He advised against what Mario Balotelli had said he would do and walk off. He said “Let the referee and UEFA decide.” It might be difficult, but there are some strong characters in the England team. Remember too, in the first match against France, both teams will have quite a few black players and all of the players probably know each other well and will all stick together, if it turns ugly.
Worse To Be Late Than Racist
According to this article in the Guardian, Manchester City have been fined €30,000 by UEFA for returning to the field late for the second half of their match against Sporting Lisbon.
This compares with a fine of just €20,000 for Porto for racially abusing Manchester City’s black players.
The logic of this defies me and I suspect every other person in the UK, be they a football fan or not. To take a simple example.
Does this mean if my bus is on time, I can’t racially abuse the driver, but if it is late, I can? Or is it the other way round? Not that we do this in London or in fact anywhere in the UK, even if the bus driver is a UEFA official doing a job on the side.
A Row About the GB Athletics Team Captain
There has been a bit of a row about Tiffany Porter being appointed GB Team Captain for the World Indoor Athletics Championships. It’s reported here properly in the Guardian, but some papers seem to be following a rather different tack.
It would appear that Tiffany has two of the things that make me British; a British mother and a UK passport. I have a British father as well. Mo Farah incidentally, has a father who was born in England, has been here since he was eight and has a British passport.
So if Tiffany is the best for the job, why shouldn’t she have it, as in my view she’s more British than many in various British teams?
In some ways we put too much emphasis on where you are born and sadly, the race of your parents. Sometimes, some sports generally get it right. Freddie Brown, Colin Cowdrey, Ted Dexter, Gubby Allen, George Harris, Nasser Hussain, Douglas Jardine and Pelham Warner, all captained England at cricket, despite being born outside of the UK. This is not a complete list and I have also left out others born in the UK, but who were not English.
The Anonymous Widower 