Don't Stop Believing!

My wife and I have just come back from watching Tom Cruise's new film, Rock of Ages at the pictures.

It is such fun, its a bit like Glee (Lite) crossed with Fame. It has a stellar cast and its massively diverting. But why mention it in a vaguely left of centre blog, btw nice to see all of my usual readership slowly coming back, I mention it because of the "theme" tune of Journey's "Don't stop believing". This ditty seems to have been used all over the place in 2010. 2011, and 2012.

In twenty years time I am pretty sure that this song will be a signature tune played on look backs at the Tory double dip recession. Its theme of hope in adversity seems to be a call to action for the left of centre to  stand up against the Coalition, to fight their attempts to take away benefits to the under 25's, to reduce the army to the smallest its been for 200 years and pathetic growth in the economy.

When I was a teenager, "Ghost Town" was the theme tune to the early 1980's when Thatcher was warming up her campaign against her own nation and Journey seems to be the call to fight Cameron, Clegg and their respective parties at every opportunity.

As a song its a bit lightweight for me, but as a concept I wonder whether one day it will replace "Jerusalem"  at Womens' Institute meetings and perhaps it will one day replace the "Red Flag" at Labour Party conferences. So the message for Sunday is Don't Stop Believing, fight, fight and fight again......

Very Sad Today

I was very sad today to read that a 12 year old boy had been killed while crossing the road at Cemetery Junction yesterday. As my wife and I were coming home from our various works we were both caught up in the aftermath. My heart goes out to the family and as a father of teenagers I can only imagine how I would feel  in the same situation.

One of my neighbours has commented that we should stand against drivers who drive on the pavement, bump up curves and drive the wrong way up one way streets. These drivers are a menace and will cost more lives and injury if we do nothing.

The video above shows Crescent Road, where I acted as a lollipop man for 2 years. For 2 years I suffered drivers and cyclists pointing their vehicles at me, shouting at me and trying to run me and the children I was crossing. Some days it could be very frightening...

The junction can be difficult to manage in the dark. Below is a video of what it is like driving along the Kings Road from the Junction to Eldon Road. I took it when I was on a no. 17 bus. Its a bit too long and dull but it illustrates the point.

So if you are driving a car around the junction, and in Park Ward. SLOW DOWN and make sure that my children don't end up as a statistic.

Spitzel is a horrible word

Spitzel is a horrible word. To say it say Spit and then cell and you will get 2/3rds of the way to saying it.

It sounds horrible and distasteful as if the speaker is trying to spir the sound of it off their tongue. But what does this horrible word actually mean?

It means informer in German. It is the word that describes the people in East Germany who would give information to the Stasi of their own accord. They would inform on what people did, say their Granny if she was hoarding food or watching Western TV.

So why use this horrible word in my blog? I use it because last year I had a vision of what a Spitzel could do and how people who I thought were upstanding and upright could act like a Spitzel. Let me explain....

Until mid last year I ran Hamilton Road's Neighbourhood Watch group, I managed a news group that allowed my neighbours to keep themselves safe and things like burglaries in the road. So far so good.

Early in the year a little old lady was robbed and I sent an email asking everyone to watch out for distraction robbery and to keep an eye on their neighbours to make sure they were all right.

So far so good.....

Strangely enough I was then interviewed by the local area Sargent. He had been passed my email by Park Ward's Green Party Councillor who had been sent it by one of his Party members in Hamilton Road. The Sargent had been told by the Councillor that he thought I was being political in sending this email. Despite me having been Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for nearly2 1/2 years at that point.

Basically one of his Party members wanted to be a Spitzel, to be an informer.....I have lived in a Communist country and know a little of what a totalitarian state is like. I had never expected that someone in "nice" Hamilton Road would try to create problems via their Party leader with the Police for me.

So I realised that even people living in a prosperous road can become Spitzel. It seems that it was a Green Party member or supporter who sent the email to their Stasi like Party leader, so the perpetrator could have been anyone who put up a Green Party poster during the election.I raised the issue with the Neighbourhood Watch group but the Spitzel was not brave enough to apologise or explain.

I am not sure if all Green supporters are like this or it is just the ones who live in Hamilton Road. But what I do know is its easy to become a Spitzel. Perhaps those that do it think that they are doing the right thing but the results can be devastating. Not just on the person you inform on, but on yourself.

As I said Spitzel is a horrible word.

A Gateway Out Of The Gloom

After the gloom of this week's news on Wokingham's catchment area proposal, a good event is happening today.

The Neighbourhood Action Groups, I'm a member of the Uni and Redlands group, in conjunction with the Council are starting to look at ways in which Cemy Junction can be improved. As a resident of the Junc since the early 90's this is something I have wanted for a long time. It is a great little spot, with unique shops, like the computer shop, Islamic shop and sowing machine shop all around.Most of us use the Coop daily and of course Wycliffe Baptist. The Baptist Church and the Coop have been keys to the community for over a century and it is great in the summer to be part of an outdoor Wycliffe service on the forecourt. I can't remember if I blogged about the Baptism that was held in the summer outside and on the forecourt, but it had to be seen to be believed.

The Junc is simply amazing. Anyone who hasn't had the chance to chill out and stroll around the Cemetery has missed out. If you are lucky you might even see the deer.

So the junction is the only place where you can get some peace and tranquility, spot real wild life, go to church and pop out of a pint of milk all at the same time. It deserves to be improved and I look forward to the NAG plying its part in the improvement.