To the brave men and women and the child-martyrs of Syria-A Poem

A Poem I gift to the brave people of Syria, murdered by cowardly swine and corrupt dogs.  May your oppressors soon be cast into the pit as I pray they will.  And may the Prophet, blessed be his name, cast his nets of protection over your children.  Here is my own Song of Resistance as a small thing to honour your great hearts.

I WILL NOT BE CAST DOWN!

I will not be cast down!

Oppressed or overwhelmed

by all this tragedy.

I will not lose my light

in this cold cold wind.

I need my light to see by.

I’ll not be screwed by fear

into a knuckle,

hard and dense with doubt.

I will not lose my heart

in this sea of swirl and trouble:

I need my heart to love with.

I will not an unbeliever be,

amid these spirals of divinity.

Nor fear the heart of darkness.

I will not lose my sense of Self

at these gates of transformation.

I need my Self to live in.

Bashar al Assad

Wanted for crimes against humanity

You'll be getting yours very soon buddy!  And when you do, I wouldn't want to be in your blood-drenched shoes!

FEBRUARY POEM-UNSAID

UNSAID

So much between remains unsaid.

So much space between heart and head.

And you say: Is this life?  And I say:  Is it?

The way we dreamed it would always be?

And each wonders:  Can you ever, and will you?

And can you ever and might you?

Just once, even in a moon that’s blue,

touch the fear in me with the fear in you?

The Boat of my Dreams

For a while now I've been thinking and planning for a craft for expeditioning on the sea. My Isle of Skye semi-circumnavigation round the South West Coast aboard a Valley Canoes Avocet Kayak some years ago really sold me on the idea of simple, light but super-reliable craft for one person which included an ability to sleep aboard. It was a big ask because it needs to include the possibility of towing the craft behind a bicycle! Which also had to be stowed aboard when underway! For a while I've thought that a rowing boat has the edge over a kayak as well as providing a massive cardio-vascular workout with a sliding seat that benefits the whole body, it also provides a stable platform for fishing, eating, filming, or just day-dreaming, which you just can't get in a kayak. Well finally I appear to have found the boat of my dreams and here she is:

Perfect for island hopping off the West Coast of Scotland, the canals of Europe or even bigger trips on The Med and further afield.  Brilliant work from Angus Rowboats.  Just look at that beautiful wineglass stern!

New law will be for the children « This Is Guernsey

Gosh I just came across this! Something like a dance with a beautiful but essentially corrupted Spirit. Something about 'the heart of darkness.'I designed the Private and Public law Services for The Channel Isles but when the Bailiff of Jersey read this blog he ordered his minions to withdraw a job offer they had made to me. I have a lot to thank him for! Where the hell do they get these people from? It was a great project but a bit like being an extra in The Wicker Man!

New law will be for the children

Monday 19th May 2008, 1:00PM BST.

Head of Safeguarder Services Tony Dougan at the opening of its Rue du Manoir offices. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0579790)

CHILDREN will be better represented thanks to new services being introduced in Guernsey.

Safeguarder Services, which is States funded, has been set up to represent the interests of children and young people in public and private legal proceedings under The Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law, 2008, and to provide an advisory service to the courts.

It will also offer conciliation and mediation to people involved in family law proceedings. The man heading the service, Tony Dougan, said the law would officially be enacted in October 2009 but the services were now available to those seeking help.

‘The law will actually reflect the realities of modern-day family life, such as divorce and the impact it has on the children involved.’  He said laws that protect or affect children date back to the 1930s. The new one brings Guernsey into line with the UK’s Protection of Children Act 1999.

Permaculture In Phuket! Wow!!!