Persecuted Christian for Arse

Abby, I think I need your feedback on this one...

Today I read that a Christian magistrate has lost his appeal against a ruling that he claims would have meant compromising his christian beliefs. Andrew McClintock claims he was forced to resign because he would have been put in a position that could have meant he would have to place children for adoption with gay couples.

Andrew McClintock was a member of the Christian People's Alliance Council, and served as a magistrate in the Sheffield family courts for 15 years. When the Civil Partnerships Act came into force recently, Mr McClintock felt that it would force him to make judgements against his conscience.

The Civil Partnerships Act, which allows same sex couples to marry in civil ceremonies, has meant that gay couples are afforded the same rights as conventional married couples in a number of legal areas. This has in turn meant that magistrates presiding over adoption cases in court are not able to favour conventional couples over same sex couples when making a decision about where to place children.

McClintock requested that he be allowed to opt-out of presiding over cases which could involve having to make a decision involving the placing of children with same sex couples. His employer refused the request. Mr McClintock resigned and took the case to tribunal. A Sheffield Employment Tribunal ruled that his employers were right to refuse his request, and McClintock took his appeal to Employment Appeal Tribunal, a division of the High Court, who upheld the earlier ruling. And it doesn't end there, he is now taking his case to the Court of Appeal, where it is likely to be heard in the New Year.

First, let me say that, while I do have an opinion on gay adoption, it isn't a particularly strong opinion. That is to say, if it wasn't for the fact that I am a father, I probably wouldn't have thought much about this one at all, and I'm fairly sure I really wouldn't care one way or the other. As it is, I do have a son, and of course I have thought about what might happen to him if something happened to me or his mother. The fact is, given the choice, I would prefer him to be adopted into a conventional family if the need arose. That said, a gay couple adopting him would still be preferable to some grotty children's home, but let's not get too bogged down with details. Suffice to say, my overall preference would be a conventional family. That's my opinion.

But there is another issue here. This man appears to have very strong christian beliefs, and he was a magistrate. Moreover, this man was making judgements that were likely to be influenced by those christian beliefs. Let me put this another way. The man was a public servant, employed to uphold the law as defined by the democratically elected government of the land, yet he seems to think that there is a law that supersedes the law he was employed to enforce. Specifically, he believes that the law defined in the bible, as he interprets it, should take precedence over state law if the two clash. This I have a strong opinion about.

One could argue that opting-out of cases that involve the Civil Partnerships Act would be a suitable compromise. I don't believe that is the case. This man has resigned because he was suddenly legally compelled to make decisions that could have resulted in children being placed with gay couples. He could equally well have found himself in a position that required him to make a choice between placing a child with either Christian, or Hindu parents, and there is as far as I know, no specific legislation that would require him to give equal consideration to each couple. I'm quite sure that a christian man like McClintock believes that a child would be far better off with christian parents. I'm also quite sure that belief would influence his judgement.

If his christian beliefs conflict with his ability to uphold the law, then he must be removed from his post one way or the other. There can be no middle ground. He's not a shop assistant refusing to wear the uniform because it makes his arse look fat, he is a magistrate. He is not being persecuted for his christian beliefs as he is claiming, he is being removed from his job because he can't, or won't, do what he's paid for.

Mish Mash From Tuesday

I hate the hour going back every year. I have about 200 clocks to change and inevitably I forget at least one of them. This year there were the bedroom clock, Dumpy's wall clock, the clock in the bathroom, the office clock, the central heating clock, the dining room clock, the kitchen clock, the clock on the cooker, the VCR clock, the stereo clock, the living room clock, the car clock, my wristwatch, the downstairs phone, and my mobile phone. I mean, what is the point? That's 15 clocks, and in 6 months' time I'll be moaning about changing them back again. Apparently there was chaos at Gatwick airport yesterday because the clock failed to go back at 2am when it should have.

On Friday morning my train was cancelled. I hate when they do that. The next one is an hour later. They did let the 8.41 stop at my station, so I only had to wait 30 minutes, well 45 minutes actually because that one was delayed. What really pisses me off is the fact that there were two train before the 8.41 that could have stopped, but they didn't, and I just had to watch them pull out without me - Bastards, I hop they lose their franchise.

There is a story all over the press this morning about someone who tried to blackmail "a member of the royal family". Of course, we are not told which member. The original story claimed that a tape existed of a member of the royal family engaged in a sex act and taking drugs. The story has morphed several times. Now it appears to be a non-senior member of the royal family, involved in a gay sex act with an aide, and supplying cocaine to the same aid. The two guys in possession of the video have been arrested and are being held in London. Apparently they were attempting to get £50,000 from the royal, for not going public.

The lawyer representing the two arrested men has claimed that a tape exists, but that there was no sex act recorded, only talk of one. The Sun claims it can reveal that the royal in question is definitely not William or Harry, though all other reports are suggesting that it could be. Several of the reports suggest that one of the arrested men has met the Princes and Zara Philips. I think we can rule out Zara Philips since she is a girl. One report also names Freddie Windsor. Now, if I was a betting man, I'd go for Freddie as the royal in question. He's a bit of a prat, playboy, can't hold down a job, and is always in trouble. Actually, that could be Harry too couldn't it. I think if it was Harry the stakes would be higher though.

And that is another strange thing about this. Ian Strachan, one of the guys currently being held by police, has a reputation as a London playboy, and seems to have a place in Chelsea. You really have to be rich to live anywhere near Chelsea, which makes me wonder why he risked so much for £50,000, which literally wouldn't even buy you a shed in the area.

The only good badger is a shaving brush

I hate badgers, and that's why I think it's great that a government scientist has suggested we cull the little bastards. It's time to buy shares in shaving brush companies if you ask me.

Due to misinformation from Friend Dickie, I was under the impression that Lost Series III would not be out on DVD here until Dec. However, he was wrong, and I'm off to buy the box set on the way home this evening. I've also cut a deal with Dickie to sell it on to him half price after viewing, how cool is that?

I started putting knobs on cupboard doors and drawers last night. This is good because it means we can open the cupboards and drawers, and bad because Dumpy can now also open cupboards and drawers.

I've decided to renew my Ham Radio licence. I passed my exams about 15 years ago, but have never used it for anything, so I let my licence expire. Friend Big Pete just got his novice licence, so I thought I should get back into it. I'm apparently entitled to a full licence, which means 400 watts of power over a huge spectrum of frequencies.

It seems the dragon has to pass a Britishness test to extend her two year visa which expires in December. I've ordered the booklet for her. I think she will pass OK. It's just 24 multiple choice questions. I don't think I could answer all of them, but apparently you can if you read the book. We need to get this sorted out because she wants to leave UK for a week or two in Chinese New Year. We don't want visa problems over that period.

I just finished "Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" by Haruki Murakami. It was weird. I kind of liked it, but it didn't exactly go anywhere. I felt the end was weak. I'm still thinking about it. I lent my copy of Dawkins' "God Delusion" to someone at work. She had it for weeks, so I asked her if I could have it back. Seems she lent it to her husband, who then left the country with it - doh! Anyway, she replaced my copy with a new one, which is fine.

Came home yesterday to find we have a new wheelie bin. Do other countries have wheelie bins? I like the idea of a giant waste bin. I don't like the thought of it being emptied only once every two weeks. It struck me recently that my council tax bill doubled while I was out of the country, but I don't appear to be getting any new services from local government, and in the case of refuse collections, it's actually got worse. They're trying to suggest that this is a move to encourage recycling. Emotional blackmail again. Is the recycling bin going to be emptied weekly? Actually I need to find that out.

Some little bastard has sprayed graffiti on my garden wall. I wish I'd caught the little snot.

Friday...

I bet David Cameron was smiling over his cornflakes this morning as he browsed the headlines. Seems that the Labour Party has plummeted in the opinion polls and now lags 3% behind the Conservatives. The Telegraph however maintains that an election tomorrow would result in a hung parliament because things are organised to favour Labour. You can't blame them for that though really. I'd have done the same.

They only come out at night

Each morning I wake up at 7 am and prepare myself for work. I sit behind an ordinary desk in an ordinary office and perform a function that I don’t particularly enjoy for 7 or 8 hours. Then I come home again. I do this because I have a family to take care of, and a mortgage to pay, and a council tax bill. In short, I have responsibilities.

Every day, on the way home, almost without fail, I am approached by someone asking for money. Over the months I have encountered people attempting to persuade me to give away my money, using every method imaginable. People have asked for specific amounts to pay for a train, or bus fare home. I’ve listened to sob-stories from people who are seemingly down on their luck for various reasons. Ragged, apparently homeless, people crouching in doorways have attempted emotional blackmail. A woman asked me for money to buy clothes for her children once. And on one memorable occasion just over a year ago, I was punched in the face. I never give these people money.

Something occurred to me this morning; I have never once been asked for money on the way to work, only on the way home in the evening. There are never any vagrants around at 7.30 am. Why would that be? The obvious answer would be that they are asleep at that time of day because they have nothing to get up for. They only come out at night.

And then I had this thought; Wouldn’t it be odd if society split along these lines. Two sections of society that never met because one is essentially nocternal. Two separate races could develop. It would be like the Eloi and the Morlocks from Herbert George Wells’ Time Machine. In that particular piece the two races evolved from the working classes and the elite. The elite became the Eloi, weak, feeble, unintelligent. The working classes became the Morlocks, tough, cannibalistic, and also unintelligent.

Yesterday I was approached by a hoody youth of perhaps 18 who asked me for 40p. He walked with that knuckle dragging, gorilla-like gait that seems so fashionable now. I knew what he was going to say. I held my hand up and said, “No” even before the grunting had finished. He accused me of being “fucking rude”. I’m sure the irony of him calling me “fucking rude” escaped him.

Is this entry going anywhere? Probably not. I'm thinking of writing to my MP to draw his attention to the problem of ever more aggressive and intimidating begging. But come to think of it, I already have a backlog of things I need to do. Still haven't sent off those 100 letters to FGW yet.

Kitchen God with Pictures

I've had a few days off work. Originally I just wanted to take a day off to oversee the replacement of a couple of radiators. I don't do central heating, so I called a chap in. That cost me £350, but two radiators have been replaced, and just before the cold weather started. That was last Wednesday, but I took Thursday and Friday off too. It gave me a chance to finish building the kitchen. Phase III is now complete. I've plumbed in a new sink and everything.



Phases I and II were completed some time ago of course. We now have a fully functional kitchen.



I even got a kitchen God award from my wife, hand made from copper water pipe offcuts:



How special I feel.

When I say I have finished building the kitchen, that is in fact, not entirely true. I've done the tough stuff. There are still no handles on the doors and drawers. There is a cornice to fit. I need to box-in the extractor pipe. The towel-rail cabinet needs finishing. Working surfaces need screwing down properly, and I want to put a baton under the wall cabinets to add support and cover the gap beneath them. I also need to put a cover over the void beneath the cooker, and put an edging strip on the exposed end of the working surface by the fridge. That didn't seem very much until I typed it. None of it is difficult. I also need to get the tiling done and remove the mountain of garbage from the garden. I won't do the tiling myself. I also need to get a skip (dumpster) to remove the garbage mountain in the garden.



***

Yesterday we went to the local steam museum because Thomas the Tank Engine was scheduled to be there. I was alerted to the fact by temporary road signs declaring "Day out with Thomas and Friends". While it did sound appealing, there was no telling what the "day out" actually was. It turns out that Thomas is in fact a real steam engine which lives at the steam museum. He was all fired up and so was his friend, the green one. Is that Gordon or Percy? Probably doesn't matter. We discovered this by looking through the fence. It looked quite fun. However, one blast of Thomas' whistle was enough to put the fear of god up Dumpy and prompted a 30 minute screaming fit. We abandoned the idea of a closer look. Instead we looked round the neighbouring outlet village for an hour or two.

***

As we prepared to go and see Thomas, I found a penny on the ground outside our home. I considered this to be a lucky omen. Later, when putting away the car that same evening, I found £1 in almost the same spot. I put the £1 coin in my pocket (I think) and forgot about it. I don't know how it happened, but this morning Dumpy handed me the same coin when I went in to get him up. I know it was the same coin because it looks like it has been buried for a year or more. This is clearly a sign, and I'm going to buy a lottery ticket.



There is more I want to write, but this is already a monster entry. Perhaps tomorrow.

Hypocrite

They are talking about reviving the canal that used to run through Swindon. Actually, this is something that has been tossed about for many years, but a feasability study appears to have been conducted, and a cost analysis. The canal would run from the end of Kingshill Road, along what is now Westcot Place, and into the town centre. Westcott Place is currently a road. Why do you care about this I hear you cry. You hate Swindon and you plan to leave right? Well yes, I do, but we live 100 m from where the canal currently ends at the bottom of Kingshill. The canal would have to cross Kinsgshill to reach Westcott Place. Here's the thing; Kingshill is not a great area. It's not foul, relative to some of Swindon, but the property prices are fairly low because Kingshill is a busy road. You have to ask the question, what will a canal on Kingshill do to property prices?

It all pivots around what they do with the traffic. They could simply put a bridge over the canal and send the same volume of traffic up Kingshill. We get a riverside property, but we still get the traffic. It's difficult to know what else they might do, since Kingshill is the only route between the residential area on the west side, and the town centre. There are other routes that could be used, but they aren't really currently viable. If however the canal is built and traffic is routed away from Kinshill, that would make our house potentially very valuable indeed. Which begs the question, do we sell it, or not?

The guy opposite me is eating dry rice crackers. It's driving me mad.

I just rang friend Pete. He's terribly excited because he passed his beginners Radio Am exam. That means he can get a short wave licence. I passed my full exam over 10 years ago, but I never used it for anything and I let it expire. I can get it renewed though I think. I'd kind of like to. It's old and tired technology, but it would be fun to play I think. Maybe I'll try and find my old validation document. It must be around somewhere.

Framemaker 8 is out and I'm downloading the trial version as we speak. I'm really quite excited about it. I know that sounds geeky, but tech writers all over the world will be feeling the same way. There really is no other option for the serious writer. I have so far downloaded 257 of 583MB. I'm waiting for the IT guy to accuse me of bringing down his network.

The BBC new website seems to be down. What's a guy supposed to do all afternoon when that happens?

Some nutters have tried to destroy a giant stone carving of a budhist deity in Pakistan. They drilled holes in the face of the figure, which dates back 1400 years, and filled it with dynamite. I really don't understand this. I don't believe in any God, but I wouldn't even dream of destroying an artefact like that. And it's nothing to do with respect for religious faith either, I wouldn't damage anything that old.

Above written yesterday (11 Oct), the rest written today...

Al Gore appears to have won the Nobel Peace prize. I think I'm going to turn mine down when they offer it to me. How can anyone argue that this idiot is working for "peace"? He's an environmentalist. That's over and above the fact that his "Inconvenient truth" party piece is badly researched and just plain wrong in some cases. The thing that really gets up my nose about Gore however is the facct that the guy is the world's worst hypocrite with a not very hidden personal agenda. Surely I'm not the only one that can see that am I? Actually I know I'm not. Read the Telegraph leader this morning, which came out before the prize was announced, though it has since been updated to reflect the fact that he did win.

Leaking

It's piddling down with rain today. Last time I sat in this office watching it rain like this, I ended up taking a 4 hour taxi ride home. I've checked the First Great Western live update site though, and the trains do appear to be running today. Incidentally, I've made a decision about my ongoing claim for compensation with them. In case you haven't been following this story, FGW's Passenger Charter claims they will compensate for unused portions of season tickets. However, when they issued me with a season ticket that started a day earlier than I wanted, they wouldn't refund the day I couldn't use, despite the fact that I could prove I had another ticket for that day. This is not a big issue, about £10, but I felt cheated.

In an effort to recover my £10 I instead claimed for compensation for being delayed. I found a train that was cancelled, claimed that I had wanted to catch it but couldn't, and I figured that they would have to compensate me for that like it says they will in their damn leaflets. But no, they came up with some excuse not to pay out that was so weird I didn't even understand it. The long and the short, I've given up trying to claim compensation. But the battle is not over. In an effort to demonstrate the value of good customer service. I'm going to send a letter to the customer service department. I haven't decided quite what the letter will say yet, but it is a free post address, which means they have to pay postage, and I'm planning to send it 100 times. That will cost them more than twice as much as the compensation claim.

I seem to have put my shoulder out somehow. It's been agony for about a week and it doesn't seem to be going away. The funny thing is, I don't really know how I did it. I haven't done anything strenuous in, oh I don't know, 20 years. I don't think I just slept awkwardly because it would have gone by now if it was that simple.

It's Daddy's birthday tomorrow. We went down to Devon to see them at the weekend. We took most of the presents, but one I forgot. I'll put it in the mail when the mail strike is over. The mail strike is annoying me. How am I supposed to send all the letters to FGW if there is no postal service? And what the hell are they bitching about anyway?

I just discovered we have a leaking radiator. I don't know if I should be grateful that it happened now, before there is a thick covering of snow, or depressed just because it happened.

Stressful

So here we are, edging towards the end of another week and I haven't written anything. That's not quite accurate; I have written some bits and pieces, but nothing has been posted. I hate not writing here. It's become important to me.

This week has been a little stressful. Dumpy has been sick, and yesterday I decided to work from home to help look after him. I need not have bothered really. He's much better now. In fact we are planning a Devon trip this weekend, and we all have to be fit for that. It's Granddad's birthday and we don't want to give him anything nasty.

Thanks to Mr Cat6 for the link to the stone heads mystery. I was hoping that the mystery would be more mysterious than it actually turned out to be, It seems that the stone heads which appeared for no apparent reason in various villages in the north of England, were simply deposited by an artist trying to generate some interest in his work. And of course it has worked.

Here's a story in the news today that shocked me; Robert Zipfel has been jailed for life after abducting and raping a nine year old girl. Zipfel is a drug user and has 25 previous convictions including offences of burglary, assault and robbery. He had been out of prison only two months when the offences took place. He dragged the child from her garden where she was playing on her bicycle and took her to a graveyard to commit the sexual offences. The judge called him, "a very dangerous man", and went on to describe his actions as, "horrific". The prosecution alleged that the victim had been, "significantly traumatised", and went on to suggest that she now has trouble eating, sleeping, and has difficulty at school. Zipfel, who admitted rape, sexual assault, and abduction, was given two life sentences for rape and sexual assault, and four years for abduction.

So, two life sentences and a four year sentence, to run concurrently - I'm thinking this piece of pond scum is going to be inside for 20 years. That's not to say I wouldn't put him inside for 80 if it was up to me, I'm just thinking that realistically, it's likely to be 20. I mean, he has 25 previous convictions. He's a habitual criminal with a history of violence, and he offended within two months of his release. He's going away for a long time, right? Nope, the judge recommends that he remains in custody for not less than six years. She'll be 15 or 16 when he gets out, assuming he behaves himself while he's inside. She'll still be at school. And Zipfel will be 36. Younger than I am now.

So what else has happened? Brittany has lost custody of her children. I'm trying to feel sorry for her, but she really doesn't appear to care very much. Today's opinion polls put the Labour and Conservative parties pretty much neck and neck. Gordon is under pressure to calla snap election. Lewis Hamilton is facing an inquiry after his win in Japan - sounds like sour grapes to me. Postal workers are on strike for two days, and the Diana inquest jury has been shown cctv footage not previously released showing the Princess just moments before the car crashed. How come that's never been shown until now?