Light and Shade

The underpromoted blog is continuing this week even if I not in person to type it up the day before.

The week is special cos it's the first time in ages I have actually been away since most things stopped and being honest I don't know exactly what I think about that because our defaults changed so much even to the point where while our instinct was to flock to others you may of caught yourself seeing them as a threat to you.

It's likely to be more a low key, more restricted affair although notionally at least in England we can pretty much do anything that doesn't contradict someone elses rule or polite request.

 

It's more a opportunity to put a big more of a shining star in our lives, finding out a bit more of our ability to endure and move on from where we've been stuck since March last year.

That's been pretty much all I've been holding on to.

This life and how it is yours

I will be away next week so I'll need to decide what to do about an entry here and on the other blogs and if needs be set them to publish automatically.

I was out for a bit last week and a overheard conversation is something I feel talking about as it is relevant.

As some of you might know I had a career in Child Abuse prosecution so apart from former professional interest in keeping up with the latest guidance and research around the topic you could say I know a far bit about this.

Generally most research has shown the majority of children abuse in all forms tend to subject to it from within their own extended family and people who ordinarily children have contact with such as teachers, people in sports, scouting etc which is why we have safeguarding policies and procedures subject to inspection.

Strangers while having a potential to, play a small role in the overall scheme of things, certainly less than the "stranger danger" campaigns might suggest.

So to recap, the person likely to pose a risk probably looks like the average family man or woman.

I was going having a bit of time to kill in a small town park, admiring the gardens, watching the park staff out maintaining the grass, keeping myself pretty much to myself making no contact with any child as I became aware of man with what looked like a female partner following me.

I decided keeping a low profile probably was a good idea.

A few minutes later I hear his partner saying "and why are following them?" to which his reply is "They are wearing school uniform in a park and it's suspicious, like why would they?"

I had on at the time a red waterproof adults jacket, a grey pair of shorts that might well be associated with school, longish all grey socks but not turnover tops, hidden a blue adults piquet neck polo shirt and black children's shoes (cos well I am a child's fitting).

So only two items might meet his description at best but on his basis I'm so obvious, why hasn't it occurred to him I am hardly going do any thing on a very public setting especially when I not situated say by a swing but sat by a sensory garden for disabled people even if I was thinking interacting with a minor, which to avoid all doubts I most certainly would not?

It would be absolutely stupid to even try it and in my experience children can tell a adult 'playing' a child by looks from a child.

If you wanted to do that you'd be far better off dressing more like someone's Uncle or Dad with a t shirt and jeans on, blending in and there are very few cases of adults in any sort of school uniform caught making inappropriate contact with children.

I decided "bugger it" and just carried on as normal because I was doing nothing against either the law, a park by-law or causing a breach of the peace and challenging when he had not expressed those opinions directly to me or the public at large wasn't worth it.

Still it does show the stupidity of prejudice and the extent some feel it is their job to monitor others when they are not the police or park officials.

It's not putting me of being me cos there is nothing illegal or wrong with it.

Two steps forward and one step back

 There were a few things I could write about this week but this is really the compelling one.

We all hoped as the weekend approached that our National team approached the finals of the Euro 2020 that the great work Neville Southgate had put in in managing the team thus far would lead to that elusive much sought after thing, a win in a final after fifty-five years.

It's been that long that although I have no recollection of it, it seems from the age I went to Infants we'd been looking for it for ages and we were up against an exceptional experienced  opponent who really had got it together from their first match.

A goal scored by Shaw in the second minute no less looked like it was going to set us up for that win we desperately wanted by having scored a a goal in the second half, Italy held us to a draw.

Then it happened, no progress being made by either us or the Italians we went into a penalty shoot out which our strikers lost at, penalties are something English player in particular always seem to struggle at and it was all over with.

A Three-Two win on penalties to Italy. 

For a side that had done so well, putting the everything into it as sad as that was, we couldn't of expected more from them.

Then the backlash started with frustrated fans racially abusing three of the strikers who'd missed on social media as if that had *anything* to do with it, something that at one point we thought we'd tackled but in the age of the armchair racist with his smartphone it has resurged and sadly this joyful sporting event even if we lost, was marred by this behaviour by so-called fans.

As far as I am concerned you're no fan of England, no patriot, if you attack racially your own sides players because they represent US and they are proud to do regardless of race and religion.

In this competition, religious and racial differences were put aside in communities where things haven't always been as harmonious as we all would of liked with people supporting as one, waving our flag together.

We were United and we all stand together in opposing racial abuse of our own countries team players.

Be the change.

Little and proud

Indeed  am a little am for real having been seen in the flesh by a good number of people  and most definitely proud.

Terms or indeed if there was a single term to describe what you might call an adult by age who doesn't feel adult, who shares many of the facets of a child not by acting but just spontaneous responses to everyday situations change and indeed at the start of this quest that began in actual childhood I didn't even know to describe this feeling of being younger than your years existed.

I'm forever a boy in my t shirt and shorts just playing and having fun when I'm not learning  at a desk with my toy soldiers and teddy bears.

It can take differing presentational forms such adult baby/toddler, little or more of a school boy form or even just on the inside with just regular adult attire on it's just a state of being that once you accept it is you really is the bestest thing.

The importance of just being you simply cannot be overstated I feel.