A British Summer

The view outside my widnow on a lovely summer's day in the UK

I understand it is hot in Oman right now. OK, well that's a bit of a foregone conclusion really as it is basically hot there every year in the summer. Well I wish you could send some sunshine and heat over here to the UK. No doubt those vaguely interested in the tennis at Wimbledon have been watching the miserable conditions at the tournament.

Since the first week in April (yes ... April) it has been raining virtually every day, except for a brief respite in late May of about a week. Yesterday, and we're talking July here, the mercury reached the dizzy heights of 14 degC. midsummer and it is colder than an average november day in London!! The Diamond Jubilee celebrations were a cold, rainy and miserable affair (and that's not even taking into account the fact that the organisers wheeling out relics such as Paul McCartney, Elton John and Cliff Richard), Wimbledon is a mess, the cricket is washed out and I cannot see anything changing before the Olympics.

What a summer!!!

Sorry.....that's a lie; there's been no summer, just a slow progression from early spring to late autumn.

London Burning .....

There are many theories that the rioting and looting taking place in London and other major cities has something to do with social inequality or a reaction to the economic "turning of the screw" by the UK government etc. etc. etc.

Utter rubbish.

This has everything to do with opportunist thugs and inbreds who deem it fit to damage other people's property and cause mayhem, suffering and danger to others. This is wanton hooliganism and has no social backdrop at all.

Enough pussy-footing around with the sympathetic treatment of this sort of person. The police need to be given powers to snuff out any further trouble with the maximum force possible.

Every parent, every brother, every sister, every aunt, every uncle, every friend has a duty to report all those responsible for this mayhem to the authorities and the UK justice system should thrown the damned book at them all, handing out the maximum custodial sentences possible.

I am livid with anger that my country can be ransacked and held hostage by a group of malcontents and miscreants, such as those who have taken part in these riots.

We need to ensure that the full force of the law is brought down upon all those involved.

More protests ... this time in the UK

More protests to be commenting on, but this time they're in the UK and they're not about a war. Perhaps some would say that they're about a form of repression which could be akin to the repression seen in the Arab world and which has been so bravely confronted over the last few months.

Is this a good comparison? No.

People here in London are marching against tax increases and benefits cuts. They're complaining that they're suffering from a reaction by the Coalition Goverment to the hole the UK finds itself in as a result of the recession; a financial repression.

But there is a way to protest for more effectively than walking down a street shouting and waving banners- they can vote at the ballot box.

What these demonstartors seem to have forgotten is that less than a year ago, they put a cross in a box and voted for this government; and the government clearly stated that they were going to aggressively tackle the deficit. So why complain?

You make you bed...you lie in it.

The recession has caused hardship for all of us. There's no way out of this unless we tighten our belts. Whinging on about cuts and tax hikes is not going to solve anything.

The protestors are free to protest, so protest...but things will not change. We are in a recession and we need to take measures to get out of it. If you don't like it, then you know what to do in 2015.

And as for those minority of people who think that a protest is a good vehicle for violence and mayhem - leave the violence and anarchy to the despots of this world like Gaddafi and Bashir. There's no room for your type of destabilising tactics in a democracy. You're on the losing team. Stop being immature and get down to solving your own problems.

All of these protestors will be off for a coffee and a sandwich at Starbucks or Costa Coffee after the march, will take public transport or drive home, and will rest their heads on their own pillow in their own home tonight. They'll not be worried that a sniper will take a pot shot at them. They'll not be worried that a dictator will sweep in and make life in their towns and villages hell.

Be thankful for what you have and work together towards a better future.

Stop complaining.