Sunday, September 24, 2006

Africa 2007...
I don't know about alot of other people but I feel as if GOD is calling me. GOD is telling me something. GOD is telling me I can help change the world. Its been something stuck in the back of my head for years now. And thanks to GOD awnsering my prayers, I can now say I will be following my calling. Something that really got me thinking about changing the world was a Nelson Mandela speech in Trafalga Square on the brink of the G8 meeting:

"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundemental human right, the right to didnity and a decent life...

The steps that are needed from the developed nations are clear. The first is ensuring trade justice. The second is to end the debt crisis for the poorest countries. The third is to deliver much more aid and make sure it is of the highest quality...

The G8 leaders, when they meet in Scotland in July, have already promised to focus on the issue of poverty, especially in Africa.

I say to all those leaders: do not look the other way; do not hesitate. Recognise that the world is hungry for action not words. Act with courage and vision...

Sometimes it falls on a great generation to be great. You could be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.

Of course the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity, against which I ask all humanity now to rise up.

Make poverty history in 2005. Make history in 2005. Then we can all stand with our heads held high."

In 2007 Myself, Sarah, Roz, Emma, Craig, Josh, Dean and Keeley will be doing our bit to MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY! We will be appart of that generation. I just pray that everyone contributes their best efforts and that we really do make a difference!

Friday, September 22, 2006

No, No, No, No.....No, No...No, No....Yes!

London Lite, Metro or The London Paper. Think of all them trees!

Mon 11th: Oh thanks!

Tue 12th: Cheers

Wed 13th: No thanks. Oh alright then!

Thur 14th: I've already got one. Ok then.

Fri 15th: Thank you!

Mon 18th: Cheers mate!

Tue 19th: No thanks. No im ok. Ok fine.

Wed 20th: Ok then!

Thur 21st: No I don't want a paper thank you!

Fri 22nd: No thanks!

Only the last 2 days are accurate but the other days are fairly accurate. But sometimes you just need to say NO!

Monday, September 18, 2006

Its Our Responsibility!
Its our reponsibility that...
  • Over a billion people across the globe live without access to clean, safe drinking water.
  • Every 15 seconds a child dies from a disease caused by inadequate or lak of water.
  • On average a person in the UK uses 16x more water than a person in Africa.
  • Over 2 million people are trafficked each year. Over half of them are children.
  • In Africa there are over 13 million children orphaned because of HIV/aids.
  • Rich countries give £9 million a day in world aid. Thats quite good BUT! they take over £1.3 billion in debt every day.

Heres what you can do to make the world a better place...

  • Stop taking second best for an awnser and keep pushing for social justice.
  • Buy fair trade products wherever possible.
  • Boycott as many bad companies as possible ( i.e. Coca Cola, Nestle and Nike)
  • Help prevent climate change by recycling and conserving energy.

If you want to find out more ways to make the world a better place, visit the blog itself- Here

Or visit the International Developments site- Here ....make sure you check out the list of 100 ways to make the world a better place Here!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Art?

Is it Art! I think it is. I think its rather cool art. I think its Art with a meaning. It makes me appreciate graffitti! Check more Banksy out by refering to my links! This piece as well as others really mean something to me. It tells us to get our act together as a society. Im not an expert on Art but Sarah Ali is so she would be able to give you more of detailed idea on Banksy!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

A free top, an interview on radio and a Ronan Keating!

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, hey Tony, oooh-ahh.
I wanna knowwwwwwwwwwww if you'll make trade fair (fade trair)!

Along with a band of drumers (the biggest band I've ever been in) and a group of hyper (in a possitive way) kids, that was one of many songs we sang in order to proclaim our feelings on fair trade.

I arrived at work today and after morning prayers I got straight back to the work I was doing yesterday. At lunch me and Graeme decided to go join a protest. We were joined by a mate of Graeme's and we met Roz and Emma there. It was great. Incase you were wondering why I had a Sarah Bowels title then here is the explanation:

A free top- whilst we were gathering at the start of the march a guy was handing out free "beat the drum" tops so I thought I'd grab one. (Hey, it was free)

An interview on radio- I know, I know. I will be happy to give out my autograph anytime. Whilst marching down Whitehall, me and Roz was approached by a guy from LBS Radio who wanted to interview us young folk. I was asked a few questions and gave assertive awnsers back.

and a Ronan Keating- Well, whilst sitting on the grass by the stage, Ronan Keating came on. Thought i'd get to the point. I got a bit exited so moved closer to the stage with a camera in my hand. I took a few photos and then sat back down.

Well I haven't detailed this post to the highest of standards but im very tired and can't be too bothered to make it perfect. Work experiance has been good and even more posts will follow...

MAKE FAIR TRADE HISTORY!

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Golden Jubilee! (50th post)...

Let the good times role. Its my 50th post and my blogging venture has only just begun! I have posted of Art. I have posted of polotics. I have posted of Poverty, Pessimism and Peace and every time I have asked for advice or stated questions I have finded difficult to understand, there has always been a great response through your comments!

Today was a good day. I arrived at work just before 9am and chained up my bike in the car park. When I arrived at work experiance yesterday I had to endure the 3 hour meeting that takes place every month reviewing the progress overseas. Although it was quite hard to understand word to word what was going on, it was a good chance for me to get a fair idea what the international developement (ID) department is all about. If it wasn't for the Harribo and miniture heroes, I would have been lost!

After lunch with the "team" I had a small interview with the Director (boss) and I was very enthusiastic about working with ID. The interview really consisted of me saying what I want to get out of the whole experiance. I simply said I wanted to broaden my knowledge on what ID do incase I considered it as a future career. I got some great job advice and have learned a great deal from my 2 days working so far.

More on work experiance to follow...

Monday, September 11, 2006

The Salvation Army International Developement HeadQuaters...

Sounds so profetional don't it! Well from tomorrow, until next friday I'll be working there. Dont know exacly what I'll be doing yet, well I'll find out tomorrow. Im quite exited and I just hope I don't mess up. Well I just thought I'd blog about it but theres not much further I can say on the issue, until i start. But I'll be blogging about it throughout my experince. Wish me Luck!

Saturday, September 09, 2006


To Roz's Mother! If you ever read this!

Im sorry for refering to you as a Whale! I was a silly silly boy. Im also sorry to tell you this (if you ever happen to read it) That the whole Whale situation, at the end of the day is Roz's fault. She's a bad influence over me. Please don't blame yourself for her bad ways! :0)

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

It'll all be over in a Year!
Ok, its 9.54 in the morning and I've got one more hour of my Summer Holidays left. Hmmmm, what to do other than contemplate what a stressful time consuming year it will be. I just know within the first hour of being back at school I will have more course work thrusted into my hands.

This morning I woke up extra early so i had time to finish my current read 'Angels and Demons'. I was planning on finishing it last night but it was 11pm and i had 112 pages to go, i wasn't going to read that many pages before going bed. Tonight im planning on starting Motor Cycle Diaries. Its a short read, a breather from the 620 page Angels and Demons would be nice.

I will have to start looking for a college soon. City of Westminster was at the top of my list but im beggining to have second thoughts. I will be doing my work experiance this time next week and I can't wait. 2 weeks away from school working with IHQ. Wendy- if you happen to read this before Saturday would you please remember to ask what time i have to arrive at work on the Monday. Thanks.

The discussion group starts tonight and I'm looking foward to it. Discussing the drought in the South East will be fun. Won't it Wendy!! There's something about Kevin and Wendy's Church sermons that always stick with me. There's alot of things that I myself can compare with Kevin and Wendy as a Christian. Also i remember reading through Angels and Demons last night when a preist said "If not You, Who. If not Now, When". I also remember one sermon Wendy done stating that God's love is the most powerful thing ever. That evening i went cinema with Craig and at the end of the film the final song stated those words too.

Well, I'm going to get ready for school now. Peace!

Monday, September 04, 2006

Wet, Wet, Wet!
No I'm not talking about the band. Am I Wendy!
(Thanks for the encouraging comments)

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Someone in need of advise!
Today, just as im about to go back to school i had a spot of bother that made me realise why i don't actually want to go back to school. I'm one of those people who are always in the wrong place at the wrong time (well i dont see it that way but other people do). Whenever someone is getting mugged or picked on its always me who has to intervene.

About 8 months ago i was playing at football match after school. It was my class against another. One boy from the year above was reffing the match when a group of about 10 boys from a school down the road came through the carpark and walked accross the pitch to talk to the referee. At first i thought it was just a bunch of mates chatting to eachother. Then 3 of the boys, along with the ref began to walk across the pitch.

At this point i realised that the ref wasn't freinds of the 3 boys and was getting forced across the pitch. The 3 boys began to tell him to take off his bag, watch and ordered him to empty his pockets. There must have been about 30 people on the football pitch and it was now completely obvious that the boy from our school was being mugged. What made me upset was that the football game carried on as usual. I then said to a few of my class mates that we should go and help this boy; most of them completely ignored me and one said that he probably deserved it. No one was doing anything to help this guy. I thought about going over to stop it but i knew that there was no way i could do much on my own so i ran round to the school offices and told the teachers still on site. The headteacher came running out his office along with our school police officer. The 3 boys ran off with his mobile and watch.

That evening, i went up Thursday club when i few boys approached me and asked me my name. I knew exacly why. These boys were freinds of the muggers. That was my first ever proper death threat.

About 5 months ago there was another incident only concerning two 12 year old boys. I was walking my dog after school when i saw a boy mugging another boy. At first i thought they were mates but when i put my dog on the grass i went back to see what was happening. I realised that the 2 boys weren't mates when one was lying on the floor bleading. I ran over to stop the mugging and help the boy of the groung. He had a cut in his hand. It looked worse than it was. I asked him what happened and he told me that the other boy took his belt. I turned and saw the boy walking away. By then i was raging. I jumped infront of him blocking his way and demanded he gave the belt back. He did. I then asked him why he just mugged the boy and he wasn't having any of it. This was my second death threat. I just couldn't understand how he could scream and shout at me for stopping him mugging somone.

He tried to walk away but i wasn't finished telling him what i thought. He still didn't take any notice so i told him im going to get the police. He then threatened to get his dad. He laughed at me and called me to my bluff. I went and got the police. I asked the boy who was mugged if he minded me getting the police. A yes breaking through his crying confirmed it. I was now cuddling this poor boy. Fuming with rage i told him to follow me and within minutes we found a community officer, explained the story and had a police van, 2 undercover cars and about 8 police officers shooting down the road. This is no joke.

I only live down the road from the mugger and see him often. I sometimes feel like asking him nicely, why does he think its ok to mug people. Today, sitting on the wall with my freind i heard someone calling out insults at me. It was the silly little boy. When i turned and looked at him, he told me not to look at him and if i did again he would smash a chain round my head. I laughed at him and told him to give it a rest. He then pulled out the chain. I didn't know what to do. I walked away.

I need some advise. What do you do when a 12 year old is screaming insults at you and threatening you with a weapon. I don't believe in violence and i try my best not to insult people so in many senses i felt defencless today.

Someone asked me today why i am nice to everyone when all i get back is stick and hatred. I don't know what to do. At my age many people don't like to talk things through, its all about violence and how "big" you are. Im not like that, so what do i do when im faced with it on a daily basis?
The way i see it is that if i was getting mugged i would expect anyone, from the goodness of their heart to intervene. Sorry for the long post!

Friday, September 01, 2006

Im tired, really tired!

I can't wait to go back to school. I need the rest. Its summer and I've never felt so physically tired in my life. I can't run. I cant go a day without having a nap. I just can't wait till im back at school and resting!

Incase anyone is wondering why i have a map of the South East on my blog, it points out the place where I stayed at a caravan. The last post i done stated my holiday aims. This is how i done:

  1. I didn't blog all week, as you can see!
  2. Not to get lost. We beat the car!
  3. I read about 3 pages of The End of Racism, got angry and through it on the floor. But i read about 350 pages of a new book. Angels and Demons. That one of my list. YAY!!
  4. I did get impatient with Craig
  5. But he got impatient with me (i think)
  6. I only spent £2.10. I'm not gonna buy a guitar though. Instead im gonna buy lots of CD's and books!
  7. Oh, I enjoyed my holiday and i didn't worry about coursework!

Im so proud of myself!