"CarolC has compared some of the views expressed on this thread (and there have been others in the past) to those of far-right groups like the BNP. I am always amused to see the knee-jerk, "I'm not racist, but..." arguments borne of red-top politics and white-eyed paranoia that we see on Mudcat. My favourite might be "If you don't like the way we do things here, leave." <<<<<

Sorry, but if I went to live in France, or Saudi, I'd not expect the local population to appreciate, or alter their way of life to suit my vision of how their country should be. I'd not demand that churches were built in Saudi, purely so I could worship there.

Years back, as I recall...Laings (the building firm) built the mosque in Regent's Park. Now, I may be wrong here, but....as I remember, the deal with King Faisal was that Laings would build the mosque over here and...the British would build a church over in Saudi...again, built by Laings.

One building was built.

Guess which one?

My friend's father worked for Laings in those days, in fact was one of the Chief Executives. He's no longer alive, so I can't double check the facts on it, but...having just googled, it seems that even to this day, there are no churches in Saudi Arabia, although apparently, they have been in contact with the Pope, with regards to building a church, but he has to recognise Mohammed first.

Don't get me wrong....I happen to love mosques, find them incredibly beautiful buildings, and often I'd drive past the Regent's Park one, on the way to The Wellington Hospital, to see our patients...There was always a huge gathering of people outside, often spilling out onto the road, stalls around to buy things...I'd sit and stare out the window, loving the beauty of that building...but the taxi drivers used to growl and mutter about how if they were selling things like that, crowds on the road in a busy place, the police would nab them good and proper...

If people come to my house, then I expect them to be pleasant and polite...and...mostly to come to my house because they like me, or love me.   I feel that way when I go to the houses of others.

The British, particularly the English, have surrendered way too much of ourselves....not only in walking away from our traditions deliberately, but also in giving in to politicial correctness and the fear of being called 'You f*cking racist!" if they dare to stand up and say that they feel like strangers in their own land at times, because their heritage is slipping away so damn fast...

I'm all for everyone keeping their traditions, the things they love about their own countries, and I'm sure I'd still make roast beef and yorkshire puddings wherever I chose to live, but I'd always respect the beliefs, laws and traditions of the country I'd chosen to live in..and if they had traditions that made my stomach churn, then I'd leave.


The English are getting angry...very angry, because for way too long they've been bullied and harrassed into feeling bad about themselves. They've had 'You Slave Trading Bastards!" imprinted on their brains for way too long, whilst having all that is good, decent and bloody wonderful about their country denied them....

Over and over we get The British Empire hurled at us, the Slave Trade...but what of the Good?

I don't feel guilty about being English. I LOVE being English, but I sure as hell am fed up with people who want to put my country down, or tell me that I have no right to my memories of England (are you listening, Joan) and that those memories are racist because they don't include The Notting Hill Carnival, but do include cricket being played upon the village green, whilst the church bells rang out in the background!

Those memories sit right beside darker ones of The Miners Strike and the hatred which has never left so many people, which divided this once proud and beautiful land..

I will never be bullied into apologisiing for my feelings about being English, no matter what lies are hurled at me, because I know that I am NOT racist...and that...at the end of the day, is all that matters, because I really couldn't give a flying Chicken Korma about what other people think of me.

I respect others, I simply expect others to respect me..and that goes for their countries and mine too.

I am shit fed up with Extremists though, particularly those who use Allah and the peaceful religion of Islam to abuse, to murder, to kill, to torture, to rape, to stone, to remove hands, to remove heads and..to remove hearts, because they are nowt but a bunch of lily livered bullies who have ruled their worlds for way too long, and no way are they going to start ruling mine.

So call me whatever you want to, but I am no bloody hypocrite and I will never join Folk Against Facism whilst it is run by a person who has gone out of her way to try to get others to hate me, who has spread malicious lies about me, even saying that she would buy anyone a drink who managed to pour a drink over me at Sidmouth.

That is the talk of bullies...and a racist speaks exactly that same language.

So fuck that for a game of soldiers...

And getting back to soldiers....I may not agree with this war, but I know how deep grief can be, and for this unfeeling, manipulative prat to use the grief of the town of Wooton Bassett and the far deeper grief of the relatives of all those soldiers who have died, often when they've been trying to HELP his people, makes me bloody angry! As do others, who, again in the name of Allah, seek to murder innocents and bring this world to a standstill in a way that has never been known before...and the longer we keep our eyes closed and our voices silent, the more shit we will be surrounded by, to the point where we will have no freedom at all.

Already we are watched, monitored and now to be scanned, almost to the point of nakedness at airports...because no-one has had the guts to stand up to the Politically Correct Emperors who rule this world with their blinkered vision and unjoined up thinking which has led us to The Land of Exploding Underpants!   

Gawd, it's almost become like a Monty Python Movie!

And the one thing that used to be uppermost in my mind, when I sat in those taxis going past the Regent's Park Mosque, was how lucky I was to live in a land where all religions are allowed to be worshipped openly without fear of recrimination, imprisonment or violence.

I still think that...and I also think that the Saudis, and Islam itself, has a great deal to learn from such an incredibly tolerant and welcoming country such as my own one.

But I also feel, very much, as I stated above, that if you don't like my country, then don't cause trouble in it, or put it down...just quietly bugger off out of it, to a land where you will feel happy.

Anyways up, I'm just off to eat a Flying Chicken Korma now...whilst some of you fall over sideways in rage, or spend hours searching the internet for 'facts' to lambast with me with...