This "Gabster" wanted to have a go on my bass guitar - she dosent know I took a picture of her though  ... well not yet anyway  ;) 

My favourite niece Laila - cute but she sure knows how to get attention!

ALWAYS after my cellphone but I wouldnt give it to her so she started bawling . I thought it funny to take a pic of her crying and yelling "i want phone, i want phone"  - she was NOT amused  :)

Ain't i a meanie?  ;)

And heres one of her when she isnt in a spoilt brat mood

Women! They just have to make a scene when they cant have things their way huh?  hehe  ;)

5 weeks into rockschool and we're coming along nicely as our little "band", so much so that we've started to indulge in a bit of pisstaking with each other , but hey thats what its all about , and its good fun (the learning and the pisstaking).

Searching for a bass guitar the other day I found a good deal on Amazon, and saw this brand spanking new one for less than $100 . Now, question was what colour - certainly some pretty ones, and some a bit garrish but hey presto heres one i liked , beautiful piece of kit made of maple , looks classy and will look great next to my saxaphone and match the wooden flooring - sorry, its my feminine side showing now ;) 

Off course the rest of the band were in hoots of laughter and took great joy in winding me up about "buying something to match your wooden flooring" and throughout last nights jamming session the bass part was met with various nicknames, until they settled on one - "Ikea" !  Well ive had a few nicknames in my time but Ikea?????  I knew that store would haunt me ever since my good old mom had a right moan at me for buying what she classed as a "way too expensive" sofa from there some years ago, I must have lost count of the number of times she said that i had "more money than sense". Even when i was moving into my own house she'd remind me "Dont forget to take that bloody sofa, you spent way too much on that you know, thats your trouble more money than sense you lot" - bless her. Somehow I can just see her up in Heaven looking down on me telling me i deserve such a nickname , oh and reminding me "serves you right , you and that bloody store and that sofa , youve got more money than sense"  . I miss ya mom, but you gotta admit, it looks good and does match the flooring eh?  :)

Apologies to the folks who messaged me asking me for my thoughts on this subject raised by Scrapalette - rest assured I wasnt ignoring you :)

I have strong views on this subject . As a muslim child growing up in the 1970s in the UK it was virtually unheard of to have faith schools for any religion / culture. It was a choice of either going to a catholic or C of E school. Naturally our parents also wanted us to learn about our own faiths, hence there were the local mosques where we would have to go after school - frustrating cos it meant we missed out on watching kids television :) . When it was that time of the year for the Eid Festivals most schools were accommodating enough to let us have the day off to spend with the family. To the non muslim kids it was all confusing - i.e. how lucky we were to have two "christmases" in addition to the normal one in December. Its pleasing to see in todays schools the fact that all faiths are recognised and discussed so that each child is at least aware of other religions. There are indeed state schools of various faiths here in the UK, but like all other private schools they are funded by the parents of those children attending, and quite rightly so. I have to disagree totally with this "seclusion" , cos if we are not allowing our kids to integrate with others then surely theres a danger, however slight, that those kids will grow up set in their own individual ways about how they perceive things according to their faith etc?

Why, i ask is there a need to have a faith school when facilities already exist for these various faiths in the form of mosques, temples, mandhirs, ziggurats or whatever else.

Surely the way to integrate is to start by removing cultural etc barriers in schools? It worked well in the past , and in fact it is the case in the majority of todays schools too.

Im not sure of the exact numbers of faith schools here but its not a colossal amount, but its one id like to see reducing. Lets take also the fact that the vast majority of parents of non Christian faiths are quite happy to send their kids to the local schools, and for those who want the best there are the better schools which have the higher standards, for which any child who meets those standards can apply to regardless of their colour, creed, ethnicity or religion.

The media, being the media (its their job to grab our attention with headlines) will naturally ignore the fact that the majority of the muslim kids are quite happily mingling and working towards their studies but as they say "good news is boring, but bad news makes good headlines" and they will sometimes blow things out of proportion, for example focussing on the one little busybody who wants extra special treatment cos "its against my religion to do this that and the other" . Off course the whole thing is splashed across the papers and the natural reaction is "Oh those pesky muslims are at it again" but hey, the editor of the paper is smiling with a cheesy grin cos his newspaper has sold more than his rivals. The month of Ramadan is by far a challenging one and its not easy having to fast all day. The only concession we ever asked for was to be excused PT for that month , Its only four days (that is if Ramadan fell during school term time) . Missing four sessions of PT is hardly here or there (in fact i got left out of the school soccer team for an important cup match during that month, jeez i almost cried!)

My youngest sister is a teacher in a primary school in a predominantly muslim area, and in fact all the kids in that school are muslim too. I asked her the other week what they did about religious education and Christmas etc. Her reply was that they teach the subject as per the national curriculum which discusses all faiths, and that they also celebrate Christmas in the spiritual sense (according to her the kids would riot if they werent allowed to celebrate the festive season!)   A christian friend of mine was telling me that her daughter is doing a project on Islam as part of her religious studies exam simply cos she wants to broaden her knowledge on the subject., fair play to her i say.

Ive written blogs before on the whole issue about political correctness and how much it pisses me off. It does nothing to promote tolerance between faiths, nor does questions about "are you British or a Muslim" , the two are completely different things. It'd be like asking Henry Kissinger "Hey are you American or Jew" , so if he says he is Jewish then does that makes him non-American?

The great Norman Tebbit (close colleague of Margaret Thatcher) once made a speech in parliament about how Pakistani youths who were born and brought up here should be supporting England during the England vs Pakistan cricket tournament but they were all shouting for Pakistan. Not sure what he was trying to prove, and in some cases i think he was being tongue in cheek but it caused such a comical hoot that suddenly there were t-shirts for sale at the cricket matches for the Pakistani supporters saying "I failed Norman Tebbits Cricket Test - and am proud to have done so!"  Even i wore one, but my excuse was that the English cricket team were crap at that time, and the Pakistanis , led by Imran Khan (at the time described as the worlds most eligible bachelor) were by far the superior team in world cricket. Even the white english women were supporting the Pakistanis, if only cos they fancied the said Mr Khan!

Anyway, many thanks for enlightening us on the subject Scrapalette,  agree that it should be funded privately by those that want it although i doubt those going to that school are going to be better muslims than those that go to the local schools .

But enough said on the subject, im a happy enough brit muslim, and i shall carry on supporting the pakistani team regardless of failing the "Cricket Test"  ;) 

Seven years ago i took up employment with one of your wonderful US corporate giants in the I.T. world (EDS to be precise). About 3 years later we found ourselves transferred to a french company who had won the renewal bid. This french company , who shall remain nameless, appeared very dynamic and supportive , so much so that i was comfortable enough to work abroad for them for a short stint.

All appeared well , that was until the end of that first year. At this point they started to bring in new policies, some of them on the draconian side. Me and my fellow trade union reps were given horror stories about how they were treating some of our members, but i took a chance and stayed in my role, which i was firmly established in, and enjoyed.

The horror stories got worse, one colleague who had been with the company over 10 yrs collapsed while at his desk. He was off sick long term but the way he was treated when he got back was in such a way that he was made to be punished for having had time off for being unwell. With EDS he had been in a senior management role but this french corporation did everything to make him feel demoralised, sidetracked, etc , you name it. Such was their attitude that they expected you to work yourself into the ground , oh and woe betide you if you keeled over with the stress. All they cared about was that you (the employee) should be thankful that you had a job with them. 

By now i was having reservations but i decided to take action for my own career path and enrolled on an evening course for a new role. The company certainly didnt live up to its promises that they "support employees in their desired career path" as they wouldnt pay for my course fees or give me the time off to do it. Nevertheless i was not to be put off so i paid for the course out my own pocket and made up my working hours, often working till late, sometimes even beyond my contracted hours .

Then came the terrible moment in my life when my mom got diagnosed with cancer, and when we were given the dreaded news that she was not going to make it i was at breaking point. I was signed off by my doctor with stress, and spent the next few weeks spending as much time as i could with mom. I agreed , as per the company's procedure, to be visited at home by management and human resources personnel and i was promised full support and that i could go back to work gradually. I even agreed to a health assessment consultation, where the doctor actually wrote a good report in my favour, and recommended the company treat me with the proper support.

I was given a project to work on as part of my return to work plan. It looked good on paper but thats where the true colours started to show. My manager made a habit of being away from his desk or being "too busy" when i needed to have one to one meetings to discuss the project. I could not believe this was the same guy who had always been a great supportive leader and now he was a totally different person. He seemed very much under stress himself, and it shocked me when i heard through a close friend of his that he was "under corporate pressure" to punish me for having had time off. By now it was clear that i was being pushed out but i was not going to let them defeat me - No Way Jose!   I completed my project within the time scale and also discovered a couple of methods the company had exploited in the way they had dealt with confidential employee information.

Thankfully, due to my trade union involvement, i got my union involved. I had made up my mind now that i was not going to stay with this corporate monster but i was not going to go down like a lead balloon, but to walk away with something in my pocket. The company admitted they had got it all wrong and made me an offer as a "compromise agreement" in return that i would not sue them later. The week after i left was also the week that i finished my college course. It was the one light at the end of a dark tunnel that i passed my course and had something to use to help me in my new career direction. As relieved as i was to be free from this horrible experience i was still vexed deep down that this company who i had given so much to would treat their employees in this way.

Last month the company announced huge cutbacks and many staff were told they would be out of a job. This afternoon i met my old manager who told me he was being laid off too. My first reaction was to ask him what good did the corporate ass-licking do him in the end. He sussed out i had unresolved issues to talk about and almost as if he had read my mind he quoted "I was under pressure when i did what i did, but youre a gutsy little f---er, i thought you'd come out of it ok in the end. They wanted to be rid of the union reps cos you know what these big companies are like"

Ok i was fuming, but i was strangely relieved too. Relieved cos i had resolved this "unresolved issue" , but fuming that the company had been so selfish in the way they had treated someone who had lost a loved one, plus the fact that they wanted to get rid of anyone who was a trade union rep. I guess it gave me some satisfaction that i had at least walked away with something financial, and with a positive attitude to move on. I felt little sympathy for my manager , i guess it was more the disappointment of how he had acted , however i wish him well and hope he finds employment elsewhere - life is too short to bear grudges, and im a firm believer in karma.

Fast forward to the present and here i am training up new union reps who will , like me, be "gutsy little f---ers" that will continue to fight against the corporate monsters that unfortunately will always exist, nationally and internationally.

For me the next step is to work on the training consultancy that me and my colleague have recently set up, and to look back and put the events down to those words called "life experience". A little voice is telling me that things happen for a reason. Sometimes those little voices speak big volumes  dont you think? :)