Melton Folk Festival, August 5th and 6th 2023
Excitement is rising in anticipation of the Melton Folk Festival, August 5th and 6th 2023: I’ll be playing:
Saturday : 12:00 noon Charlie’s Bar
Saturday : 2:00 pm Nigels Cafe
Saturday : 3:20 pm Anne of Cleves
Sunday : 12:40 pm Coco Melto
Sunday : 2:00 pm More Coffee Co
Sunday : 3:20 pm The Harboro Hotel
Look out for the debut of Missouri Mick: https://missourimick.com/
and from the Raven Folk Club (who kept some of us going during Covid) welcome to the lovely singing of Katrina Turner.
More details on the folk festival website: https://meltonfolk.com/festival/summer-festival/
My Dad – 75 years a Methodist Minister
20 March 2023: My dad, Rev Dr Albert Watson Mosley, has been a Methodist Minister for 75 years
On 19 March 2023 there was a service at Oadby Trinity Methodist Church to mark the occasion. Dad was invited to speak, and the following was filmed by my sister. He has given his permission for it to be out in the public arena.
This is what he said:
Dad’s talk has been put together with some additional content, and can be read/downloaded here which may be helpful for those who find it difficult to hear the video:
Continue reading “My Dad – 75 years a Methodist Minister”Deportation in this cruel hostile environment
Stop the removals – see the post on the StatusNow4All website: https://statusnow4all.org/deportation-in-this-cruel-hostile-environment/:
StatusNow4All: This cruel hostile environment has given rise to yet another Home Office plan to deport people to Zimbabwe on 2 March 2022. StatusNow4All abhors this decision made in the name of the Home Secretary, Priti Patel.
IT IS IMMORAL:
These are just some of the factors of note in relation to those who are being rounded up for deportation right now:
· Some have been here a long time, as many as twenty years;
· Some will have had Refugee Leave, such was the compelling case they presented on arrival in UK, but the law allows the Home Office to strip them of this due to a conviction for particular offending behaviours [para 339 Immigration Rules].
Continue reading “Deportation in this cruel hostile environment”More about crows:
Bay Nature: Flying in for the Crow Funeral: Can crows help explain human interest and rituals surrounding death? by Anne Marshall-Chalmers October 29, 2020
A crow funeral can happen at any time. Farmers bear witness after shooting unwanted crows in their fields. Powerline workers see them should an unlucky bird zap itself and drop. Occasionally, the funerals occur in a city park. All it takes is one dead American crow plus one fellow crow to spot it and release an alert, harsh and urgent — Caw! Caw! Within moments, a mob of crows arrives. Sometimes it’s only a handful, other times up to 60 or 70 birds settle onto branches or whatever aerial perch allows good viewing of the corpse and the surrounding scene.
For a short time, the birds remain quiet and still, only to break into a chorus of shrill calls. Back and forth, silence and aggravation for about 15 to 20 minutes until nearly all at once the ink-black birds launch and disperse, leaving branches to quiver.
Continue reading “More about crows:”Start with Hope – Change will follow
Little Amal’s journey: https://www.walkwithamal.org/
Little Amal is a giant puppet who represents the journey of child refugees. Her walk began from the border of Syria/Turkey and will end on 3 November 2021 in Manchester with an outdoor event starting 7pm at Castlefield Bowl https://www.walkwithamal.org/events/when-the-birds-land/ : The arrival of Amal to Manchester marks the end of her epic journey. In the lead up to Amal’s arrival local schools, refugee communities and Manchester International Festival will be creating a giant flock of puppet birds. Her days in Manchester culminate in a spectacular finale event. Surrounded by the communities of the city, Amal understands that she has reached her final destination. She is now ready to begin her next even longer journey: creating a new life in a new home.
You could perhaps make paper birds to put in your window, or cover the Meeting House in them to greet Little Amal. There is an origami pattern here – these work really well to impress small children : https://www.origamiway.com/easy-origami-bird.shtml
Free Spirit: Penny Walker
Penny has been so active about making the world a more friendly, safe and inclusive place to be that her contribution to a future world of love and peace cannot be under-estimated.
Here are just a few articles about her life:
For those who knew Penny Walker, and those looking for inspiration: Loraine is from Penny’s inspirational Peace House in Coventry … the video ends with a poem PENNY WALKER by Loraine Masiya Mponela 20 June 2021:
Banner Theatre: Kill the Bill
Police powers amount to ‘political attack’ on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
What could the proposed laws in the #PolicingBill mean for Gypsies and Travellers? Mattey Mitchell, Campaigns Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers shares in this video:
The Government is planning to bring in harsh new laws for nomadic people. We have launched a new tool to support Gypsies, Travellers and members of the public to write to their MP, registering their concerns about the policing bill. We need your help.
Continue reading “Police powers amount to ‘political attack’ on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities”Home Office use of ‘contingency units’
8 March 2021 From ICIBI: An inspection of the use of contingency asylum accommodation – key findings from site visits to Penally Camp and Napier Barracks
During the week of 15 February 2021 inspectors from ICIBI and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) visited Penally Camp and Napier Barracks, spending two days at each site.
Read more about initial findings here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/an-inspection-of-the-use-of-contingency-asylum-accommodation-key-findings-from-site-visits-to-penally-camp-and-napier-barracks
Please find below a version that can be shared of my submission in response to the call by the Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration, David Bolt https://www.gov.uk/government/news/call-for-evidence-an-inspection-of-the-use-of-hotels-and-barracks-as-contingency-asylum-accommodation:
It can be downloaded here:
Call for evidence: An inspection of the use of hotels and barracks as contingency asylum accommodation
The Home Office emphasis on find and remove, and increasing the tensions of an already hostile environment demonstrate a clear lack of willingness to find a humanitarian way forward in these exceptional circumstances.
The bottom line is that the Home Office has, at best and being very generous, allowed the conditions described to prevail by their lack of care, but it seems that there is a deliberate policy to promote and continue the hostile environment, whilst paying substantial sums to the private sector.
There are strong moral, political. practical, and financial arguments to support the campaign for *Indefinite Leave to Remain/settled status for all who are undocumented or in the legal process.
Continue reading “Home Office use of ‘contingency units’”