Life (and death) on the mean streets of West Brom

Last November I wrote about life on the mean streets of West Bromwich and introiduced you to Alan, a 64 year old who was on the streets, nowhere to live and totally isolated. He was beaten up a few times, his benefits were stolen. Alan had other problems, he liked a drink and would sometimes sell his giro for a bottle of cider and a few quid. At one point, social services were involved but because Alan did not make appointments they eventually closed his case.

We, (the West Bromwich Food Bank) tried to help Alan, we fed him at various times and attempted to talk him into getting help and support so that he could get off the streets. We failed, and did not see him again.

Recently his friend John came to our offices and informed us that Alan had died in a bus shelter, still on the streets, still alone.

Although we tried to help him and he refused that help there is always the lingering doubt that we could have done more. Is it an indictment of our society that in 2009 there are still people without homes, without support and without hope?

In the course of my work I see many people who are in crisis often due to no fault of their own. The 'system' has let them down and because the system is rigid and cannot think outside the box it has created for itself, the misery is compounded and drags on and on, to the detriment of those it is supposed to help.

We have a lot to answer for!

House of Cards

I have just finished watching live prime minister's question time and what a shambles it was! The PM as usual never directly answered a question, the leader of the opposition was, as usual, making mischief, the liberal leader was as usual the liberal leader.

I have tried not to comment on the expenses row, but how can the people that make the rules effectively clean up the mess they have created? Once the story broke, instead of fighting each other, the three main party leaders should have resigned on a matter of principle! Those who illegally claimed should have resigned and finally, Parliament should have been dissolved and a general election called.

The Bible relates an episode where Jesus entered the temple and found corruption, dishonesty and deceit was rife. He did not walk away, but took decisive action and cleansed the temple by driving out all those who had brought the 'house' into disrepute.

What seems to be happening in Parliament now is along the theme of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. True, it's a course of action, but it will make no difference whatsoever. As I am writing this, the t.v. is on and politicians are queueing up to either defend or attack the government. The party line has never been so apparent. Lord Mandelson has just said, we (the politicians) need to clean up the mess. This brings me back to my original point - how can those who have abused the system clean it up? (Poacher turned gamekeeper?).

Thank God there are genuine people in Parliament who are not claiming what they can but are seeking to do the best for the people they represent. We need a full house (of commons) of like minded public servants.

Having said all that, the Bible tells us to pray for our leaders!

Food Bank and soup kitchens

You may remember from previous posts that I am involved in a project called the West Bromwich Food Bank. We collect food and store it ready to freely give out to people in crisis. This week, I totalled up all the statistics and found that by 1st May 2009 we had reached an incredible 1003 people we have supported since we began in December 2007. Included in that total is 311 children under the age of 16. God has blessed the project over and above what we thought was possible.

Changing the subject, (but still on the theme of supporting) my church has teamed up with others to run a soup kitchen for the homeless and vulnerable in West Brom. Launching on Monday 8th June, (and weekly thereafter) our aim is to provide a warm, safe environment where the homeless and lonely can come in, enjoy a light meal, talk to each other and perhaps hear that there is someone who cares. We are looking forward to the challenges!

London Marathon 2009

The people in this photo are my son Neil (left) and one of his running partner's Chris at the 22 mile stage of the 2009 London Marathon. It was their first attempt and I am proud to say they completed it and have a medal to prove it. Chris's wife Meg also ran but she was way in front of the men. (She does have more experience of running and is a fitness centre manager to boot!).

We had travelled down to London for a long weekend and with the intention of being somewhere along the route so that we could support and cheer them on. It was an inspiring sight, as what seemed like a never ending stream of runners went past. There were some dressed in heavy rhino costumes (honest), a group roped together, another group carrying a boat. Barrack Obama, Batman and Robin and even Elvis was there also.

We had seen Neil and Chris at the 14 mile marker and they looked extremely well and were even smiling as they passed us. Even at the 22 mile marker, they still looked in remarkably good shape. One thing all the many thousands of runners had in common was a determination to finish what the.y had started. You could see that in their faces, along with the pain that they were feeling after such a long time running. There were disabled entrants, running or walking, one with the aid of crutches. One very moving sight was a disabled man walking, who was way behind, but you could see he would finish. The human spirit never fails to amaze me.

A tale of two cities (apologies to CD)

After a long period of not going away, I will be visiting two cities within the space of five days. The first is London for a long weekend starting on Friday. The reason is that my youngest son Neil is actually running the London Marathon on behalf of the NSPCC. Along with two friends, one a police inspector, the other a fitness centre manager they will be running their hearts out. If you would like more info, visit http://www.runfatboysrun.com/ The website also contains details of how to sponsor them should you be so inclined.

We get back from London on Monday 27th and next day I am back on the trains to Salisbury for the Food Bank Network conference. Salisbury is famous for two things, Stonehenge and being the place where Edward Heath (ex tory prime minister) lived. It's a lovely city, (wish I could say the same about London!). Anyway, I have a room for the night in a hotel with views of the cathedral, complete with a full English breakfast on Wednesday morning. There will be a day of business and then back on the trains to West Bromwich. I certainly live the high life!

See you soon.

You too can find someone to blame

Someone (I forgot who) once said 'if you can keep your head while all about are losing theirs, you've found someone to blame my son'. This week, I have watched two programmes where everyone blames everbody else and no one seems to accept responsibility for what goes wrong.

The first one was Prime Minister's Question time on Wednesday 12.00pm. What a shambles! Questions went unanswered or were answered with a statement that went part way to answering the question but deflected blame back to whoever had asked the original question.

The second programme was The Apprentice. I have never seen such an excellent example of rats leaving a sinking ship. In this case, the rats were female! They had lost the task set by Sir Alan and were trying to avoid being fired. If looks could kill, there would be at least two females waiting in the morgue for a post mortem!

Then there is the culture of if anything goes wrong - sue the other party. Imagine the scenario, you go into Starbucks or MacDonald's, order a coffee, drink it, burn your throat and then sue the proprietor! Come on guys, coffee is supposed to be hot!

Then we come on to health and safety. We now have to put up notices warning users that the hot water tap can, when turned, on emit water that can get very hot!! Oh good grief, it is a hot tap after all.

This is a short blog, as I have to go and defend myself in crown court as allegedly I ignored an acquaintance in the street and they are suing me for compensation for post traumatic stress

Famous people I have met and seen

I am at that stage in my life when the mind tends to wander and you remember things from years ago whilst forgetting what you did ten minutes ago and completely blanking out what you need to do in the future.

For some reason I thought about the famous people I have met or seen. Years ago, I was a governor at a local school. The school had been closed for a few months due to an oil leak. When it reopened, we had a big celebration. The guest of honour was Betty Boothroyd, our local MP and the first female Speaker of the House of Commons! The school had originally been opened by the then Secretary of State for Education, one Margaret Thatcher so to redress the balance we had to have Betty. Anyway, to cut a long story short I had the privilege of serving Betty with a cup of tea and a sarnie!

I have seen Russ Abott in Woolworths, Cliff Richard in Boots (the shop not the footwear) and appeared on the Rolf Harris Show (BBC in its black & white days). I have met Violet Carson, (Ena Sharples from Coronation Street) been introduced to Princess Anne and had a soundbite aired on Beacon Radio news.

Recently, we had our AGM at the church. This is the time when we hear and read reports on what has happened over the past year. It is good to remember (see above), but what really made the night for me was what was planned for the future. There are some great themes being explored that will impact on our community and expand the faith and expectation of our church members and friends.

Watch this space!