Tuesday 22 September 2009

Surprise!

It's only Tuesday and I am blogging. What has gone wrong? Truth is, I am representing napac at a memorial lecture in London this evening and so I have a bit of time to kill. Hey! napac might get a mention in The Sun tomorrow. I say 'might' because as I have warned you before you can never be sure what the media are going to do next or what new 'news' story will knock yours off top slot. You know........ if Katie Price or her Ex say something amazing...........that is likley to dominate the headlines. Anyway, they wanted to know what we thought about reducing the age of consent. You know, do we think its okay to legalise sex between adults and children? I mean, apparently most youngsters are having under age sex therefore they are criminals. So some professor says we should legalise it then it will make things better. Well, most people on the streets of the UK drive in excess of 30mph (the speed limit in built up areas). They are all criminals too. So let's up the speed limit to 50 or 60 then they won't be committing an offence! That will please the boy and girl racers just like lowering the age of consent will please child abusers. "Well me lud, she told me she was 13, I didn't realise she was actually only 12". I mean me lud, she's barely the same age as my granchildren, but come on what's in a year or two eh?" Mr Blitter you are 64 years old "Yes I know me lud but she was asking for it". "It's not good enough Mr Blitter, I sentence you to three months in prison".

Sorry about that but I get so mad. Last week I saw a string of pathetic sentences for child abusers and they made my blood boil. One bloke was convicted of a string of offences going back 30 years and he was RELEASED on bail to await sentence. Can you imagine how his victims must have felt? If he had been a serial bank robber (or even a shop lifter) he would be behind bars but no, stealing the life and soul of a child is somehow less serious than pinching a few quid. Actually, funny how none of those bankers are behind bars, some of them stole millions from us.

I know life is not as simple as I would like but what I did say to The Sun, and I've said it before, is we need to fundamentally change how we treat, educate and bring up our children. Most parents do a pretty good job but many do not equip their children to handle growing up and the pressures put on them............by society. We have a weird society when it comes to things like sex. The right wing press scream blue murder if we talk about 'sex education', so we are very represssed and ignotrant on one level, but then switch on Saturday morning (kids) TV and they are talking in quite salacious terms about "what happened last night" etc. No wonder kids are confused and so prey to abusers. I saw a child wearing a head band that said 'Sexy thing'. She was about 5! What in God's name were the parents thinking? I heard of another child's tee shirt that said something like 'pole dancer in training'. It's insanity. Please let our kids be kids, definately. But also let's accept that we are not doing a very good job at protecting the most vulnerable and I'm told that there are as many children being abused today as there ever was. How tragic is that?

Why is it that survivors voices are not being heard? Why do so many people not want to address the issue that, more than any other, tears the fabric of society apart? We all know that most, not saying all, but most, of societies problems have their roots in abuse. Why don't we do something about it? And I'll end this rant with something else I've said many times. There are too many abusers in postions of power and control. If we dare to believe (and I do) that something like one in four of the population has suffered abuse in childhood then think how many abusers there must be out there? Yes, I know they are cowardly scum, but it's still frightening.

I'm going to end on a lighter note. Cycling. A confession! I fantasised about napac becoming so big that one day it would sponsor a Tour de France team and I would be right there behind them in the team car. How sad is that! Well I know that ain't ever going to happen but on Saturday I am taking part in my first ever cycle 'Sportive' event. It's a bit like a race but it isn't. Some people take it very seriously and hurtle round the course at crazy speeds, turning in very good times. Some of us, me included, will just be happy to get around the course in one piece and collect our certificate at the end. It starts and finishes on Box Hill near Dorking in Surrey. I'm not suggesting you come out because it's too far for you but please think about me just after 8am on Saturday morning. It's going to be a lot tougher than the Old Kent Road!

Stay awesome everyone, and thanks for suffering my ramblings.
Love
Pete

Friday 11 September 2009

It must be Friday

It is indeed. And what a long week it's been. So much going on here. And I discovered that more than 4 people read this blog, which is encouraging. Thank you!
Our plans for support groups throughout the UK are being met with a lot of encouragement, some of it cautious (quite rightly), but the overwhelming feeling (and feedback) is that this is something we need to do. The following months will see meetings and the formation of a working party to take things forward. Do not worry. We are not going to gather a massive committee because I know from experience that the best size of committee is about two!! That's if you want to get anything done! No seriously, we are gathering a very exclusive and experienced group who will look at how this is best done. We also have the able support and backing of a friend called Robert Wright, a very forward - thinking and innovative business leader who is
a survivor with a strong passion for what napac is doing. It's great to have him on board......even if he does live and work in Sweden! And there's another place that will benefit from 'napac- international' one day!

Our new girl Dawn and our old girl Helen (with able support from a cast of dozens) have produced a fantastic learning resource for napac that will be a key element of our volunteer training. In fact the cd they have produced is so good it will be fought over once word of it gets out........ so keep your mouth shut! But do keep an eye on our website for further news or better still, volunteer to be a Support Team member and you will receive a personal introduction to their amazing work. It's also worth mentioning that the cd was produced and engineered by a top guy in the sound and vision world and he is shortly to tell you all about his services on our website.....and when people hire him through napac..........we will receive a donation. I love arrangements where there are no losers, only winners!

Well as usual for a Friday the clock is fast ticking towards hometime and it's time to get on that bike. We are having cocktails at home this evening. We will be having Pisco Sour, which unless you have been to Peru, probably won't mean a thing. Suffice to say that it is made with .........Pisco (a local liquer - quite strong!) , egg whites, lemon juice, liquid sugar and ..........something else but I can't remember. What I can remember is that if I drink too much of the stuff I won't be going out with the club in the morning. Last Saturday we did 53 miles and considering I hadn't been out with the lads for nearly two months I didn't do too badly. Even managed to stay up with the fast boys up the big climbs. Oh, what to do? Drink and lie in bed tomorrow and suffer or don't drink, go out with the club..............and still suffer. I know what I should do but whenever it's a toss up between being sensible and drinking, well I bet you can guess which way it usually goes?

Have a great weekend. You know, as soon as I 'post' these blogs I almost always spot spelling or grammatical errors but you know........................just live with it. You are all winners and I'm proud to call you friends. And whats the odd typo between fiends?!!!
Love
Pete
PS The Tour of Britain bike race starts tomorrow (Saturday 12th Sept) , follow it on ITV 4...............I think. See you at the finishing circuit race in Westminster next saturday!!!

Friday 4 September 2009

It was a hoot!

The family barbecue that is. Most of the relatives turned up and we all had a great time........and the weather stayed fine.

As often happens with my blog (and being conscious that only 4 of you read it!) I am doing it late Friday afternoon so this really will be brief.

If you work for an organisation that uses office supplies (paper, pens, post-it notes etc) then take a look at the front page of our website, click on the '4Your Office' logo and have a read. We've got a partnership with this company who will give napac a cut of all their sales! How cool is that?

So get in touch with them (or me) and they will talk you through it!

Have a great weekend. It's been a long day!

Pete
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