Brown bread

Interesting times just took a new turn with the Black Lives Matter demonstrations. While the officer who was 'taking a knee' in the States was clearly in the wrong, and is paying the penalty, the two officers who looked on without offering any mitigation to the situation should be facing the same charges. They really should have stepped in.

The repercussions are rippling though our Country at the same rate as Coronavirus. The statue of Edward Colston tossed into the Avon,and  the removal of other statues from parts of London is almost like ethnic cleansing. History is history and it is important to have it around to learn from. What's right and what's wrong? What do we owe to the people who worked for the Royal African Company or slaving traffickers of the time? What part did they play in building our Country?

I went to the Sir John Cass College in London,  his is one such statue to be suggested for removal. I live in a house in Birkenhead populated by merchants of the time. Were they involved in the slave trade? Did the land owner, the  Earl of  Shrewsbury make money from the slave trade? In my family tree, Alexander Jemmett was a colonialist in Antigua. he was born in 1896 and married his cousin Phoebe. his father Francis and Uncle George could quite easily have been involved too.

Now, predominantly Labour councils are exploring ways of sanitising their cities by removing more statues and renaming roads. In Liverpool today there are moves afoot to rename Rodney Street and Penny Lane, the latter more associated with the Beatles than with the slave trade.

Whether or not  Keir Starmer will realise his knees shot in the papers this morning is not the  cleverest PR shot he will ever feature in remains to be seen. Pubs should be open next month when alcohol fuelled debate can once more help put the World to rights. I hope they have sufficient beer!!