Blackness

My reward for venturing out with Mandy was to visit Blackness Castle and wow what a place ..... built around the 1400's used as a prison at one time the energy is ..... tangible.

An amazing place and hey these are my photos too!

A brilliant day Thanks Mandy.

Well done Scotland!

"I believe in virtually everything. I do, I do. But most of all, kindness. All you have to be is kind. That's all you need. Once you've got that it virtually rules out everything else."
Joanna Lumley

What a fantastic 'Melrose Sevens' day yesterday turned out to be! At the end of the day .........

Scottish Thistles beat Leicester Tigers 33 points to 12

and in the Under 16's Boroughmuir beat Northern by 10 point to 5

It was the 125th anniversary of the competition and there were 125 tries scored how cool is that!

It is a game that I love to watch the players have to be so fit and fast. I keep promising myself a trip to see the competition ....it's in next years diary!

Today, managing a headache from a bottle of wine and a little regret over a telephone call I should not have made, I am off outdoors to cleanse my soul.
Heading off with Mandy and my camera to treak through whatever she has planned for us.

Italy goes to the polls today ........ politics is such a sad game played with real peoples lives ......


'There is No Crisis in Zimbabwe' ..... Mr Mbeki says so!

You just need to laugh sometimes

Shared laughter creates a bond of friendships. When people laugh together, they cease to be young and old, teacher and pupils, worker and boss. They become a single group of human beings.

W. Lee. Grant.

....... and in case you did not already know, Postman Pat has a new helicopter ........

all the latest news here!

Zimbabwean people need our support

How can I feel positive with such horror in the world.Where is the smile in their heart ?

We can only hope that ultimately good will conquer evil.

from Sokwanele: If anyone reading this post would like to leave a message of support for Dorcas, Virginia, Shadreck and Pius, please do so here and we will forward them to ZLHR. Encourage others to do so too. Mention which part of the world you are writing from. We cannot be sure they will see your comments, but we hope they will. We hope they will hear that the world is watching and noting that their rights are being violated. We hope that this will encourage them during what must be a very stressful and frightening time for them.

Please note the bold bits of the release [our emphasis]

CURRENT ARRESTS OF ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL COMMISSION PERSONNEL

The state-controlled print and electronic media have published and continue to publish a plethora of alarmist articles (which have been mixtures of fact, conjecture and opinion) relating to the arrests of “ZEC officials”.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is currently attempting to confirm these arrests throughout the country and ascertain accurate details of the circumstances under which these arrests occurred, and the charges laid, if any.

ZLHR can confirm the following incidents:-

1. On Friday 4 April 2008 one Dorcas Mpofu, a ZEC constituency election officer, was arrested and detained by police in Mberengwa. A lawyer deployed by ZLHR was denied access to her by police, in contravention of her rights under the Constitution of Zimbabwe. She has since been charged under section 174 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (”the Criminal Code”) with criminal abuse of her duty as a public officer, in that she allegedly intentionally committed an act or acts contrary to or inconsistent with her duties as a public officer. The maximum sentence in the event of conviction is a level 13 fine and/or 15 years’ imprisonment. She was made to sign a warned and cautioned statement without the assistance of her legal practitioner, after which she was released. Subsequently, however, she was taken back into custody and advised to make an application for bail at the Magistrates’ Court on Monday 8 April 2008. The ZLHR lawyer attended at the Magistrates’ Court on Monday 8 April 2008 and was again denied access. He was later informed that her superiors had ordered her to engage an alternative lawyer when they were informed that the lawyer present was a member of ZLHR.
2. On an as yet unconfirmed date one Virginia Sibanda, a ZEC election officer working in Lupane, was arrested. She was due to appear in the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 8 April 2008. The advocate deployed by ZLHR to represent her advised ZLHR that the police were not cooperating with him and did not allow him to peruse the docket to establish the precise allegations, again in contravention of the Declaration of Rights in the Constitution. He was only able to establish that the accused person was being charged with breaching section 136(a) of the Criminal Code. This is the crime of fraud, where any person who makes a misrepresentation intending to deceive another person or realizing that there is a real risk or possibility of deceiving another person faces a maximum penalty of a fine not exceeding level 14 and/or imprisonment not exceeding 35 years. In the alternative, she was charged with allegedly contravening section 174(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, as in the previous case.
3. On an as yet unconfirmed date one Shadreck Mufute, a ZEC elections officer who was stationed at Ward 25 in Mutasa South was arrested in Mutare and charged with fraud under section 136(a) of the Criminal Code, alternatively contravening section 87 of the Electoral Act, as amended in that he allegedly willfully failed to perform his public duty. His warned and cautioned statement was recorded on 7 April 2008 but had not been finalized due to lack of power (ZESA) at the police station. He appeared in the Mutare Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 8 April 2008 where he was represented by a ZLHR lawyer. The lawyer and the prosecutor initially agreed on bail, but in court the prosecutor opposed bail, advising the ZLHR lawyer that he had instructions to vehemently oppose bail due to the political sensitivity of the matter. Mufute was remanded in custody pending the handing down of the magistrates’ ruling today.
4. On an as yet unconfirmed date one Pius Chikwata, a ZEC elections officer, was arrested in Nyanga and charged under section 174(1)(a) of the Criminal Code. A ZLHR member was deployed to appear on his behalf on Tuesday 8 April 2008 and successfully applied for bail. Chikwata was released on payment of $30 million bail.

ZLHR wishes to express its grave concern on these developments.

First, all arrested persons have fundamental rights in terms of the Constitution to be represented by a lawyer of their choice. This becomes even more critical where the possible sentence in the event of a successful prosecution is such a severe term of imprisonment. The police continue to exhibit complete contempt for the Constitution and accused persons’ rights, with impunity and they must be made to answer for such action without delay. Lawyers should be allowed to perform their official duties without hindrance, as is stipulated in national laws and international treaties to which Zimbabwe is a State Party.

Second, due to the severe and unjustifiable delays by the Chief Elections Officer in announcing the results of the presidential election, the electoral process is not yet complete. As such, these arrests constitute executive interference in the work of a purportedly independent institution, and must therefore be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The actions of the police and their commanders smack of intentional intimidation of officers of an electoral body and can be considered to be an attack on ZEC’s integrity and ability to complete its constitutional duties without fear or favour, which is already in dispute.

Third, one must question how the disputed election returns forms found their way from the possession of ZEC officials to police stations around the country, especially when the verification and tabulation process is not yet complete and the results have not been announced and made publicly available. All returns were signed as correct by representatives of political parties present thereat, and one wonders why suddenly the contents of the forms are being disputed.

Finally, the fact that the Chairperson of ZEC has not publicly denounced such attacks could lead to the perception in the mind of an ordinary and interested voter or member of the public that either the hierarchy of the Commission is fearful of retribution in the event of speaking out, or that they are complicit in these actions as a means of diverting attention from its failure to announce the presidential election results. The Chairperson of ZEC must immediately and publicly condemn such intimidatory tactics.

http://kickmugabeout.blogspot.com/

Sunshine & smiles

A decision has been made ! I will be positive ALL DAY ...... well most of it.

I read ' Seven Steps to Contentment' on the Good News Network, nothing new or earth-shattering there I'm afraid, although I love their image so I have stolen it ......

'Happy News' tells me the way to happiness it through Scientology ...... Not!

and in the 'SA Good News' I read that SA broke N.Z's 47 match winning streak with a victory in the World Series Sevens, now that was maybe not such good news for the Kiwi team.

So, after looking for good news stories I have concluded, good news follows bad luck!

......dog saved after falling through ice...... that kinda stuff.

I have stopped looking and just accept things are how they are and that's just the way it is!

Several 'lucky' Clients will hopefully benefit from my positive Ki. Don't you wish you were having a Shiatsu with me today!

So onwards I travel, with a big smile in my heart.

The Postcard

Normal function has been restored! ........ for now .......

well hopefully.

Another weekend has slipped away this one marked by snowfall, a lovely postcard, and scenes of disruption in London.

Waking up to snow was great for me as I had no need or desire to go go out, so I could enjoy the beauty without any side effects!

The postcard was from Andrew's Mum sent from their holiday in SA, it was nice that she at least thought of me. I returned the thought by sending a bunch of spring flowers to her, I know she shares my love of cut flowers and I hope she enjoys them.

Sunday and the Olympic torch struggled on it's journey across London. At the very least people are talking about the human rights question in China and Tibet.

In Zimbabwe it looks as though Mugabe is intent on staying another term in anyway he can ....I feel for the people there.

As for me ......

I am suffering from a complete loss of self esteem ...... it is a struggle on a personal level, but there is nothing to do but walk on

Have a good week.

Memories

OK ..... I admit it ...... I am losing the plot !

That infers that I had a plot to lose, but moving on .......

....... nights are endless, the quiet and lack of any conversation is hard.

Are those voices in my head real......?

I have arrived at the conclusion that the the one thing I miss from a relationship is ...... Sharing.

Today when I woke, I missed Zappa just a little more than usual and was angry at myself for avoiding getting a puppy 18 months ago. It was the wrong decision. I arrived at work and started setting up the Clinic for the day..... looking through old notes, randomly, there was a photo of Zappa!

June arrived and unexpectedly asked for my house keys ...... when she handed them back the key ring had been replaced by the end clasp of Zappa's lead!
Yes I totally lost it, crying for a wonderful friend I had treasured!

I have regained composure and the day moves on.

Life is a precious gift, one day there will be someone special to share this gift with....... I hope.