I’d forgotten it was the end of ramadamadingdong when I went up town this afternoon. I’d been down the cemetery first thing and it was jam packed with cars and men in dresses but …..
What WAS nice to see were women dressed up beautifully. Many without their heads covered, walking along in the surprisingly balmy March air. They looked happy and it made me smile.
As soon as I hit the bus station area I was besieged by healthy looking beggars. ”I really, really hate to ask you but…” Further on there was the shouting drunkard effing and blinding and edging for a fight with anyone who looked in his direction. Then in the middle of Cavendish street as I headed to the comparative sanctuary of Sainsbury’s was an asian guy flat out pissed with a can in his hand. Not something you see everyday. The usual then like many other towns.
This week in Keighley the alcohol licences of five town center mini-marts have been revoked. They were raided last year and were selling illegal fags and vapes hidden in secret compartments. I walked past two of them today their windows still filled with alcohol and the little brown men smoking at the doorway and talking in pakistani on their mobiles and I wondered why police and the trading standards bother.
Meanwhile it’s just been revealed by the BBC (fuck me backwards!) that children as young as 11 have been sexually abused in mini-marts in Birmingham for years and with the full knowledge of police and social services who continually ignored the reports.
Doesn’t it all make you smile?
