Family Photos and Public Places

The whole debate about taking photographs of and in public places, or even your own children or grand children has arisen once again. The PC Brigade are living in the UK, and are in the best of health, thank you. And the terrorists love them, as they play into their hands!


The police now have the power, under terrorist laws, to detain anyone taking photographs in a public place, and of public buildings, or places of architectural importance. You don't have to be acting suspiciously. So, don't be tempted to take any pictures of old historic places. You could be a terrorist! Don't take photos at the football stadium, or the railway station, or the main street in the town centre, or the statues, or of planes at the airport, or of buses, or of hospitals.... need I go on? Trouble is, that these very structures are the ones which attract the amateur as well as the professional photographer. The police have the powers to stop you, question you at the police station, confiscate your camera, and disturb your life for as long as they want or need. You don't even need to appear furtive.


An extension of this ill thought out law, is the ban on taking photos of children, even your own, in a public place. The trouble is that this ban is not treated the same by all places across the UK. For example, it may be ok to photograph children at the Christmas Nativity at some churches and community centres, but not others. In this case, I have to say there is some reasonable sense behind the law, as long as it is enforced uniformly across the country. When taking a photograph, in the school playground recently, of my granddaughter, and two of her friends (whom I knew well) I was asked by a man standing close by who I was and why was I taking a photo of his girls! No offence was intended, and none taken. Surely this is the common sense approach which the law misses, indeed cannot enforce! This dad, like many other dads, is protective of his daughters, and I wish there were more like him. But a blanket ban, which even covers taking a photo of your own, just in case someone else is in it? I don't think so.


The terrorists are making life difficult for the ordinary citizen, and surely that is what they want? They want to cause disruption at any level, and to all people who they think are opposed to their own way of thinking. They don't mind pleading 'not guilty' (even when caught red-handed) and letting the case drag through the courts, with all the expense and delays involved. I know I am straying off my original theme, but isn't it strange that these terrorists who take their 'religion' so strongly and completely that they will blow up themselves and others along with them, won't even tell the truth when it comes to a court case? They don't have enough of their 'religion' to tell the truth and plead guilty! What does that tell us about their religion of terror? Their commandments are very different from ours! 


So, two points. The PC Brigade take things too far, and we should be thinking more carefully about the difference between 'religion' and Faith, and protecting the Faith.

You Think YOU'RE Confused?

Ok, I am a blogger. I put my thoughts down so that others can read them, and agree or disagree. Like most other bloggers, I am not sure why I do this in my spare time, but I would not like to mislead, or give the wrong impression of who I am, or even worse still not know what I stand for myself!


In the process of blogging, you find yourself seeking out others who seem to think like you. Maybe that's to confirm in your own mind that you're not the only nutter out there who actually believes that what you think is important to somebody else! Perish the thought!


So that you know where I am coming from, and to avoid confusion, I follow the 'F' words for my life. Faith, Family, Family tree research, and Photography. Sorry about the last one :-). All in that order. I am not ashamed of my choices. Actually it is usually easier to mention any of them except Faith. That's where others have their own opinions, and a lot of heat gets generated (usually more heat than light!). But having said it, you are in no doubt where I stand, agree or disagree. I will try to understand your opinion, all I ask is that you respect mine.


I say all that because I came across a blog by someone I know. Very clever, and well educated, even articulate, but I had to conclude that I didn't know her at all, and I thought I did! She belongs to that group of people who theor-'ise', and psycholog-'ise', and psychiatr-'ise', and philosoph-'ise', around a subject, and although clever is not very w-'ise'! I used to work with a man who would say from time to time, 'I might be daft, but I'm not stupid'. A good and understandable witticism. Trouble is, some bloggers are 'daft AND stupid' and it comes across. Like politicians, they talk a lot but don't say much. An aide to an old US President used to say about him, 'he don't say much, but when he talks, he don't say much'. Ouch!


I hope I never get to the stage when people wonder what I am saying when I talk, or even worse can't tell what I stand for, and where my priorities in life are. If, or when, that happens, I will expect my family and friends (my real friends) to tell me sincerely, but quietly. That is when I will stop. In the meantime, I will say again that my life revolves around my Faith, Family, and Fotography. (Ok is that better :-)?), and in that order. Clear? Oh, I also have a 'C' word in my life, and this goes with me wherever I go, helps to form the real me, and is non-negotiable! Even clearer?