Bangkok ablaze

Almost exactly a year ago I was in Thailand on a fortnight’s filming trip with work, experiencing stunning scenery, meeting really friendly people and enjoying all that you get from a different culture.

Now, that country – and Bangkok in particular – is an ugly place, bereft of the beauty I witnessed. It’s a place of anger, symbolised by the countless fires across the city and black smoke billowing out of the high-rise landscape.

I’ve been saddened to see the protests by the anti-government Red Shirts group escalate over the last few weeks.

The last few days has seen violence, bloodshed (including the killing of a renegade general who backed the protests) and swift action by the Thai authorities, who have hit back to try and bring Bangkok under some sort of control again.

On Wednesday, a night-time curfew was put in place in the city, and across 23 Thai provinces, and that has been extended to three more nights.

And it’s that ‘control’ which the Red Shirts are so opposed to – they want to bring the government down, claiming there should be fresh elections. Their ‘leader’ is the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006.

The majority of Red Shirt protestors hail from the north of Thailand and they benefitted from Thaksin’s populist policies when he was in power.

The Red Shirts desires for deep-rooted change led them to literally camp on the streets of Bangkok and, when skirmishes with the army increased, so did their acts of lawlessness. Someone I met whilst in Bangkok e-mailed yesterday saying it is ‘not unarmed civilians peacefully protesting but rather guerrilla warfare that has got out of control’.

I fear what has happened in Bangkok over the last few days is just the start; it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Violence is already spreading to other part of Thailand, including the popular, and serene, tourist destination of Chiang Mai (where I stayed last year).

The damage being done is immeasurable – to social structures, to the infrastructure and to the tourist industry which the country so relies upon.

The situation in Thailand is just one place in the world of where ‘the masses’ are publicly showing their feelings against the establishment – where people want radical change and justice. We see it in Greece too at the moment and with the global economic crisis, especially in Europe, expect more of the same in other places too.

The feelings of anger, injustice, hatred, bitterness so openly expressed in Thailand and elsewhere originate, I believe, from people’s self-centredness – from our greediness, from our desire to be better than our neighbours, willing to do anything to be in a better place, with a higher status.

For example, although the Red Shirts are a group, it’s being reported that there are factions between members leading to ‘in-party fighting’ – it seems that individuals there are more in it for themselves than for the good of the community and the group.

I hope and pray that some sort of reconciliation between the Red Shirts and the government (and their support group) might be found in Thailand – but fear this is some way off yet. Before the talking begins, the action must stop – otherwise this beautiful country may never fully recover.

(Photo credit: Timo Kozlowsk)

All to play for

Fulham, Bolton, Middlesbrough or even Charlton in the UEFA Champions League?

Well, if the proposed Premier League play-off idea had been in place over the last decade, we might have seen such a dream become a reality!

The idea was that those finishing between fourth and seventh should meet in end-of-season play-offs, with the victor handed the final English Champions League place currently secured by grabbing fourth.

The Premier League board voted against the plan with West Ham chairman David Gold admitting there’s simply not space in the football calendar.

Unsurprisingly, managers at Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal weren’t in favour of the proposal (Wenger and Benitez were especially jittery) whilst bosses of teams currently just outside the ‘big four’ were more open to it; Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill believed it was something ‘people might go for’.

You bet they would! I think it’s an idea would help share the wealth and bring a genuinely exciting end to the season for more teams, as seen in the successful Football League promotion play-offs year-on-year.

You can’t really argue that we should ‘protect’ the quality of the Champions League either. Although it may have originally been established for title winners, its format now shoehorns in all the big teams from Europe’s best leagues; it’s not only for true champions. Liverpool, for instance, has tasted glory in Europe without really getting near to winning the Premier League.

Play-offs are prevalent in American sports and pretty ruthless too, with league winners decided not by how they fare over several months but ultimately by their form in an end-of-season knockout cup.

Rugby union in England followed suit eight years ago, introducing a similar system for its top four. ‘Winning’ the Guinness Premiership at the season’s end doesn’t necessarily mean a trophy. In fact, only two teams (Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers) have followed up being top during the regular season by going on to triumph the play-offs.

For now, the Premier League play-offs plan looks dead in the water. Those hoping for Birmingham City versus Barcelona will have to keep dreaming.

This article first appeared in The Baptist Times, 11 March 2010

(Photo credit: Music0man)

Going for gold

For two weeks every four years, sports fans – and those who usually couldn’t care less – go barmy for bobsleigh, crazy for curling and mad for moguls (bumpy skiing for the uninitiated!)

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver comes to a close this weekend and it’s been a fantastic fortnight showcasing speed, strength and agility on the Canadian snow and ice.

The death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, fatally injured in practice on the eve of the games, was a tragic way to start proceedings and demonstrated just how dangerous winter sports are.

On a positive note, Amy Williams’ achievement in the women’s skeleton last week was brilliant. She hurtled at 90mph on her trusty sled named Arthur and grabbed Britain’s first individual gold medal for 30 years (above). All the practice on specially-cut runners at Bath University has paid off.

Then there’s been the weather. First, there wasn’t enough snow and tonnes of the white stuff had to be imported. Then, a mix of warm temperatures, snow, rain and fog led to some events being postponed. And we thought the UK winter had been unpredictable!

Behind the scenes, three thousand Christian volunteers with the More than Gold ministry have been reaching out to both athletes and visitors in Vancouver which, significantly, has the lowest church attendance of any city in North America.

John Boyer, Baptist minister and chaplain of Manchester United, is part of the multi-faith chaplaincy team at the games. In both the highs of gold medals and the lows of human tragedy, John says that he and others are there ‘to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice’.

Finally, I’ve been reading testimonies of some Olympians who follow Jesus. American speed skater Chad Hedrick was a brash bad boy when he won three medals in Torino four years ago. However, Chad has since found faith and it has transformed his attitude.

He’s been competing in Canada with ‘CGIM’ emblazoned on his skate blade – standing for ‘see God in me’. God blessed Chad with a bronze in the 1,000-metre event last week.

This blog first appeared in The Baptist Times, 25 February 2010

Photo credit: The Last Minute

Tarnished Terry

It's World Cup year and, just to help England's preparations, there's negative press again flying about to deflect from the football.

Usually it's in the month before the tournament (think the dentist chair of 1996 and the many metatarsal injuries) but this time at least we can let the hype cool before June.

I'm talking of course about John Terry, whose name has been 'mud' since the revelations of his private life were published last weekend. The fact he's not just any run-of-the-mill England player - he's the captain of the side, a leader, a role model - has made Terry's affair with Wayne Bridge's model girlfriend a national scandal, so it seems.

Before this 'news' hit the headlines on Saturday morning and stayed there since, after Terry had legally failed to keep it out of the papers, the Chelsea player was considered a top professional and all-round nice guy. On the pitch he was a hero; off the pitch he was 'dad of the year'. But now he's public enemy number one and debates are raging among people who don't even like football as to whether Terry should remain England skipper at the World Cup finals in June.

I must admit I feel a little sorry for Terry. What he did was very wrong, no doubt. But it's a private matter, not one for every Tom, Dick or Harry Redknapp in this country to judge him on. He's the not first human - let alone footballer - to make a mistake and he won't be the last. Former England legend Stuart Pearce spoke out today not so much in Terry's defence, but trying to keep a lid on the hype, saying this "witch hunt" is wrong.

I totally agree with 'Psycho' - let's not forget what a great footballer and leader JT is and let's separate his professional career from his private life. I hope he remains as England captain. And in getting off Terry's back and concentrating on real news (Afghanistan, Haiti, this year's general election), the British public might even give his marriage a chance of reconciliation too. So, I'll leave my blogging here and not mention it again!

(Photo credit: Downing Street)

Made in China

The chances are that at least one of your, or your children's, Christmas presents were manufactured in China. Maybe even all of them!

And in buying products such as ipods, computer games, toys and shoes from that nation - whether or not you knew it - you've helped make it the world's largest exporter, overtaking the mighty Germany, who'd been top dog for most of the last decade.

The rise has been almost overnight for China. After a 13-month decline in trade, they had a brilliant December, with an increase in exports of 17 per cent. Many are praising China's manufacturers for their resilience in the face of the economic downturn, but others, especially China's competitors such as the US, claim their success is only because of their undervalued currency - the government has deliberately weakened the Yuan to make its goods cheaper.

Well, it may be dirty tactics on China's part but it's certainly worked. This news is significant but is hardly a surprise. The rest of the world has been buying products from earth's most-populated nation for some time and their influence has also been growing in Africa in recent years too.

My concern about all of this is people's desire to buy dirt-cheap stuff from China on a whim without thinking about the consequences. Our craving for a bargain, and for the latest technology, takes priority over considering the impact on other people,resources and the environment.

We have questions to answer. Has our product from China been made by people who are being underpaid and overworked in a 'sweatshop' environment? Is it fairly traded and correctly sourced? How much pollution was created in making it? Could we have bought something similar from our own country? And, probably the biggest question of all: 'Do we really need this product?'

Sadly, I believe China's rise to the top is a clear indicator of humankind's greedy, selfish and materialistic nature and, whilst there's no denying their power in world economics (it's not all about the West anymore!), some caution is required. China's success, unlike their products, comes at a price.

(Photo credit: James Sann)

It doesn't rain - it snows! After my previous post about the wintry weather in the north, the heavy snow made its way down to my neck of the woods - Oxfordshire. This time of year is usually rainy, windy and relatively mild, so the 20cms snowfall in 24 hours here last Tuesday and Wednesday was a bit of a shock to the system.

What's irritated me though has been the hype and how 'newsworthy' of it all. There's been too much of a focus on health and safety, meaning schools stayed closed longer than they should have done and sporting fixtures were unnecessarily called off. The idea of panic buying makes me mad too - but that's because of the media frenzy. Let's just get on with life, even if it's slightly harder work!

Finally, a couple of positives. The way the rail network has responded has been a pleasant surprise. Without making a fuss, the majority of trains in most parts have been running. I've been grateful for that. Plus, we've had our milk delivered, so praise to that service too.

The ultimate lock-in

How did you celebrate New Year? Staying in watching tedious telly reviews of the past year and decade? A wild night out in a big city with fireworks, silly hats and Auld Lang Syne? (Me? I settled for champagne, a rental film and bed before midnight... sad aren't I?)

Well, 30 guests at the highest pub in England certainly got more than they bargained for - and had a New Year's celebration they'll never forget. They planned on staying overnight at The Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales - and ended up staying three days because of the wintry weather.

The resident DJ told BBC News that people's spirits were kept up (gin, vodka, brandy, sherry no doubt) and that it was a "heart-warming" experience - again, probably helped by the copious amount of alcohol quite literally 'on tap'. Everyone mucked in, doing chores around the inn, which stands at 1,700 metres above sea level in Swaledale.

It must've been quite a community - the ultimate 'big brother' experience (without the cameras!) Among the group were students from Leeds University and one summed it up by saying, "It's been fun - the ultimate lock-in!" I'll raise a glass to that!

No doubt when snow ploughs got through the seven-foot drifts on Sunday and it was time to finally head downhill and back to reality, some of the guests felt a little sad. I wonder if a local bobby was on hand with a breathalyser at the bottom of the hill - it would've made for interesting results.

I've enjoyed a relaxed, family Christmas and New Year. The week spent with the in-laws in the Kent countryside was fantastic, though it was a shame my father-in-law was only just recovering from a knee operation and not on best form. He's a very active guy usually, so being stuck on the sofa and struggling with sticks was frustrating for him to say the least.

Seeing him certainly made me wonder how I'll be in 30 years' time - and made me appreciate my working joints. My mother-in-law certainly made the most of it, getting me to shovel snow and ice and collect logs for the fire. Hope you're back on your feet properly again soon, Alan!!

Finally, one resolution for 2010 - to ensure my blogs are more regularly written. This is my first 'muse' for six weeks and I'll endeavour to add more in the coming weeks. And for those on Twitter, you can follow me at www.twitter.com/andrewdubock