Friday nights at Fopps with Ray Charles, Traffic, Sherly Crow, The Penguin Café Orchestra and more

Fopps, Covent Garden (actually Shaftesbury Avenue, London) is not only one of the few remaining CD retailers but the only one open until 11.00pm on a Friday night. A short walk from Leicester Square underground (Covent Garden underground s nearer but far too rammed on a Friday night) it’s surprising unpredictable in the user comfort stakes.

On March 11 at 10.30 pm is was comparatively quite. On other Fridays is seems full of inconsiderate idiots with rucksacks the size of wardrobes where one incautious move on their part can nudge one or more hapless browsers face-first into the CD racks. Anyway, even so it’s great place to unload a few quid. And so I do. Quite often. And i am not ashamed! Yes I am a music junkie!

The staff couldn’t me more helpful. The choice of music on the floors always appeals to me. They might stock hip-hop and rap but they have the decency not to play it. What you might get is music which although attractive is unfamiliar and yet you can’t easily shift it out of your conscience. More often than not it’s some obscure new music from Europe that initially people like me would dismiss as ‘superficial’ but actually isn’t.

So anyway Friday saw me there with £50 cash to gamble with

For the rest of this piece please click HERE

Up yours – SUBWAY!

Yes indeed they may (as of this week) be the largest fast-food chain on Earth, but they’ve certainly pissed this customer off (yes, me) big time with their Halal policy.

First things first. I’m not banging on the rights and wrongs of Halal slaughter. That’s been far more eloquently debated elsewhere than I’m able to do. No, what really sticks in my craw is the default belief that me and other yids in my area (Palmers Green, London N13) my Christian pals, the Zoroastrians and Hindus – and in fact anyone else non-Islamic will (a) welcome SUBWAY’s blanket decision that we eat Halal slaughtered meat or (b) we are not the sort of customers they want. Here’s the story.

1.     Brand new SUBWAY opens up in PG a few weeks back.

2.     A discreet and at that point unseen by me sign on the window displays in Arabic and English the ethos: “All Meats Are HALAL”

3.     I munch a standard meat-filled sandwich and sit gazing around the shop interior. I pick up a SUBWAY handbill entitled SUBWAY stores ‘Halal” FAQ. It tells me that (apparently) they believe in "working closely with local communities."

4.     Apparently there has been a “strong demand” for this. I guess they are referring to PG.

Now then, PG is has a large Greek population. Been like this for years. I know quite a few. None of them are Muslims. There are a smattering of Turkish origin people here too. I know some of them. Roughly half are Islamic inclined and the others are not. And then there are few yids like me. There are some toy-boy goy-boys, druggies, a poet or two, a few ageing hookers, a large collection of blues slide guitarists, apprentice villains, a retired pathologist, 4 official witches, and a whole lot more. Not a particularly close-knit community but close enough to get the drift of an impending riot from those demanding Halal meat in the local eateries. I kept my ears and eyes open. Not a sound. Not a glimpse.

If ya want strictly Kosher, then look away now.

However for those of you with more flexibily I strongly recommend this North Finchley Greek eaterie. Very clean, reasonable prices, decent portions, attentive staff, kids welcome and easy parking after 6.30pm. 

Please click HERE for details

Am I angry ? You bet I'm angry !

In Poland we are fortunate. The relatively small number of Jews live in harmony with the 90% of the population who are Catholic. The Polish Government is very supportive and there’s hardly a trace of anti-Semitism.

Unfortunately, there’s always one politician determined to stir up trouble. In this case his name is Janusz Palikot.

Read more HERE

Moral Maze

What, if anything, should Britain do about Libya? Michael Buerk chairs the debate.

Available to listen by clicking HERE

If you found out you were a member of another religion would you convert ?

So what would you do ? A spoof video clip with just a hint of truth

Click HERE

Support your people

Just a tad sexist but it would be interesting to see a similar ad for Facebook on British Television !

Click HERE

Looks like Mrs P was right, after all.

When I was a kid growing up in relatively affluent but in some ways culturally ignorant Muswell Hill in the 1960s I was an inmate at the notorious William Grimshaw school in Creighton Avenue. Subsequently it became Creighton (and got joys of accolades from people with double-barreled names with kids who were called Tarquin, Jasper, Jocaster and so on) and was the doyen of the chattering weekend socialists en route to Islington. And then it became "Fortismere."

Frankly as one of the few yids there Christmas and Easter weren’t particularly happy times. The ignorant and bigoted RE teachers musings on such matters didn’t help. Most of the blacks hated us yids more than the evangelical Catholics did! It was tricky to figure out which lot to avoid. Black catholic males were, in the main, a particular hassle.

We got no shit from the Jehovah’s Witnesses though. It left a sort of soft-spot for me about them. Recognising that red-sea pedestrians stood no chance of conversion they left us alone. When I learned of their situation re incarceration in the death camps I fell somewhere between respect and the folly of faith re them. The Muslims were benign towards us as were the Greek Orthodox and Zoroastrians. Buddhists were thin on the ground and generally blended in. 

I heard it on the radio today and ….

And it makes complete sense to me. It caused me to reflect and to readjust a previously long-established piece of faulty thinking. “No one joins the NHS to seek fame or fortune.” Quite so.

How Jews Laugh at Themselves and why Muslims Seek Martyrdom

This is an excellent article however journalists tend to generalise. I think that most readers will understand that this does not apply to all Jews and Muslims.

Read more HERE