The Shelley Tasker Show

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Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7:00p.m. uk time on Radio Soapbox: http://radiosoapbox.com

In this episode of the Shelley Tasker Show, Shelley and her co-host, Mallificus Scott, engage in a lively discussion about their personal experiences and challenges, from unexpected fines and car mishaps to the unpredictable British weather. Shelley shares a stressful day involving a school fine, a car incident, and a broken cooker, while Mallificus recounts a humorous yet frustrating encounter with a fallen branch damaging his van. The conversation takes a reflective turn as they discuss past driving experiences and the lessons learned from youthful recklessness.

The episode also features a compelling segment with guest Colin Gong, who shares his experience of participating in a protest in London. Colin describes the atmosphere, the police presence, and the strategic dynamics of the protest, highlighting the importance of freedom of speech and the right to protest. The discussion touches on broader themes of civil liberties, government actions, and the role of law enforcement, providing listeners with an insightful look into the complexities of modern-day activism. The episode concludes with a historical anecdote about a miraculous escape during World War II, adding a touch of historical intrigue to the show.

[00:01:06] Unknown:

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Shelley Tasker Show coming live out of radiosoapbox.com.   It's good to have your company.   Today's date is Wednesday, September 10. Happy hump day. And along myself this evening is my wonderful cohost, mister Malefika Scott.  

[00:01:25] Unknown:

Good evening, mister Scott. Good evening, missus Tasker. How are you? It's been a long time since we've spoken.  

[00:01:31] Unknown:

Has it?  

[00:01:33] Unknown:

It's been at least at least a week, surely. At least a week. All ten minutes ago.   I'm good. Thanks, my lovely. How are you? I'm good. I I have to say, though, it's definitely, you know,   as you know, I'm a gardener. This week's weather has certainly taken a a turn for the worst.   Me and my other half got absolutely   saturated today   to the point where it doesn't happen often, but to the point where we actually were like, right. Let's take cover for a minute. Let's take cover and dive around the side of the house that we're working on just just until the,   the the the person up in the sky chucking literally buckets of water at us, decided to give it a rest. And, yeah. And and we we continue to work. But, yeah, absolutely saturated,   absolutely freezing,  

[00:02:23] Unknown:

to the point where sounds like a lovely romantic little date, though, Maleficus.  

[00:02:28] Unknown:

Well,   It does. It would have been a much more romantic date if I could have joined her in the shower afterwards, but there we go.   How about yourself?  

[00:02:42] Unknown:

Yes. Today is much better than yesterday.   Do you know there was something in the horoscopes about yesterday? People believed it was a big life changing day and stuff like that. And,   it started   with the night before,   Darren brings up. We sat down in bed, and he says,   have you paid that school fine yet? Because I decided to pay it. Okay? Because I just can't be dealing with it. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, so I'm like, no. No. I said, I think I think we've got another week.   So he's like, you better check. So I came downstairs, found the letter, and the deadline was that day. So now it's, like, 11:00 at night,   and you can't go online to pay it.  

And I'm like, oh, no. So tomorrow, it goes up, like, £80 straight away, which is so frustrating.   So I, like, emailed them   at quarter to eleven at night, and I said, I've been trying to get a hold of you, blah blah blah. I'm trying to make payment, but, obviously, I can't.   Can I phone up tomorrow and pay the £80?   Anyway, they got back to me the next morning and said, very sorry, but the deadline was yesterday.   Ugh. So I know. So I was, like, explaining circumstances.   I was trying to stay calm.   And then she says, would you like to get go ahead and pay the £160   fine now? And I said, no. I don't think I would. I think I'll just rather it go to court. There   there's no way I was gonna pay a £160   there and then. I was so mad.  



[00:04:08] Unknown:

So it is what it is. I'm over it now. It's a it's a tax it's a the thing is, as we said before,   it's a tax on for going on holiday.   If the whole country only   took their, you know, children on holiday during the six weeks of the summer holiday, the whole country   would grind to a standstill   because there'd be no one at work.  

[00:04:29] Unknown:

No. Exactly.   So that was the start of the day, and I was pretty stressed. And I got back from the school run, and I left my handbrake off my car. And I went outside five minutes later, and I thought, crikey. I didn't park it like that, did I? I mean, I am bad at parking sometimes,   but my car was, like, hanging off the curb onto the road. Oh, okay. Looked at it, and I realized that the handbrake had,   come off and then went around to observe. And my lovely car that I've had back for about   seven, eight weeks has now got a nice few scratches down the side.   Oh, man. So so that this was all, like, within an hour, the 160   pound fine hitting my car on the wall.  

And then later on, I was having some family around for a roast, and my cooker stopped working.   So I managed to do a roast in the air fryer. It's okay, actually.   And then while I'm trying to sort out my cooker,   our tenant says,   oh, we've got a massive water leak. They only live next door. So I was in there then, and I was drenched from head to toe with water just spurting out absolutely everywhere,   outside of the road trying to find a stop tap to turn it off.   So it was quite an eventful day yesterday.  

[00:05:43] Unknown:

Oh, man. Today is Sounds like you got as wet as I did today.  

[00:05:47] Unknown:

I was absolutely drenched.   But, you know, you go to bed in the evening, and it's like, crikey, what a day. And it got to about 10:00 last night, and I I could laugh about it all. But it was a bit stressful. But today I would imagine. Thank you. I would imagine it was a bit stressful. I mean, yeah, how how frustrating. I mean, you know,  

[00:06:07] Unknown:

I guess you're lucky,   because I guess you're lucky that your driveway is fairly flat, and it didn't go out into any oncoming traffic.  

[00:06:16] Unknown:

No. Exactly. But then Darren said if it had done that and gone straight across the road, I could have claimed off my insurance and just got a brand new bumper and everything.   No. That's true. Needed it. But it might have run somebody over. It might have caused a massive,   crash. You just don't know, do you? So, unfortunately,   that   fortunately, that gate gate post was where it was, and, it couldn't go any further. Well So,  

[00:06:38] Unknown:

it is a well known car. As you yeah. It's only a car, but it's the cost, isn't it? And, as you well know, last year, me and my other half ended up getting a a lovely van. We've we've sort of slip we are slowly converting into a camper and all that kind of thing, and we use it for going away at the weekends. And, you know, there's a little seat in the back that you can well, not a little. It's a very large seat in the back that you can roll out and turn into a bed, and it's lovely.   I was coming through, a place called Carnanton Woods. You probably won't know it, but it's it's near Saint Morgan, very, very old, oldie, oldie village in the in the in the Vale Of Lanherne.   And   I was driving along. I don't know whether I mentioned this before. I was I was driving along, and I noticed there was some debris in the in the road just before one of the corners.  

And I thought, oh, I'll I'll swerve out, and I'll miss that debris. I don't want it flying up the side of the van. Like you know? And,   just as I sort of swerved out, I noticed some idiot, you know, because it was the silly season. So we're going back a few weeks ago. So,   it was the silly season, as we call it down here in Cornwall, when all the Emmets,   ants,   come down and and and just flood the roads and, you know, just make everything congested.   And some some city slicker who couldn't you know, didn't wanna get too close to the hedge on the other side came round the corner that I was approaching   virtually on my side of the road. His his wheels were on the white lines.  

So, of course, I had to swerve back in,   and there was this huge crunch.   And   I thought we'd hit the debris that was on the side of the road, and that was what the noise was. And I have my missus hanging her head out the window because there's there's a little panel just underneath the, where where the petrol cap is,   next to the passenger door because it's a van. So the the, you know, the petrol cap isn't at the back. It's halfway along. It's just it's just behind the passenger door. I said, look. Hang your head out because there's a little panel under there that literally just clips on. It's a plastic panel. I said, hang hang your head out and make sure that it's still there, will you? And she duly did.   It was still there. No problems at all. I said, is it alright? And she she said, yeah. Yeah. Seems fine.  

Well,   get home. And she went to get out the passenger door, and it wouldn't open.   Oh, no. Reason being is that there was a branch.   Must have had a branch fall from one of the trees, and it was resting   on the fence line and sticking out into the road.   And it hit the wing of the car to the point where it bent the wing of the sorry. The van. And it bent the wing of the van to the point where the the passenger door wouldn't even open because it was pushing against the wing of the van.   So suddenly, I realized that, obviously, the debris wasn't the problem.   The branch had caused the debris that I was trying to avoid,   and I also came a cropper. So,   you know, I'm not as I said to my missus, I I'm not gonna beat myself up about it. I'm a I'm a bloody safe driver.  

You know, I've been driving   I've been on the road since I was 17. I'm now 49   and a and a bit.   And   I've only had, like, two accidents in my entire life, and one of them wasn't my fault. And one of them was while I had a motorbike, and I I should have had due diligence and and been a little bit more careful, but I was 17 and reckless. You know? Mhmm. And to be fair, the the bike accident I had when I was 17, the car came off fine. It was my body that didn't. So,   Yeah. And and that teaches you a lot of lessons. You know? I think the other lesson I learned driving when I was, you know, when I was a lot younger   because as you do, when you when you're younger, you you are reckless.  

So when I was 18,   I, you know, I used to visit the pub in my local hometown, which was Morgan Porth, which is where all the celebrities live now, and I couldn't afford to live there if I wanted to.   I used to visit there, and I I probably have one pint over the odds and and drive home as you should you shouldn't do, I know, but young and reckless and stupid.   So, you know, you take those risks when you're a kid. And I woke up one morning in living in staff quarters of the hotel that I I was working in, and I looked out the window. And I don't remember getting home.   Oh god. I didn't remember getting home. I don't remember how I got home. And I looked out, and there was a smashed headlight on the front of my car and a flat tire.  

And I was looking at it going, oh my god. What happened?   What happened?   And I was absolutely,   absolutely beside myself for the whole morning shift at work.   And I got home because I did split shifts in those days.   And I got home, and my mate,   a guy called Rich,   was   was waiting for me in my staff course because I used to leave the door unlocked so that they could come in and and, you know, just make themselves at home, my mates. You know?   And my mate, Rich, met up with me. He went, mate, I'm so sorry about your car. And I went, what happened? He went, well, you were absolutely trolley, he said. So I drove you home.   He said and I clipped the hedge on the way home. And I was like, mate, it's fine. I've been ex I thought, you know, I was expecting a knock on the door from the police. I was like, you know, god didn't know what had happened. I thought I might have hit someone or something.  

So that was a big life lesson for me back at the age of 18, and I've never   been a risky driver ever since. I've always been a really safe driver.   So for that to happen,   you know,   you know, with the van a few weeks back, I was just like, well, you know,   it's gonna cost £200   for a new wing. It's gonna cost another probably a couple of £100 to have someone spray it the right color.   But at least, you know, it wasn't down to my own fault. It wasn't down to lack of observation. And that's why they're called accidents, isn't it? Yes. They are. I mean, having said that, nearby me, my my daughter's bus for college,   as you know, my 15 year old daughter started college,   in in the last two weeks.  

My daughter's bus for college didn't turn up because there was a massive   accident on the,   road into Newquay.   That was a three car pile up and some poor woman had to be cut out of her car. So, you know, you gotta count your lucky stars really, you know. Oh, absolutely.  

[00:12:56] Unknown:

Absolutely. It's just disheartening at the time, isn't it? But It is. It is what it is. It is. I mean, I am an erratic driver. I know I am.   How many driving lessons do you think I had?  

[00:13:08] Unknown:

You did say you'd failed your test a couple of times.  

[00:13:12] Unknown:

Yeah. Well, I had 88 driving lessons. Wow.   Yeah. My first driving instructor dumped me after 52   and said he couldn't do any more with me.   And   and I failed my test twice. And on the third test, it was the same instructor that failed me the first time. But this time, I went, and I wore the shortest skirt I could,   and I was dipsy and, oh,   And I passed. I was even on the wrong side of the street at one point, but I still passed, and it was his last day.   But   four days after that, I wrote my mom and dad's car off. I mean,   I was careless going up the a 30 down the big dip a bit and radio on full blast. I'm changing the volume. It was a bank holiday Monday,   packet of crisps in my lap in my lap eating them. Going about 80 miles an hour and Oh, crikey. I had quite a dangerous accident, really, and that's I suppose it's made me more aware. I'm not I'm not keen on the motorway or I never drive on the motorway.  

To be fair, I drive, like, as far as Land's End, that end, and, like, Saint Austell, the other end.  

[00:14:20] Unknown:

I'm no big driver. Yeah. Fair enough. I mean, my other half doesn't like driving very much. I do all the driving pretty much. But Right. You know, I'm   I'm,   I'm very, very conscious. I mean, particularly since having a motorbike,   and having the crash that I did when I was 17.   I broke my collarbone.   I I was lying on the floor in front of the car, and the guy got out. He's obviously completely freaked out.   My bike had   well, I'd come around a blind corner, and it was in the lane. So I don't know whether you know Saint Newton East, but   it's it's all really tight lanes, single file traffic only. You you anyway, you're gonna get past another car as if they reverse back to a passing space. You know? That's a tall hedges, you know, down here for for overseas listeners. In Cornwall here, just just go and look at some of the   rural Cornish country lanes, and you will see how narrow they are and all that kind of thing. So there's me going along at probably, like, 40 mile an hour or something like that on a bike. And,   I rounded this corner, and there was a bloody white car around the corner. What was it doing there? So I hit the brakes, and, of course, the bike went out from under me. That went down the side of the car, took out the guy's wing mirror, and and put a nice huge dent down the side of his wing and and down the side of his driver door, and then the bike collapsed in the hedge having bounced off the car. You know? But I, unfortunately, bounced off the front corner of his car. I took his headlight out with my helmet,   and I tried to take the bumper of his car out with my collarbone, and, unfortunately, the the bumper won.  

Yeah. But it could have been so much worse, though, couldn't it? Oh, man. The the poor guy got out of the car, and I'm there rolling around on the floor in agony. Like, just everything, you know, seeing stars, everything's been knocked out of me, like, you know? And he went,   oh my god. Are you alright? And I went, of course, I'm not bloody alright. You've just knocked me off my bike, you you stupid bastard.   Excuse the French people. Excuse the excuse the French listeners. But, obviously, that's what came out of my mouth. And, bless him. He, you know, he did all the right things, called an ambulance and and all that kind of thing. And the most gutting thing about that day apart from lying there thinking I was gonna die for about twenty minutes out thinking, oh, you know, what's happened here? Because adrenaline is going and all that kind of thing. And I knew my shoulder hurt, but my whole body hurt. You know?   And, the most gutting thing about that day was not the repairs I had to do to my bike or the fact you know, because the insurance was knock for knock, so we didn't nobody you know, we had to pay for our own damage because it's the lane down here in the lanes. If if you have an accident in the lanes, unless unless it's you know,   back in those days, there wasn't the technology to work out who's at fault. So back in those days, it was knock for knock as far as insurance was concerned. So I had to pay for my damage. He had to pay for his.  

And,   but the most gutting thing is I was wearing a brand new pair of jeans, which the ambulance staff   diligently diligently took out their scissors and snipped all the way up to the to the middle of my thigh so that they could deal with the wound that was on my knee. And I'm like, I'll just take them off. And they're like, no. You're in no position to take your jeans off.   Oh, crikey. But I call it I broke my collarbone when I was 10, and god is agony, isn't it? It depends where you break. But, I mean, the collarbone is it takes a lot of stress from, you know, all your movement and everything. It's it's the   but I broke my collarbone   right next to the ball joint.  

So for years afterwards, when it got cold and damp, I I could feel it still. You know? I don't feel it anymore.   At least I didn't feel it yesterday,   today when I was absolutely soaking wet through. So,   thankfully, it's healed quite well. But, yes, it's excruciating. I did think I was gonna die, but I was 17 at the time, so life lessons.  

[00:18:07] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, no. Not a good one. Not a good one at all because it affects your whole body, like, getting up and, oh, god. I can remember being in agony. Yeah. But Yeah. Hey ho. I live to tell the tale. Yes. And that's the important thing, isn't it? You know? And and and, you know,  

[00:18:22] Unknown:

they always say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but what doesn't kill you also makes you a lot wiser   Definitely. Definitely. And a lot more diligent. And and as I say, I am a a blooming safe driver now. Right? You know, all these I know I moan about them, but the 20 mile an hour limits that have come in and all that kind of thing. I'm very lucky. I've got a fairly modern van.   And it's got it's not only has it got cruise control, but it's also got a limiter so I can literally set it so that it won't go above a certain speed. As you know, I got caught for speeding a couple of years ago.   And any listeners that aren't aware of that because they've only just tuned in   in the last month or two. Yes. I got caught for speeding doing 33 miles an hour in a 30 limit,   and I was literally just keeping up with the flow of traffic. And as you know, it's a rant of mine that they make £6,000,000   a day out of British drivers, which accounts for £18,000,000,000   a year of taxpayers' money.  

But the tax that you're paying is is simply a a tax on stupidity, I have to say.   I'm really thankful now that I've I use that limiter   everywhere even if it's a 40 mile an hour, 30 mile an hour, 50 mile an hour limit, 60, whatever.   Because it's a commercial vehicle, I'm not allowed to drive at 70 anyway. So as soon as I get onto, like, the a 30, like, sort of a a an a road or an m road,   I'd stick the limiter onto 60, and I'd you know, I'm I'm sitting pretty because I know that I can't be caught. And if anyone I have got cruise control, but I don't know how to use it. That would probably be one extra thing that would make me crash fiddling around with that. Yeah. I mean, the cruise control is one thing, but you actually have to touch the pedals to do anything to the car. Whereas   with with the limiter, I can set it to a certain speed, and it doesn't unless I put my throttle   right to the floor because it's a safety thing. If you put your foot right down, it will negate the limiter,   and it'll allow you to accelerate. So if you need to accelerate, it's out of trouble.  



[00:20:24] Unknown:

Yeah. I mean, there there's too many roads, though, that are, like, 20 miles an hour for, like, 20 meters, then 30 miles an hour, then 20 miles an hour again.   And my son got a ticket, oh, I don't know, a few months ago now, and he begged me, mom, will you do my course for me and take he said it's your first offense. And I'll tell you what, I've gotta be the best mom because I've booked a bloody course. He's paid the £100.   So if I do the course and I've admitted it's me,   he doesn't lose his license.   Really? But I have to do three hours, yeah, next week or the week after. Yeah. Anyway, I'm taking the blame, but loads of people seem to do that.  



[00:21:02] Unknown:

Yeah. They do. I mean I mean, my my, brother's other half actually. You know? Because, you know, we have a festival down here in the Southwest Of The UK called Boardmasters.  

[00:21:11] Unknown:

Oh, yes.  

[00:21:12] Unknown:

And,   during Boardmasters,   what they do is they set up all these   AI cameras   everywhere   so that they can catch people doing   anything illegal.   And my my other half well, not sorry. Not my other half. My brother's other half was traveling to work,   after the board masters had finished, but all these AI cameras were were left set up for a few weeks afterwards. Isn't that convenient?  

[00:21:39] Unknown:

Oh,  

[00:21:40] Unknown:

yeah. And   she was literally she lent across   to change the music   on her mobile phone,   and the AI camera has deemed that she was using her mobile phone. Because, obviously, you you can link your mobile phone to the Bluetooth in your car or whatever nowadays.   So if you if you wanna skip the music,   you have to reach for your phone. It's no different to reaching to the stereo, but because it was a mo because the AI has picked up that she's reaching for a mobile phone, she's got six points on her license and a £200   fine. Now for those overseas listeners that don't know, you're allowed a maximum of 12   points   on your license. So that's half her license gone already.  

And although they get   and I I I've probably mentioned this before in the last few weeks, but although the points   go off your license after three years,   the penalty that you pay on your insurance,   the insurance companies   have that last for five years. So your insurance premium goes up if you have any penalties on your license.   And they they keep those for five years even though the government forget about them after three. Isn't that nice?   It's all money, money, money.  

[00:22:54] Unknown:

Yep. Yep. I just hate the council and stuff like that.   I tell you,   there is the council all these fines and stuff like that. And this guy knocked on my door earlier,   who wanted to to inquire about some passport photos, and he was in his seventies. And,   he brought up my flag.   And, oh, we had such a good conversation.   See, that's why I wanted it there for the conversation starters.   And he started out he was like, are you a,   what's what's Nigel Farage's   group called? Oh, did yeah. Well, it used to be you. Reform. He said, are you are you a reform? Yeah. He said, are you a are you a reform supporter then, are you? And then, anyway, we got into the flow of conversation, and we were talk we were talking about the whole immigration  

[00:23:38] Unknown:

problem, and that just seems to be what is getting on everyone's go. It's Well, it is. But it's it's now being it's now being brought up in the mainstream media just to wind everyone up as well. I have to say reform   is a really bad name for a political party. If you go out to a pub and you order scampi,   do you want reformed scampi, or do you want wholetail scampi?  

[00:24:04] Unknown:

Oh, I've never heard of reformed scampi.  

[00:24:06] Unknown:

So if you go out to out to a pub nowadays and you order scampi, more than likely, it's reformed   scampi,   I e made up of all the little bits and stuff that they've snipped off of the other bits of wholetail scampi that they serve in expensive restaurants. So if you get wholetail scampi,   scampi being what what the what The US would call   shrimps,   so if you if you have battered shrimp in a pub nowadays,   unless it says that it's wholetail,   It's actually reformed from all the little bits that they cut off of the whole tale, and they stick it all together in a mush and then batter it.  

[00:24:48] Unknown:

So Tasty.  

[00:24:49] Unknown:

So as as as a political party, I'm not going for reform at all.  

[00:24:56] Unknown:

No. I don't blame you. Oh, well, you've educated me there, mister Scott.   So yeah. Careful of the scampi you order. That's that's that's Well, when we went to the Meadery a couple of months ago, Darren had scampi.   And within twenty minutes, oh, he was so ill. Oh, he was downstairs   throwing up. We had to leave in a taxi with a big bucket.   Oh, it was awful. And, apparently, when you get food poisoning from fish like that, it is literally within, like, twenty minutes.   And the manager, she wouldn't I I love going to the meadry. They haven't been back since because she should've just dealt with it better. She more or less made out that he drank too much weed weed   mead. And I mean, you know, a couple of glasses of mead isn't gonna make you violently sick like that. It was awful awful. But No. It's not. But then she's obviously thinking, oh, insurance. Insurance.  

But she could have just said, you know what? We don't know. I'm sorry this has happened. Let's give you, like, a a small dip a discount.   You know? I'll give you a free drink or some I don't know for next time, but I would have handled it differently because now I'm I won't go back because I I will go back at some point because I do like their food. I I won't have scampi, though. No. Well, I mean, that's the thing. I mean, scampi  

[00:26:09] Unknown:

any any kind of, shellfish, it can be really dodgy if it's not cooked properly.   The amount of bacteria that lives in shellfish anyway,   because most shellfish are what they call bottom feeders.   So they feed off of all the detritus   that is sinks to the bottom of the the rock pools or the or the ocean or the tank   that, you know, that they're kept in.   And,   they are cleanup crew.   Shrimps,   scampi, all those kind of things, they're cleanup crew. That's what they do. That's their job in the ocean. They clean up all the detritus,   all the mess.  

So I don't touch scampi with a barge pole anymore. I used to love prawns when I was a kid, and I just won't touch them at all now.  

[00:26:54] Unknown:

No. I think you've put me right off them now, to be fair. They're they're they're very enlightening this evening. Bottom feeders. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Just just think bottom feeder, and they just put you right off, wouldn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Done.   Anyway, mister Scott, where has the time gone?   Do you do have close to the bottom of the hour. Yeah. We are. So it must be time for a song. Okay. And the song is   a cover of the old Pink Floyd, another brick in the wall. And I came across it last night, and I was like, wow. This is so different. I think you're gonna love it. And I think it's probably quite apt because   mister Colin is coming back after the song to tell us about his time in London last weekend  

[00:27:36] Unknown:

Ah. Which So is set to be interesting. Folks, did he or did he not get arrested for holding up a flag? Let's find out.   So,   here we go. Here is the, the,   the Pink Floyd cover. Not the one I did this week. I'll send you that one later, Shelley.  

[00:27:54] Unknown:

Okey dokey.  

[00:27:56] Unknown:

Enjoy, folks. You're listening live to Radio Soapbox. It's the Shelley Tasker Show with   Shelley Tasker and your cohost, Milafika Scott. So we'll see you in a second. Here it comes.  

[00:28:41] Unknown:

Hey, teach   We done let out   hate the case.   We don't need our dog's   gooch   high. Dog suck yourself   in the glass robe.  

[00:31:41] Unknown:

There we are. That was a tune, wasn't it? It's a bit different, wasn't it? Yeah. I like it. I really like it. Yeah. I I love it when when you have people put the effort in and actually just do do the take make their own take on things, you know?   Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic.   Fantastic. Well, I've got I've got Colin here. Shall I bring him up? Bring him on. So listeners, Colin was on last week,  

[00:32:03] Unknown:

and he was talking us through his plans to go to London for the   defend our juries that are part of it, the whole,   Palestine   demonstration that was going on.   And he has got some news, I tell you. Good evening, Colin.  

[00:32:19] Unknown:

Good evening, Shelley. Hi.  

[00:32:21] Unknown:

How are you?  

[00:32:23] Unknown:

Hello. I'm good. I'm good. I think I've kind of come down now. You know, I was quite a little bit buzzing for a day or two afterwards.   So you should be.  

[00:32:33] Unknown:

That's good to have   you back, Colin.  

[00:32:36] Unknown:

Yeah. Thank you. Great to be back. Great to be back.  

[00:32:39] Unknown:

So   talk us through your day. I have read your   long post on Facebook, which I loved.   So I'll leave it to you to tell us about your day. Go for it. Oh my goodness. Where do we start? Start at the beginning like you did on your story. It was brilliant. I love reading it.  

[00:32:57] Unknown:

Lovely smooth journey up there, And we took in the sights and sounds for a short while.   Had a lovely little picnic by the river.   And, then it was time to go, you know. So after a quiet moment by the river,   our little posse, I had my partner with me and a couple of very, very good   friends who are   not quite up to where I am in terms of their willingness to,   take a stand. But they're not far behind me, you know, so it's great to have them along as well. Very supportive. Good people.   And then so then we moseyed around into Parliament Square.   The whole place was buzzing.  

Lots of people around, obviously.   And,   I   disappointingly, I didn't actually hear Big Ben strike 01:00 because that's what I was anticipating.   But at the appointed hour, which was 01:00,   the marker pens came out. The squeaking   started happening all over the square.   And then before you knew it,   the signs were   being held.   And,   I think the final arrest figure was up towards 900, wasn't it? 890.   But pretty the square we could've squeezed a few more in, so there's still room for you next time, Shelley, if you wanna come up. I'm tempted.  

[00:34:19] Unknown:

And just can you just, clarify for the listeners what your sign said?  

[00:34:25] Unknown:

Yeah.   It   said,   I oppose   genocide.   Very simple statement.   Followed by,   I support   Palestine   action.  

[00:34:39] Unknown:

A really dangerous thing.  

[00:34:41] Unknown:

Yeah.   Maybe that's a timely moment, Shelley. Can I just interject interject there with the standard disclaimer just for the Metropolitan Police and anybody else who might concern? Just what I particularly I, and I'm sure you would echo this. What I'm all about here   is a campaign to protect the right to   speak freely. You know, I'm not here to support or not support Palestine action. For me, that's just not what this is about now.   It's purely the campaign   to lift the ban or this   this crazy   prescribing   of a bunch   of nonviolent   direct action people to describe them as terrorists.  

That ban needs to be lifted for me. It's a ludicrous thing that's happened. And that's what I'm campaigning for,   not to generate support for Palestine Action or to support them. So I just wanna be really, really clear about that.   Now where were we?   Yes. So the signs Signs are not Signs are not there in the square. And I mean, my goodness. I I'm sure I couldn't really convey to you in words, but the the vibe at that moment, you know, for want of a better word.   It was a moment, and I I   took the time to just really look what was around me, you know, to really absorb the scene and take it all in.   And it it was just so impressive, you know, the number of people there.  

And because leading up to the protest, as normally happens, you know, that the police, they seem to see it as part of their job   to keep the numbers on the protest as low as they can. So before leading up to the protest,   their public relations department,   AKA the propaganda department for me, they will put out,   missives to say, look, you better not do this. If you do do this, there's gonna be terrible consequences for you. You know? They'll do a bit of fear moggling to try and reduce the numbers.   So when I sat there and I looked around,   and so many people, just   rock solid people,   just sitting there   absolutely   fearless,   absolutely   unmoved by all those kind of fear mongering noises,   just sitting there,   completely present, completely poised,   signs proudly in front of them,   kind of energetically   saying to the Met Police, well, okay. Here I am. You know? Come and do it. You know, the numbers that were doing that, it was just   quite a thing. It just really was quite a thing.  



[00:37:15] Unknown:

It sounds like it. You've, like, made my hair stand up on my arms.   I feel the vibe. Yeah. So carry on.  

[00:37:24] Unknown:

And, around that time,   the drums were beating as well. There was a drum   bit there was   drum beat that was going quite ferociously in the background. And initially, to me, it it was a little bit jarring, you know. I didn't find that helpful at all. It was it was just a crowd that was kind of peripheral   to this sit down protest. The people on the peripheries,   they were quite lively. You know, there was a lot of chanting going on,   singing, whistles were going. But particularly, there was a drumbeat with some chanting.   And I found it a little bit unsettling, you know, because it it's a moment where,   we're really looking to just sort of,   you know, just ground down there, you know.  

But I have to say through the day as I kinda watch things,   my conclusion would be that that other kind of activity that was happening all around the protest,   I think it really did actually contribute   something as well.   So for me, it's those two hard I think it was what was particularly powerful about the day for me was   those two different differently oriented   orientated sets of people. The people that were the kind of,   and they almost look like everybody could have been meditating, you know,   just sitting there still as a rock, you know, unmovable.   And then the people all around the outside that were kinda much more colorful and almost like a carnival atmosphere, you know. And I think it was two those two distinctly different   approaches to the situation   coming together.  

Certainly, my   observed at one time how difficult it was for the police   because they wanted to get to and arrest the signholders,   but they were really being hampered   by the lively bunch, the rabble rousers.   They were really getting in the way. And not having even to try particularly hard to get in the way, just the fact that they were there.   And I think they were trying a little bit to get in the way, by the way. But the whole it was a combination of everything.   At one and I was gonna say at one stage, but in actual fact, I think it was   maybe for three or four hours,   the situation was starting to look just completely   unpoliceable.  

Because what was happening that   the police would come out from the back streets, that's what they do, they set up a big camp in the back street,   and they would appear from their back streets in a little posse.   It might be four, five, six officers.   And each one of those, they're a little team. They're gonna look to dip into   the sign holders, and they're they're gonna look to pick somebody up and arrest them and cart them away. But each time when those little posse came out from around the corners and started moving towards the sign stickers,   they would sort of just somehow   naturally get surrounded   by maybe three or four deep I don't know, maybe thirty, forty, 50 members of the public who are there supporting the protest, you know, the lively bonds with their silent and their chants.  

They would, kind of, surround each one with these little posses, policemen,   and they were just rendered completely, kind of, impotent. They couldn't move. They couldn't go and arrest anybody.   And then I'm sure for them, they quite possibly found that a little bit intimidating. I saw it happen once or twice,   and the police had little option but just to stand there.   And, you know, it went on for quite some minutes sometimes. And then, eventually, from what I saw,   the lead officer in the little group would tap the rest of them on the shoulder, point back to where they'd come from, and they'd all just file off back there again.   And this was quite a you know, I've never seen anything quite like this.  



[00:41:00] Unknown:

So do you think that was because they were, like, a little bit unsure? Do we make do we start making arrests?  

[00:41:06] Unknown:

Well, it is just literally, they were physically   not able   to get to the place where they wanted to make a rest. Brilliant. They were they were kind of being booked, you know.   And this all this it completely changed at a certain point. Some hours later,   the police tactics completely changed. We we kinda saw that happening. Because over the first   three or four hours,   they'd only made maybe a handful of arrests. So,   you know, it looked to me like the numbers   sitting in the square holding the ceiling, they were barely impacted,   you know. And you've got to bear in mind it's it's at the back of my mind. Well, the Met Police have promised us, it doesn't matter how many people are there, they're gonna carry out all the all the arrests. You know, the system is not gonna be overwhelmed.  

And at this stage, you know, three or four hours in, I'm thinking, well,   crikey. This is gonna take a week. At the you know, they're probably doing three arrests per hour or something, you know.   And, it it looked entirely possible. Like, well,   I might be going home disappointed. I might be going home not arrested.   I was having to face up for that possibility. You know? But then suddenly, somewhere around four or 05:00,   things just started accelerating.   And there was a very specific reason why they started accelerating.   And the arrest, they pump they went up from maybe three arrests per hour.  

Suddenly, we were going up 40 arrests per hour, and maybe   even could have gone as high as a hundred hundred arrests per hour with a distinct   change in personnel from the police and a change in tactics.  

[00:42:38] Unknown:

I'll tell you what that was, I guess. I I was gonna say, can you what was the the the the change in because you say a change in personnel   and a change in tactics. That's a very important point.   Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry sorry to interject there, but that's yeah. I just yeah. I'm glad you're about to elaborate.  

[00:42:56] Unknown:

No. It's alright. I will elaborate.   I just don't wanna kinda take over the whole show and just be talking solid for half an hour. You know? It's about you. Please go ahead.   It's about it's about what happened on Saturday. Right. So the change that we we observe and it wasn't a sudden change. We gradually just noticed, okay, they're doing it differently now.   And   in short, I could just say   the heavy squad arrived.   I don't know if people are aware, but there's a certain   type of policeman,   and they've had extra training, what they call public order training.   So they're trained   to deal with public order situations or in other words, large protests   or riots.  

And these are a particular type of policemen.   They have it's stipulated to enter that to get the public order training.   They have to be a few inches taller.   You know, they have to be a little bit fitter.   So it's a kind of different breed of policemen. They're they're what used to be called the riot squad.   They have all sorts of different euphemisms   for it now. Like, it might be the tactical support group or   and there's quite a few   different things they're known as. But basically, they're public order train police or they're the old riot squad.   And, so they started appearing, you know, distinctly   kinda bigger and bulkier than your average policeman.  

And they there's they've got a totally different manner.   Like, again, to to qualify for that public order training, they have to be psychologically   profiled.   They they're the kind of policemen that if they're ordered to stamp on their own granny, they would do it without hesitation. You know, there are certain type of,   they're the guys kinda like, okay, there's no talking to them. You know, they're just there for the energy and they're steaming.   So they were operating in squads of about six, and they started to appear from different directions.   So the six of the of the big beefy blokes,   they would just sort of march straight into the crowd. And if anyone's gonna get in the way, they're just gonna get bashed out of the way. You know, they don't take any prisoners.  

This   this  

[00:45:05] Unknown:

So so were these guys equipped with riot shields, batons, helmets,   all that kind of thing? No.  

[00:45:11] Unknown:

No. I have to say, they were they were in their sort of most polite and courteous   mode.   They weren't up for a fight or anything.   They would just they would just march straight in.   They'd pick on a particular sign holder,   and they just lift them up and just walk off with them.   Then no. There was no,   no,   what's the word? No agro about the whole thing.   But it was just distinct, you know, okay, we can't mess with these guys. If they wanna go in and pick someone up, that's what they're gonna do.   And whereas the rebel rousers with the the normal policeman earlier in the day, they could surround them,   and the normal policeman would just stand there, kinda, scratching their heads, or what do we do? Whereas you you just wouldn't do that with the riot squad. Just wouldn't do it. If you did do it, you'd come off with a bloody nose or something and quite possibly an arrest as well. You know? So it's it's night and day, those two types of policing.  

So so they didn't have any kind of body armor? No nothing. They were just they were dressed the same as the other coppers. Is that is that am I to get that just to get the picture straight for the audience. That's all. Yeah. Yeah. More or less the same. But there's no mistaking them still because of their stature as human beings. You know? They're as I say, these these are the guys that will go in when the football hooligans are kicking off, you know.   These are, you know, they're they're they're kinda basically ready for a fight. I mean, there's no fighting happening there. There was nothing,   aggressive particularly for months. I think there were a few minor skirmishes here and there on the edges, but nothing nothing really you know, because nobody   of the sign holders nobody was remotely resisting in the West.  

So, you know, it wasn't like it wasn't peaceful or something. And one of those interesting thing to note about these guys though   was   they have on the back of their uniform the the police force that they've come from.   And quite quickly, we noticed so, okay.   We've had a coach load coming from Wales.   There's some there. They've come down from County Durham.   There's some there from Lancashire.   So that's the size of the policing operation.   I don't know if if you're aware. The policing do this thing. They call it mutual aid, where if one force has   a need for more officers, they're called in from other forces.  

So this was police from the particularly the public order frame police. They were coming from all over the country, and that's the size of the operation.   And it and it just the whole thing just then starts to become more and more absurd.   Because you gotta remember the end result here is   grandmas and the likes of me and the retired bickers and nurses,   It's all about arresting them because they're sitting in the park with a piece of cardboard.   And the size and the cost of the police operation to do that   is just absolutely insane.  



[00:48:13] Unknown:

Yeah. That that that that begs a question it begs a a few questions. You know? If if they did just allow them to sit there peacefully with a piece of cardboard,   nothing would have come to it, would it? Really?  

[00:48:24] Unknown:

No. No. It wouldn't even be newsworthy,   particularly.   No. I, you know, I think from   a strategic point of view,   very questionable   decisions are being made if we put it that way. That's the politest way I could put it,   you know, in terms of   I mean, I'm seeing that on the legal side of things as well. I don't know if you're aware, but the,   this prescribing of the activist group   is going to be challenged by judicial review.   And I think that comes up towards the November.   And all the indicators are, okay, the whole sorry saga should end at that point because it's a very obvious case   to say that the law as it's currently standing,   we have two laws that are in direct conflict with each other. That's the Terrorism Act and the prescribing   of this group is in direct conflict with the Human Rights Act that, you know, says we have a right to protest, we have a right to freedom of expression.  

So it looks to me like the law should never have been put there as it is. I don't know how the government lawyers have allowed that. The only way I can see they've allowed that is they've said to their their customers, you know, the government ministers, they said to them just what they want to hear.   So I guess we all have that tendency, don't we, to appease the boss, you know. Especially their payments, lots of money, we'll tell them what they want to hear.   But it has come about. We appear   obviously, I'm no legal expert, but we appear to have these two laws   that are in debt direct conflict with each other,   which had never been allowed to happen. And all the indicators are, all the noises are,   the judicial review is likely to be successful,   mainly on the basis of,   it's as the law is currently standing, it's an infringement an undue infringement on right to freedom of expression.  

But here's the really interesting thing.   So I was thinking that, okay, we've got the judicial review coming up. It looks like it has a very high chance of success.   Well,   guess what happened? The the government   are   working to try and block that judicial review from happening.  

[00:50:40] Unknown:

No surprise there.  

[00:50:42] Unknown:

Well, it's fairly easy to read into that. Okay. So they think it's got a very high chance of success as well.   But, I mean, just as a, you know, as as a   very   low level amateur   strategist, I mean, I can see if they do manage to block the judicial review,   what can that do except inflame the situation even further?   It will be  

[00:51:07] Unknown:

such a horrendous thing to do, you know. So I think you've hit the nail on the head there. I think you've hit the nail on the head there because I think they want to incite the public at this moment  

[00:51:18] Unknown:

in time. No. That's an interesting point. Yes. That's a very interesting point.   Yeah. Unless they've have strategized   that, you   know and it is a,   you know, deliberate ploy  

[00:51:32] Unknown:

to inflame the public. Well, for me, this this this screams of the Hegelian dialectic problem reaction solution. They have already worked out what the solution they want to bring in. They have to create the problems in order to bring in the solution.  

[00:51:45] Unknown:

You mean civil unrest in order to   instigate some new laws or, you know, army on the street or Let's not get the last show we did together. They just bought in the whole digital ID.   And, not my  

[00:52:04] Unknown:

is it actually brought in now? Well, it is. I saw they were just They were discussing it for migrants, weren't they? So, you know, why not bring it in for everyone because everyone's causing this unrest. You know?   Yeah. Just just just a train of thought. I'm not saying that's necessarily the case, but it it certainly bears thinking about it.  

[00:52:22] Unknown:

Yeah. Interesting times,   Yeah. Anyway, the government are trying to block the judicial review.   It looks very questionable thing to them. I mean, the case is is so clear. I mean, I don't know if you're aware.   In Scotland on Saturday,   there was a,   more or less identical protest.   The numbers were much lesser.   I think it was around   a 100 people,   protested the prescription of the group   by holding the sign. They sat down,   I think, in front of the Parliament Building.   So a 100 people did, in Scotland, exactly what was done in London.   And how many arrests were made?  

Well None.   Big fat zero.  

[00:53:08] Unknown:

Yeah.  

[00:53:09] Unknown:

And,   you know,   begs the question, why were no arrests made?   Well, the fact is that the police,   commissioner and their chief prosecutor   has had a letter from the Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights   to say something to the effect of,   hey, guys. I think you need to be really careful what you're doing there because it looks to me like you're in serious danger   of unduly restricting   ECHR article ten and eleven rights of those people. They've kind of had that warning, you know, so they the Scottish police have made a decision.   Okay. We better not arrest them then. I think they have previously arrested people up there.  

And I think it it even went as far as court dates being set for   the prosecutions.   And then when this letter came from this the human rights commissioner,   the court dates were canceled.   And subsequent to that, Saturday's protest,   there was zero arrest ball   sitting there holding me, apparently, offensive time. Nobody was arrested. So this is where I say, you know, it's hard to see that the judicial review down here   wouldn't overturn the prescription   on   purely on the human rights basis. I believe there are other basis, other reasons it's been channeling.   But it's hard to see it wouldn't be overturned.  

Yeah. It's interesting.  

[00:54:32] Unknown:

It's interesting because maybe there weren't the numbers up there to make the impact.   That's that's another way of looking at it. You know? If if we if, you know, if Yeah. Maybe it won't cause enough unrest amongst the people if we only arrest 100 people. Maybe they need the numbers to grow.  

[00:54:48] Unknown:

Yeah. Who knows? Who knows? I don't know. We can only speculate.  

[00:54:51] Unknown:

Yes. That's it's pure speculation on my part. Absolutely. Yeah.  

[00:54:57] Unknown:

Yeah.   Yeah.   So  

[00:55:00] Unknown:

back to the story.   Back to the day. Yeah. Back to the day. Yes. So we're a few hours in now, and you've seen the change.   Yes. Didn't sound really rude then.   Back back to the story.   Now I just wanted to hear all of your story.  

[00:55:16] Unknown:

Yeah. Me and your Monday. We were getting a little bit sidetracked perhaps. You're right. That's alright. But, like, if you  

[00:55:21] Unknown:

always does that. Don't you, mister Scott? Sorry. It's it's it's typical me. I just, you know, I have to throw in my 2p worth because there's always No. It's fine. There's always two sides to the the whole,   government.   One of my favorite quotes, Colin, is by Franklin Delano Roosevelt,   and that is nothing in politics happens by accident.   Listen. If you go over your half hour, please stay with us because, you know, because we're Yeah. Don't worry. We're only a few minutes to   the top of the hour, and and, you know, we we'll we'll probably play a tune at the top of the hour, but I'd love you to stay with us and just continue the story if you can. Yeah. Don't worry. There's no Following your lead. Following your lead. Yep.  

[00:55:59] Unknown:

No worries. Right. Carry on.  

[00:56:01] Unknown:

Back to the day. Yeah. Back to the day. So we've seen the, pace of arrest,   building and escalating.   So   the moment came. Basically, the moment came around 06:30.   Some of the people around me had started to disappear.   And,   that so I there came that moment, five or six of them coming towards me. I'd made the decision before that moment that I was gonna be thrown. I was gonna lie down completely flat on the floor.   And I'd made the decision I wasn't going to cooperate with the arrest in terms of actively helping them to do it. I was gonna   make myself completely passive.  

The reason for that is it takes a lot more policemen to affect the arrest that way. Obviously, they've all got to pick me up and carry me off the thing   rather than if I just got up and walked, then one or two officers can carry out that arrest.   So I I required the presence of six of them.   As they approached and started to do their thing,   I did my,   impression of a dead body, as I like to term it. I just went completely limp. And,   sure enough, they   hold me up   and carried me off   couple of 100 yards, I guess, around the corner.   Very I was impressed. They very gently put me down on the on the, pavement,   lowered me   perfectly onto the pavement.  

And at that point, I decided, oh, okay. I've made my point.   So I sat up, started cooperating with them.   And that led into the the whole processing procedure, which was,   a very short ride around the corner   in the van. I was very surprised when I first stepped on and sat on the van. It was an empty minibus,   and there must have been a dozen or so seats.   And the first slot I had to myself was,   okay. I've hit a little bit unlucky here because   I'm now gonna have to sit and wait here for the rest of the minibus to be filled up with sign arrested sign holders.   But to my   to my surprise, no. They they took off quite quickly,   and I still had five officers with me. So it's just me and the five policemen in the van,   which I found slightly puzzling. You know, I I queried it. You know?  



[00:58:17] Unknown:

So I was gonna say, did you have a chat with them?  

[00:58:20] Unknown:

Yeah. I'll be fine.   He made a friend.   Yeah.  

[00:58:25] Unknown:

Just for some just for some context there, in previous protest situations, I've become known to the police. They've referred to me in their morning briefings   as the king rabbiter.   So I just have a   I have a habit of I have a habit of, kind of, getting in their ears at any given opportunity,   for different purposes, you know, sometimes,   yeah, for different purposes.   Anyway, so I did I did inquire. Oh, well, you know, I'm not a big bloke, you know, and I'm not a master criminal.   Is there a reason I've got five of you guys with me? You know? I mean, I felt very honored, but I I thought   must be a reason for this. And they said, yeah. It's in case you go dead again.  



[00:59:09] Unknown:

Well done you, sir.   Well done you. Indeed. That's fantastic.  

[00:59:14] Unknown:

Yeah. I'm very pleased with that because I thought, oh, well, all the time you're hanging out with me,   you're not carrying out a stupid unlawful arrest on some granny out there or something. Funny. Probably half of them thought the same.   Yeah. Quite possibly. I think quite possibly.   Yes. I mean,   yeah, I mean, slightly changed the subject. But as the day went on and I'm chatting to them, I discover   a lot of them, they had started their shift at 08:00 in the morning, including   my friend Ben that we might come to in a minute. And they started their shift at 08:00 in the morning.   And this operation was still going strong at 12:00 in at night. Wow.  

That's one hell of a shift for their police officers.  

[00:59:58] Unknown:

Wow. You know? That's a that's a sixteen hour shift, isn't it? It is. Yeah. Look, Colin, hold that thought because we're about to come to the top of the hour.   Or we have just come to the top of the hour. So, folks, you are listening live to radiosoapbox.com.   Whose show is it, Shelley?   It's the Shelley Tasker Show. It is indeed. It is indeed.   So we're gonna play a quick tune for you guys, and we will be back in a few minutes. And I think   I think this this is this is a good time to play this this tune actually, bearing in mind your your limp posture,   during the protest. Well done. And I don't mean your limp stance. I mean, literally your limp posture by being arrested.  

This is a tune called this is a tune called Falling Down. I hope you enjoy it, guys.   This is How great it is. This is this is straight   from the pure original archive, folks. If you like any of the tunes of the pure pure original archive, feel free to send me a message.   I will give you the email address before the end of the show. Alright. Here it comes. Falling Down.   Like it. Like it. There you go. Yeah. If if anyone's interested in any of that, any of that archive,   just contact me. [email protected],   ma,ll,[email protected].  

You are listening live to Radio Soapbox, folks.   Let's get on with the story with Colin.  

[01:04:50] Unknown:

Hi again.  

[01:04:52] Unknown:

Part two. Welcome back.   Right. We're getting excited now.  

[01:04:57] Unknown:

Well, the big moments happened really. You know?   The rest has just happened. So, whistled around the corner into a van. And we had a very short drive, five, ten minutes.   And then which I thought we might I thought we could be headed anywhere, you know, to a police station outside London.   But, no, they've got themselves organized   with   a   processing center only about five or ten minutes drive away around a few other London streets.   So the van arrives there quite soon.   Out of the van, I get with Ben.   Sorry. Ben. Right. So,   as soon as I I kinda switch modes from the dead body   back into the normal   cooperative human being that I am, as soon as I switched modes back, I made a point of,   asking, well, because there's I'm quite surrounded by police at this day. Six of them ran me. They said, well, who's the arresting officer? You know, I told them why I'd done with it, why I hadn't cooperated.  

And then I said, so who's the arresting officer, please?   And one of the guys, quite sheepishly   sheepishly, I'd have to say, raised his hand,   identified himself.   So at that point, I said, well, you know, hi. My name's Colin. What's your name?   As I extended my hand to him,   and he shook my hand.   And, again, quite hesitantly,   he said his name was Ben.  

[01:06:17] Unknown:

And I understand the fact that he raised his hand.   Yeah.   Just gotta point that out. It's like being back in school.  

[01:06:27] Unknown:

It was quite funny. He did it with a kind of little nervous shuffle of his feet.   It was it wasn't in a rush to to be known who he was. But,   yeah. Sorry. So,   so that's Ben. So, I mean, straight away, as soon as I can in these situations, I wanna kinda get the human thing in there. You know, the human element. You know? Right? We're playing different roles. He's in the uniform. He's gotta do what his job requires him to do. And I've gotta do what my job requires me to do. You know? So we're on different completely different wavelengths   on the one hand. And yet on the other hand, of course, we're both,   completely ordinary human beings.  

So as quick as I can, I like to sort of make that contact and just kinda reassure them, you know, look, you're dealing with a normal   ordinary human being here with a name and a you know, so I look to start sort of promoting that side of it, you know, where we can just talk to each other on a level?   You know, I don't want any any of the nonsense like them talking down to me and kind of postulating and trying to assert some kind of phony authority on me. You know, I don't wanna play that game. So for me, it's as quickly as possible, come get on a level with them, you know, get them on a level.   So so I know by this stage, Ben is my arresting officer.  

You know, so we pop off the van and Ben says, oh, well, just follow me if you would. So I follow Ben, and we just go around a few corners   of the High London buildings.   And we come out into quite an extraordinary   scene.   And we come out I I subsequently   learned the name of the street. I think it's called Millbank.   And it's a long street that stretches down runs right down the side of the River Thames.   So we got the Thames on one side. We've got   very fine regency buildings on the other side. And we have a long road   that's completely void of any any vehicles.  

The police have obviously commissioned this road.   Now as we go around the corner, we join the back of a very long queue.   Maybe I'm guessing maybe it's the queue's 100 to 200,   places deep.   Way in the distance,   beyond the end of the queue, we can see a couple of white   meeting you know, wedding style marquees, you know, the temporary marquee.   So they're about a couple of 100 yards away in the distance.   So it quickly becomes clear to us. Okay. We're in the queue, and eventually, we're gonna get up there, and that's where the processing center is, you know, where they take details and things like that.   But it it's already evident at that point. The queue is moving very, very slowly.  

So at that point, I turned to Ben. I said, well, Ben, it looks like you and I are going to get to know each other quite well this evening. Yeah. I just just to let people know, this street is probably  

[01:09:16] Unknown:

I'm gonna say at least a mile and a half, maybe two miles long. It's near the Lambeth Bridge, folks, if you wanna look it up on on,   Google Maps.  

[01:09:26] Unknown:

Anyway, it's a lovely street.   You know, quite posh.   Tree lines. Nice big trees down each side of the the road. Victoria Gardens is right next door.   Oh, well, it was a lovely start, you know, and it was a lovely evening. You know, all day the weather had been just so lovely, you know, just the night temperature, lots of sunshine. So it was still a lovely evening.   And,   and down this road, there's actually two queues.   You know, there's two queues running parallel.   So then then we set up basically, we set about the business of waiting, you know. Ben and I, obviously, we're having our little chats here and then. We're starting to get a bit of a better handle on each other.   You know, to start with, I just keep chatting   quite,   uncontentional, let's say. You know, we just talk about   things like where where he goes to visit his mother and what a nice town that is. And, okay, you you know, I'm saying, oh, anybody waiting for you at home then? You know, and he says, no.  

I said, well, not even a cat then? He says, no. And I said, oh, that's a bit sad then. You know? And   we we thought we thought we thought gone, you know, it comes clear. I said, oh, well, I hope you're really kind of a woman soon then because he wants he wants to know, you know. So we're we're just building this relationship, you know. We're just establishing the rapport.   And, of course, as well as Ben for company,   there's all the other arrested sign holders, and their accompanying placement. So everybody's paired up. You know, it's the most bizarre kind of scene that was before us. Because the queue, as it stretches down towards the processing place, each place in the queue   is occupied by   a fluorescent   jacketed   arresting officer   to the left   and a detained sign holder to the right. So it's all couples, you know, all down the road on both sides of the road. It's two long queues of these   quite peculiar looking couples. You know? The most surreal situation, really. You know?  



[01:11:28] Unknown:

So At that point, it's kind of fit I just wanna point out, like, for the listening audience. At that point, it's kind of like fifty fifty, isn't it? There's just one person   on one side. Well and and as I just said, the the the street is about a mile, mile and a half long.   So that is literally   two to three miles of people.  

[01:11:46] Unknown:

I don't know if we filled the whole street. I don't know if we filled the whole length of the street, but, you know, it was a significant length to this queue. You know, it was,   quite surreal quite a surreal situation.   So, you know, to get from the back of that queue to the front, I mean, eventually, I'll skip forward. So that took   approximately three hours.   But I'm I'm having a whale I'm having a whale of tiredness. I mean, as we look around, you know, you can see the different demeanors of different people in the situation.   Some people were looking a little bit forlorn and fed up. You know, you can imagine if, say, if it was a supermarket queue and it takes three hours to get to the till. That's a long that's a long old wait, you know. That's a long wait. That's a long wait. I   I mean, I was having a wait at the time, like, because I was, you know, chatting with my new friend, Ben, and a few of the other people around. And we were just sort of having fun, you know, all sorts of ways.  

And once we got over the blimp, as you know, sort of half an hour in, I said to myself, well, okay. Well, we know each other quite well now. We can start   raising some of the more,   sensitive subjects, you know, like   human rights and what's going on in the houses of parliament and   nature of policing in Britain today. All this kind of,   you know, more contentious kind of stuff. So Ben and I,   we kinda give all that sort of stuff in our room, you know, periodically, then we'll go back to the really light hearted stuff. It was good enough to look up the football score. I wanted to know if it can be on his smartphone.   And eventually, we get so relaxed.  

I said, oh, Ben, you know, would you mind if I just pop over there and lean against that tree and have a cigarette and just have a rest for ten minutes?   And he's like, yeah. Yeah. Fine. No problem. You know? So we we've kinda got a good sort of mutual understanding that, you know, we're not gonna cause each other any trouble. We're just there to have a good time as much as we can.   Eventually, we get to the front of the queue.   And, first booth we went through was just a little place where   a little marquee, Ben had to register some numbers.   And,   just as we go through there, I asked the question   of the lady doing that.  

Is this a custody suite we're heading into?   And she says, no. This isn't a custody suite. No. This is just a processing center. No. Okay. Thanks very much.   So we go through that little place,   another short queue.   And so ten minutes later,   the time arrives for us to enter the processing center.   So Ben and I approach that, and it set up this 10 different booths.   In each booth,   a an arrestee is being processed.   So we go right down towards the end and we find an empty booth.   And we go into the empty booth and there's three   people sat behind a long desk. So they're there ready to process us, Two chairs on our side of the desk.  

So Ben and I have a seat, and   we set about the work of getting me processed.   They're asking for name and address, date of birth.   I suddenly I'm suffering from memory loss all of a sudden. Can't remember, so   no comment in them. Because at this point, I know this is a there's a pivotal juncture here. There's a juncture where if it goes one way, they can establish who I am and when I was born, where I live, if it goes that way,   they can just release me straight away back onto the streets   on a street bail.   That's that's the method by which they managed to do 500 arrests   in a day the last time the protest happened.  

So I know they're gonna be gunning for that. They they want my details so that, basically, they can just put me back out on the street,   with bail conditions and to appear at the police station sometime. If they can't establish the land when I was born and where I live, if they can't do that,   they're then obliged   to take me to a proper police station   and a proper custody suite.   So I I know this is gonna play out. There's gonna be this little tussle. Can they find who I am or not?   And, so I no comment them   initially.  

But early in that process, I say to I say to the three people   doing this processing, I say, is this a proper custody suite?   And they all pipe up, yes. It is.   So straight away, I'm saying to them,   mhmm. Sorry, guys. As my friend Ben here will testify, I've just been told it isn't.   You know? But they're trying to keep me at ease.   So, anyway, eventually,   via my bank card, they did manage to come up with the right information.   Damn. Even so Yeah.  

[01:16:29] Unknown:

Yeah. That reminds me of the Joan Armer trading song opportunity where she actually ends up going out,   to to commit a crime, and and she she accidentally drops her wallet at the crime scene. Go on.  

[01:16:43] Unknown:

Anyway, they found me out. They came up with my details. Quite a little a minor triumphant moment for them.   Triumphant.   So   quickly the processing moved on there. I mean, there was there was a really interesting   little time in between. When I said all the no commenting,   particularly the woman on the left of the three people, there were two of them had laptops in front of them. She was furiously tapping away.   I noticed later she had my bank card in front of her, so she was obviously,   delving into that.   But it there was a quiet while. So then I pipe up, okay. You've asked me lots of questions, guys. I think it'd be only fair if I get to ask you some questions now.   And the lead guy said, yeah. Okay. Go on. No problem.  

Well, that was my invitation   to engage with the guy on the right of the three who had announced himself at the beginning   as being from the counter   terrorism   command.   Now,   again, we go back well, we're arresting old ladies and peaceful people for holding cardboard signs in a park, But we have   the counter terrorist command officer.   It's part of the operation.   I assume there was one of them sitting in each booth. He was making up part of the three people in my booth.   So I had a very interesting,   in quotation marks, exchange with him.   Very interesting.  

And, we only chatted for about two or three minutes.   And he stood up, and he left the building.   So I was asking him questions that   he wasn't so comfortable answering. Like,   do you think this massive police operation that must be costing many millions of pounds,   Do you think this could possibly contribute   in any way   to countering terrorism?   Good question, That's a pretty good question. Yeah. And he's like Lot of money. Are we getting something for this money? You know, it's public. We probably wanna know this. Have we gained something for these many millions? Anyway, his answer was,   well,   in my view, no. I don't. I don't think it could contribute to the campaign of terror.  

And at but at that point, he went a little bit on the back foot. And he said to me,   well, you know, the law is the law, and we don't write the law. The politicians write the law.   And you know it's our job. We just have to enforce the law as they write it. It doesn't matter if we agree with it or not. You know, if it's quite a standard line from policemen when they're justifying Yeah. But the the oath that they take on the on the day that they graduate to be a policeman is to uphold common law. It's not to uphold the laws of the land. Uh-huh. I didn't know that, but interesting point.   Yeah. Anyway, so he says to me, you know, we're here to enforce the law as it's written. So, kinda, what can we do? It's not our fault. We're just here to enforce the law.  

And I made the point to him then, well, you know, actually,   sir,   what you're doing, you're not actually enforcing the law.   What you're actually doing, you're enforcing   a law,   I e, the Terrorism Act. And I said you're enforcing that law as it's written. That's your job. That's what you have to do. You have no choice in that.   But excuse me, sir.   While you're enforcing that law, you're actually completely   ignoring   the other relevant law in the situation,   which is the Human Rights Act 1998.   So you're not actually   enforcing the law. You're enforcing a law. And as you're enforcing, you're you're completely overlooking another law because those two laws are I mean, this is a protest situation. You know, the Human Rights Act, it has a huge a huge bearing on that situation. You You know, what the police were allowed to do and not to   do, you know, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression.  

So really,   before they police that situation, the two the they should that for   more specifically, it's their lawyers. They can talk with lawyers anytime before a bigger operation like this happens, you know. And the lawyers will tell them, well, you can make a less for this. You can make a less for that. But don't do this or that, you know. And, oh, we've got ECHR in place, so you'll have to be careful you don't do this or that. No. All those deliberations will go long before the operation.   And their lawyers have obviously said to them, well, yeah, forget about Human Rights Act. Just go for the terrorism act. Just go and grab them. You know, but   this is this is not, an,   what's their key saying? You know, they're supposed to be impartial. They're supposed to enforce the law without fear or favor.  

It's clearly not what's happening there because there's two laws there. So there's one law,   the Terrorism Act, that's favoring that sort of swings with the whole corporate lobby and the government. The other law relevant there, well, that swings with the public who have the right to express themselves.   But if there's two laws that are applicable and relevant in the in the situation, you're completely ignoring one, and you're completely just focused on the other one. So I said, don't tell me again. The standard line they come out with, you know, well, we just have to apply the law. It's like, no, you're not. You're applying a law and you're ignoring another law. You know, you're completely,   out of order in what you're doing. And it's absurd what you're doing. I mean, it just gets more and more absurd, doesn't it? These the the riot squads coming rushing from all over the country   to arrest a few grannies sitting there holding a piece of cardboard. I mean, it's   absolute lunacy. It's ludicrous.  



[01:22:17] Unknown:

Absolutely ludicrous. And as I said before, the oath they take when they graduate   and are allowed to become a police officer in their own right, the the oath that they take is to uphold common law. It's nothing to do with the laws of the state.  

[01:22:33] Unknown:

Yeah.   Yeah.   Yeah.   Anyway, so that that's part of my dialogue with mister counterterrorism.   But I say, he he didn't wanna chat that much. He soon kinda hops it.  

[01:22:46] Unknown:

I don't doubt it. I wonder why. I wonder why.  

[01:22:50] Unknown:

Yeah. Because I thought the other the list the other,   two officers behind the desk and my mate, Ben, they're all listening to this and they're sort of   seeing him sort of, you know, getting on the back foot a bit and get flustered.   So he must have been shuffling his feet more than the arresting officer was in the first instance, I would imagine. Oh, totally totally. By now, Ben's completely got the idea of me. You know, he's he's kinda warmed to me, I think, a little bit. Because when I'm doing this, Ben has sat there,   and he's I said the two chairs were in front of their desk.  

And Ben and I I'm sort of half facing Ben, half facing the office behind the desk. But Ben would turn his chair right away from them. He's just looking at me. And he's got he's smirking on his face like a Cheshire cat,   you know, when I'm doing this office in the family.   You know? I mean, I suspect England have quite enjoyed it, you know, because,   you know, these people that are are sort of insisting that mean, I have great sympathy with the lower ranked officers, you know, because they've been put in such a difficult position Of course. By their senior people, by their senior people, and by the politicians.   So I have great sympathy with the, you know, the lower ranks and the and the people like Ben.  

Yeah. So anyway, they they they make this moment. They've discovered my details. So the woman on the laptop, she gives a triumphant little t shirt. Oh, got it. You know? And so we start moving on again from there quite quickly.   I'm presented with an a four sheet,   and it just says on it,   I'm to appear at Plumstead Police Station towards the November.   And then we said your bail conditions are on there as well.   I said, oh, what's the bail conditions then?   He's well, you can't go back to Parliament Square. You're not allowed to go near any Palestine or any demonstration that's associated with Palestine action. You can't go there.   Yeah. I said, well, pardon me.  

So you're telling you're trying to tell me   because I'd already thought this through. I thought, well, it's only 10:00 or something. I might go back wander back around to the square. I suspect it's quite close to where we are. I thought to myself, once I get out here, I might go back around there and just see that if the protest is still going on, you know, what's happening there, and there's still people there. I thought I might do that. So suddenly, he tells me I can't do that.   So I said   I said, no. Sorry. It's not right. I can't go. I think what you're meaning to say is   I can't go there without reaching the bail condition.  

He said, oh, no. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. You can go there. I said, well, you know, these bail conditions are a further infringement upon my ECHR   article ten and eleven rights. So I said, we'll just see about that. You know? And then say, well, it's also an infringement on your right to roam.   Yeah. Yeah. It's ludicrous. It's ludicrous.   Anyway, here's the funny thing.   So it's time it's time to go. So Ben escorts me to the door.   It it's like leaving a building site. They've got   parts of the street. They've got boarding right the way across, and in the middle, there's a kind of exit door.   So we get to the door, and I go back out to the outside world.  

And there's a small group of people there waiting for arrestees to come down. You know, there's a big bunch of snacks on the floor for anyone who needs them.   And I was approached by a volunteer   from the,   organizing body of this protest. And he took some quick details and said, well, I'll I'll get a legal briefing by email.   And then off I wandered into the night. Now here's the funny thing. So   I don't know. I'm quite disorientated. I'm in London. I don't know London very much. So, oh, there's a police officer. They they like to be helpful.   Yeah.  

So I asked the policeman, can you point me to Whitehall? Because I know if I get to Whitehall, then I do know my way. So I said, yeah. Just up that road and go around the bend and across this and round there and you soon get there. So I set off, you know, and I walked the flag a minute. I think, well, there's no Whitehall appearing.   And they stop. There's a white van, and it's got a policeman munching his sandwiches sitting in the front of it. So I said, oh, can you point to Whitehall, please? He says, yeah. Yeah. You're quite close. Just round there. Carry on. Over the roundabout. Turn left. Keep walking. So I followed his instructions. I keep going on. Just walking, walking, you know. And it's a busy busy London night time. You know, bright lights and people everywhere. Keep walking.   Oh, where do I find myself?  

Parliament Square.   Right back where it all began. Brilliant. Directed directed there by the police who just told me I couldn't go there. I mean, how funny is that? Yeah. Wonderful. Brilliant. That's absolutely fantastic.  

[01:27:25] Unknown:

Colin, thank you so much. Will you will you come back on and keep us informed?  

[01:27:30] Unknown:

Any more developments,   I'll,  

[01:27:33] Unknown:

happily come on again. Yeah. Yeah. And if anybody go to Colin's Facebook page, I don't know if it's open to public, you can see the picture when he's arrested and he's floppy   and he's being carried out.  

[01:27:45] Unknown:

I I was I was surprisingly good at the dead body routine. I surprised myself. I really pulled it off.   I saw that photo, Shelley. Someone sent me that photo,   and I thought, oh, wow. I was quite good at that. You know, it really looks like a dead body. Blown up and put on your wall.  

[01:28:02] Unknown:

That's a badge of honor, I would say.   Anyway,   without further adduce,   yeah, I have to leave now anyway because every other week, I'm just a part timer, and I finish at half past eight. But, Colin, thank you so much. It has been it's wonderful to talk to you and see the whole before and the whole after, and,   I've given you a massive pat on the back. And, you know, I would have wanted to get this Ben's Facebook details. I would like to have friended him after that. Yeah. What a guy. What a guy. I mean, obviously  

[01:28:32] Unknown:

obviously, just   just a rank and file guy   and nobody to go home to either. That's so sad.   No. Thank you. Colin, if you wanna stay on for the rest of the show, you're welcome. It goes on for another half hour. If you've got other obligations, I completely understand.   Shelley has to go go to work. Bless her. Don't you? Yep. I don't think people do.  

[01:28:53] Unknown:

Any more developments, any more action, I'll happily come on again.  

[01:28:57] Unknown:

Wonderful. Great stuff. Okay. Right.  

[01:29:00] Unknown:

Thank you very much, my friend. You stay in touch. Take care. Bye bye. Thank you, Lily. Bye. Thank you. Bye. Bye bye.  

[01:29:06] Unknown:

Cheers, Kyle. Oh, what an awesome what an awesome guest.   And Yeah. I I do you know what? Hat off to that guy for just doing   just doing his, you know,   his his due diligence and just being an active member of society. Do you remember that, Shelley? Before mobile phones came about, there was just society.  

[01:29:26] Unknown:

Are we going to the next one?  

[01:29:31] Unknown:

I'll leave that with you. Right. I've gotta go. You need to play a tune. Alright. You know you're tempted. Yeah. I am. Alright. Lots of love, Shelley. You take care, and and have a good rest of your day. Work goes quick. And, yes, folks, you will catch up with Shelley next week when she returns, and we will catch up with Colin again,   you know, whenever he gets the chance.  

[01:29:52] Unknown:

Wonderful stuff.  

[01:29:54] Unknown:

Take care, missus. We're gonna we're gonna Alright, my lovely. Speak to all the you play you out, Shelley, with a with a tune called mainline riders, and this comes from the, Jeff Nichols archive from Gary Rees.  

[01:30:07] Unknown:

See you next week. Toodle loo. Folks.  

[01:33:57] Unknown:

Main line riders straight from the Jeff Nichols archive. If anyone's interested in listening to any of that,   you can find it on,   the Jeff Nichols archive on YouTube.   Kindly, kindly,   digitized and lovingly digitized by the fantastic Gary Rees.   Colin, are you still with us or no?   No problem if you're not. No problem.   So I have got here so one one of the things we we we got a few segments that gonna be putting in here on the, Shelley Tasker show.   I was discussing with Shelley a few weeks ago   about,   you   know, different segments that we could possibly put in. And, one of the things that obviously with my war studies and that kind of thing is is miraculous escapes. So I'm gonna get into a little bit of that in a minute. But,   before I do, I just have to say,   you know, what Colin's gone out there and done essentially,   you know, with a bunch of other people, and as he said, it wasn't about necessarily   supporting the, you know, the the whole Palestine thing,   although everyone is, you know, war's a dreadful thing, and   it's always the innocence actually that   suffer   as a result of,   you know, government decisions.  

He was actually there simply   for   he was there simply for freedom of speech, and the freedom of speech laws coming in in The UK at the moment are very, very similar to the freedom of speech laws that were being bought in in Bolshevik, Russia   during during the, you know, the the the late nineteens   and the late nineteen twenties.   So, you know,   as as we said when Colin first came on, you know, who's next?   Who's next? You know? Do you know,   You can you can go and discuss   immigration   in a pub. You can go and discuss all these different things, but you can't necessarily   discuss   things that don't tow the government line. And as I reiterated   a couple of times during that last interview,   you know, police, when they take their vow, when they take their oath, when they become when they finish their training and they become a police officer,   their vow is to uphold common law.  

It's not to uphold   laws that are brought in subsequently.   So go and look up common law, folks. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna,   you know, go over that whole thing now. You can do that for yourselves.   Do your due due diligence   and, you know, go and look up those things for yourself. But,   this my my awareness of that was brought   to the fore really during the COVID times and and the fact that all these ridiculous restrictions were being put in place, like you have to wear a mask, you know, in a public place,   or, you know, in your place of work and all that kind of nonsense. And you had all these police knocking on people's doors for literally leaving their house at the wrong time or, you know,   not towing the government line. Again,   begs the question of what the government line is.  

Now before before I get into the miraculous escape, which is only sort of like a five minute story anyway, and it's a wartime story as you as you all know, that's my favorite sort of, or that is my forte. That's that's my main field of study is   World War one, World War two, little bits of the Boer War, and the political events surrounding and how they affect us now. That's that's really my   my sphere of influence, if you like. But before I get into any of that, I did a little did a little search because before we come on the show each night, I I like to do a a quick search on UK news and world news.   So   one of the things that's been brought up recently   oh, did we go back to COVID times? Number 10 files raise questions over whether Tory donations were legal.  

Who   got Boris Johnson into office and   all his donations, and he was allowing, you know, allowing access to certain ministers and this, that, and the other.   Yeah.   Again, all this is just smoke and mirrors. We knew he was a bad one to begin with. I mean, the guy couldn't even use a hairbrush, for goodness sake. He really couldn't.   And, you know, our current premier now,   Keir Starmer,   there are people that suggested in in parliament,   even Boris Johnson, in fact, said, well, you can get away with saying certain things in parliament that you can't get away with saying elsewhere, but he accused   Keir Starmer or queer Stalin, as I like to call him.  

My my reiteration only.   But he accused Keir Starmer of,   you know, his discrepancies   when Jimmy Savile was being brought to task or attempted to be brought to task and Keir Starmer was head of the Crown Prosecution Service.   Well, it seems in if you look at any recent newspaper   article regarding   Boris Johnson,   his   integrity   has been bought into question.   Oh, shock and horror. It's a good job I'm sitting down, isn't it? You know?   So, you know,   all these   all these,   ministers that are put in place, they're all compromised   people.  

You know? They are all compromised. All of them. They wouldn't be towing the line if they weren't compromised. They also wouldn't be getting the paychecks if they weren't towing the line. So that gives you a a good idea of why they do what they do. And, look, we're supposed to think they're incompetent.   We are supposed to think they're incompetent.   If   you know, I I I beg the question, you know, I I beg the question to any member of the audience. Can you think   of a single member of parliament   hundred years, and nobody bring Winston Churchill into this because he was the biggest wronger of all, but can you think of any member of parliament in the last hundred years   that has actually toed the line   of the wishes of the British people.  

No. I didn't think so. No.   They're all compromised.   We now hear as well from BBC News. This was about six, seven hours ago now.   Badenoch Badenoch, don't know who that is. It's some member of parliament,   is worried that The UK made an UK may need an International Monetary Fund bailout.   Oh, wow. Where's all our taxes going then?   Where's all our taxes going?   Could it be   that the Bank of England is English by name only   and is an international company   that prints money at demand   and at interest   for our own government   when we need it. You know? And who's the International Monetary Fund? Who are they, folks? And which countries have got members the banks that are members of the International   Monetary Fund?  

Russia is one of them.   Germany, England, most of most of Western civilization.   You know,   there's one lot of purse strings   pulling the strings. There's one lot there's one wallet pulling all the strings and that's it, yeah, as far as I'm concerned.   Another another laughable article here from mainstream news. What has driven The UK's astounding immigration levels?   Well, your own government.   It certainly wasn't at the behest of the British people,   was it?   No.   It wasn't.   Of course it wasn't.   And then we have another article here from The Independent.   Starmer faces growing labor revolt and claimed that Mandelson dealt with Epstein after conviction.  

Wow. Well,   you do surprise me.   And going on to Epstein.   Alright. Epstein   apparently was killed or or killed in his own prison cell.   Absolute nonsense. I don't believe a word of it. I might be wrong, but I don't think so.   But you've got Ghislaine Maxwell who was put away for for child trafficking, this, that, and the other. Not once have we heard who these children were being trafficked to.   No. No. We haven't. I thought Trump was gonna drain the swamp, everyone.   Oh, yeah. Trump was gonna drain the swamp, wasn't he?   Yeah. Instead,   all he's doing is is using Barnum statements in every single every single speech he makes. And anyone that hasn't got around to watching Barnum World yet, I strongly suggest you do. It's on YouTube,   b a r n u m world. Go and look it up. It's an hour and a bit of your time, well spent.  

One of those movies that you could probably play to your to your grandparents   and your parents, and they'd probably nod their heads and go,   oh, yeah.   But for those of us in the know, it's just one of those films that just reaffirms everything we've been thinking   for for the last   well, since since you woke up, folks, whenever that is. For me,   waking up has been a a long and painful process.   It really has.   So, also today in the last few hours,   NATO engages with Russia for the first time. Oh, didn't we see that coming? So I'm gonna reiterate what I've said   so so many times on this show and others.  

If   Putin was genuinely   the bad guy or if he was in charge of this massive   Russian bear that we're all supposed to be fearful from,   why didn't he go into the Donbas region   and free up the Russian speaking people?   Why didn't he just go and get the job done?   Instead, what's he done?   He's turned it into a long and protracted war   that has enabled the Western Allies to buy up Ukraine at a rate of knots lend lease style.   And if you think about it, same old playbook.   Look at the Danzig Corridor,   beginning of World War two.   You know? And I'm not suggesting this is gonna go to World War three. You know? You're not gonna get nuked in London, Birmingham, or   or,   you know, any of the major cities in The UK because they've spent so much time   digitizing everything and diversifying everything that they're not gonna wipe out that with a few nukes. No. It all works in their interest, doesn't it?  

So what we got here, this is an article from Al Jazeera. UK urged to arrest   Israeli president Isaac Herzog   during his visit to London.   Further protests are expected. A star was accused of rolling out the red carpet for a potential war criminal.   I'm just reading a headline, folks. Don't get irritated.   Well,   it's not gonna happen, is it? Because   as granddad said in his book,   you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna just read you the first little excerpt from from the from the Gump on the on the inside cover of granddad's book. The author of this book was a regular soldier who served with distinction in the South African War and in the First World War. When he retired from the army due to wounds he received on active service,   he settled down in an English country village and began to study politics and economics.  

He wanted to know why honest Tommy Atkins had been compelled to fight peaceful Boer farmers and enable an international diamond syndicate to gain control of the South African mines.   Oh, yeah. Why was it the British army all got Christmas packages from the Rothschild family? Yeah. Yeah.   Yeah.   You can look this up, folks. I'm not making it up.   You know?   Why 10,000,000 men should have been slaughtered in the first World War described as the war to end all wars   when the subsequent peace treaty   so obviously   sowed the seeds for a second and more terrible   conflict?  

Why the banks of the world create money lavishly out of nothing   to finance these wars and yet for peace credit is immediately restricted?   And why, when the second World War came, to defend the rights of small nations,   these small nations were sold by their allies   into a slavery   worse than death.   Just   the mind boggles. You know,   why,   you know, why and how people can continue   taking in this nonsense   and not absorbing it   and just letting it out the other side. And, oh, well, there's nothing we can do about it, is there?   Well, with an attitude like that, how could we possibly fail?  

The film that Shelley told me to watch recently, The Hacksaw Ridge, there's a little line out of it   where one guy says,   in peacetime,   sons bury their fathers,   and in wartime,   fathers bury their sons.   And someone says to someone says to the guy that said it, doesn't do any good spouting that nonsense.   And right in the middle of the battlefield, of course, the guy says, well, no.   It doesn't, does it?   Anyway,   talking about battlefields and this, that, and the other, we're gonna go back to World War two. I'm gonna give you a miraculous escape   now. So I'm gonna give you a little bit of pre context before we before we get into the miraculous escape just to give you an idea of what it was like   to be a Spitfire pilot, a a fresh, green aramidil   Spitfire pilot,   during that time.  

And,   so   says,   I I'm just gonna literally,   start this this little point here. Hang on a sec. Where are we?   Okay. I twisted around in the cockpit.   No. There was still nothing in the great expanse of blue sky that surrounded my little aircraft.   Below me stretched a vast carpet of bright white cotton wool cloud.   It was a beautiful sight   which could easily lull you into forgetting that an enemy aircraft lurked in the folds of the clouds just waiting to attack.   The pressure of flying an airplane while trying to spot the enemy was taking its toll, and my body was wracked with nervous tension which had reached almost unbearable pitch.   Come on, you bastards. If you're out there, show yourselves,   he says to himself.  

We flew out towards the North Sea, and the commanding officer orders ordered us over the radio telephone, the RT, I will say from now on, to reduce height and to take us below the cloud line.   I nervously followed his instructions.   Flying through the cloud was dangerous.   Scores of enemy aircraft could be lying in wait for me either under or on the other side.   Pilots often disappeared into a massive cloud and were never seen again.   It was presumed that the enemy had simply picked them off as they emerged from the cotton wool.   As the Spitfire slid through the banks of gray,   my vision was restricted,   and as I had feared   as as I had feared it would be, and I was relieved when the view from my cockpit finally cleared and I found myself above the unusually calm waters of the North Sea.  

The RT crackled into life once again, and the CO's voice, the commanding officer commanding officer's voice came through the headset.   Boys, I think we've got ourselves a bandit.   Take a look on the ground. Reckon you might have a spot of engine trouble.   My false sense of security dissipated for an instance and my nerves were taught once again.   The ground?   It hadn't occurred to me to look downwards,   and there was nothing below me other than sea.   I turned the aircraft and my starboard wing dipped slightly enabling me to get a better view of what was happening below.   Sure enough, an aircraft emblazoned with the black iron cross of the Luftwaffe stared straight back up at me.  

It was a Heinkel one fifteen,   a seaplane.   These were used by the Germans for reconnaissance duties and for laying mines.   I watched it taxi slowly along the small island mass in the Fern Islands   just off of the Northumbrian Coast.   The aircraft looked undamaged,   and I suspected that he had probably had developed engine trouble and been forced to land.   Blue two and blue three circle above at 1,000 feet. Let's make sure he doesn't get any ideas of getting off the ground until the navy boys arrive.   I followed the commanding officer's orders.   The three of us swooped and circled menacingly above the German. He took the hint and aborted aborted his takeoff.  

The aeroplane came to a standstill.   We remained in our positions until a naval warship appeared to take the crew prisoner, and then we headed back to Accrington.   A touch down to the aerodrome and felt a rush of euphoria.   It was good to be back. It was good to be alive.   And the ground crew met me and inquired after my trip.   Nothing much. Just a hind call that won't be doing us any more damage, I replied casually.   I removed my helmet and strolled towards the dispersal hut and I became aware of a hard lump in my trouser pocket. Don't get the wrong idea folks.   Pressing against my leg, I reached down and pulled out the champagne cork that I'd been idly playing with just before we'd been scrambled.  

I must have slipped into my pocket without realizing.   I'm not a superstitious man, but I decided that I would keep hold of that champagne cork.   My first encounter with the enemy had undoubtedly   been the gentle one,   for which I was grateful.   The enemy hadn't been airborne, let alone in a position to shoot me down.   I couldn't even dare to hope to be so lucky the next time round. Gentle or not, the mission   prevented the Heinkel   from taking off and was deemed a success,   so cause enough to celebrate.   Nick Carter and myself and a few others decided to make a night of it nearby   in Newcastle.  

Those who enjoyed a good knee knees up, which   it has to be said was most of us, were known as the booze wine boys.   I and my fellow partygoers   squeezed ourselves into Nick's old Rover car and drove away from RAF Acklington.   Thoughts of the German Luftwaffe   receded rapidly, and we headed off in search of fun.   We ended up at the Eldon Grill, a superb restaurant in the city.   There we dined on their excellent mix grill, which set us back $36.06   shillings each, but it was well worth it.   Afterwards, we made our way to our old favorite, the Turks Head Pub.   As we crowded round the bar in our usual high spirits, the bar maid honed in on me.  

Right, love. What'll it be?   This lot will have pints and I'll start with a vodka.   Anything with it?   Okay. How about a bit of how about a bit of rum? I grinned.   And some sherry, Nick chipped in. The barmaid frowned at me. 'Better do as he says,' I said and shrugged.   'You've got to have some gin in there,' someone else offered.   Finally, the barmaid presented me with a cloudy concoction.   I looked at it for a while before picking it up and knocking it back   in one fell swoop and slamming the glass the empty glass on the table.   The drink seared the back of my throat and caused me to gasp out loud much to the amusement of the assembled company.  

Wow. That's got quite a kick.   And I blink back the tears.   So, Jimmy,   what's this drink of yours called?   Spitfire, of course.   And so the Spitfire cocktail was born.   This cloudy brew contained just about any alcoholic liquid you could get your hands on.   It was a lethal   it was a lethal foul tasting concoction. Its only virtue was that it got you drunk, and I returned to the Turks head later on in the war. And out of curiosity, I asked for a spitfire.   Without a second glance, the barmaid duly threw together a terrifying mixture of spirits and presented it to me, which to which I said,   you're not still serving that disgusting stuff, are you?  

We staggered back to camp   several spitfires later.   Clark led the singing, and we joined in.   We look for   we all we we look for all the world   what we were, a group of young men having a good time. You wouldn't have known there was a war at all.   Our day spent patrolling the Tyneside shipyards protecting them from the German bombers while they built warships for the navy.   It was an undemanding time and readiness consisted of us hanging around the dispersal hut for hours on end waiting to be scrambled.   Occasionally the call came that there were bandits in the area and we hastily were sent up in our spitfires.   These sorties never amounted to anything much and life at Accrington was a stark contrast contrast to the intense flying that was happening a few 100 miles south of us.  

As a result,   long periods of time were spent at the dispersal hut idling away the time as best we could,   waiting for nighttime to come so that we could decamp to the pub.   Occasionally,   I thought about the boys at sixty six squadron who face the enemy two or three times a day. I thought about Claude and Pickles and Bobby and Oxpring and Bogle and the rest. Were they still alive?   I didn't know.   Gives you a little idea.   Anyway,   so,   the next day, they decided yeah. The the commanding officer decided that they'd send them up   on,   you know,   essentially combat practice.  

I was in blue section along with Nick and Clark, and we climbed into our spits and took off. We reached 30,000 feet and took up our positions of for the stage dog dog fight. The idea was that we would dive on each other and then climb back up again. We would swoop past each other and turn to repeat the performance to give ourselves a mild taste of what a real dog fight was all about.   We engaged in our pretend battle and dived down. I dived down after Nick and followed him as he banked and swooped upwards again to gain height on me. We then turned away from each other before turning back to face each other. We flew towards each other before peeling off in in plenty of time to avoid a collision.   It was controlled,   measured, and planned.  

And in fact, nothing like the real thing.   Next, it was Clark's turn.   He repeated a similar maneuver with a pilot from the other section.   All was proceeding well with the planes   chasing each other across the skies   as Nick and I flew around them and watched from a safe distance.   Then quite suddenly, one of the planes misjudged its distance from the other, and instead of careering past each other in style,   they collided in mid air. There was a loud bang   followed by a bright yellow flash.   Debris shot out from the core of the explosion. From my cockpit, I watched with total horror as both planes dropped like stones, trading black smoke before smashing into the ground near the airfield.   I knew that both pilots must have been killed instantly. Clark was dead.  

I decided to return to the airfield, and as I touched down and came to a halt,   the irks met me. 'Did you see what happened?' one of them inquired.   'Yes. They had no chance, poor bastards,' I replied.   When I returned to the dispersal hut there was a commotion. Nick was already there.   They think Clark bailed out,' he said. 'That's impossible. It was a complete wipe out.'   Well, one of the ground crew thinks they saw a parachute after the collision.   The only problem,' they said, 'is that it didn't seem to open properly.'   Poor bastard. Let's hope he was unconscious and knew nothing about it.  

It was always the way. If death came calling, we hoped that it would be quick   and that we would know little about it. We didn't dare dwell on the thought that of either man   being alive as they fell through the air to their death   that they knew was unavoidable.   When and if the time came, I promised myself that I wouldn't bail out. I would go down with my aircraft. I couldn't contemplate the cruel injustice   cruel injustice   of successfully bailing out and surviving only to land in the sea and drowned for my parachute to fail   or to have merely postponed death by merely several minutes.  

I hope that when it came,   it would be quick. Then the commanding officer appeared. They found Clark. He's a bit smashed up, but I think he's gonna be alright. They're taking him to hospital now.   Folks, if you wanna hear the rest of this story, you'll have to catch up on the archive. You've been listening live on Radio Soapbox   to the Shelley Tasker Show. Great show this evening,   and we'll catch you next week.   Okay. So to continue.   He's a bit smashed up, but they think he's gonna be alright.   They're taking him to hospital now.   Later that evening, Nick and I paid Clark a visit.  

He was a mass of bandages, but he managed to smile as he saw us approaching.   How are you, mate?   Surprised I'm here?   Was the reply.   What happened up there?   Nick and I sat by his bedside and listened enthralled to Clark's heavily accented account of the accident.   There was a huge bang and I seemed to be sailing through the air.   I must have passed out because the next thing, I came round just above the cloud and I looked down and was amazed to see my parachute just below me.   I also realized I was hanging by one strap   and the other one wrapped around my leg.  

I pulled myself up and held on to the remainder of the remainder of the harness.   And that's the last thing I remember. I must have passed out just before I hit the deck.   The following day, Nick and I examined his parachute.   Two white silk panels had been completely ripped out.   The pack was ripped to shreds,   and the quick release box was missing altogether.   Clark swore he did not pull the parachute's ripcord,   so when he collided with the other plane, the force of the impact must have thrown him out of the cockpit.   His chute pack must have caught on some part of the airplane ripping it open.  

By rights looking at the shreds of material   that had once been a parachute,   he shouldn't have survived.   It was a remarkable escape.   Only his only injuries were several minor bruises and a deep cut to his chin,   which was probably caused when his helmet was wrenched off or as he was thrown from the cockpit.   He was, of course, in shock.   Flying accidents during training   were not widely publicized by the RAF despite their frequency.   It was unbelievable to think   that more pilots were killed in training   than they were   in combat.  

Now just to put it into spec perspective for you guys,   literally the explosion must have torn apart the cockpit   because there was a Perspex canopy over the top.   As he flew out unconscious,   attached to his parachute, which was then ripped to shreds, he then came round with one hand and one foot through bits of the harness   and managed to survive.   That,   folks,   is a miraculous   escape.   So, anyway, look, you've been listening live to the Shelley Tasker Show   on live on radiosoapbox.com.   It's been an absolute pleasure to have your company. It's been a great show to have Colin on as well,   and we will   catch you   next week, folks. Thanks so much for taking the time,   and,   yeah, lots of love. Be good.