The other day the sciatic nerves in my back produced a pain so bad that I lost my footing on the way to the fridge and fell backwards onto my tiled floor. The pain was so bad that I couldn't actually speak, then I erupted into a series of short sharp breaths as I tried to call for Stephen. Poor Allana who was playing upstairs with daddy at the time came down the stairs to find mummy in a terrible state on the floor, I was crying due to the pain shooting up my spine when she ran in saying, 'whats wrong mummy, mummy what's wrong.' Still winded all I could say was, 'get daddy.'
She stood up to walk towards the living room then she looked at me and turned back, she knelt on the floor and stayed with me as she shouted for daddy. My little angel wouldn't leave her mummy's side. She was very brave, despite getting upset. She stroked my cheeks saying, 'it'll be OK mummy, daddy's coming soon.'
Stephen ran downstairs to help me to my feet and put me to bed with my medication whilst Allana brought my sticks, got my drink and wet a flannel for my face. She was a real superhero as she closed the curtains and sat next to me and read 'Aliens in their Underpants.' I couldn't be prouder of my caring little sparkly bloo.
For a three year old child she has not only had to master how to put on her own socks but how to help mummy put hers on as well. She has learnt how to call for help if I'm rendered unconscious and has a lot of responsibility for a toddler. She makes her own bed, washes herself and gets dressed and even gets her own breakfast, all under my supervision. You see I had to teach her these skills early on so she would become as independent as possible. It makes me feel like utter shit at times, that my child has to help me so much. But she is always keen to help.
My spinal injury occurred during childbirth as a result of scoliosis. I never had many problems with my back as a teenager or even going into early adulthood. I was really quite lucky at the time. But now the doctors can do nothing for me, there is no surgery that can be done, the only treatment available to me is pain management. Which consists of lots of painkillers and horrid injections every few months. I had to teach myself to walk again after Allana was born, we kinda learnt together which was fun. And every day I have gotten stronger because of her.
She is the reason I strive to better myself; to push myself to become more than what I am. I have a special bond with my daughter. And when she looked into my eyes as I lay in crippling agony on the floor. I saw the best of me reflected in her eyes and it was a beautiful but very painful moment. She is bright, cheeky, sensitive, caring, loving, moral, naughty and adventurous just like her mum. She stood firm even when she was scared and she is only 3 years old. The woman she will grow to be, will be a woman worth knowing. She already is someone magnificent who has touched the lives of the many people around her. If I do nothing else with my life I will die a happy woman knowing that I gave the world a great gift; I gave the world Allana-Rose.
A recent debate has erupted surrounding the law regarding a home-owners right to defend their property after Vincent Cooke 39 stabbed and killed Raymond Jacob with his own knife whilst trying to force his way into Cooke's home. This subject that has sparked outrage with victims of burglary crime since farmer Tony Martin was sentenced to life after shooting and killing 16 year old Fred Barras in 1999. At that time new laws were introduced that allowed home-owners the right to defend one's property with 'reasonable force.' But with burglary and knife-point robberies increasing, the law needs to clarify exactly what is deemed as 'reasonable force.'
Under the terms of the 2008 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, home-owners can use "reasonable force" to protect themselves against intruders. However the term 'reasonable force' has been under scrutiny after Munir Hussain chased down and beat a burglar with a cricket bat causing brain damage after his family were tied up and held hostage at knife-point. He was told he was going to be killed by the attackers. Hussain was sentenced to 30 months because his attack on the robbers was viewed as a 'revenge attack' that happened after the burglary had taken place. One of the attackers Salem was awarded an absolute discharge as he was deemed unfit to plead after the attack. 'Philip Davies, MP for Shipley said, 'It is as if he (Salem) has got a licence to commit as many crimes as he likes, knowing he'll never be sent to prison. This is what happens when the rights of criminals are put before law-abiding people.'
It is the general opinion of many home-owners and victims of burglary that they should have the more rights than the criminals. Mick 43 London said, 'I would use force against an intruder, after all I don't know what their intentions are, that person could rob, rape or murder my family; so I would do whatever I could to protect them. It's wrong that victims of crime are sent down for protecting their homes whilst the criminals go free.' It is the general consensus of most, that people just don't feel safe in their own homes any-more and that the judicial system is crumbling under the weight of repeat offenders because we need our justice system to be tougher. My late grandmother was attcked and mugged on her own doorstep, the attackers were never caught.
The Government recently pledged that they would alter legislation in order to clarify what constitutes as 'reasonable force.' Justice Secretary Ken Clarke commented. 'If an old lady finds she's got an 18 year old burgling her house and she picks up a kitchen knife and sticks it in him she has not committed a criminal offence and we will make that clear. We will make it quite clear you can hit the burglar with the poker if he's in the house and you have a perfect defence when you do so. However Mr Clark did continue to say that you would not be entitled to protection if you chase them down the street, shoot them in the back when they are running away or organise gangs to go and beat them up." However wether this government can deviler on these promises is another matter entirely.
Defining this law is essential, it could strengthen our judicial system by restoring the faith of victims who feel that injustices have been served. These steps will help people feel secure and protected knowing that they are not going to prison if they defend their homes and families. Burglary is a crime that goes beyond the stealing material possessions, it is an invasion of your home and people are often left feeling violated, helpless, unsafe and frightened for a long time afterwards. So these changes are welcomed but will take time to put into place.
In the meantime, until these changes take effect here are some guidelines issued by The Crown Prosecution Service regarding this issue.
I do not class myself as a Star Wars fan by choice, it happened whilst under duress. You see when I married my husband, I also had to accept I was also marrying George fricking Lucas because my husband is a massive Star Wars fan. The strange thing is he doesn't consider himself a geek; yet we have a loft full of books, board games, computer games, toys, AT-AT's, Storm troopers plus we have a large statue of Boba Fett that sits in our office. He has an intimate knowledge of solar systems, can speak Mandalorian and knows the background stories for characters you only glimpse in the film, because of the amount of literature he reads regarding the Star Wars universe. And so after 16 years together his unwavering passion for Star Wars has inevitably rubbed off on me. I've had to listen to Star Wars inter galactic politics over dinner for so long, I could apply to become a senator myself. I can't go a single day without my ears bleeding Star Wars trivia. So imagine my outrage when my husband heard that Lucas was releasing the original trilogy on Blue-Ray format and decided to tamper with the original footage – AGAIN.
Now before I begin my rant I have to pay homage to Lucas for his innovation and ability to entertain. He unknowingly created a universe within a film that would capture the imaginations of children and adults for generations. He created timeless cinema and used cutting edge technology and special effects which lead the way to a new frontier of film making. And then he went and screwed it all up by making the worst prequel trilogy ever.
Now I don't care what the films, (that shall not be named) grossed. Because it's financial success does not equate to the poor quality of movie that we endured under the Star Wars Logo. If the Phantom Menace was released on it's own without the strength of the original trilogy behind it. It would have flopped in the first week of opening. It was utter tripe, the actors were wooden mainly due to the appalling script; good lord don't get me started on that, the bad guys had no presence or character and the ones that were cool weren't utilised enough, The romantic interest between Padame and Anakin was unbelievable and I couldn't care less if they all died horrible, horrible deaths.
Most of the people who went to see these film's were the original fans who had grown up loving a New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back; and so they took their children, with the HOPE that their kids could experience the magic of the Star Wars universe as they once did as children. And they were faced with Jar Jar Binks, the most annoying character ever created, glorified special effects and a film with characterless characters.
What made the originals so great was the interaction with all the actors. The script was well written and the actors delivered believable performances and was then coupled with great special effects. CGI should never carry a movie, grand landscapes do not tell a story, it should be invisible to the eye and used to allow the film to progress the narrative in the correct setting according to the plot. But Lucas went overboard with the CGI and neglected the fundamentals of movie making which was to deliver a captivating story with believable characters. And if that wasn't disappointing enough then came the whoring of Star Wars.
I have no problems with the Lucas making tons money from his creation, it's his right. But I feel that all them years ago in 1976 when Star Wars was in production, Lucas was in it for his love of movie making, he was a true creative artist, and his ambition allowed him to create a film that has stood the test of time. However somewhere along the line it became all about the dollar sign. He has become Hollywood's most notorious movie pimp. I can't count how many times he has whored Star Wars to make a quick buck, especially with all the multiple DVD releases with added features and bonuses and blah blah blah.
Currently his latest endeavour to cash in on the classic trilogy is just a step to far in my opinion. His Blue-Ray release with altered scenes of Vader yelling, 'Noooooo' when the Emperor is killing Luke with his force lightening shows how little he thinks of his fans. We were very aware that Darth Vader made the good choice when he decided to throw the Emperor over the railings. It doesn't need explained further with dialogue. The added enlarge door and the Ewoks blinking isn't really gonna make a big difference to our viewing experiance so why do it? And what's worse is that the world is full of stupid, stupid people who will rant and rave about the injustice of him tampering yet again with the originals; then the same morons will run out and buy it, perpetuating the cycle of being pocket raped by George Lucas. It makes me very angry.
If he was just re-releasing the originals on Blu-Ray as an upgrade then fair enough, technology moves on and the films will move along with these advances too, but WHY does he feel the need to aggravate the fans by altering them. I'll tell you why! Because he's playing you. You see he will release this new tampered version and make a fortune despite the outrage because as I said people are stupid and will still buy it anyway. And then he will release the original again without the new additions and he will cash in twice which will then start the prequel trilogy revamps and it's a never ending loop of 'Ch Ching.'
Lucas needs stopped. He needs to let go and leave it alone. Instead of constantly altering his originals, why doesn't he create something NEW! He's like a one trick pony flogging the same success over and over again. Star Wars has become a profitable industry that supports itself on it's own brand name. But it has become a parody of itself, with the Star Wars Corporation as the Galactic Empire with Lucas sitting firmly in his seat of power as the Emperor raping us for our pennies.
To sum up it is only us, the geeks, nerds, fans and self proclaimed Jedi's that can over throw the evil Emperor Lucas by hitting him with your plastic lightsabers right where it hurts. In his pocket. I know I won't be buying the new releases and even my husband who has been a devoted fan since he was five has refused to jump on this bandwagon. We have to take a stand and say 'Noooooo!' We won't be giving our hard earned money to Lucas because it's the only way to break the cycle.
