I spent the entire day on Saturday acquainting myself with me new niece Hannah over at my brothers house in Langley. On the way home i decided to take the coach instead of the train. Oddly the coach meant a quicker journey. I boarded the coach and proceeded to take a seat. The coach only had 4 people on it. As i sat down i noticed a badly scarred man sitting in front of me. I wouldn’t have noticed him to be honest had it not been for the truly awful scars on his head and the massive BARCELONA letters emblazoned on his jacket. In retrospect i feel an incredible sense of shame for having pre judged this man as some sort of low life, football hooligan, no good, generally dodgy fella in short someone you would avoid. He had a massive scar that cut his head into two, like someone had taken a machete to his head. He also had this puzzled look on his face like he was a bit ‘slow’. Anyway as we entered London and approached Hammersmith, the driver without warning took a diversion that took us straight to Knightsbridge. We both leapt from our seats to remonstrate with the east european driver. It was at this juncture that i first heard his staggered speech. He spoke with incredible difficulty but with some enthusiasm. I waited my turn and spoke to the driver and me and the scarred fellow both agreed to take it on the chin and we would have to add a few extra minutes to our journey once we got to central London. The coach approached Knightsbridge and we both got off the coach. It was raining cats and dogs at this point. As soon as i saw his very large umbrella i decided to make contact and offered the jovial; Me: “you off to the station mate”! Him: Yeah sure, (extends his reach to keep me dry) We then proceeded with small talk about the rain and our diversion. I noticed straight away that he had this positive outlook. In short he was like a beacon emitting positivity. We got to the southern entrance of the station to find it closed. Can it get any worse i said out loud, to which he replied ‘come on its only a few more metres to the main entrance. It was actually at least 300m away. It turns it he was on his way to Bayswater, to which i replied I’m on my way to Ladbroke Grove. His face changed. I had reminded him of a terrible thing that had happened to him. He then spent the next 10 minutes recalling what had happened to him. It turns out in the autumn of 2009 he was on Portobello Market road in Ladbroke grove having a cigarette outside a pub, when he was attacked without provocation. Two men leapt upon him and one punch is all it took to fracture his skull. He lay in the pavement bleeding whilst his buddies were inside enjoying the party. The assailants took his wallet and phone. He was taken to hospital where he needed severe brain operations for a few months. He spent the best part of a year in hospital and rehab. The scars were from the surgeries. Before the attack he was a painter decorator, a father with a loving long term partner. He also spoke Brazilian dialect Portuguese fluently. Now having left hospital 2 months ago, he is physically challenged with the right side of his brain being slightly affected. However more disheartening is the lasting brain damage to his left side. He can longer recall some of the name of family members, he has lost Portuguese, and his speech is impaired to say the least. The emotional damage far outweighs the truly horrific scars. However he is slowly regaining his strength, and he has an unflinching can do attitude, which i found endearing. This was totally unprovoked and i struggling to come to terms with what this man has had to endure. His partner left him whilst he was in hospital. She feared the old him was gone forever. So he now visits his daughter as often as he can. We changed the Piccadilly line to the circle and later to the central line, all whilst talking to each other like old pals. I was listening attentively to what he had to say. To summarise his wonderful attitude was down to him being thankful to god for still being here. We got to Notting hill; this was where i had to depart. I extended my hand and wished him heartfelt goodbye. As i left he cheerfully shouted, you never know might run into you again. Smiling i waved goodbye. This is a reference to his mum who lives in Ladbroke Grove. My biggest regret was not having shared names. But i felt like i knew him by now. Additionally as i was immersed in what he had to say i noticed a few odd stares in the carriage. He spoke in an odd way, he walked with a limp, and he looked like he had survived a war. If only those glaring at us had known what this man had to go through and still come out the other end smiling. They were making the same mistake i was. It says allot about our society doesn’t it. A truly inspirational character, and although his beloved Liverpool lost today, something tells him he’s still smiling. I don’t think I’ll ever look at individuals in a stereotypical way again. I don’t think I’ve done our random encounter justice in retelling it here. It had so much more depth and humour, but I’m tired and i have to get ready for work tomorrow

^^care to share some of these initiatives with us!

shocking stuff, so sad for these girld :-(

Mashalah great pictures keep them coming folks. Somalia is an intriguing country. and i'm a Somali LOL.

GP told me it’s probably nothing serious and just to be on the safe side she’s ordered some extensive blood work to be done. Anyway she has referred me to a neurologist for some checkups as she’s worried about my hand tremors. She said it can’t be an over active thyroid as my resting heart rate of 52 would have to be much higher. Failed some silly hand eye coordination tests and some other symptoms require further investigations. This is a prime reason why i avoid doctors and hospitals. However she’s a nice lady and i trust her so I’ll go along just to see what’s up. She did say however all of this could be due to my lack of calcium intake and lack of vitamin D. All will be revealed soon.

i'm still here folks, thank god. Its probably nothing serious, and i just hope it goes away. anyway got an appointment with the family doctor in the morning. so inshallah she can give me all clear or refer me to a cardiologist if the pain is still lingering. theres a new baby due anyday now in the family. and you know what they say about new arrivals followed by deaths sorry about my morbid sense of humour

^^LOL, i've got nothing to be anxious about. Not at the moment anyway. i have a resting heart rate of 53 which is mashalah in the athlete range. so they must have thought i 'imgained' the pain. But the pain i'm feeling is in the central region of the chest and it lingers around before passing.

I have been having severe to moderate chest pains for the past 24 hours. It’s a transient pain and one that had been worrying me. So at work today after another sharp episode of uncomfortable pain i decided to phone NHS Direct. After a few minutes got put through to a registered nurse. After 30 minutes of describing my symptoms she said i needed an ambulance as this could be serious. I said hang on. :eek: I’m talking and walking, so no need for ambulance, so i took the rest of the day off and got a cab to the nearest A&E which was in White Chapel. After 20 minutes of waiting i see these two doctors/consultants (women). So your having chest pains Yes (i proceed to explain symptoms) She took my blood pressure and told me to book an emergency appointment with my GP next day if pain persists, and she told me to mix paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain relief. So i’m off to the GP tomorrow, let’s hope she’s a wee bit more thorough. :rolleyes: I’m not a hypochondriac and rarely go to hospitals and GP’s, but i got the impression these two women just didn’t give a toss. :mad: The entire consultation took 3 minutes. I’m still getting these pains and its well over 34 hours now. Inshallah all be well.

This is great news and will help the local economy in Berbera. Look at the bigger picture folks. The only downside of this is that this brings more Ethiopian truckers into the country. we all know what that means.

Eid mubarek fellow nomads. making myself a spanish omelet as i write this. Yummy

Evening/afternoon fellow nomads. What’s cracking amigos?

^^ where was my invite cynical lady :-p Film looks cool.

Now if she only knew what was in those nuggets in the first place

Somali society by its very nature is an oral society. Coupled with a scarcity of written historical evidence the student of early Somali origins is forced to result to anthropological and archaeological evidence. Such evidence has refuted the mythical origins of the Somalis as a race as a mixed race. Conventional myths in Somali society claim and portray the Somalis as descendants of Arab settlers as a result of the migration of Muslims from the Gulf. It is know known however that the origins of the Somalis is in the Highlands of Ethiopia along with other Cushitic peoples (see Appendix B). Therefore the result of this as claimed by Helen Chapin is; “Scholars now recognise that the Arab factor except for the Somalis conversion to Islam is marginal to understanding the Somali past.” Therefore the Somalis are part of a wider group known as eastern Cushites, they include groups such as the Oromo in Ethipia and the Aweera (Boni) in Lamu Kenya. The Somalis also belong to a sub group of the Cushites known as the Omo-Tana Group and their languages are nearly commonly understandable. Although the Omo and Tana rivers are near Lake Turkana (see Appendix C) the migration of the Sam sub group which Somalis are descended from north eastwards lead to the current pattern of settlement. These migrations lead to the patterns of settlement that included a mixed economy of grazing and sedentary farming. These differences can still be seen in today’s Somalia where the fertile lower Shabelle and Jubba rivers (See Appendix D) are home to agricultural communities and the further north you go the more pastoralists you encounter. This pattern continued until 100 A.D. when it can be argued that the Samaale had colonised the entire Horn of Africa region. Moreover this expansion to the sea leads to the first contact with Arab and Persian traders in the eight century onwards. These lead to profitable trades along the coastal city states such as Seylac in the Gulf of Aden and Mogadishu in the Indian Ocean (appendix C). However the city of Seylac was by far the most prominent due to its trade in Coffee, gold and Abyssinian slaves, with far reaching areas as India, China and the Middle East. This city’s prominence grew and with the emergence of Islam it became a seat of learning in the region and the first capital of the medieval state of Adal. Nevertheless as a result of Jihad against the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia Seylac fell into decline and the city of Berbera on the Gulf of Aden came under the leadership of the Sheriff of Mecca. These city states along the coasts of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden passed through the dependencies of Mecca and later the Ottoman Turks on the eve of partition. Furthermore the Arab influence in Somalia is just not through trade, it actually based on lineage (see appendix E). The settlement of Sheikh ***** founded the Issaq tribe and Sheikh ****** Jabarti founded the ****** tribe. This was achieved through the intermarrying from the already existing Samaale stock. This second wave of penetration into the Horn lead to the migration of Somalis into the Haud and Harrar (Eastern Ethiopia) and was only stopped with the advent of European colonialism. It is this latter clan based patriarchal system inherited from the Arabs that has been abused and exploited by power elites and other powerbrokers. Whilst analysing the peace processes of Somalia one must keep in mind the conceptual framework of clanism and the increasing role it has played in politics throughout the last four decades. Metz, H,C, (1993) Somalia a country study, Area handbook series Fourth Edition, Government Printing Office, P.4

^^ it serves as a reminder to the ills of alcohol abuse. Its a community service BOB. For some people this is the norm. But i understand your concerns, report it to the admin to get the topic removed.

This is why you shouldn’t drink alcohol. This poor fella is clearly suffering from something. It’s still very funny. Watch the ending of the video. His name is Bisad 100. bisad 1 wale ninkaani waa nin waalan Somaliland's answer to one Cowke PS! some parts of the video are offensive.

found out there was Somali football tournament in June held there. Clears up that mystery.

Just come back from my afternoon session at the Linford Christie Stadium in west london, and i've noticed for the 3rd week running large Somalia flags flying in the stadium. these flags are accompanied by 2 St George's Flags on either side. So far two are still up and was wondering what why they are up in the first place? As far as i know there are no Somalia athletes based at the Thames Valley Harriers. They do look good though.

(Aug. 5) -- Fourteen American citizens have been charged with trying to join the Somali terrorist group allied with al-Qaida and tied to two deadly bombings in Uganda last month, NBC News reports. The charges are to be announced today at the Justice Department, NBC said, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. Twelve of those charged with trying to join al-Shabab are from Minnesota, the others are from Alabama and California, NBC said. Earlier this week, a 26-year-old Chicago man, Shaker Masri, was charged after the FBI uncovered his alleged plot to go to Somalia to become a suicide bomber for al-Qaida and al-Shabab, The Associated Press reported, citing court documents. Masri was taken into custody Tuesday evening, hours before he was to leave the country for Somalia, prosecutors said. During a court appearance, Masri told a judge he was a U.S. citizen. Court documents cited by the AP said he was born in Alabama and spent years overseas before returning to the United States when he was 18. Masri suggested to an informant that he knew a man who was arrested last month in Virginia for alleged plans to join al-Shabab, the AP reported. That man, Zachary Chesser, had posted an online warning to the creators of "South Park" that they risked death for mocking the Prophet Muhammad. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for deadly bombings of two sites in Uganda where people were watching the World Cup final game on television last month. Seventy-four people were killed. The group said the attacks were in retaliation for Uganda's participation in the African Union peacekeeping force in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

ha ha awesome story Ngonge. Is it real.

how did your exams go Karl?

too many fingers in the pie. Too many war profiteers. Sadly i dont see an end to this situation for quite a while yet.

beautiful and intelligent. where can i find Somali girls like this, we are in need of a puppy love emitcon

you can't genralise like that Captain. there are many decent girls/women out there. you just have to network a bit harder to get into contact. Howver stay away from the tight jeans headscarves brigade, not worth the effort and time. From personal experience. there are many good sisters out there. Just dont tar them with the same brush please

what do you mean Captain. Please elaborate.