When I was in the thick of it filming 9/8/2011

Yesterday was a day of madness having gone back to the shop to do the clear up and still having the adrenaline pumping from the previous night. Me and a couple of guys went back into town to see how bad it still was. YES it was still bad but this time it was our choice to go into the mix of things the night before we didn't have the choice of being in that situation. So going back into that environment was strange the atmosphere in the air was intense it's something I cannot explain, something that I have not experienced before.

As we walked around there were all different kids about ranging from 8 - about 20 and it's definetly not a racist thing as there were all different races about. Walking around we managed at one point to be in the centre of the massive group of rioters. There must have been a few hundred people out there looking to cause mayhem. There were around us boasting what they have been doing and what else they going to carry on with. It's like acts of violence and terror is what these people love and its all they know.

We came across the burning car by Carrs Lane and just watching this car burn in the middle of this crazyness just brought it home and showed me that we are living in strange times. For something like this to happen you only ever see in the news at different parts of the country but it was happening here in our city.

These people showed no fear as at one point we were really in the thick of it as the riot police started to try and force there way back into town to get rid of the rioters. These people showed no fear by hurling rocks stones and all sorts at the riot police. It was just madness to see this happening. It felt really intimidating to see these gangs roam the streets of Brum looking for there next hit.

To end this post I'm going to say the police are doing the best they can but because the rioters have ways of getting around the centre it is harder for the police to get them. So for people that doubt the police forces out there, people do not realise how hard it is to get hold of these rioters!

9/8/2011 The Birmingham Riots, the Aftermath

So its the day after the riots hit Birmingham, I go back to town to see what the damage is in the centre. A lot of shops have smashed windows and the boards are up. But there are so many people all going around still shopping. Just goes to show people will always unite in times of great problems.

So I'm back at the store to help out with the clear up and it's just crazy how the madness from last night has left the shop floor. Like everything you have seen in the news is exactly what us guys are having to clean up after all that craziness of gangs of looters. Looking at it gives you the reminder that we were lucky to get out of that place and that the people doing it are just crazy young kids who just took a chance and have managed to get away with it.

Whilst doing the clean up I have to have a talk with some woman with a couple of others from the ordeal from last night and she reminds us that shock may kick in weeks later. So I'm just preparing myself for that day where it hits me how close I was to the looters.

I'm going to keep this blog short as I will be going out to get some photos and footage of tonight's events. Call me wreck less but then again I should have been a cameraman in the afghan war.

8/8/2011 The riots of Birmingham and I just happen to work in Jessops

So it's 7pm and about to close the shop then all I hear is the shout

"there are rioter's in the shop, Phone the Police"

Quickly rush out of the stockroom to see through the gap of the door around 50 people at the front of the store taking cameras. The adrenaline rushing through, watching this happen the disbelief that this thing can actually happen in front of us. Around 6-8 of us just regular staff members watching people just rush in and take all these expensive items.

This felt so quick in terms that they came in and just took stuff it felt like 30 seconds but it could have been longer. The amount of time it took them to take the stuff and the amount of stuff they took in that time was unbelievable. So after the incident we go out to inspect what the shop floor looked like. Just a mess everywhere broken docks for the cameras and the constant ringing of the alarms blurting in our ears.

As we gather to realise what just happens the crowds outside the store sizing up potential shops around. We finally come to terms what has just happened in the store and how close we have to the the events that plague the city centre. Around an hour later we wait out at the back due to the police telling us to wait in the store until further instruction. When another wave of rioters hit the store but this time they are rushing toward the back towards where we are. It is then that we make the move to get to the fire exit. We make it out but it seems as though there is nowhere that we can get out of we feel trapped, as we leave the fire exit and we then end up with the rioters. So we barricade the door to stop the gangs getting to us and we look to find new options for us to get out.

Then one option that we find is the fire entrance to LA Fitness so me and a couple go in there to warn the people who are completely oblivious to what is going on outside. Again Adrenaline pumping I'm telling people to get there shit together as the rioters have just got into Jessops. It was like it was a scene out of a disaster movie but this was real, it was us guys trying to get out of this madness.

So we warn the people there they decide to leave too. We finally gather round as a group of people decides on what we should do. We decide we go back grab our stuff from the store but as we go there are riot police in full gear. We tell them the situation and they tell us it's not safe to be there and get away from the centre. Easier said than done. So we walk together as a group we find out that Broad Street is clear, we walk that way. There is this strange aura in the air, don't know where to go where to look it's just pure panic.

We carry on walking to broad street but you see groups of looter's, civilians we don't know who to trust. We ask a police man where to go they say get away from the centre and that the groups are not in one particular area it is fluid.

An act of madness can affect so much. We get to broad street we go to a bar just to figure out what to do then we hear gangs are heading our way so we leave again figuring what to do walking out of Birmingham centre. Finally get to a point where we can get picked up whilst waiting noticing that the police have stopped anyone coming into the city centre.

The night the riots broke out in Birmingham 8/8/2011. Just want to say to the guys I was with no one panicked and remained cool. So to the people Andy B, Ryan, Andy D, Lammy, Rhea, Jitu, Brad, Lynton. Its an experience only us guys will have and hope no one else has to go through it.

here is the footage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3-KeJYDOA8&feature=share

So check out the video and why are people doing it?
Your thoughts and posts

Getting checked out hard!!!!

I'm on a roll with these blogs today and this one isn't actually about me my mate told me to write this one up I won't mention any names!

So set the scene. My mate is at work walks past this girl and she is checking him out giving him smiles and all that blatantly fancies him by the sounds of it. so he smiles back at her and you can tell there is some kind of chemistry possibly some animal magnetism! So she's about to buy something and she carries on staring at him at this stage it's fair to say she want's him and if it was up to her probably there and then. By this stage my mate is thinking yeah I wouldn't mind that at all, she's 20 and that! So he then goes to tell his work colleague that she keeps giving him sly lil looks of interest. Indicators of interest as it were.

So he tells his work colleague "look now as she's paying, it's her she's proper checking me out and I'd proper tap that"

So after she notices who he was on about she then tells him

"that's my sister! She's 17"

Man how awkward is that you've basically told the sister how much her sister is checking you out and then you've basically turned around and told her yeah she's fit and I wouldn't mind a piece. Awwwwwkaaarrrddd!

It's like being at a family party and then you proper fancy a mates mom and it happens to be your mates mom and you just did not realise it!

But from what I heard she still is in good nick for a 17 year lol. Ok is that slightly wrong, as I post this I will probably have the police knocking around asking for this guy! Now that would be awkward!

Bit of the old V.P.L and camel toe!

You know when your out and about and your just casually walking around nice sunny day and then you see these women with the tight legging bottom thingys! Then you notice there V.P.L (visible panty liner in case you didn't know it) I don't mind it but don't you find yourself just curiously start to stare maybe it's just me and then as your reading this your probably thinking bloody perv!

But if you out and about you will notice it and then can't help but look and stare, it's a natural reaction its in our genes we all do it!
So yeah thats all and good, then you notice one person who has them tight legging bottom thingys. Not only do you get the V.P.L but you also get an eye full of camel toe!

I'm sure your aware of camel toe, but surely if your gonna be wearing them bad boys your gonna at least check for that before you head out OK the V.P.L isn't bad but camel toe! Come on love it's like if I was gonna go swimming the last thing you'd want to see is my nuts hanging either side of my speedo's! As Lads can't help our bulge but I'm sure you can do something about that toe of yours!

Is that a fire alarm going off?!

So just another normal saturday afternoon working then BAM!

ALARMS GOING OFF AROUND ME AND MY FELLOW WORK MATES!

gonna have to evacuate the building as the fire alarms are blaring out loudly. Good thing it's a nice hot sunny day so we all leave the building to bask in the sunshine while the alarm just continues to go off! What gets me is that as we wait outside I'm getting an abundance of customers coming up to me as though I'm the fire marshall or something, was I giving off this aura of authority or something. I then preceed to get the similar questions that you would normally ask someone when there is a fire alarm going off.

What's going on?
When can we all go back in?
How long is it going to last?

OK heres my answers to your questions people of the public.....

1. There is a fire alarm going off so it's either going to be a fire or a test! You want me to be anymore blunt with you!

2. I don't know when you can go back in do I look like the fire marshall or something. If anything you can go back in when the alarm goes off or if the firemen put out the fire and then slowly rebuild the shop!

3. How long is a piece of string? I don't know how long it will last maybe when the firemen put out the fire or when the alarm stops!

People should think before they ask a question. These are the questions I may have asked:

1. Where is your manager or the fire marshall as you clearly are not either of the two?!

2. Is there a fire or is it a test? (that sounds more reasonable than being very vague)

3. Enjoy the sun cause it looks like you don't know how long you will be! (more of a statement than a question)

Oh yeah. One other thing to point out as the place does prints etc I'm guessing people started to worry about oooohhhhh my prints will be burnt to a crisp! Yeah maybe if you like old school photography and do it on 35mm film then you would probably be pretty fucked. For you guys that do it on digital you'd probably be pretty safe your pics would not be going up in a blaze of fire.

This being the day after the royal wedding and all that the customers outside are thinking damn ll those pics of the street parties will have been lost forever. EEEEEEKKKKK! Should have done it on digital then love!

Kiss my teeth, suck my lips

Waiting around at the station i hear a black person making this strange sound with their mouth. Ok before i carry on i just want to make it clear im not trying to stereotype or anything, as with everything i write about its just a general observation.

So back to the sound i think its referred to as kissing my teeth as told by 'bo selecta'. So anyway i hear this sound. A sound i've heard many times before. With each time it is a black person. Can anyone tell me why they do this?

From what i gathered or guessing its when they are annoyed or just being ignorant. Whenever i do it its cause i got something stuck inbetween my teeth.

So what You watching?

Just chilling, came out the bathroom and saw my mom was watching a program asked her what she was watching and whats it about. Her reply was:

"RAPE!"


OK then what do you reply to that. I just decided to then carry on walking. Its that kind of situation where you think to yourself. OK if I stay here and now begin to watch this program what will she think of me. But then I think why are you watching this program about rape! Slightly strange situation, so if you ever want to stop a conversation or just make the other person not speak about anything just say RAPE. Even if it is off topic.

Seeds with your mail

Have you ever come across sunflower seeds with your mail? Well you would leaving in an area called boardsley green in birmingham.

Driving past someones house a woman just casually eating her seeds what caught my attention was when she spat out a chunk of remains from the seed. I'm guessing they didn't agree with her, so watching her for about a min i then notice her eat another one but this time she put the remains in her neighbours postbox.

Its bad enough getting junk mail but the last thing i'd want is bits of seeds on my mail. The person living there is prob thinking bugger not seed mail again thats the fourth tine this week. Whats with this postman is a damn shame i aint got a budgey. Cause if i did that bird is sortes for life!

What is that smell?!

As im sat on a bus waiting to move i'm hit by this strong pungent aroma! Why is it that everytime your on public transport you get the occasional smelly person. I should really change occasional to 'often'.

It's like a regular occurance, does public transport now mean lack of personal hygiene. I mean transport is well expensive these days so that group of people out there decide to invest their money on getting the bus from A to B rather than spending a little on freshing up.

As a lot of people do use these forms of transport is it our duty to inform them or better yet spray them?! Maybe there should be those air freshener spray thingy bobs on there. Automatic spray when it senses a smelly guy on board.

As i'm about to finish writing this i notice the smelly guy about to leave and then i notice his filth ridden fingers and hands. So not only is there a smell ive now got to be awear of where his putting his hands. Oh god the dredd of cross contamination. Hopefully as i finish this blog on my phone it aint got some strange new found disease!

Nail clipping on a bus

So your sat on the bus and you hear the sound of nail clippers. Not sure if this is wat im hearing so i take a look. Low and behold the guy is proper getting stuck in clippy cllip clip.

Ok theres a time and place for that. Why on a bus? Im just glad i aint the person sat in front of them. As with nails you always get the few stradlers that seem to fly off. The last thing i want is going to wrk with bits of someone else' nail clippings in my hair.

Im just glad he aint cutting his toe nails. Last thing i wana see in the morning is a guy mounting his leg up, bearing his feet. Then bring out the big boy clippers and start hammering away like he was on a builders yard. Nothing worse than big nail clippings flying around on a bus.

A mother that should be on Jeremy Kyle

So my friend was telling me about how a customer was in the shop with her down syndrome kid and was constantly taking the piss out of her. What would you do in this situation? Why take the piss out of your child, it's another human being. From what my friend was telling me the woman was constantly having a little dig at her daughter poking fun at her every chance she could.

What this tells me is that either the mother is very insecure and she is just not fit to be a mother and should not be one. The Dad wasn't doing anything but do you know what takes the piss even more. When the parent is about to purchase an item from the store the mother starts saying more stuff about the child trying to get her to say 'Timmy'. If you are unfamiliar with the term look it up on south park.

What kind of sick parent is this?! Her other daughter was acting more like a mother to the child as appose to the mother saying.

"Mom you can't say that, why are you doing that for"

So with a mother clearly destined for Jeremy Kyle and a Daughter clearly knowing how you should act towards your child with a disability. You need to put the Mom in a situation where she is poked fun at and made to feel like an outcast! This is where Jeremy comes in and this is probably the only time I would condone his bully boy tactics on TV.

So bring on the Prime time edition and I am sure plenty of people will want to see that mother get a grilling off Jezza! (Grilling not in the way some of you lads out there would think either ;-))

The Charity Gangs in the Street!

What you need to do if you want to avoid charity workers in the street and not give money to them!

One day as I was walking down the high street I get an approach by a guy from the charity brigade. You know the guys with the massive anorak thats brightly lit up showing the massive logo on the back making sure you know what charity they are from. Okay I'm all for charity and giving to charity but when they hound you in the middle of the street they make you feel that you are obliged to give.

We have all done it before to try and avoid them by pretending that we are on the phone to some imaginary parent that we once all so wanted. Anyway so I'm trying the trick but before I even get to my phone quick enough I make eye contact. A massive no no for the Charity avoiding community! Once you've made eye contact they are reeling you in like you were some kind of overly keen fish just waiting to hear the sob story of the charity you are about to get bombarded with. So your reeled in and the story of famine and despair slowly start filling your head from just one little nicety like

" Hey mate can I just take a moment of your time, I wana talk to you a lil bit about ......."

So they they reel you in with a lil nice comment make you feel a lil more better now that the fact you made eye contact with a member of the charity brigade. So after the nicety the despair and then finally what we all dread. Bam it will cost so and so each month. So not only have you been reeled in by a pair of charity seducing eyes but now they are trying to get you to give money to a charity that could be probably be one of the most obscure charities that you could have ever heard of.

So I'm now standing there trying not to feel guilty and at the same time thinking how can I get away from this situation? Then look to my side low and behold there is a tramp, hobo or should I say a homeless guy sitting there needing actual charity.

This is my queue to place the guilt on the charity worker that always seem to be the ones that are doing good and are invincible from actually giving to charity, self righteous tw*ts. Don't even get me started on the guys that use this job as a potential to pick up the women. Hey get a grip mate just because your the guy that is working for charity doesn't mean your charitable you sleaze bag!

So I look at the homeless guy on the ground and the light bulb moment here guys. I say to the evil charity worker I've just given some money to the homeless guy or even better I tell the charity worker to hold on a sec while I give the homeless guy a quid. OKAY it's not a lot but you do hear about the guys that pretend to be homeless therefore I justify given a quid. As the last thing you want is given the guy that extra quid to pay for his petrol after a hard day begging! Could Begging actually be hard though as your sitting there lacking in pride and hygiene in freezing conditions racking in the pennies getting abuse off the school kids walking past. Thinking about it they sound like there more hard working than the people claiming benefits, at least the tramps out there are actually actively looking to make money! But a minority of people claiming are just sitting at home doing f*ck all. So I think I may have just convinced myself that Tramps are more justified than the average lazy benefit seeking scumbags!

So now I have just come up with the conclusion don't pay your tax to the lazy benefit scumbags out there but give it to the tramps who are actively looking to make money....... hopefully not for there drug habit!

After pointing out this tramp guy and giving him the quid I then go back to the Charity robot. I'm now in control as the guy is standing there and he has this look on his face like how do I get him to give to charity.

Before he even opens his mouth I say to him

"Charity always starts at home doesn't it"

Still bemused with what I said and slightly confused on what to do next, I then tell him

"Why don't you try giving to the homeless guy it will make you feel better instead of taking from the unsuspecting public"

Again still slightly confused and not knowing what to do, I then proceed to go but tell him

"Anyway I must dash I did have a phone call that I was about to take before you interrupted me, I wonder what my mom wanted to ring me about? See ya later, don't forget charity begins at home."

When the Homeless are picky!

OK guys its been a very long time since I have written my observational blogs but am going to start again. So for those that liked my blogs from before they will be back WHOOOP WHOOP!

Setting:

In a train station, in the waiting area eating a burger king meal waiting for the train. Then homeless guy comes from nowhere to ask for change but instead offer some of my food.

So heres the situation I'm at the train station its in the evening and I think to myself theres no way I'll be able to get a proper meal in me by the time I get home. So I decide on getting one of those XL meals for burger king not realising just the burger would have filled me up. So I go to the waiting area for the trains etc. I there eating my meal halfway through my burger and feeling slightly stuff but need to finish it, to justify the price I paid for this beast of a burger. Strangest thing though I'm sure that they hike the prices at the stations, so you'd be pretty f*cked if you saved up a certain amount in the day thinking yeah I'll get a burger king before I get on the train. Then you realise you get to the station and the prices are a couple quid more than the normal fast food place. Then your like F*UCK I can only get the chicken bites, what the fuck I am gonna do with chicken bites they barely feed the dog let alone me. I came here thinking I would get a substantial amount of meat in me, not the chicken giblets covered in breadcrumbs that are probably stale!

Lucky for me that day I had the right amount enough for that XL meal, but whilst eating it I'm like pretty stuffed and I only had half the burger and some of the fries. Maybe I should have mixed it up a little and got the small burger with the bread covered chicken giblets. So I'm sat there eating this meal and then I notice a homeless guy, at first I thought it was just a black guy with baggy pants and high top trainers that just forgot his belt hence practically hanging off his arse.

Then as he got closer actually realised he was a homeless guy, he wasn't trying to set a trend with the baggy jeans round the arse that you see a lot of these days from the youth. His toes practically hanging out of trainers and if his trousers were any lower something else would be hanging out.

So the tramp starts walking in the waiting area he asks a couple of people for some money for a coffee. He then decides to sit by me and asks me if I could spare some change. Without thinking I offer my fries as I was feeling pretty stuffed. Guess what the reply was

"No thanks I'm OKAY"

Clearly he isn't OK as he is asking people for some spare change for coffee. Since when have the homeless become picky I sat there bewildered thinking. Did he just turn down my fries, it was like half a pack any one of my mates would have snapped that right up straight away. So sat there for a good minute after he rejected my perfectly good fries still hot might I add! I thought hang on he wants coffee, whats the best thing to a coffee I'll offer my Pepsi, see what happens then. So I say to the guy

"How about my drink, I'm not really thirsty anymore, there's still quite a bit"

So now it sounds like I'm negotiating with the tramp, offering my goods as though this train station is a trading post. I'm just hoping he isn't gonna trade me those pants. So he looks at me with this surprised look as though I have just taken the piss, I first offer the Fries and now I offer the Drink. I'm just dicing with death, front page of the local paper

"GUY GETS ATTACKED BY LOCAL TRAMP, as he didn't want fries or pepsi. But a COFFEE!"

So there I am offering my goods to the tramp and to my surprise he accepts and I'm thinking that is noway close to a coffee. That pepsi is cold and I'm sure it had extra ice. Turns down fries, but accepts a cold pepsi, pretty picky for a hobo.

There he is drinking my Pepsi sat there and now he is trying to make small talk. I'm sat there thinking hang on mate you turn down my fries but drink my drink and now you wana talk to me. I feel like I'm at a really bad dinner party where the guest doesn't accept the food I have prepared. OK probably not the most similar situation but still he could have at least tried to eat the fries. Even when he finished up that drink of mine could have ate the fries.

So he drinks the drink and tries to make small talk, but I don't so I get my bag and pull out my book. OK I made a lil small talk seeing as he was by me plus I wanted the bag nearer me last thing I wanted to do was trade my bag!

So he asks me when my train is due I told him like 20 mins as I don't really wana be hanging out with the local hobo's. He is sat there for another 5 minutes of awkwardness and so he decides it's time for him to leave. Guess what he is actually grateful for my drink in his exact words

"Thank you for the drink, God bless you!"

The picky homeless guy said thank you and blessed me check that out. I wonder what the others in the waiting room thought of that. Maybe if they had a sandwich could have traded that.

After he left it got me thinking if I had that 50p would he still have wanted that coffee, personally I would have gone for a Hot Chocolate!

Observational James