My History

I'm frustrated at the lack of information on Cheetham Hill, Manchester for the years 1960-1970! I thought you could find anything on the Internet. I guess I was wrong. Not that my history begins in Cheetham Hill. I was born in Wythenshawe but the family moved South to Walton-on-the-Naze and then to Clacton-on-Sea and finally to Stevenage, Herts, before returning North to Cheetham Hill. Nor is it that Cheetham Hill holds that many fond memories given that that is where I lost my faith and became agnostic before jumping off the fence and declaring my atheism. But I've seen, with some envy, the efforts of some people from Collyhurst (a neighbouring district) in producing a fine collaborative Facebook page with photos and info from locals who cherish their homesteads!

I felt, therefore, that I might find some similar effort from old 'Hill' dwellers, but alas, nay! The last time I visited the 'Hill' was in May 2008 when I discovered it to be something of an ethnic minority ghetto. It was always cosmopolitan but seems to have been adopted by a predominantly Muslim community. Which is sad really, because it used to be the Jewish conclave of Manchester.

I remember when I was a kid we used to earn pocket money going round the households of elderly Jewish ladies and lighting their fires in the mornings and opening their mail. 2/6d per fire! Then there was the Temperance Billiard Hall on Cheetham Hill road where some of my mis-spent youth was taken up by playing snooker on a Saturday afternoon. There would be a weekly event we used to call "the march of the Zionists"! A group of orthodox Jews would come in, choose a game, any game, and gamble on the outcome! I was quite small in stature but some would like to take a bet on me winning my game. (I was reasonable as an amateur back then!) We would see wads of notes change hands. If we lost there would be shouts of "Foul!!", or "Cheat!!". However, if we won, "Well done!", or "Told you Ruben!", but we never got any reward!

There was a barbershop not far from the Hall called 'Macky Davies'. I had a special school 'do' that I needed a proper haircut for, so I ventured into Macky's and asked for a "smart-cut". It was smart except for the top. He'd left space for a Kippot! I'm not sure he'd considered the fact that a gentile kid would come to his place.

Has Cheetham Hill lost its charm? I don't know. Has it lost its sense of identity? I don't know that either. I hope there are some people with long memories who might like to start a proper history of the place. In fact, let's all keep our historical archives available before it all goes to pot, eh?

Unemployed at Home!

Suddenly I've become a domestic God!

Royal Mail decided in its wisdom to dismiss me during the height of the recent dispute. Since then I've become chief childminder and bottle-washer. It's an interesting role and not one I haven't experienced in the past. However, the changes I've noticed in what constitutes 'proper' childcare over the years has astounded me. My baby daughter has had to sleep on her back. Apparently, this is to avoid 'cot-death'. The consequence of this is she has no idea how to crawl! More babies are now walking before they've learned to crawl.

Feeding (post breast) is a nightmare! What a child can suffer with too much of this and not enough of that makes me wonder how on Earth we managed to survive as a species!

Anyway, she's beautiful, healthy and bright. Who could ask for more?

Are Atheists REALLY Angry People?

New TV series keep being made here in the UK trying to set the balance right between the believers and the non-believers. And recently, the general goal of the programme makers is to promote "tolerance" between those who DO and those who DON'T.



I have a problem with this.



It's obviously a response to Richard Dawkins' recent attacks on the religious community for their insistence that they have a responsibility to bring the "DON'Ts" into the fold.



Now, while I'm more than happy for the professor to set out his stall on my behalf, (a far more scholarly individual than I!), I do have reservations about being called a "Darwinian" simply because I do not believe the Bible, Torah, Koran (or Qu'ran, or whatever...) to be a true, or in any way, accurate record of history.



It matters little to me that Darwin, or Wallace for that matter, discovered certain principles which lead us to conclude that a Master Creator made everything from scratch could not have done so in the way certain 'Holy' books describe. Yes, it's all very interesting and indeed fascinating. Nature certainly is a fabulous wonder to behold in its own right, but that is not the sole reason for me not-to-believe!



I can begin with some very basic and simple unanswered questions. My middle daughter was aged just six years old when she had returned from her first time at Sunday School. (Yes, I allowed her to attend, and yes she has been given every opportunity to make up her own mind, and no - I haven't imposed my views on her!). Her first question to me was; "Does God have a willy?" The question to the adherents would have been received with incredulous horror in a "Christian" household, I've no doubt, but I asked her what she thought. Her reply was that He obviously had because He had created a man in His image. As she grew more aware of the nature of male and female anatomies and the reasons for said it occurred to her that there must be a miss God. If not; why would God have a willy? And if He didn't have one; why give Adam one?



We live in modern times. Knowledge is easier to obtain for most of us. But for fundamentalists of any religion, it's just not allowed. The Bible states quite clearly that the fall from grace that Adam and Eve endured was not from rape, murder, theft or any other serious misdeed, simply that they'd eaten the fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge"! That's it! That's all it took! Stay ignorant or lose your right to Eden!



Before we've got as far as Cain and Able and where Cain "took himself a wife" from, we have to ask not- does God have a willy? - but why God wants a couple of ignoramuses jumping through the daffodils in Eden!? Why imbue them with a thinking brain?



And, of course, before we even enter into the ridiculous stories in the text, the most glaring question of all is; Where did He come from?



I'm not a "fundamentalist Darwinian", I have no axe to bear. You, and even my kids, are allowed to believe what you want to believe. But please, don't feel pressed to 'convert' me. I have eaten the fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge". I have learned things that I can't un-learn. I'm already dammned to the outer reaches of Eden. And I've no intention of going back!



I'm not angry with you for your need to evade the inevitable truth of your existence. That to me seems perfectly reasonable, but don't judge others in the name of your god. And please don't kill others for the same reason. Surely, if your god is as powerful as you claim, He doesn't need your help! Let Him, and only Him, make those decisions.



Tolerance should come from you, not me. You're the ones who are supposed to set the example, aren't you?