Tuesday 6 June 2017

Milton Downpour and Human Rights Threat


A beautiful double rainbow in a full bow glowed over Milton as the Milton Local History Group sheltered in the last shower of the day before the evening sun won through.


We were following Clive Milner on a walk around the village where he correlated old photographs of past houses and landmarks with present day Milton. As ever, it was not a totally one way transfer of information as several of the walkers were themselves longstanding residents who remembered long gone village halls, shops and the local laundry. I learnt that, next to the war memorial, there used to be a large water pump, where water could be pumped into barrels on carts. We also traced back our footsteps to rediscover the still existing village water pump, now so totally hidden in a hedge enclosure on the boundary between the High Street and Cambridge Road that few visitors know it is still there. I remember when it was still clearly visible. We warmed up after the chilly walk with tea, Jaffa cakes and the hot air of conversation in the Milton Community Centre Lounge.

With the last but one day before the election, Prime Minister Theresa May ramped up her rhetoric on action against the terror threat, promising to "rip up human rights laws to fight terror!" according to Sky News. The most difficult reality is, that there is a difference between people sympathising with radical views and actually engaging in terrorist acts. At what point do we act on 'Thought Crimes' in order to prevent potential terrorist acts. The pressure for greater restriction of human rights and freedoms is increasing. Precisely the sort of polarising activity that extremists want, as it drives more people to them. At least the Labour party has increasingly become a visible opposition, whether you like their policies or not.

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