We took a family holiday when we were living in Birmingham.
I had moved from the security of the Vicarage and had bought a house in Birmingham which was within walking distance of my office at Selly Oak.
From having little money for holidays a mortgage meant that we now had none.
So we took the family camping close to home near Ludlow in Shropshire and lived for two weeks on the family allowance.
It was during this holiday when the whole question of money or no money acquired a somewhat gnomic quality.
The reason was that whilst wandering the streets of Ludlow we came across an 'antique' or 'junk' shop which had a Juke Box in the doorway.
Was it for sale?
Does it work?
The owner of the shop walked across and pressed the buttons and we were downed in sound as the Juke Box, a Rock Ola, played Jungle Rock by Hank Mizell.
As the lyrics said:
I lost all volition and began to move my feet
It was a jungle drummer doin' a knock down beat
Although in my case, once I had established the asking price and checked that my maxed out credit cards would allow me to withdraw enough cash, I lost all volition and made an offer and became the proud owner of a Juke Box.
It was a struggle to get it home but a helpful if sceptical brother in law came to my rescue with a van and a strong arm and no sooner was it installed in the front room and plugged in and switched on than Hank Mizell was heard again singing his Rockabilly hit from 1958.
Now we have another kind of Jungle Rock in the news.
Tragically the news from Calais and the intemperate reporting and appalling use of language emanating from our politicians and the media is nothing less than shameful.
Not only is it shameful but, like so much propaganda it is not factually correct.
So there are less migrants than is claimed, the costs are less than is claimed, it is more costly to repatriate than to support migrants in the UK, less migrants are from Africa than from war torn countries, where the UK and western powers have contributed to regime change and destabilisation, other countries in fact offer asylum to more people fleeing war and danger than the UK, most refugees in fact have a genuine reason for seeking asylum and few are economic migrants as is claimed.
So, dogs and fences and the the Gurkha's are the response from the UK Government to a humanitarian crisis in which less than 1% of those refugees who reach Europe are seeking entry into the UK.
Appalling language from David Cameron's 'Swarm' to Philip Hammond's 'marauding migrants' threatening our standard of living should have no place in the public debate when what is needed is a rational, calm, humanitarian response to the problems which are arising because for many thousands of people 'home' has become an unsafe and dangerous place to be and the stress of a long and dangerous journey to the discomfort and squalor of a refugee camp is to be preferred.
It would be heartening to hear a word of reason and compassion from the leaders of the Christian Churches in Britain but there are some positive messages from the Diocese of Europe, the Bishop of Dover has criticised David Cameron for his 'dehumanising language' and the Archbishop of Canterbury has stated that Britain should assist fleeing migrants because: 'their plight is so extreme, so appalling'
The Pope's message is both heartening and challenging and is addressed to both secular and ecclesial communities:
'large numbers of people are leaving their homelands, with a suitcase full of fears and desires .... in search of more humane living conditions. Often, however, such migration gives rise to suspicion and hostility ........ suspicion and prejudice conflict with the biblical commandment of welcoming with respect and solidarity the stranger in need'.
As St Paul, himself both a pilgrim, a refugee and an immigrant, in his letter to the Romans observed:
'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
The situation which has been allowed to develop in Calais is unnecessary, the Anglo-French agreement allows British passport control to be based in France so it should be well within the bounds of possibility, as well as more humane, for those seeking Asylum, whose refugee status can be demonstrated, as much by their country of origin as by any other means, to be interviewed and assessed and then offered the support they might need to put the terror behind them and begin a new life in a welcoming and generous country, to which by their contribution, they will enrich.
Is this naive?
Well not if you pause to reflect on the rich cultural diversity that is the backcloth to so much of what we value today in our national life.
In sport we take pride in so many of our athletes who having come to the UK with their families have taken citizenship and gone on to achieve greatness.
In art, in education, in literature the voices of those from other cultures graces and transforms British life; the food we eat, the language we speak, the music we enjoy.
Writing in the Independent Sean O'Grady highlighted ten things that immigration has done for us, these included Marks and Spencer, the Mini, Cobra and Curry, the Royal Family and the possibly dubious addition of Rupert Murdoch The Sun and Sky TV.
We close our borders at our own risk and to our own detriment as a people who have always changed and developed and grown as a result of the many gifts that strangers have brought to our shores and our culture.
And no list would be complete without reference to the NHS which would simply cease to exist in its present form if the Doctors, the Nurses, those who perform so many valuable roles from porters to cleaners who come from across the Commonwealth and Europe, were unable to work here and fulfil their roles within the service.
Jungle Rock was an ephemeral pop music hit, it reached No 3 in the British Charts, but the idea of a rock in the refugee camp known as the jungle should not be thought of as ephemeral because in the Bible a rock is a symbol of strength and permanence, a place where people in danger can take refuge. God is the Rock of Israel because he is seen as the strength, security and deliverance of his people.
I had moved from the security of the Vicarage and had bought a house in Birmingham which was within walking distance of my office at Selly Oak.
From having little money for holidays a mortgage meant that we now had none.
So we took the family camping close to home near Ludlow in Shropshire and lived for two weeks on the family allowance.
It was during this holiday when the whole question of money or no money acquired a somewhat gnomic quality.
The reason was that whilst wandering the streets of Ludlow we came across an 'antique' or 'junk' shop which had a Juke Box in the doorway.
Was it for sale?
Does it work?
The owner of the shop walked across and pressed the buttons and we were downed in sound as the Juke Box, a Rock Ola, played Jungle Rock by Hank Mizell.
As the lyrics said:
I lost all volition and began to move my feet
It was a jungle drummer doin' a knock down beat
Although in my case, once I had established the asking price and checked that my maxed out credit cards would allow me to withdraw enough cash, I lost all volition and made an offer and became the proud owner of a Juke Box.
It was a struggle to get it home but a helpful if sceptical brother in law came to my rescue with a van and a strong arm and no sooner was it installed in the front room and plugged in and switched on than Hank Mizell was heard again singing his Rockabilly hit from 1958.
Now we have another kind of Jungle Rock in the news.
Tragically the news from Calais and the intemperate reporting and appalling use of language emanating from our politicians and the media is nothing less than shameful.
Not only is it shameful but, like so much propaganda it is not factually correct.
So there are less migrants than is claimed, the costs are less than is claimed, it is more costly to repatriate than to support migrants in the UK, less migrants are from Africa than from war torn countries, where the UK and western powers have contributed to regime change and destabilisation, other countries in fact offer asylum to more people fleeing war and danger than the UK, most refugees in fact have a genuine reason for seeking asylum and few are economic migrants as is claimed.
So, dogs and fences and the the Gurkha's are the response from the UK Government to a humanitarian crisis in which less than 1% of those refugees who reach Europe are seeking entry into the UK.
Appalling language from David Cameron's 'Swarm' to Philip Hammond's 'marauding migrants' threatening our standard of living should have no place in the public debate when what is needed is a rational, calm, humanitarian response to the problems which are arising because for many thousands of people 'home' has become an unsafe and dangerous place to be and the stress of a long and dangerous journey to the discomfort and squalor of a refugee camp is to be preferred.
It would be heartening to hear a word of reason and compassion from the leaders of the Christian Churches in Britain but there are some positive messages from the Diocese of Europe, the Bishop of Dover has criticised David Cameron for his 'dehumanising language' and the Archbishop of Canterbury has stated that Britain should assist fleeing migrants because: 'their plight is so extreme, so appalling'
The Pope's message is both heartening and challenging and is addressed to both secular and ecclesial communities:
'large numbers of people are leaving their homelands, with a suitcase full of fears and desires .... in search of more humane living conditions. Often, however, such migration gives rise to suspicion and hostility ........ suspicion and prejudice conflict with the biblical commandment of welcoming with respect and solidarity the stranger in need'.
As St Paul, himself both a pilgrim, a refugee and an immigrant, in his letter to the Romans observed:
'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
The situation which has been allowed to develop in Calais is unnecessary, the Anglo-French agreement allows British passport control to be based in France so it should be well within the bounds of possibility, as well as more humane, for those seeking Asylum, whose refugee status can be demonstrated, as much by their country of origin as by any other means, to be interviewed and assessed and then offered the support they might need to put the terror behind them and begin a new life in a welcoming and generous country, to which by their contribution, they will enrich.
Is this naive?
Well not if you pause to reflect on the rich cultural diversity that is the backcloth to so much of what we value today in our national life.
In sport we take pride in so many of our athletes who having come to the UK with their families have taken citizenship and gone on to achieve greatness.
In art, in education, in literature the voices of those from other cultures graces and transforms British life; the food we eat, the language we speak, the music we enjoy.
Writing in the Independent Sean O'Grady highlighted ten things that immigration has done for us, these included Marks and Spencer, the Mini, Cobra and Curry, the Royal Family and the possibly dubious addition of Rupert Murdoch The Sun and Sky TV.
We close our borders at our own risk and to our own detriment as a people who have always changed and developed and grown as a result of the many gifts that strangers have brought to our shores and our culture.
And no list would be complete without reference to the NHS which would simply cease to exist in its present form if the Doctors, the Nurses, those who perform so many valuable roles from porters to cleaners who come from across the Commonwealth and Europe, were unable to work here and fulfil their roles within the service.
Jungle Rock was an ephemeral pop music hit, it reached No 3 in the British Charts, but the idea of a rock in the refugee camp known as the jungle should not be thought of as ephemeral because in the Bible a rock is a symbol of strength and permanence, a place where people in danger can take refuge. God is the Rock of Israel because he is seen as the strength, security and deliverance of his people.
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