No, where do you come from?

[Onelife]

She might have got away with it had she not assumed Ngozi Fulani wasn’t born here and probed for clarification. I don’t particularly see her as a racist, I see her more as someone trapped in a historical time warp of us and them.

[towny44]

She might have got away with it had she not assumed Ngozi Fulani wasn’t born here and probed for clarification. I don’t particularly see her as a racist, I see her more as someone trapped in a historical time warp of us and them.

Still waiting to hear your defence of the horse racing world Keefie?

[Onelife]

Hi John, I'm always happy to talk to you about horse racing


Horses are bred for a purpose as are the animals we eat, some end up in racing stables where they are raced, loved and cared for until such time that they can no longer race...others end up on dinner tables, some in tins to feed our pets...if I was a horse and given the choice of taking my chances over a few fences for 2 hours of my life ... or go straight to the abattoir.... I know which I would choose.

If however you need another reason why racing can be justified I would suggest the 20,000 full time and 70,000 part time jobs being a good enough reason.....if you’re still not convinced, how about the £3.7bn which finds its way into the UK economy... of which £325m is generated for the Exchequer.

[towny44]

Hi John, I'm always happy to talk to you about horse racing


Horses are bred for a purpose as are the animials we eat, some end up in racing stables where they are raced, loved and cared for until such time that they can no longer race...others end up on dinner tables, some in tins to feed our pets...if I was a horse and given the choice of taking my chances over a few fences for 2 hours of my life ... or go straight to the abattoir.... I know which I would choose.

If however you need another reason why racing can be justified I would suggest the 20,000 full time and 70,000 part time jobs being a good enough reason.....if you’re still not convinced, how about the £3.7bn which finds its way into the UK economy... of which £325m is generated for the Exchequer.

What has any of this to do with racism in a sport which is far more elitist than the monarchy or the house of lords?

[Mervyn and Trish]

That must be almost as much is generated to the exchequer by the Monarchy through associated tourism etc. And almost as many people as are employed directly or indirectly by the Monarchy and associated industries.

Who knew the Monarchy was such a wonderful asset?

[Onelife]

Hi John, I'm always happy to talk to you about horse racing


Horses are bred for a purpose as are the animials we eat, some end up in racing stables where they are raced, loved and cared for until such time that they can no longer race...others end up on dinner tables, some in tins to feed our pets...if I was a horse and given the choice of taking my chances over a few fences for 2 hours of my life ... or go straight to the abattoir.... I know which I would choose.

If however you need another reason why racing can be justified I would suggest the 20,000 full time and 70,000 part time jobs being a good enough reason.....if you’re still not convinced, how about the £3.7bn which finds its way into the UK economy... of which £325m is generated for the Exchequer.

What has any of this to do with racism in a sport which is far more elitist than the monarchy or the house of lords?

Perhaps you should have phrased your question better…The horse racing industry wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for mugs like me who enjoy and support it. The only ‘elitists’ that make any money out of the industry are the Bookies and some trainers…. the majority of owners lose money including the late queen who only recoups a third of what she puts into racing…. they do it for the love of the sport.

[Onelife]

Re: post 40

Hi David, with regard to Kier/ Brown’s ideas of reforming the way Government works I can see that this will be a big vote winner come the next GE. The Idea (without having scrutinised it) will I believe resonate with a large section of the voting public, especially those who feel they have been left behind. I also think it is a compromise which may scupper Sturgeons plans once and for all.

Irrespective of party allegiance this is a master stroke by the Labour party imo.

[david63]

I also think it is a compromise which may scupper Sturgeons plans once and for all.

Not if what I heard last night is true.

Apparently the introduction of devolution for Scotland increased the strength of the SNP in their claim for independence and this "new" plan will only intensify it.

It seems a bit of a coincidence that a report into devolving more powers to Scotland, in-particular, was written by a Scotsman!

[barney]

As more comes out on this story, I’m inclined to change my mind a little.
Fulani was actually given an English name at birth but as an adult decided to change it to an African name.
She also has form on social media as a bit of an anti monarchist. You have to question why she thought it appropriate to attend the event organised by people she disapproved of.

As usual, the truth eventually comes out.

[screwy]

Born here to parents from Barbados.!

[Onelife]

I also think it is a compromise which may scupper Sturgeons plans once and for all.

Not if what I heard last night is true.

Apparently the introduction of devolution for Scotland increased the strength of the SNP in their claim for independence and this "new" plan will only intensify it.

It seems a bit of a coincidence that a report into devolving more powers to Scotland, in-particular, was written by a Scotsman!

That doesn’t come as any surprise from the hardliner William Wallace brigade but for the majority who voted to stay part of the UK, it is I believe, a compromise that will go down well?

[Gill W]

Not sure that I subscribe to your view that non whites are "grilled" about their heritage, but it is likely that people would find their heritage far more interesting than that of a Huddersfield Town who has never lived anywhere but West Yorkshire. However why do you, and many others, consider this to be racist, can it not just be a polite enquiry to enable a conversation to proceed.

But where are you really from? Who are your people?

The charity worker was born in London, but that wasn't enough

So it seems it's not enough to have always lived somewhere, we need more than just Huddersfield - we need the last 200 years of your ancestry at least in order to ascertain your roots and who your people are.

Or if that's a bit much, we can just accept that non white people can come from London or Huddersfield or where ever, and they don't need to qualify their answer any more than that.

[Manoverboard]

I find the DNA of UK white folks far more interesting than most of our darker toned cousins who are generally traced back to the African West Coast due to the historical slave trade.

In my own case, purely to illustrate, were my ancestors Vikings or could they have been persecuted Huguenot carpet weavers from Flanders ... or maybe they were tin miners from Cornwall else farm workers on his Lordship's Estate.

[barney]

I’ve done both sides of my family Merv.
Dads side back to 1660
Mums side just a couple of generations.
I always assumed that I came from working class east end of London stock and guess what?
I was right.
Before Victorian London, Yeoman farmers on the Isle of Wight.
Never saw that coming.

[Gill W]

I find the DNA of UK white folks far more interesting than most of our darker toned cousins who are generally traced back to the African West Coast due to the historical slave trade.

In my own case, purely to illustrate, were my ancestors Vikings or could they have been persecuted Huguenot carpet weavers from Flanders ... or maybe they were tin miners from Cornwall else farm workers on his Lordship's Estate.

Most people originate from Africa if you go back far enough. DNA testing would be able to give you an idea of your ancestors' journey into Europe. It also gives an indication of more recent ancestry. Using that information and family history research, you'd be able to find out a lot about your ancestors.

Having watched shows like ''Who Do You Think You Are', no one should assume they know. Often, black people with heritage in the West Indies have a surprising amount of European ancestry and white people have found they have African, and Asian ancestors

I recommend family history research to everyone. I know quite a lot about 'who my people are', but no one ever asks !

[screwy]

Oh go on then, do tell.!

[Gill W]

Oh go on then, do tell.!

LOL, if people asked, they would regret it, as I could bore on for hours !

But briefly on my mum's side, a lot of history in Essex and East London, doing all sorts of trades like Wheelwright, blacksmith, working as officials in the workhouse, a cattle dealer. Plus deep roots in Devon, mostly nautical types, and the women did lace making.

On my dad's side, mostly in Berkshire, and before that, I've traced them back to a small Wiltshire village. Mostly land owning or tenant farmers, working quite big farms. Plus a Scottish line, also farmers

[Manoverboard]

I recommend family history research to everyone. I know quite a lot about 'who my people are', but no one ever asks !

I would recommend it too.

Years ago I bought some ' Family ' software and signed up with Ancestry.com. We travelled all over to visit our 'roots'. Some very odd coincidences arose during our searches. For example ...

One of my Grandads left his village on the Herts/Bucks border where they went back for hundreds of years. He moved to Luton at the start of the 20th century where he was employed as a labourer. By some strange coincidence he helped to build the Vauxhall plant in that town. Strange because I was destined to work there umpteen years later. He met his hat making wife in Luton and they moved into a little house in the Town Centre. The row of houses were eventually knocked into one building, it became a well known Software House but without any knowledge of this our second son applied successfully for a job with them. He had never been to Luton and was living in Winchester at the time.

It's certainly a fascinating pastime ....

[barney]

I found the process fascinating but eventually exhausted all avenues.
I did find out that both sets of grandparents lived in the same street but not at the same time.
Unfortunately, all bar one of the Bethnal Green houses are no longer standing.
New flats now.

[Mervyn and Trish]

In my family history tracing I have discovered several previously unrevealed secrets. For example one of Trish's grandfathers has no father named on his birth certificate and took his mother's surname. My dad's older sister was born some years before her supposed parents married and turns out to have a different father. And my own Dad was born just 6 months after his parents married. I was amazed that a baby born three months prematurely in 2017 could survive!

[Gill W]

I recommend family history research to everyone. I know quite a lot about 'who my people are', but no one ever asks !

I would recommend it too.

Years ago I bought some ' Family ' software and signed up with Ancestry.com. We travelled all over to visit our 'roots'. Some very odd coincidences arose during our searches. For example ...

One of my Grandads left his village on the Herts/Bucks border where they went back for hundreds of years. He moved to Luton at the start of the 20th century where he was employed as a labourer. By some strange coincidence he helped to build the Vauxhall plant in that town. Strange because I was destined to work there umpteen years later. He met his hat making wife in Luton and they moved into a little house in the Town Centre. The row of houses were eventually knocked into one building, it became a well known Software House but without any knowledge of this our second son applied successfully for a job with them. He had never been to Luton and was living in Winchester at the time.

It's certainly a fascinating pastime ....

I like those pleasing coincidences.

I found the process fascinating but eventually exhausted all avenues.
I did find out that both sets of grandparents lived in the same street but not at the same time.
Unfortunately, all bar one of the Bethnal Green houses are no longer standing.
New flats now.

I started researching my family history in 2008, but there were some things that I could not solve. I picked up the family history again in lockdown, and I was able to solve several of the mysteries that had me stumped previously. So it's sometimes worth going back years later, as more information is going online.

My husband has a set of great x 2 grandparents on his dad's side and a set of great x 3 grandparents on his mum's did who lived next door to each other in Vauxhall, around 1871 or thereabouts.

In my family history tracing I have discovered several previously unrevealed secrets. For example one of Trish's grandfathers has no father named on his birth certificate and took his mother's surname. My dad's older sister was born some years before her supposed parents married and turns out to have a different father. And my own Dad was born just 6 months after his parents married. I was amazed that a baby born three months prematurely in 2017 could survive!

Yes, I've definately found a few skeletons in the closet.

[Stephen]

I found out I'm related to Royalty and am due some back pay

[barney]

I found some of the professions interesting.
Cheesemonger
Skin Dregger
French Polisher
On the Welsh side, obviously miners