A mother who was punched to the floor in her own home by yobs was stunned when police advised her not to call officers to her house – because it would ‘escalate’ the problem.

Nikki Collen, 39, begged officers for help after a thug kicked in her front door and punched her to the floor in her hallway.

After her attacker fled, Nikki rang Warwickshire Police who promised to send an officer to her home in Kenilworth.

But an hour later she received a phone call from a woman police officer who told her it would be better if police did not attend because it might inflame the situation.

Mother-of-two Nikki, who is studying an Open University degree in nursing, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it.

‘I was attacked and wanted to report it but the officer was persuading me not to press charges.

‘She even told me that if the bullies saw a police officer at my home it could escalate the problem further.

‘I was so scared I asked what I should do and she told me to try and sort it out on my own. I was really upset and felt really alone.

‘It’s a horrendous way to live and has got to the stage where I fear going out because of the abuse I will get.

‘I can’t cope with it and need some help from authorities. I’ve just had enough and need to move. Why should I put up with this?’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216679/Thugs-punch-mother-floor-home-police-tell-best-dont-visit-escalate-problem.html#ixzz0SPRYMVRX

This poor woman and her family have been attacked, she has asked for support from her local police and been told basically not too bother us because it could make things worse for you and your family If we get involved, excuse me for one bloody moment, I thought it was the criminal’s who were meant to be afraid of the police?

It is obvious to huge swathes of the country that the police nowadays are no more than social workers and tax collector’s, social workers to help the criminal and tax collectors to collect monies from Innocent motorist’s?

Very soon the public will have to tackle crime for themselves, If the police won’t help the law-abiding then the law abiding will help themselves

C.22  9/21/09

Last night I went to a most fantastic concert by MGMT which was hosted by the new car, the KIA Soul. The concert was part of a weekend-long series of concerts called the Kia Soul Collective. The brief but exciting series consisted of artists, Wale, The Creepers, Dan Deacon, and MGMT. The shows were held in what seemed to be a random empty space which is called The Warehouse. It is located in what I like to call “Sketchville” DC, in Kenilworth NE next to the Washington Times building at the edge of New York Avenue.

Anyways, ever since first finding out about the band, MGMT on the University of Edinburgh’s radio station, Fresh Air, more than a year ago, I have really liked the sound and music. I can best describe MGMT’s music as indie-electronic-dance-pop. It’s not really the kind of music I typically like, but then again, I have a really wide variety of music I like. You can check out MGMT’s cook website here.

I went with a friend who managed to score the free tickets on Friday afternoon. Both of us were crammed into a tightly squeezed audience in front of the smallish stage. My friend and I were trying to figure out if there was going to be an opening band, when a band took the stage and played an unrecognizable song. It was pretty “mainstream rock” sounding and we were confused, since I hadn’t seen any info about an opener. The next song was a recognizable hit from MGMT’s album (called Oracular Spectacular). That’s when my concert companion and I concluded that there was no opener in fact and that we were watching MGMT for real.

The concert was a lot of fun, and the band managed to play most if not all of the songs from their album. They also played some new songs which I assume will be on their next album. One highlight of the show was when one of the band members polled the audience, “Ok, we can either play a new song, or play “Kids” [one of their biggest hits] again.” The result was pretty funny. The audience kept cheering for “Kids” again, even though we had already heard it, and few cheered for the new song that MGMT played anyways. (I liked the new song. It wasn’t necessarily memorable, but it was more mellow and slow than a lot of their stuff.) I guess MGMT are too indie even for their own selves, that the unknown music *should* stay unknown?

My squished spot in the crowd didn’t allow more much dancing room or a very good line of sight to the stage, but the music was loud enough and the crowd was sufficiently fun. It was definitely a memorable experience, especially for a concert on a Sunday night.

The one thing though, that I noticed was the very narrow age group present. I almost seemed to be a “poser” in the mostly college-aged  audience. Like, who did I think I was, trying to be more hip and young like these total hipster students? At times, I felt out of place (especially since I was still in kickball clothes). But there was nothing I could do about it, especially since I didn’t know about the band until a few years after I graduated college. It was just a slightly uncomfortable conundrum. It seemed like this band’s following was too young for me, and a lot of the other music I like (60’s-80’s rock for example) is “too old” for me. That leaves me with the “correct age group music” for me as the sometimes-lame 90’s music and the early 00’s. Not sure how I feel about that, but really I just don’t think I care. Whatever, I will still listen to the music I like.  My point however is, that when submersed among the audience of a band such as MGMT, I felt oddly old. But maybe that’s just the modern, electro-pop sound.

Anyways, the concert was great fun and I’m definitely glad I went!

Recently, I was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune for a story about the fall in property values. The market that sticks out like a sore thumb, is the upper-bracket multimillion $ homes dotting the shores of lake Michigan. I have seen property values in this sector plummet by nearly half their values from the market peak. Just a few years ago these homes were selling for top Dollar, with multiple offers as the wealthy had to find places to secure their investments.

Now, with the stock market and property having gone through major corrections, most potential buyers are finding it hard to come up with the cash to invest in property. Many have their capital tied into their own property and over the last couple years, many of the properties they own have lost significant value, making it hard to trade up the property ladder.

For more on this phenomenon, here’s a link to the Chicago Tribune.

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Calling it a hike is a bit of stretch, but on Sunday Caren, myself, and some friends made our way through Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in NE Washington.  It’s a bit of NPS managed wetlands coming out of the Anacostia River in the middle of urban Washington.  A very nice and little visited piece of urban tranquility.  We will definitely go back.

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Sunday was so nice that it seemed like a great opportunity to check out the Aquatic Gardens. If you’re like me, this is something that you’ve probably been meaning to do for years, but just haven’t gotten around to.

I’m glad I went, but think that there are probably nicer times to go, as the water lilies were just opening up and other flowers weren’t yet in bloom.

That said, if you really want to feel like you are miles away for the city, but don’t want to go too far, this is a good choice. There was little to no city noises, outside the occasional boat on the Anacostia. Its a nice stroll, and I’m guessing a good place for children.

There isn’t much wildlife to see unless you consider rabbits and geese wildlife. However, if you’re into birds, I heard plenty of them.

To learn more about how the gardens including how they came to be, you can go to their Web site.  More photos after the jump.

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Here in IL we very few large private lakes to say the least. So no you would not need to ask for permission like you would in UK. Also kenilworth, IL is on the far North Suburbs of Chicago. I live on the west suburbs all the lakes by me …[More..]


Mahoney Park is a Jensen garden (there is only a mention of the park near the end of this great link) that straddles Sheridan Road at Tenth Street, it is the extreme south-east corner of Kenilworth, IL. Sheridan Road runs along the …[More..]

KENILWORTH, IL — Today, 9th Senate District nominee Brendan Appel called on Senator Jeff Schoenberg to come clean about his ties to convicted influence peddler Antoin “Tony” Rezko and his efforts to make Schoenberg’s wife, Lynne Sered, …[More..]

Here in IL we very few large private lakes to say the least. So no you would not need to ask for permission like you would in UK. Also kenilworth, IL is on the far North Suburbs of Chicago. I live on the west suburbs all the lakes by me …[More..]


Mahoney Park is a Jensen garden (there is only a mention of the park near the end of this great link) that straddles Sheridan Road at Tenth Street, it is the extreme south-east corner of Kenilworth, IL. Sheridan Road runs along the …[More..]

KENILWORTH, IL — Today, 9th Senate District nominee Brendan Appel called on Senator Jeff Schoenberg to come clean about his ties to convicted influence peddler Antoin “Tony” Rezko and his efforts to make Schoenberg’s wife, Lynne Sered, …[More..]

Albeit the epicentre of my social circle as a teenager, the small town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire is usually a quiet place on the news front. Imagine my horror then, when during a day’s peaceful volunteering at KWN (that’s The Kenilworth Weekly News for the uninitiated) editor Lucia gets a call to say a local pub is burning down.

But not just any local pub. My favourite pub. The Clarendon Arms.

The beautiful Clarendon Arms which is overlooked by the stunning ruins of Kenilworth Castle.

The Clarendon Arms where 11E went for our final class meal to wave farewell to four amazing years as the best tutor group at Kenilworth School.

The Clarendon Arms where we had the leaving do for German Mirjam, the exchange student we missed so much after she left.

The Clarendon Arms where I had my eighteenth birthday party, sob.

The fire brigade said that the blaze was probably caused by a washing machine or tumble drier…

RIP Clarendon Arms. You will be sorely missed.

NB: Apparently, the fire was confined to the first floor which was “substantially damaged” according to the emergency services, but despite that and some water damage on the ground floor, the pub was open for business as usual that very same night. Long live the Clarendon Arms!

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The reason this blog entry is a few days late this week is that it emerges battered and bruised the other side of Sam’s birthday weekend, and what a good one it was! As two of our party (the Birthday boy included) climbed the wooden hill at 5:30am on Sunday morning they were a slender two hours off having been awake for a full 24 that had included a cool 45 mile jaunt to Warwick and back. Ouch indeed! Success nonetheless was the overall opinion of the weekends training and so readers the story goes.

Famous Loafers

As this blog will become testament to over the coming weeks Birthday season is officially upon us and we find ourselves ’strapped for cash’ and holding onto the door frames amidst the aftershocks of a South Shropshire baby boom that seems to have taken place some 27 years previous. However, despite this continual rocking of our financial foundations the celebration of all that’s Sam kicked off in a manner more debauched than a bum wiggling Brits bash. It was a glitzy affair with multiple glamorous attendees more befitting of the red carpet of the Oscars than the gold speckled back streets of the Jewellery Quarter, and we moved from pub to flat to club with an inebriated ease making sure we sent him into another year in style. No awards were necessary but it should be pointed out that after a whole 22 hours on his uprights I think those famous brown loafers could have been the worthy recipients of a ‘Best Supporting Buttress’ gong.

Centre of the Universe

The first stop this week was Meriden and the most central point in England marked appropriately by a monument which tells you so, stirring stuff! but with no time for patriotic ponderings on our majestic isle and with ‘God Save the Queen’ nowhere to be heard we headed for another curious monument eyeballing the aforementioned some twenty yards away. Here it stood erected in the honour of cyclists who died in the second world war (which eradicates any doubt as to how  they’d got there, no disrespect intended), and if ever there was a monument worth taking time for a breather and a moment’s humble contemplation next to, this was it. Overlooked by the local post office and an off-licence these are two pretty inspirational standouts in regards to our training and as we start to learn more about the places attached to the routes we are cycling around each week we realise just how bloody interesting this part of the country really is. 

Second World War Memorial

Interesting but only mildly so when viewed next to the site of one Lycra clad man falling off his bicycle! This is certainly what Sam would tell you as on seeing Neal kneeling in the middle of the road holding his head and cursing his bad luck having fallen foul of  some unidentified oil/ice combo erupted like a laughing Vesuvius. After being initially worrying this became something we could all find humour in as no damage was done and we pressed on.

The King of Kenilworth

We arrived in Kenilworth next and briefly paused for thought admiring the imposing grandeur of the castle and this week we have a photo to prove it! Hopefully this will go someway to appeasing those who after reading last weeks entry may have considered us Philistines for visiting Kenilworth and presenting no photographic appreciation of either Leicester’s Gatehouse or the Elizabethan Gardens, we hope we in some way make up for it this week.

Warwick Walls

The next castle on our list was obviously Warwick, a mere stone’s throw from Kenilworth and as the photos show we got as close as we could for a photo but were kept at a distance by the gates.

Blowing Up A Hill

Starting up again after stopping anywhere for more than ten minutes or so is a bit of a killer but the uphill stretch out of Warwick was really tough and seemed never ending but steady progressed was made as we edged closer to home. Perhaps the hardest thing we are finding about this training is that’s as each week we cycle further away from home attempting to tackle more miles than the previous week we encounter not only another physical barrier to break through but a psychological one too. Now that the roads from Warwick or Kenilworth to home are familiar ones to us we find ourselves constantly aware of how far away or close to finishing we are with every road sign or landmark we pass and it seems to have a tiring effect all of it’s own. Thank God we are not planning on cycling back from Paris!

Yew Clipped Apostles

Before too long we were going through Lapworth and as we cycled through the grounds of Packwood House on a slight detour, the Yew clipped Apostles and Evangelists (arranged in representation of The Sermon on The Mount) waved us through as we drew ever closer to home. There was brief pause for appreciation but we were now feeling weary and we longed for the sofa and a ‘naught to tasty’ Rustlers Quarter Pounder so appreciative grunts were kept to a minimum.

Kenilworth Bonus Shot

Eventually home safe the day was still young and it was still all to do in terms of staying upright with both eyes open to enjoy the Birthday celebrations. It took a whole day of sitting on Sunday and many games of Mario Kart to recover but recover we did, now we’re all off to Lidl to buy some Lycra.

Ok, there was no blog last week, that’s because we subscribe to the “treat ‘em mean keep ‘em keen’ mantra” and you, esteemed blog reader are ”’em”. The non-blog last week was mainly due to inclement weather and partially due to everyone having a hangover on Sunday morning, but mainly the weather… honest!

Monty looking for de-tyre-tus

So another week of work passed, we had a meeting and because Valentines day fell over a weekend a number of us had commitments on Saturday night which meant a full Sunday morning ride would be a non-starter. So for the first time in Tower2Tower history we split into two groups and rode on different days! Dan, Sam and Neal rode on Saturday morning whilst Nick and Jamie went on Sunday.

Sam's Steaming Back - Look Very Carefully

The Saturday ride found itself in Kenilworth after an hour and a bit which was pretty good going. Kenilworth is renowned  for its big, imposing castle but the prat with the camera was more interested in eating Mars bars than taking pictures of us outside the huge castle. However,  something tells me that we’ll be back in Kenilworth soon, so all you castle fans will get your money shot soon enough!

Dan on Nick's Bike

As you can see, we did manage to take some other snaps, of yet more f*$£*%@g punctures, Sam’s steaming back! and a blurry Dan riding into a Honda garage. Its all glamour on the T2T training rides!

The Sunday ride took place without a camera and by the sounds of it, a map! When Nick was asked “Where did you go ?” his response was “Cycling”, Jamie was a little more forthcoming, revealing that the old favorites of Lapworth and Lowonsford may have made an appearance.

We also discovered on Saturday that another newspaper wanted some pictures of us to include in a forthcoming edition so we obliged!

Prone

Kraftwerk

One Last Picture

Hey everyone! Ok so Louis Vuitton, In honor of designer Stephen Sprouse who passed away, brought back the awesome Graffiti Monogram to some of their bags. My favorite is the Speedy 30. Not only did they bring back the Graffiti (comes in Green, Orange, and Pink), they also created a new design with a cool flower print! I love them!

The Graffiti Speedy 30- $1,180

The Monogram Roses Speedy 30- $1,310

Totally hawt right? You know you’ll see it dangling from my arm ♥

Anyways, I have to go study for a test! You wouldn’t think somebody as fabulous as me would have to study, but beleive it or nawt, I’m just like you guys! Haha just kidding everyone!

By the way, everyone needs to watch Gossip Girl and stay tuned for a short post after! If Blair gets expelled, she is definitley coming to my school! After all the Northshore (Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth) is just as fabulous as the Upper East Side. Blair ♥ Chuck!

Love you bitches!

♥Couture♥Girl♥

Abandoned “modern” place in PA

edit: The owner of the Rosedale Diner opened Pizza World after the diner’s closing. The diner was moved to the woods across the street from Pizza World, and was featured on the cover of Hall and Oates’ Album, Abandoned Luncheonette. It no longer exists.
Thanks Larry!

6 January 2009
I’m sitting in a hotel room (the Radisson again), having just repacked all of my luggage for the return trip. We had a pleasant dinner of breaded plaice washed down with a good pint of John Smith while watching the unfortunate result of the Tott*ham v Burnley Carling Cup match. All of this on the heels of an otherwise lovely day.
When we got up this morning, it was a very brisk -5 degrees Celsius outside, but sunny. So, we went on up to Kenilworth Castle. Kenilworth, from all reports, is one of the largest set of Castle ruins in all of England. I must say, it was pretty remarkable.

And, being there on an early January morning gave us the place nearly to ourselves. Almost all of our photos are untainted by the casual tourist. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died early in the visit even though I had charged them the night before. So much for grey-market batteries, eh? So, the first half of our visit is well-documented, the second half…considerably less so (although my wife did take a lot of photos, too).
From Kenilworth, we drove on in to London. I had to make a quick stop at the Cargo facility. After all, even on vacation, duty does call. I met with the guys there for an hour or so, then we continued on to Bath road to secure lodging for the night. We are at the same Radisson Edwardian Hotel in which we started our Hogmanay journey and in a very similar room. We started off in a different room, in a different wing, on a different floor. However, Hotel issues with plumbing (boilers went out) and our issues with smoking rooms, places us in the 3rd room of the night and here we will stay. For tomorrow we must depart and return to the home of our birth if not necessarily the home of our heart.
Thank you everyone for following along with us, for encouraging us and for allowing us to share our journey, our love, our passion for this country with you.
Cheers.

~KR (Written on 7 January 2009)

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire