SERENDIPITY

On the way to a small summer festival one of the regular journalists I met in Finsbury park popped into my head for no apparent reason. At the festival, by the crusty techno tent he popped up in the flesh. Is that serendipity?

We got talking about the De Menezez case and he pointed me to a similar exclusive he had broken that morning. He apparently started working for the Mirror recently. He asked after Abdullah and whether I had any luck selling my footage.

"There must be a lot of interest in it now".

"You would have thought so..." I answered.

We spoke about the UBA.

"The racist group?"

"They say they are not racist." I answered.

"And you believe them?"

"Yes I do, the Police told me that some of them used to be involved in Football holiganism but they are as upset about being called racist's as Abdullah is about being called a terrorist".

We got talking about Bobby Pathak's EXPOSED! article on Abdullah and I told him the problems I would have passing anything on to the Mirror because of it.

"I appreciate the way you talked to them Dave, but the thing you've got to understand is that he was preaching hatred. It was fascism. When he talked about "kaffirs" he meant you".

"That wasn't what he told me although I agree the lines were blurred. I think it was his "way" of preaching which was more offensive in media terms. He was like a hellfire and brimstone baptist preacher. They would shout about sinners and hell in the same way..."

"But that is wrong too. They are fascist's and homophobic.."

"The bible is homophobic. I don't agree with it, but if I was a Christian or a Muslim I would find it hard to get round it. It is the Bible, not the Koran which preaches death for homosexuals. I don't want an Islamic caliphate. Abdullah know's that."

"They separate themselves and say their way is right and everything else is wrong."

"But it's not terrorism and someone who looks like me can go up to them in the street and talk to them about it. To portray these people in one dimensional terms like the tabloids do only serves the interests of the extreme right wing."

"But the Mirror is not the Sun.."

"I know, but as far as Abdullah is concerned it is. Abu Hamza preached against killing innocent's in this country almost every week but it never made the paper's or the TV news did it?".

I like Tom. I think we have a similar outlook and background. He did make me wonder if I was absolutely fucking crazy, but I don't mind that.