Britons stunned as terrorists hit streets of London and apartment block burns

The burned-out shell of the Grenfell Tower block is seen behind terraced houses as local residents look on near the scene of the fire in North Kensington, west London on June 20, 2017. PHOTO | NIKLAS HALLE'N | AFP

What you need to know:

  • On March 22, an Islamic terrorist drove a vehicle into pedestrians crossing Westminster Bridge in London, then jumped out and stabbed a policeman to death at the gates of Parliament. Police shot him dead.

  • On June 3, three more terrorists drove into passers-by on London Bridge, then ran into Borough Market and stabbed people willy-nilly.

  • On June 18, a British man shouting “I hate Muslims,” drove into worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, London, killing one person and injuring a second.

The commonest expression you will hear in Britain today is, “What on earth is happening to this country?” Said my neighbour,

“It’s reaching the point where I’m frightened to turn on the television.”

On March 22, an Islamic terrorist drove a vehicle into pedestrians crossing Westminster Bridge in London, then jumped out and stabbed a policeman to death at the gates of Parliament. Police shot him dead.

Forty people were injured and six killed.

On June 3, three more terrorists drove into passers-by on London Bridge, then ran into Borough Market and stabbed people willy-nilly.

Forty-eight were injured and eight killed, including the terrorists.

DROVE INTO WOSHIPPERS

On June 18, a British man shouting “I hate Muslims,” drove into worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, London, killing one person and injuring a second.

He was saved from a lynching by the imam at the mosque and was arrested by anti-terrorist police.

No connection with terrorism, but in addition to these disasters, a multi-storey residential building in west London caught fire in one of the most terrifying sights ever seen on television, leaving 79 residents missing and probably dead.

Flames consumed the building at lightning speed, raising concerns about the flammability of materials used in its construction, possibly illegally.

SUPERVISING NEGOTIATIONS

Add to all this a dire political scenario where an embattled prime minister is supervising negotiations to leave the European Union while clearly holding the weaker hand.

My neighbour’s solution? PRAY. And he’s an atheist!

* * * *

Grandmother Jean Brooks did not like the way drivers behaved on the street outside her home in Hucknall, Nottingham. Cars regularly broke the speed limit and motor bike riders drove the wrong way, pirouetted on one wheel and weaved in and out of traffic.

SPEED GUN

So Jean went for her hair dryer, which looks very like a speed gun, pointed it at the offenders as they flashed past and, hey presto, sanity, and more importantly, safety, returned to her street.

A video of her wielding the hair dryer has been watched thousands of times. One viewer delivered 200 toys to her home, which she gave to children on her estate.

“People come up to me and hug me and say, ‘Thank you for making the street safer,’” said the 63-year-old.

* * * *

Danielle Morris and Jamie Somers had a brief affair in November 2013 and, when a child was born, Danielle said he was the father.

Somers was delighted, had the baby to stay with him on a weekly basis and tattooed her name on his arm.

FAKED RESULTS

To be sure of the paternity, he paid for a DNA test but Danielle faked a results document.

But when he called the testing company for more details, he was told they had not tested him. He was not the father.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Danielle Morris pleaded guilty to fraud. Her counsel said she had wanted a father figure for the baby.

She was jailed for a year.

Somers said, “As long as I live, I will worry for the child and miss her immeasurably.”

* * * *

One Wednesday earlier this month, for the first time in Britain, power generated by wind, sunshine and sea waves generated more electricity than coal and gas, that is 50.7 pc.

RENEWABLE RESOURCES

The weather that day was perfect for renewables sources, being sunny and windy.

Offshore wind farms set new records and shiny solar panels, now being built into the roofs of new houses and “farmed” in rural areas, further boosted the figure.

Environmentalists saluted the new record as a milestone towards a low carbon economy and a cleaner planet.

* * * *

A couple of rural stories:

An American farmer on holiday over here asked an Englishman how big his farm was. “Thirty-five acres,” the Englishman said proudly.

The American laughed. “Thirty-five acres! On my farm, I can get into my truck at eight in the morning and start driving and at noon I will still be on my farm. Then I can have my lunch and start again and at 5 pm, I will still be on my farm.”

NODDED SYMPATHETICALLY

The English farmer nodded sympathetically. “I had a truck like that once,” he said.

A farmer bought a derelict property, fields overgrown, weeds everywhere and the farmhouse falling apart and said he planned to turn it into a going concern.

As he started work on the first day, the local preacher passed by and blessed the land.

“You and God will do great things together,” he prophesied. Several months later, the preacher came by the property again and found the farmhouse repaired, the fields mowed and hedgerows trimmed.

Jovially, he addressed the farmer: “Didn’t I tell you what you could achieve if you worked hand in hand with God!” The farmer was not too impressed. “Yeah, but God didn’t do a great job when he had it on his own,” he said.