The Pakistani town where Osama Bin Laden had been hiding was in a school twinning partnership with Blackburn, it has emerged.
Whoops!
Coun Maureen Bateson, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive member for children’s services, said: “It was such a coincidence, we couldn’t believe it.
“The school phoned us to ask for advice, and I would hope something like this doesn’t necessarily stop the links from being there.”
Well, no doubt, but the sound of hasty backpedalling and damage-limitation is deafening:
Daisyfield headteacher Peter Fenton played down the exchange, saying an attempt to forge email contact had failed, and it was now being wound down.
He said: “From my understanding, the project is about to finish.”
Comments are, as ever, illuminating.
A town in Lancashire twinned with a terrorist-ridden dump in Pakistan? Why ever would that be?
ReplyDeleteOh, wait...
Julia, didn't you get the memo? the terms "Paki", "Pakistani", "S.E Asian" are no longer PC and considered derogatory as it's seen as a bit too easy to point out geographically to whom you're referring.
ReplyDeleteIt's now to be referred to as "Asian", and no doubt soon to be changed again to "Oriental", and given enough time I'm sure (if the PC brigade have their way) will be termed "Somewhere in the Milky way galaxy". That's assuming they haven't changed the name of that in the meantime as the term "Milky" sounds a little bit too white to me, and after all we have to be all inclusive.
If I lived in Abbottabad I'd be most offended.
ReplyDeleteBlackburn is now so down the pan that Bolton suffers 'white flight' from it!
ReplyDeleteAs the Beatles sang, "four thousand holes in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa". But they were from car bombs and drone strikes, not shoddy council maintenance.
ReplyDeleteReports that the twinning deal was to allow "British" recruits to go to Abbottobad and allow the free passage of "radicalised" Abbottobadians to Lancashire are of course completely outrageous and in no way reflect the valuable cultural connection between the two communities.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is NOT a red and blue wire connection to a mobile phone or alarm clock, either!
Coun Maureen Bateson, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive member for children’s services, said: “It was such a coincidence, we couldn’t believe it" ...
ReplyDeleteYeah, yeah .. and the tooth fairy is alive & well Mo ..
Still, had it happened .. there certainly wouldn't have been a language problem .. as I suspect the number of inhabitants who speak English as a first, or only language can be counted (or rather, discounted and ignored) on the fingers of one hand ..
"Why ever would that be?
ReplyDeleteOh, wait..."
Heh!
".. as it's seen as a bit too easy to point out geographically to whom you're referring.."
I detest the term 'Asian'. If It were Thai or Vietnamese, I'd be most annoyed.
"If I lived in Abbottabad I'd be most offended."
:D
"Blackburn is now so down the pan that Bolton suffers 'white flight' from it!"
Blimey!
"As the Beatles sang, "four thousand holes in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa". But they were from car bombs and drone strikes, not shoddy council maintenance."
ReplyDelete:D
"... completely outrageous and in no way reflect the valuable cultural connection between the two communities."
Absolutely!
"...can be counted (or rather, discounted and ignored) on the fingers of one hand "
Given the well-known problems arising from cousin-marriage, just how many is that..?