Thoughts

Been thinking again, on this occasion as I swung through Ewell Village on the way to Longmead Road, where, as it happens, another small tree was down. The not-storm referred to yesterday clearly did weaken things.

These thoughts concerned the activities of young Muslim men. They are allowed to smoke, although not in any kind of a public place (not aware of their having any kind of exemption), but they are not allowed to drink and their access to women is a bit more complicated than it is for us whiteys. Which, from what I can remember of my youth, is apt to make one a bit quarrelsome and aggressive. One solution for us was to play rugby until something more interesting turned up, but I am not aware that they do that either.

In the olden days, for those living in the desert and according to Lawrence of Arabia, the young men would dissipate their energies, and often their lives, in more or less continuous, low level tribal warfare with camels. Stealing sheep, goats and perhaps women. But I imagine that this meant that in-between times, having burnt off all the relevant hormones and what have you, they were reasonably calm and contented, contented enough just to sit back and puff on their hookahs.

But what can they do now? Is there some link with all their religiously flavoured fighting? I remember asking a young Muslim man with whom I used to work. He smoked, did not like to be in public houses, let alone drink in them, but I do not remember his answer being very satisfactory. At least, his account of his recreational activities - which did include watching if not playing football - did not strike much of a chord with me. I grant that watching football on telly in the boozer is quite a big recreational activity around here, certainly in TB, but I have never heard of it being teetotal.