UK Riots

So, as most of you will have heard, the UK are experiencing the worst riots for a generation. Riots have sprung up all over London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Nottingham, and there are rumours of it spreading to other smaller towns, including the one I live in. Shops and businesses have been looted and then burnt out, taking the flats and apartments above them with them. People have lost their homes, their shops, their communities. A man has been confirmed shot dead in the last few hours.
So why are they happening? Are there any political or moral goals behind them? No. None at all. The people out rioting are uneducated opportunist cunts, out for cheap thrills and free loot at the expense of the rest of the community. They seem to fail to realise that they're not only hurting others, but themselves too. They're destroying their own jobs, their own homes, their own communities. And yet we're entering the fourth day/night of riots, with a riot already confirmed in Clapton. It's not even 2pm yet.

This whole thing is a mess, it's ridiculous, it's disgusting. It's hard to believe that such mindless violence and crime is happening in a developed country's largest cities.
Injured boy mugged during disturbances in London
That video says enough, really.

For more information, you can see http://www.facebook.com/pages/Supporting-the-Met-Police-against-the-London-rioters/, http://www.facebook.com/LondonRiots, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14450729

Bouldering with a hint of Russia.

So, I just realised I hadn't post since Wednesday! So first off, here's a photo. I didn't take it, but it is me doing the Russian lever.

So today, I had my first proper taste of bouldering at the new XC centre in Hemel Hempstead (http://www.thexc.co.uk/) along with a bit of rock climbing on auto-belays. For those of you don't know, bouldering is a form of rock climbing, usually done without a harness or rope, over a typically short distance/height (around 10-15 ft) over some sort of crash mat. Wikipedia describes it as "a style of climbing emphasizing power, strength, and dynamics. Its focus is on individual moves or short sequences of moves, unlike traditional climbing or sport climbing, which generally demand more endurance over longer stretches of rock where the difficulty of individual moves is not as great." A part of the XC's bouldering area can be seen below (picture from http://www.facebook.com/theXC)

So, my first impressions? Bouldering is so, so much fun. It's incredibly challenging, but that simply results in a greater feeling of achievement upon success. Am I going to go again? Damn straight I am xD My upper body was more tired after an hour of climbing than a typical full day of parkour training, where things like climb ups/muscle ups have become a little too easy.

For some videos, have a quick look around youtube. Here's an example: