MIAMI April 18, 2012. From right: Florida’s Consul-General Kevin McGurgan, 1988 Olympic Champion British boxer Lennox Lewis and Roy Yates President of the South Florida Royal Society of St George. One hundred British Embassies around the world celebrated the 100 Days Countdown to the London Olympics with various flamboyant events in cities from Kuala Lumpur to Caracas to New York to Istanbul. We did our country proud here in Florida too. Miami’s British Consulate-General staff (305) 400-6400 organised a patriotic event: Lennox Lewis and the Consul-General led 100 cyclists, primarily local British residents , along South Beach, accompanied by a British-flagged Mini Cooper and a red Double Decker London Bus. Lennox, the Consul and the Mayor of Miami Beach gave pre-ride speeches from the topdeck, where I was with others, waving our UK flags with gusto at bemused tourists below. Lennox Lewis has a home in Miami and still trains at the famous Fifth Street Gym where Mohammed Ali first honed his talents. Plaudits to our Consular staff for a spectacular public British event – hopefully they will do more. For more information: Olympics official website www.london2012.com                        Photo Credit: www.ukinusa.fco.gov.uk

• ORLANDO Disney Soccer Academy, a unique camp coaching experience offers YOUR rising soccer offspring ages 6-18 a chance to play and learn alongside current stars. The four day camps run from June 18-28 and Disney has brought over English Premier League stars Craig Bellamy, (Liverpool, Manchester City, Celtic, Blackburn Rovers), Paul Robinson (England, Tottenham, Blackburn Rovers) and Aaron Hughes (Northern Ireland Captain, Fulham) especially to interact with and teach camp participants. For details and to pre-register Call Tina at Disney Soccer Academy on (407) 938-3441.

• ARE YOU A BRITISH BUSINESS-OWNER on an E2 visa in Florida ? Orlando-based Zoe Adams, via her organization E2 Visa Reform, has been working since 2007 to change the laws on the E2 visa. (To understand their goals, see my article in this column November 2011 and add your voice by visiting their website www.e2visareform.org). Now Zoe would like to get an accurate count of E2 businesses in Florida. She told me, “We have 208 such businesses on our list to date, with an initial investment of $59,650,886. In 2011 it was $172,313,539 and $200,801,216 so far in 2012. These British owners employ 2,951 people, mainly Americans. Impressive figures, which makes a difference when we speak to politicians who can help us effect reform.” To add more influence, she now wants to create an E2 directory and adds “If you’re travelling and wanted to look up other E2 Visa holders in Florida, you could check it out. It is always nice for expats to support each other by maybe eating at an E2 restaurant or stay at an E2 Bed and Breakfast or just use a service from a fellow E2er. It is amazing to see the range of businesses we all run. “So UJ readers who are E2 business owners, email your Name, phone and business name and address to: britishbusinessflorida@gmail.com

• SATURDAY JUNE 2, 2012 … A STUNNING BRITISH SOIREE: To Celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Broward British-American Chamber of Commerce presents an evening Gala at a private, British-owned intra-coastal mansion in Fort Lauderdale. Luxury Catered food, Open Bar, Dancing, Live Entertainment, special events and door prizes. Dress Code: Black tie formal. $135 per head, BACC Members $115. Email for your invitation to britisheventflorida@gmail.com Include your name and phone number. On subject line put: Jubilee Gala June 2.

• PINK FLOYD FANS! June 15 in Ft Lauderdale and June 16 Orlando. Roger Waters, (www.rogerwaters.com) the co-founder of the legendary British band, is bringing back the historic production of The Wall. His aural and visual masterpiece will be performed in its entirety featuring a full band and state-of-the-art production. Tickets and information www.livenation.com

• COLUMN SUBMISSIONS: Just opened a British business in the last three months? Have a future British event? Just launched a new British club? Send details (by email only) for possible publication on this page to britishflorida@aol.com. Your name, city, daytime and phone necessary. On subject line put : UJ Florida column.

IN ADDITION to finding themselves on the winner’s podium, British Olympians could also turn up on postage.

Britain’s Royal Mail said last month it will issue stamps recognizing the achievement of each British gold medal at the London Olympics.

Royal Mail said that stamps of gold-medal winners will be on sale by lunchtime the following day at 500 select post offices around the UK – the first time the company has ever issued next-day postage.

The designs will feature photographs of the Team GB athlete or team in action during their final, or another moment from the athlete’s journey to gold, such as the presentation of the medal on the podium.

Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene said the stamps will be “unique souvenirs of the Games, marking the great achievements of our talented athletes.”

While the initiative marks the first time Royal Mail will issue stamps to mark Olympic victories, the company has long paid tribute to the Games. It issued its first Olympic Games stamps in 1948, with four stamps bearing the five Olympic rings.

At the 2008 Beijing Games, Team GB won 19 gold medals.

Online: www.royalmail.com

CLAIRE HALLISSEY has been picked for Britain’s Olympic squad after setting a personal best time in last month’s London Marathon.

The 29-year-old Hallissey was the quickest Briton in the women’s race, finishing in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 44 seconds. She was picked for the Olympic marathon ahead of Jo Pavey, who sat out the London race.

Hallissey says “it’s a dream come true; it’s what you aspire to, getting onto an Olympic team.”

Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi had already been confirmed for the marathon.

Scott Overall and David Webb will be the only British men running the marathon. Overall ran the national qualifying time in Berlin last year and Webb finished in the top 20 at this year’s world championships.

CHRIS BOARDMAN says he will leave his position as British Cycling’s director of research and development after the London Olympics, leaving the country without the innovator behind much of its success in recent years.

The 1992 Olympic champion in the individual pursuit has played a vital role in developing equipment that helped Britain win eight gold medals at the Beijing Games in 2008 and should see the host nation dominate the cycling event this summer.

The 43-year-old Boardman says he is standing down from a role with the national governing body after nine years “because I don’t feel I will be able to do it justice” after the Olympics.

Boardman says “this job has been great but it demands your entire life to do it properly.”

BEIJING (AP) – China criticized British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday for meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, saying it amounts to support for Tibet’s independence from Chinese rule.

The British government ignored Beijing’s objections in going ahead with Monday’s meeting in London, and doing so “hurts the feelings of the Chinese people,” meddles in China’s affairs and harms Chinese-British relations, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. He said Britain now needs to take actions to repair the damage.

“We are strongly discontented and firmly opposed to it,” Hong told reporters at a daily briefing. “We call on the British side to earnestly respond to China’s solemn demand, stop conniving at and supporting separatist attempts to achieve Tibetan independence, take practical measures to eliminate the terrible impact and take actions to preserve Chinese-British relations.”

Hong said his ministry lodged a protest with the British Embassy in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in London delivered the same message to the British government.

Beijing has campaigned for decades to counteract the international influence of the Dalai Lama, whose world travels draw attention to the Communist government’s often-harsh 60-year rule over Tibet.

Beijing has fiercely lobbied foreign leaders to shun the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and threatened the loss of Chinese business to get its way.

BOOKS

‘Taliban Cricket Club’ Is A Novel With A Twist

By Nahal Toosi (AP)

THE TALIBAN CRICKET CLUB (Ecco), by Timeri N Murari: Writing a novel about Afghanistan can be a difficult, unenviable undertaking.

Ideally, the result will be well-informed, nuanced, stylishly written, surprising and free of cliches. At worst, the book will simply perpetuate stereotypes, even “good” stereotypes that to this day frustrate and confound Afghanistan’s relations with the world.

Timeri N Murari’s attempt at the Afghan novel genre falls somewhere in the middle. It strives to teach the world about the lives of Afghans under Taliban rule – pre-9/11 – and has a clever, even intriguing premise. But it ends up trying too hard: The various characters and plotlines are almost too perfect, too convenient, as if a bunch of Aesop’s fables were bundled together.

The narrator of The Taliban Cricket Club is Rukhsana, a headstrong young Afghan woman who works secretly as a journalist – secretly because the Taliban ban women from working (and are not that fond of journalists, either). Rukhsana is engaged to an Afghan who is living overseas, but that is due to a family arrangement. Her real love is a young man in India, where she lived for a while, attending school, and learning to play cricket.

The last bit is especially convenient. The Taliban, who have banned sports along with other forms of entertainment due to their severe interpretation of Islam, have decided to try to seek some world acceptance via cricket. They announce they will host a cricket tournament, and that the winning team will then get a chance to play in neighboring Pakistan. Rukhsana and several of her male relatives see this as a ticket out of hell.

Murari is a writer, filmmaker and playwright living in India. The Taliban Cricket Club is billed as his first novel to be published in the United States, and he says he got the initial idea for the novel in 2000 after reading that the Taliban had decided to make cricket an exception to their “no sports” rule.

The book follows Rukhsana as she tries to teach her band of not-so-merry men to play cricket well enough so that they can win the initial matches in Afghanistan. All while trying to hide the fact that she’s a woman. And while taking care of her dying mother. And while waiting for her arranged fiancé to send for her, and pining away for her gentleman admirer in India. Oh, and did we mention that a top Taliban official has decided he wants to marry her?

Every few pages in the book, the reader is treated to an anecdote or a character that in ways almost too obvious lay out the strengths, but mostly weaknesses, of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The plucky Afghan woman who once worked as a beautician, and who still puts on makeup in defiance of a government that shrouds her in a burqa, for example. Or the noble household servant whose loyalty includes displaying discretion.

For a reader completely unfamiliar with Afghanistan, this approach may be enlightening. But at a certain point, especially for anyone who knows a bit about how complex Afghans and their history truly are, it borders on condescending. “Afghanistan” does not consist of the neat and tidy concepts and characters that make up “The Taliban Cricket Club.”

The novel’s saving grace is that you will want to know what happens to Rukhsana and her cricket team. There is a twist in the tale (of course) – and it is a clever one. In the end, you may even wish it was a true story.

Follow Nahal Toosi at twitter.com/nahaltoosi.

FORMER UK tabloid editor Rebekah Brooks, her husband and four close aides were charged Tuesday over alleged attempts to conceal evidence in Britain’s phone hacking scandal – the first prosecutions since police reopened inquiries 18 months ago into wrongdoing by the country’s scandal-hungry press.

Brooks was one of Rupert Murdoch’s most trusted lieutenants for years and a close friend of the current Conservative prime minister, David Cameron. The prospect that courts will hear potentially explosive accusations against her and her husband could rock both Murdoch’s worldwide media empire and Cameron’s political career.

Cameron is a neighbor, friend and occasional horse riding companion of both the ex-editor and her husband, whom he has known since high school.

Brooks, 43, faces three separate allegations of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice – an offense that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The law-breaking allegedly involved removing computers and files in the frantic days last summer when Murdoch shut down his tainted 168-year-old News of the World tabloid in an attempt to halt a tide of public disgust over the hacking furor.

Between July 6 and July 19 last year – the period covered in the charges – Brooks was struggling unsuccessfully to remain chief executive of News International, the British division of Murdoch’s News Corp. Murdoch announced his decision to close the News of The World on July 7 and Brooks, facing tremendous pressure, quit her high-profile role on July 15.

Alison Levitt, the legal adviser to Britain’s director of public prosecutions, said Brooks and the others are alleged to have concealed documents, computers and electronic equipment from police who were conducting inquiries into phone hacking and the alleged bribery of public officials.

With her former personal assistant Cheryl Carter, Brooks is also accused of removing seven boxes of materials from News International archives, Levitt said.

“All these matters relate to the ongoing police investigation into allegations of phone hacking and corruption of public officials in relation to the News of the World and The Sun newspapers,” Levitt said.

Brooks and her husband rejected the charges. Standing side-by-side in front of their lawyers’ office in London, Charlie Brooks slammed what he described as a “witch hunt” targeting his wife.

“I have no doubt that the lack of evidence against me will be borne out in court but I have grave doubts that my wife can ever get a fair trial, given the huge volume of biased commentary which she has been subjected to,” the 49-year-old racehorse trainer said.

Rebekah, looking grave, said she was baffled and furious at the charges.

“I cannot express my anger enough that those close to me have unfairly been dragged into this,” she said.

In testimony last week before Britain’s media ethics inquiry, Brooks acknowledged her close links to Cameron and detailed how their families mingled at dinners and Christmas parties. She said she had traded text messages with Cameron at least once a week and that he had offered a message of support after she stepped down amid the hacking scandal.

Daithi Mac Sithigh, a legal expert at the University of East Anglia who has given evidence to the ethics inquiry, said the decision to prosecute Brooks could have far-reaching consequences.

“It is safe to say that the relationship between the press, the public and the law will not be the same again,” he said.

Known for her striking red curls and storybook rise from a junior employee to chief executive at News International, Brooks also remains on police bail over separate allegations related to illegal eavesdropping, and will face more questions from detectives on that issue in the coming months.

Police said all six people charged Tuesday will appear for a hearing next month at a central London court.

Carter, 48, faces two charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice; so too does Charlie Brooks; the ex-head of security at News International Mark Hanna, 49; Brooks’ ex-chauffeur Paul Edwards, 47; and Daryl Jorsling, 39, a member of the firm’s security staff.

Henri Bradman, lawyer for Carter said in a statement that Brooks’ former assistant “vigorously denies” involvement in any offense. Hanna said in a statement he believed he would be “totally exonerated.”

Levitt confirmed that a seventh person, a 38-year-old man who was also a member of News International’s security staff, would not face any charges.

The criminal charges are the first to be filed since police launched a new inquiry into phone hacking in January 2011. Previously, two people were jailed briefly in 2007 for hacking into the phones of members of the royal household, and investigators initially accepted the company’s claims that malpractice was not widespread.

In other developments:

• Two more people were arrested in investigations into the alleged bribery of public officials by tabloid reporters seeking scoops. A 50-year-old man who works for Britain’s Revenue and Customs department was detained on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. A 43-year-old woman was arrested over an allegation of assisting misconduct in a public office and money laundering offenses.

Detectives said both arrests were the result of information supplied by News Corp’s management standards committee, which has turned over evidence of alleged wrongdoing.

• Brian Leveson, the judge leading Britain’s media ethics inquiry, said News Corp lobbyist Frederic Michel and Adam Smith, a former adviser to current Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, will give evidence later this month. Their appearances follow questions over Hunt’s handling of a decision on whether News Corp could be allowed to take full control of British Sky Broadcasting, a satellite broadcaster in which Murdoch’s company already holds a 39-percent stake.

The ethics inquiry has previously published 163 emails sent by Michel that alleged either Hunt or his office had leaked sensitive information to Murdoch’s company and had indicated their support of the News Corp takeover.

Smith quit following the disclosures, while Hunt denies any wrongdoing. Murdoch dropped the takeover bid for BSkyB in mid-2011.

• Cameron faced questions on a separate front, after Leveson called for more information on security clearances held by communications directors to the British prime minister. That came amid concern over the status of Andy Coulson, an ex-News of The World editor who also previously served as Cameron’s chief press aide.

Coulson wasn’t initially subjected to developed vetting, the highest form of security clearance. Critics suspect that Cameron may have kept Coulson from more stringent vetting amid worries it could expose his involvement in phone hacking. Coulson has been arrested by police but has not been charged with any offense.

Cameron’s office insists the decision was made amid efforts to reduce the number of aides with top security clearances.

– By David Stringer

NEW YORK CITY

Calling All Corgis And Bulldogs For A Royal Canine Camera Call!

The American Scottish Foundation’s Corgi & Bulldogs competition for HM the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  

YOU could be the stars of our congratulatory card to HM Queen Elizabeth II on her Diamond Jubilee.

Register to be Top Dog by sending a photo (Jpeg) of your darling to asfevents@wwbcny.com

Deadline for submission: June 1st, 2012.

Please include: Your full name, your dog’s name and a contact number.

The winning Corgi & Bulldog will be featured on the cover of the card. ALL submitted photos will feature in a montage inside.

Then: on Sunday, June 3, 11.30am, Join us for a Photo Call AND the announcement of the winning submissions. As part of The Jones Wood Foundry Jubilee Celebration. On this day the announcement of the winning submission will be made, in association with the American-Scottish Foundation.

More info: http://www.americanscottishfoundation.org/or (212) 605 0338 xt 4

Good luck, and MAY THE BEST PAW WIN!

Lights, Camera, Action…

NEW YORK

CELEBRATE THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE WITH EXERCISE

The GREAT British Run – 6K

COME DRESSED in your British best to celebrate HM The Queen’s 60 years as monarch and Great Britain’s heritage and culture while fundraising for GEORGE (part of St George’s Society) and Disabled Sports USA. There will be pre-race festivities near the band-shell from 6:30, as well as prizes and photo opportunities for the best costumes representing a decade of the Queen’s reign. But don’t worry if you are more reserved, costumes are encouraged but not compulsory!

Additionally – Play Rugby USA in partnership with Premiership Rugby will be onsite with us for a Rugby Skills & Games Challenge. The clinic will feature 12 community coaches from each of the 12 English Premiership Rugby Teams along with some of the budding athletes in the Play Rugby USA program. Check back for details as the event date nears.

Central Park, the Bandshell Area  (enter at 72nd Street)  

New York, New York

Thursday, May 31,

Registration Closing Date

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 @ 11:59pm US/Eastern

Event schedule and times at:
www.active.com/running-/new-york-ny/the-great-british-run—6k-2012

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/#!/events/391857894192019/

RORY MCILROY went home to Northern Ireland after the Masters and left his clubs behind in Florida. He didn’t touch them again until he returned last month to start gearing up for a big summer that includes his title defense at the US Open.

The Wells Fargo Championship will be only his second tournament in the last two months.

It’s an example of how McIlroy, who turned 23 on May 4, already is learning to find balance in a life that is more public than ever and getting increasingly busy. He was in Germany to watch his girlfriend, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, and he brought her home to Holywood in County Down on a whim. He even had occasion to chat with the Queen of England during a horse race at Newbury.

“For me, there’s more to life than just golf,” McIlroy said. “I don’t know if people are surprised to hear that, but I have a lot going on in my life than just golf.”

McIlroy is growing into his role as the biggest of the game’s rising stars – on and off the golf course.

COMMERCIAL

When he arrived at Quail Hollow, he made time to film a commercial for the PGA Tour and its support of the St Jude’s Children Hospital. McIlroy appears in the commercial with Shaun White, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding, and a seven-year-old boy named Dawson who is undergoing chemotherapy.

McIlroy is not even playing the St Jude Classic next month, which benefits the hospital. No matter. Boy Wonder is touched by children, as he showed last year during a UNICEF trip to Haiti. And he was especially moved by Dawson.

“If I’m going to do anything like that, I want it to be with kids, because I feel like I can relate to them a little bit better than anything else,” McIlroy said. “To see someone go through what he’s going through, and to have all this positivity coming out of him, it just makes you realize how lucky and how fortunate we are. I know if I was going through an illness like what Dawson has, I don’t know if I would be as bright as and as happy and as cheery as he is. It’s definitely inspiring to see.”

UNREAL

McIlroy said there was one moment during the video shoot when the director told the boy that he could use a TelePrompTer if he forgot his lines.

“And he goes, `I don’t know how to read,”‘ McIlroy said. “So he memorized his lines, and he was brilliant. He was more of a pro than I was. It was cool to see.”

Conor Ridge, his agent at Horizon Sports Management, said White asked for McIlroy to be part of the commercial.

“Watching him react with Dawson was unreal,” Ridge said. “You forget how young Rory is.”

It’s easier to forget considering what he already has achieved.

McIlroy twice has reached No 3 in the world this spring, only for Luke Donald to wrest it away from him last month. But, although beaten by Rickie Fowler last month his tie for second place still allowed him to reclaim the No 1 ranking from Donald, who is now second.

IMPORTANT

McIlroy hopes to play no more than about 24 events on both tours this year. The last few months have been important for him to do very little on the course.

“Basically, the most important time for me in the golf season is from the start of April until the end of August. That’s when all the big tournaments are and that’s when you want to play your best golf,” McIlroy said. “All the stuff either side of that is more preparation work and making sure that your game is getting ready and your body is physically ready for that time of the year.

“I’ve got a busy stretch coming up now,” he said. “I know I’ve been criticized a little bit for not playing as much as some other guys leading into these few weeks, but I know I’ve got a big stretch coming up, and I want to be as fresh as possible for this.”

– By Doug Ferguson