Welcome to NTN Nightly. I am General Norville. This edition stops stories. St. Lucia will soon be the first in the Eastern Caribbean region with an electronic public procurement application. The Youth Empowerment Project, yep, isended its support in strengthening the community after school program and countries across the globe celebrate World Hepatitis D. St. Lucia will soon lead the Eastern Caribbean region with the modernization of government's electronic public procurement application, EGP. The procurement software will make public procurement procedures faster and transparent, while improving the competitiveness of public procurement by private sector companies. More in this report from Glenn Simon. Acting Permanent Secretary and Director of Finance Esther Rigabet signed a five-year contract with British firm Intend Limited for the provision of an electronic government procurement application for the government of St. Lucia. The award of this contract marks the culmination of a sustained program of cooperation in the area of public procurement reform between the government of St. Lucia, the World Bank, and the Department of International Development, DFID, of the United Kingdom. But what exactly is public procurement? Anthony Jean, Assistant Director of Public Procurement, explains. Procurement involves a more strategic aspect of looking at the entire cycle of an acquisition of a good, its usage, and replacement if needs be. In defining the use of that product, of that product, good service, it's developing the right specifications to meet your desired outcome. With more than 500 institutions in over 100 countries around the world, Intend Limited is one of the world's leading providers of software as a solution, electronic government procurement application service providers. The service procured by St. Lucia will run the government's e-procurement application in the cloud, thus bringing the added advantage of climate resilience, as the hardware and software used on this platform will be beyond the reach of natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. One of the key developers of that process required the automation of the procurement aspect, receiving tenders, coordinating with vendors and that sort of thing. We went the route of acquiring a software as a service, which is relatively new in this part of the world. E-procurement is a big thing in all modern jurisdictions, but normally what you see happening is people developing their own applications. Recently, last year, I think the government of Jamaica spent almost 2 million US in developing an e-procurement platform. We went a more firstly becoming popular route of doing a software as a service, whereas you simply subscribe to a service provider and you get all the functionality that you require. It is tailored to have a look and feel of your local environment. Government is the single largest buy of goods, services and works, making public procurement instrumental in poverty alleviation, promotion of good governance, enabling regional economic integration and international trade, including the implementation of national economic, social and environmental policies. However, before the electronic procurement system can be ruled out, the Director of Finance Esther Rigobot highlighted that it must be accompanied by reform of St. Lucia's procurement legislation and regulations. There's the legislative review and legislative framework that we are going to enhance and once that law is enacted, it would allow and stipulate what would be good governance for public procurement. So it's no longer going to be something that happens within the confines of government. It will be for the public to see, to read and to familiarize themselves with the requirements, the guidelines and procedures that will be applied to public procurement. The second aspect of the reform would actually be the system, the platform, after which persons would make submissions, whether it be bids or requests and it would be a very, very transparent process and very efficient as well. So that's our data, the data emanating from that system would allow for online real-time analysis of the data. She added that the new legislation and procurement guidelines will soon be available to the public by the government web portal, but for the system to be fully effective, persons must educate themselves on the new guidelines. So it's not just first to have new systems and it cannot be used efficiently or effectively. Persons must avail themselves of the information, familiarize themselves with the requirements, make the necessary inquiries and make sure they understand how it's to be used and make good use of it. Testing of the localized e-procurement system is expected for August this year with the pilot phase expected to go live by the end of September 2020. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting. The Government of St. Glutia remains committed to the development of the south of the island. Prime Minister of St. Glutia, the Honourable Alan Sharsness, speaking recently at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for ITEL BPO, indicated that the Government is seeking to make a view for the engine of significant growth for the country. However, this cannot be done without the requisite infrastructural investments. Some of the infrastructural projects include the road rehabilitation project, the completion of the St. Jude Hospital, and several housing developments. As you know, we have just begun breaking ground on a $200 million U.S. airport redevelopment. So we're talking about building a brand-new airport facility. And I'm also, you would appreciate this that we are in the process of negotiating with the U.S. Government on getting pre-clearance facilities here in St. Glutia for that facility. We've also just recently opened up a brand-new FBO here for private planes. We have broken ground on a substantial water project, which is almost $60 million, to be able to expand the supply of water for the south. I think we're currently at 1.5 million gallons a day. We're going to about 4.5 million gallons of water a day. The Prime Minister indicated that residents of the south have had to travel to the north of the island seeking employment. This, he noted, has adversely impacted residents. However, by bringing investments to the south, this will aid in alleviating some of the challenges. So when I see some young people having to commute two hours every single day to go up north in order to be able to bring money back home to their family. So think of that four hours every day that they could have had at home, either spending time with their family or like many entrepreneurial young people in farming and generating additional revenue for their families. The time away from home and not being able to do and contribute to the development of their family here in the south.  The other ones who decided they're going to live up north now have the additional cost of paying for rent, maintaining two households. And so therefore, their wealth that many solutions were looking for was being deprived of them. And so a large part of what we're attempting to do here in the south is people. It's about improving the quality of life of solutions. That was Prime Minister of St. Lucia, the Honourable Alan Sharsney. The Youth Empowerment Project is learning its support to the Community Services Unit and strengthening the Community After School Program. The YEP through appropriate integrated community-based transformation programs specifically targets young men of vulnerable groups, especially youth, women and children at risk. Shervoy Marius tells us more. The Youth Empowerment Project through the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment is actively seeking to create solutions to address some of the social issues within communities in the grassroots region. This project, through appropriate integrated community-based transformation programs, will especially target young men, vulnerable groups, especially youth, women and children at risk. Project Coordinator of the Youth Empowerment Project, YEP, Johan Husbands, stated that community-based transformation programs under the YEP will assist the Community Services Unit of the Ministry in strengthening the existing Community After School Program and increase access for beneficiaries from Wilton's Yard, New Village, Kwonwi and Bernard Hill. Well, the Youth Empowerment Project is a project executed by the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment, and one of its components is that of the integrated community-based transformation programs. And this particular program, it has the Community After School Program, where we are tasked to strengthen the existing Community After School Program, especially those in the Cassry Central Basin, and of course increase the access to the project beneficiaries of Wilton's Yard, New Village, Kwonwi and Bernard Hill, so that they could be an active part in the Community After School Program. Chief of the noted beneficiaries of the Community After School Program who are flagged will also receive assistance from literacy and numeracy professionals. Under the Youth Empowerment Project, we will have literacy and numeracy professionals or experts, guidance counselors who provide addiction services, life skills and trauma support, where flagged beneficiaries within the Community After School Program will receive the supportive assistance. Director of the Community Services Unit in the Ministry of Equity, James Avie, stated that although the Community After School Program has been operational for 10 years, YEP's input during this period in time is extremely important. At this point in time, it is extremely important to have YEP's input financially in particular because as you know, in light of COVID, government revenues have been severely depleted and so it's like a lifeline that we are having through the input of YEP into the program this year. One of the major roles that YEP is going to play is in terms of the evaluation and monitoring of the program because YEP is specifically charged with the strengthening of the program because as you would know, the programs have been running for 10 years and CDB's focus is to strengthen the program, particularly in the castries area. CASP coordinator Antonio René Marius welcomed the initiative and stated that to achieve these outcomes, the collaborative efforts will use an integrated base community approach to reach as many children as possible. Being able to tap into their resources is of great help. Normally, the community after-school program cannot afford to do all of that on its own so it's a community approach now for us, that's what we're trying to do so bring in as many partners as we can to reach as many children as we can. The Youth Empowerment Project YEP is financed through loans and grants facilitated by the Caribbean Development Bank and bonds facilitated by the government of St Lucia. The collaboration is expected to commence in September 2020. Reporting from the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment, I am Chavre Marius. World Hepatitis Day is celebrated annually on the 28th of July to raise awareness of viral hepatitis which causes inflammation of the liver and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. This year the theme of this day is Hepatitis Free Future. The focus is on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B. The Pan-American Health Organization, PAHO, urges countries to maintain essential prevention and treatment services for viral hepatitis during the COVID-19 pandemic so as not to jeopardize progress towards its elimination. PAHO's director, Dr. Carissa Atien, explained that in the midst of a pandemic viral hepatitis continues to sicken and kill thousands of people. Services including vaccination against Hepatitis B are essential and cannot be stopped. Care must continue safely for all those who need it, she added. In the Americas, 3.9 million people live with chronic Hepatitis B and 5.6 million live with Hepatitis C. However, a model developed by the World Health Organization, WHO estimates that 17 countries in the region have already managed to eliminate mother-to-child and early childhood transmission of Hepatitis B and that the Americas as a whole has also achieved the goal of less than 0.1% prevalence of Hepatitis B in children under the age of 5. PAHO and the WHO recommends that all newborns are vaccinated against Hepatitis B at birth and subsequently receive at least two additional doses to be protected for life. Dr. Atien indicated, quote, with universal vaccination, we are creating new generations free from Hepatitis B and moving towards eliminating Hepatitis as a public health problem, unquote. This is NTN Nightly, up next, Primers-Hudgingston with the NTN Nouvelle Equéor. With all that's happening around us, simple adjustments are necessary to keep us all safe. When calling 911, we may need a little more information to deploy the right personnel and protocols. You may be asked about your travel history, signs and symptoms, contact and movement history and whether others in your household are exhibiting similar symptoms. Please be patient and cooperative during this time to ensure you receive the best possible care while keeping our first responders safe. Welcome back. We now join Primers-Hudgingston for the NTN Nouvelle Equéor. This is Primers-Hudgingston with the NTN Nouvelle Equéor. We are pleased to have you here with us as we benefit from the program that will support social stabilisation, which the government has implemented regarding the COVID-19 situation. For this reason, it is mainly for those who are paying NTN Nightly, who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 situation. The government has provided $20 million to assist all these diverse individuals who are engaged in the business, who are themselves. This is a time for them to be able to enjoy the treatment which is also a result of the hard work they have done to help them understand the financial assistance they are going through in the workplace and in the family. Each individual can get $1,600. There is also a fund to support social stabilisation in order to serve the government. We have been grateful for this. Since the end of February, we have never felt that we are going to assist the employees, whether they are competent or not, if they are close to us and that we are going to save them. We also want to thank the government and also everyone who has helped the government to do the same thing to help the government. We also want to thank the government for supporting us but also our colleagues. Since the end of February, we have been grateful for the assistance they have provided to the government. We also want to thank the government for supporting us. We want to thank the government for the support they have provided from the government. We are grateful for the support they have provided Principalment pour les plus grands citoyens et les mamans-enfants aussi. Gouvernement n'est plein pour longir son programme salar pour assister tout le monde qui pouvait affecter un dernier jour pour montrer l'application s'il y a de mille faits. Chef officier de cette élevion, Monsieur Parker Radnan, tu es concerné du monde qui a bâti établissement, qui a menacé cette élevion publique. Monsieur Radnan, tu as dit que le gouvernement a bâti l'administration qui a vu l'examen de la loi qui a gouverné cette élevion publique, qui a existé pour plus que ce qu'il a mis en place. C'est ce qu'il y a de la situation que le monde a bâti par coche, par poule, qui a bâti pour foucher bon, ne pas coter à la publique, c'est un mauvais menace pour cette élevion publique. Monsieur Foster, c'était un avocat extraordinaire qui était très formidable à façon qui était qui a fait défense représentation à ces diverses cas, à qui l'a eu l'objet, ni à cette liste. Il y a aussi un plaisir qui est arrivé là. Il y a une péchangerie qu'a concerné Malik en Trinidad qui était en bas à Huit, qui était ni plait faite contre lui pour y en avoir, qui, Monsieur Foster, tu as fait grand représentation. Et formidablement, il y a aussi trouvé publicité internationale, un parmi plusieurs autres cas qui étaient représentés. Il y a aussi un politicien qui conduit politiquement, et puis, en plus de la chargesse, elle était très vicie aussi. Alors, Gwek en profession légale, parmi les Gauges, il est considéré une de ses plus mes avocats pour le siècle, ça l'a. Un parmi les Amis qui parlait dits, c'était grand juge entrepassé, on en a Sir Dennis Byron, qui parlait dits relations avec Monsieur Foster avec des Gwek traitements, il trouvait hordes avocats à l'aie, comment c'est travaillé à cette liste. Claudius Francis, qui parlait dits relations avec Monsieur Foster, cause des bénéfices de la seule salle pour trouver la chargesse à l'avocat salle, qui partait deuxième pour pièce lotte. Copaely Marina, qui racontait des Gwek relations aux deux salles pour se quitter, pour juste moment, il trouvait passé. C'est Hitchley, Peter, Colin, Tiana, Hitchlot, aussi par les Gwek relations papayo. Et puis, tout Hitchley, et en façon d'aider un pilmoune qui te parlait devant la Gauges, elle partait capables pour payer pour représentation aux avocats. La vie de Fakene Foster, qui aussi, un politique Hitchlot, c'est une qui lotte qui est suive pour Hitchlot pour venir. C'est quoi ça, nous, notre nouvelle? Monsieur, moi, c'est au temps. Faut qu'il y a des invitations, pour que je n'ai plus moins qu'à se décrocher de la vie. J'aimerais que la nouvelle accueille à la prison. J'aimerais que la prison soit au Chanel.


Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh bismillahirrahmanirrahim, Alhamdulillah wassalatu wassalamu ala Rasulillah Wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajma'in, we praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we send blessings and salutations upon the best of creation the most noble of all prophets of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, his companions, his household may Allah bless them, bless every one of us grant us goodness and may Allah elevate our status. Brothers and sisters in the previous episode we were speaking about parents and I said it is absolutely important for parents to abstain from cursing their children, I want to add something to that we should not even call our children using derogatory terms, some people use animals to refer to their own children whether it's a dog or a pig or a donkey etc. we should not do that because that is disobedience of Allah and it is actually insulting Allah when Allah created humankind he created asraf al-makhluqat, the most noble of all creation of Allah and Allah bestowed upon mankind the status higher than that of animals, higher than that of the other creatures of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for you and I to refer to others in that way would be derogatory especially if it were our own children so therefore brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers out there let's not call each other and our children or anyone else the names of animals etc. may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from contaminating our tongues and may he forgive our shortcomings whatever we may have said in the past may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us, amin now we move on to the prayer that I was speaking about in Surat al-Ahqaf where Allah says Allah says Beautiful verses Allah says we have instructed man to be kind to both his parents because his mother has carried him with hardship and given birth to him with hardship or in great difficulty and the gestation period together with the suckling was 30 months 30 months is amazing you know 30 months is something amazing I can tell you what we learn from this that the minimum gestation is actually 6 months so gestation is between 6 and 9 months there are a lot of rules and regulations that are based on this verse but I'm not going to go into them right now because our topic is supplications from revelation but to mention something interesting suckling and breastfeeding is a maximum of 2 years in Islam according to the Quran that's 2 years 24 months and Allah says the suckling as well as the gestation is 30 months which means 6 months so 24 and 6 and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes it as you know this period of 9 months in another place in the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam so we learn that the gestation is between 6 and 9 but the suckling is actually 2 years it's very interesting may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us an understanding the point I want to get to is the du'a the supplication Allah says until that man from the age where he was just born and then when he got to his peak of 40 years when he got to 40 years old then he is instructed also by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make a du'a for his parents to make a du'a for his own guidance now by now he should have understood his purpose on earth we should be understanding it much earlier but I should you know when you get to that age and this is why in another verse the Quran says Allah says in the Quran has we not given you age enough for those who want to take heed or who wanted to take heed to have taken heed and hasn't the warner come to you so Allah says as you grow older you are supposed to be understanding Allah more you are supposed to be understanding your purpose on earth because you are thinking about where you are going you would also be thinking about where you came from so it should be making you closer to Allah and then didn't the warner come to you the warner the Quran the messengers the gray hair everything that would give you a signal to say that you know you need to turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so that is the age I should 40 years of age Allah says at that age this person or the humankind male or female should say Allah says Surah al-Ahqaf we should be learning this verse number 15 off by heart and every one of us should use it to call out to Allah so what is the meaning of this beautiful dua the supplication it is as follows Oh my Lord grant me the ability to be thankful to you for the favors you have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and grant me the ability to do good deeds that will please you and make me good this literally translates as make me good in my family which means make my family good so that I am good I'm known as a person who's close to you I'm known as a person who's achieved what you wanted us to achieve by having left offspring who will be good who will be pious who will be righteous so Oh Allah make me from among those whom through my children also I am good so not just good myself but my children as well make my children good that's a dua I have indeed returned to you in with repentance I have repented to you and I am from among those who have surrendered and submitted notice the term Muslim means someone who has surrendered and submitted to the will of Allah when you surrender and submit you're truly a Muslim Subhan Allah if you haven't surrendered and submitted you might be Muslim by religion but you haven't actually followed what you're supposed to may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala make it easy for us Amin so this supplication that is so powerful that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has made mention of here in Surat al-Ahqaf you may have realized that Sulaiman alayhi salam called out to Allah much earlier using the same dua very similar O Allah grant me the ability to be thankful to you for the favors you have bestowed upon me all that you have bestowed upon my parents and grant me the ability to do good deeds that will please you and in the case of Sulaiman alayhi salam he said and grant me and enter me through your mercy among those worshippers of yours who are righteous Subhan Allah but here Allah is telling us to make a dua for our offspring make my children pious I want to pause for a moment and say what I've said before and that is brothers and sisters even if you're not married you can make a dua for pious offspring it is an all inclusive dua because if Allah grants you that then you have to get a good husband or a good wife first and then you have to have children thereafter and so you just made a dua you know Subhan Allah it's like someone something they just come to my mind you know it's very strange but if someone says okay it's very petty but let's make this dua let me just give you this example if someone says I wish I could have a burger from the spur in Cape Town Subhan Allah and you're sitting in America so if that was accepted you would need to fly to Cape Town first you would then need to be able to afford it everything comes so you asked for that and whatever if that was accepted everything that gets to it is also done Masha Allah may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala bless all of us and may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala grant us goodness so my brothers and sisters obviously that was just off the cuff I thought of it right now we always ask Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala to grant us pious offspring and we pray for our parents in this particular dua notice how we are saying O Allah grant me the ability to be thankful to you for the favors you bestowed upon me and my parents Subhan Allah so two things are made mention of here one is the favors Allah gave you and the other is the favors Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala bestowed upon your parents we are making dua for our parents in this way and another thing is one of the favors that Allah bestowed upon you is also your parents remember this so if you want to ask Allah you are asking Allah grant me the ability to be thankful for all the favors you bestowed upon me including my own parents my own parents that's a favor you bestowed upon me ask those who don't have parents Subhan Allah and they will tell you may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala make it easy for them and for every one of us and this is why it's amazing how this dua is very very powerful but in Surah Al-Isra Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'Ala talks about something different he speaks about how where we shouldn't be unkind to our parents he has decreed that we will be kind to our parents let's listen to the verse وَقَضَ رَبُكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّا هُوَ بِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانَا Allah has declared that none shall be worshipped besides Him and that you shall be kind to your parents He has written and declared kindness to parents إِمَّا يَبْلُ غَنَّا إِنْدَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحْدُهُمَا فَلَا تَقُلَّهُمَا أُفْفْ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُلَّهُمَا قَولًا كَرِيمًا if one of them or both of them were to reach old age in your life you need to know something if one or both of your parents were to reach old age in your presence you need to know something three things four things the first is لا تَقُلَّهُمَا أُفْفْ don't utter to them hurtful words you know like أُفْ that is an Arabic term referring to the sounds that we make from our mouths that express dissatisfaction in a way that is insulting you know you say some people would do that perhaps in the Arabic language the term أُفْ is used you don't say أُفْ to your parents you don't use hurtful words that goes back to kindness we're not talking here of obedience we're talking of kindness there is a big difference like I've said but part of kindness is to obey in what is reasonable so لا تَقُلَّهُمَا أُفْ number one وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا you know don't rebuke them don't reply to them in an insulting way don't rebuke them the third thing when you say anything use the best words to address them may Allah forgive us for the shortcomings you know I'm sitting here thinking how many times I might have unknowingly or knowingly said things to my own parents without thinking that you know this might not be the best way I could have worded what I want to say Allah says you need to say if you want the mercy of Allah those parents of yours even when you disagree with them disagree with the most beautiful words and when you are saying anything to them say it with beautiful words kareem words that are filled with honour with dignity and the fourth thing وَقْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَذُلِّ مِنَ الْرَحْمَهَ lower the wing of mercy the shade of mercy جَنَاحَذُلِّ مِنَ الْرَحْمَهَ you know humility humbleness and mercy they should feel from you وَقُرْ رَبِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا Allahu Akbar say O my Lord O my Lord have mercy on them because they brought me up when I was young O Allah have mercy on them because they brought me up when I was little amazing ربِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا O Allah both of them they brought me up when I was little have mercy on them it is important to make dua for our parents ربِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا this supplication is definitely from revelation it is divine Allah is instructing man to say you know say call out to Allah say ربِّرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبْبَيَانِ صَذِيرًا may Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'ala make us from those who understand these beautiful supplications towards our parents for the benefit of our parents and something unique that I can teach you today you may know it already but we can repeat it for the benefit of ourselves even if your parents have passed away keep making dua for their mercy for their goodness and so on for as long as they are part of the ummah that dua will benefit them and it is a requirement that you keep making dua for them you ask Allah Subhanahu Wa'Ta'ala to have mercy upon your parents you know to have mercy upon them to forgive them their shortcomings to give them jannah that dua is probably the most powerful way that you can help your deceased parents amazing that dua is one of the most powerful ways if not the most powerful way that you can actually benefit your deceased parents it's very easy it's not difficult you know people think of very difficult things how can I help my father he's passed away make dua for him repeat the dua keep repeating it every day oh Allah forgive my father grant him jannah forgive my mother grant her jannah make it easy for her in her grave and so on and resurrect her with the pious any dua to do with her forgiveness and her akhirah or his in terms of your parents or both of them that would help them the most those supplications are definitely amazing I want to move on to something else which is the next you know circle we started off we spoke about the family we spoke about parents now we want to speak about the rest of the Ummah the rest of the Muslims so the supplication there we will notice it in the lives of the muhajirin and Ansar you know those who fled Makkahul Mukarrama or those who had left Makkahul Mukarrama upon the instruction of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at the time of the Hijrah they went to Madinah Munawwara when they went to Madinah Munawwara they were met with the Ansar and those muhajirin and Ansar they loved each other they sacrificed for each other in many many ways there were others who followed even with even like us we are from among those who followed later on we are not muhajirin nor are we Ansar but we are those who followed who came later on so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about those who came immediately afterwards and even those who followed later and this verse is in Surat al-Hash verse number 10 those who came after them they say or they said so either you continue saying if it is now or those before you have just said it so those who came after them they say what do they say? may Allah make this du'a on our tongues very often O our Rab forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Iman those who came before us from the Ummah O Allah forgive us and forgive our brothers and sisters ikhwanina here would include brothers and sisters members of the Ummah O Allah forgive us and forgive our brethren those who have come before us in Iman so we are making du'a for those who came before us it shows that there is a concern it shows that there is a feeling I don't just want to be forgiven but I want those before me to also be forgiven amazing amazing it's very deep I think a lot of us are quite selfish we don't even think of it some of us might be making this du'a but we don't even know what it means now sometimes you might have read a little book of history where there might have been a dispute between those who preceded us whether they were from the Sahaba or those who came later on the companions or those who followed there might have been a small dispute even later on there might have been wars between the Muslims there might have been people who were right and wrong we might have read things the books of history could have been changed they could be inaccurate in some cases depending on what exactly the story was and how it came to us all of that set aside we say forgive us and forgive those who preceded us with Iman and now because I might have a slight feeling oh you know there was a dispute between this person and this person in 500 after Hijra or 656 Hijri when Baghdad actually dropped and so on and so we have a slight feeling in our heart sometimes so Allah says the continuation of that dua O Allah do not place in our hearts the slightest negative feeling for those who have believed with us Subhanallah do not place in our hearts the slightest hatred, ill-feeling malice, whatever else it may be for the rest of the believers that's something interesting so whatever happened between them is between them and Allah you know I'm living now so many years later even if we've had a dispute with someone of the ummah we are asking Allah O Allah do not let that malice come into my heart for another Muslim if you look at the problems we're facing on the globe today the Muslims among themselves there is so much of hatred that they don't want to look eye to eye for any reason they are looking for any reason to be divided unfortunately surely we should be looking for any reason to be united Don't make in our hearts those who believe O Allah do not place in our hearts the slightest negative feeling for those who have believed so shaitan comes to you and makes you say they haven't believed they are not believers and this is a sickness in the ummah people think they are qualified to remove the rest of those who are saying la ilaha illa Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah from the fold of the ummah subhan Allah we might want to discuss we might want to warn we might say there are certain deeds that may negate your faith in Allah but to start taking people in and out of the ummah as though it's a property of ours and we have the right to say and to bring in and take out that is very dangerous that is what is resulting in the fighting, the killing, the wars the hatred, the destruction within the ummah whereas we are supposed to be coming together there will be differences there were differences from the time of the companions of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam may Allah be pleased with them and us too we need to know how to deal with difference of opinion respectfully and we may want to differ we may want to strongly disagree on certain matters but that should not result in hatred within and among those who utter that shahada it is a very sacred shahada I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad peace be upon him is his messenger his prophet, his slave his worshipper that is a shahada the declaration of Tawheed as goodness so this is why that dua ends O Allah do not place in our hearts any ill feeling towards those who have believed you are the most kind the most merciful you are filled with kindness and mercy you are the greatest O Allah fill our hearts with kindness and mercy too so this is a dua I call on all of us to read this dua on a daily basis there is no fixed number no fixed place no specific time but it's just a supplication from the Quran that would be very very powerful if we were to use these words bearing in mind their meaning to call out to Allah O Allah forgive us and those of our brethren who have preceded us with iman and do not let our hearts hold within these hearts even the slightest ill feeling even the slightest ill feeling against those who have believed for indeed O our Lord you are the most kind the most forgiving may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us benefit from these beautiful divine supplications mentioned in Revelation and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless every one of us until we meet again I say this word peace be upon you and mercy of Allah


Thanks for checking out this video. So this isn't gonna be a long video and this is something I'm trying out to just kind of Have a different type of video I put up every now and then which is basically just talking about random topics that have something or Everything to do with horror the horror genre the horror community the industry whatever so for this one in particular I've kind of been wanting to talk about you know some of my problems with the way that some people do film reviews Specifically people are putting it out on social media just online in general and I Do need to say first, you know, I don't judge too much on certain things, but that but there are Pet peeves that I have and there's one thing in particular and this is the main thing I want to address in this There's one thing in particular that drives me super nuts That people do with their movie reviews from time to time if people are getting screener copies from a specific place Now I'll just use shutter as an example for this video because I'm getting screeners from shutter So it's relatable for me So I have seen people who if they're getting shutter screeners or screeners from other places They always say that they love the film They always have the most amazing most glowing things to say about the film and I have never ever ever seen them Say anything negative and I've also never seen them pass on reviewing one of those films So for me, you know I I do about one Video a week for shutter originals or exclusive Exclusives which are what they send out screeners for and so that's a that's a decent amount of films I mean at this point. I actually have a whole Playlist on my channel for all the shutter exclusives and originals and I'm getting close to a hundred films So of those if you're saying on every single one of those that you love it that it's so great And this is what I see some of these people doing for reviews You're not telling the truth Now maybe it's a situation where you kind of want to lead with what you really like about the film But I think it's important to kind of temper things and if you don't like it say good and say bad That's something that I tend to do, you know I'll give it a rating in the end and maybe it's an overall bad rating or maybe it's an overall good rating But I make sure in my reviews to say what I do like and what I don't like the reasoning for that being I think it's important to put that information out there to make it available to anyone who's watching it or anyone Who'd be who'd be reading any type of review like mine? If someone does it the way I do Have that information for them so they can make a decision on whether they want to watch the film or not I mean really why are people doing reviews? For me, it's two reasons one. I just want to talk about film So when I watch a film, I want to talk and I don't have that many people where I live who I can really get nerdy about Horror with and really talk it out So that's one reason the other reason is to help people make up their mind Now I know I do say a lot of the times that I feel like every film is worth watching at least once So you can make up your individual mind about that film and I do believe that I think it's definitely worth it because someone put time into that and whether you end up loving it or you end Up hating it or falling somewhere in between. It's worth just spending that time to find out Because ultimately, you know, you may think you have the same taste as I do But you don't you know because eventually we're gonna get to that one film where I say I really like this and you say I hate it or vice versa.  This is awesome, too Now maybe it's a situation where that person is just insanely positive and they never have anything bad to say But I heavily doubt that now my thoughts on why this type of thing ends up happening a lot of times Probably has to do with people's fear of losing their access to those screeners also their fear of not getting Their posts online, especially Shared by whoever's giving them the screeners prime example being There are people who I see putting out reviews for shutter originals and exclusives who all of the time shutters liking their tweets They're retweeting their tweets stuff like that me. You're not gonna see that It like pretty much never happens now. They're giving me screeners and they know who I am But the reason that they're not doing it is because they don't know without watching my videos How I feel about the film most likely and I don't think they're willing to take the chance on actually promoting What I'm doing for reviews and then accidentally promote one where I say something bad about a film Now that said I don't ever say anything Truly horrible about films I always try to temper it like I was saying where I say this is what I don't like This is what I do like and you know stress that it's my personal opinion And I fully believe that there are gonna be people out here out there who love the film even though I didn't love the film So just saying but just notice No social media interaction pretty much from shutter Because I think they think it's a roll of the dice if they try and promote anything that I put out there But they keep giving me the screeners and I am thankful for that. I love it. I think it's I think it's great I really do like being able to provide people with you know My no spoiler reviews on these films before they end up coming out because you know Even though I do push people to you know watch the film anyway and make up your own opinion I do also understand that people have limited time and if you can watch my review and then just be like Yeah, it just doesn't sound like it's for me. Okay. I save you some time That's good and and it's a service I can provide and I'm happy to do that So I think it's important for that reason But I just wanted to do this video because that is the one big thing that irks me I also want to find out is that something that bothers you out there because I feel like it over time can really become a Credibility issue when people start to realize that whoever's putting out these reviews and they're always positive They never have anything bad to say do people start to see that and and Understand that pattern and say, you know, I don't really know if I can trust these people Because they said that this movie was good and this movie was good in this movie and I've watched them all and a bunch of Those I thought were terrible Just saying I feel like there are a lot of people out there who do movie reviews There are there are a lot of people out there and I think what's kind of important is to find the person who you think gives you the best information for what you're looking for and also Another way to go for it is find the person who you think is closest to your opinion on films Like I said, it's never gonna be the same It never will because you're always gonna get to those films It's probably many films where you disagree, but you know Sometimes you find the person who's very close and I have found some of those people before but anyway, I don't want this to go on too long I'm not even gonna let it go ten minutes, but Would be interested in your thoughts on this topic. So go ahead and put some comments down there Also, do you like videos like this? If if you do I am open to other topics I am totally down to analyze or give my opinions on certain things within the horror community Or having to do with film in general or whatever So let me know is this something you're interested in do you like these types of things and if you have topic ideas I am open to that. So go ahead and put it down in the comments Also, do me a quick favor hit the subscribe button if you like this video or any video. I've ever done I do appreciate that. Also. Did you know I do movie review videos? So I have plenty of them on my channel. Go ahead and check that out and a lot of playlists Also hit the notification bell button if you do hit the subscribe which Come on. Just hit the subscribe. It takes a second But anyway, I do thank you for checking this out and until next time keep it brutal


I need someone to be the guardian of the future. I need to understand the threat that potentially exists for the United States with regard to material development and the science and technology that is being developed worldwide. I need to understand how you can take that technology and apply it in ways that will bring new and disruptive capabilities, transformative capabilities to the Army, long term. I don't know what the future will bring, but I do know that this organization, because of the work of all of you, is held in high regard at the senior leadership levels in the Army. ARL is the Army's Corporate Research Laboratory. It really means a lot to the nation and really to everyone. I don't want to get all horny on you guys, but it really is incredibly valuable to the Army that we have this resource. If you have an organization that's only focused on modernization in the near term, you will lose sight of what you will look like in the future. That's why you need a research level. There are certain things I value most. Probably the number one thing I value the most is integrity. You've heard me say this many times. Integrity equals credibility in my mind. So if you're going to make a claim that you have 10 areas that are essential, then boy oh boy, you better deliver on those 10 areas. I have an affinity for ARL, and I will always look out for ARL, but I will not look out for status quo. So you will feel pressure from me if I see you going backwards. Don't go backwards. You can't afford to.  You have the option to take this to the next level to continue to do that. And I hope that it incentivizes you to keep being as bright and being as creative and innovative and inventive as you possibly can. The other thing though that I think will set this laboratory apart now is what we've done in the futures division. Scientists and engineers are talking to soldiers who are writing the Army concepts. And we're talking to them about what the future could be. Could be from a material perspective, right? And getting them to understand what that alternative future might look like, if you will, if a particular technology were adopted and put into a war fighting concept. I'm not very sentimental, I have to say. It's been an honor and a privilege. This was the right decision for me to come here. I'm not ready to leave, but to be perfectly honest with all of you, that time was getting close. I'm 58. I enlisted in the Navy when I was 18.  So I was getting really close. It's good for leadership to come to you and say, we feel like you're the only person who can do this job at this moment and at this time. So the question for you all will be, what are you going to make stick? This is for the leadership. And for all of you, what are you going to make stick? So again, I feel honored and privileged to have been the director. I hope some of what we've done will stick. When I get up to the Pentagon, I will tell you I will be a staunch defender for this laboratory. But that comes with a warning. I will not defend status quo because I don't believe it's in the best interests of this laboratory. So keep going forward. Keep pushing. Keep working hard. Keep your perspectives in order. And thanks for everything. I really appreciate it.


Welcome to Inside Leather History of Fireside Chat. I'm Doug O'Keefe. I'm the host and producer of the chats which are a program of the Leather Archives and Museum. Today I'm sitting down for an interview with Richard Leather. He's the first Mr. Leather Wales and that was in 2016, also the first runner-up to Mr. Leather West 2015. Currently Richard is the president of Leatherman Camry. How are you Richard? I'm good thank you Keith. So how are things in Wales today? Yeah it's all good here. Today's a nice sunny day it's been and yeah looking forward to having a chat this evening. Fantastic. So let's start right at the very beginning. Tell us a little bit about where you're from and you're growing up here. Well I grew up here in Wales closer to Swansea than Cardiff. I grew up and sort of there I sort of grew up with my dad and my brother and two sisters and yeah I sort of really enjoyed my time in a small town called Neith in Sheeran Wales. Did you have any concept about homosexuality or fetish when you were growing up? Well it's one of the questions that I got asked being sort of sort of going in for being a mister was when or what was your first sort of piece of leather or where do you recall sort of that interest into sort of fetish or what have you and I started sort of thinking back to my time as a child around sort of eight or nine in the 80s when growing up and sort of the pop era and there was sort of then the leather ties and sort of the slim leather ties and growing up is what I wanted.  So that's really my first sort of recollection of sort of fetish or leather wear as such and then so going on is when then sort of going into employment and that I've been finished school one of the first things I wanted was to be able to afford to buy really a leather jacket. So I invested my money wisely in buying a leather jacket and that is what I wanted. So from that I think obviously there was really an interest there in leather, not really understood what leather was, bikers and all of that interest sort of growing up but really sort of into being sort of gay or what have you. Well that was later on in life for myself. I didn't sort of come out as being sort of a gay man until really I was 27 so a lot later in sort of sort of life rather than sort of being that sort of early teenage sort of years and that and that is really sort of where then my sort of taking up being sort of gay and thinking well I don't sort of recognise going to the clubs and bars and what have you in Wales when you see the drag queens I really didn't fit into that element and the interest there grew around sort of fetish and leather was where I felt a little bit more comfortable in men being more manly in in their appearance. Let's take a step back tell me how you felt wearing the leather ties. It was the in thing it was what was happening but it really gave sort of that image the sort of confidence and what have you in the school discourse and what have you so really sort of enjoyed wearing really my leather tie at the time. Did you feel excited or definite always just having that first piece of leather and being able to go and buy it was exciting it was really exciting just to go and buy a piece of leather that I owned and it was what I wanted so the feel the touch even at a young age was really sort of yeah really exciting to to be able to own a piece of leather. Tell me what you were thinking and feeling when you acquired your jacket. Oh that I mean the actual sort of thinking well this is what I wanted I wanted a leather jacket I wanted that actual sort of in essence it was more what I felt comfortable in it wasn't sort of seeing other guys bikers and all of that is what I wanted I wanted that look I wanted the feeling and having that on wearing yeah I felt a lot more grown up and sort of feeling yeah I'm much more now becoming a man in essence having sort of bought my my leather jacket as well. Do you still have it? I don't sadly I don't that's one thing I don't have sort of and I would have been sort of definitely have grown out of it by now anyway so. How did you even know about sort of that leather look what was your first introduction to that? Well I think sort of with TV programs and what have you you had the sort of American sort of programs on where you had the police bikers and all of that sort of seeing all of that it's the understanding well I like that look it's something I like is I think what drew sort of me then towards that is something that actual sort of and seeing bikers and that around as well. You said you came out sort of as a leather man at age 27 what was your life prior to that? Before sort of coming out being gay even I mean I was very much straight and going to nightclubs and all of that element but not all gay community really it was all the straight community and sort of date a few girls and and that as well but never really felt comfortable enough to actually commit to to anyone still sort of liked my freedom and been able to be who I am but suddenly that realization is well I don't know if this is really me and then saying to myself well okay is it and looking at guys I know when I was younger going through sort of the catalogue of seeing or magazine seeing guy in underwear and what have you had an attraction and it's that sort of thinking well really is me being an attract or having attraction to men that I was thinking well okay let's go on to explore that side rather than sort of the straight community. How did you come out into the leather scene at age 27? Well it was a little bit later not much later than when I first sort of came out as being gay that I then met a guy and that's where I moved from near Swansea to Cardiff and one evening we just decided to go to visit Bristol and parties in a different sort of gay scene to Swansea or Cardiff something a bit different and there we went for a meal we went to a couple of the gay bars and we just decided to we were going to head on to a nightclub again nightclub on a Wednesday evening just didn't think any more than we were going to disco party and parked up the car went us there for a drink and ended back at the club we paid went into the club and as soon when we got through into the bar it wasn't the disco night and my first reaction was I'm in a fetish bar straight away it was a fetish night that they held in the bar once a month that was my first stumble really by accident into the fetish world and it really sort of that first initial reaction was am I safe in this venue that was the first thing what I was concerned on is knowing was I safe so it took me a while just to adjust to the environment had a drink settled myself down with my partner and that realisation that yes we were safe no one had come on to us nor nobody had sort of dragged us off and tied us up even though there were guys tied to benches there were guys in cages and that being played with we were safe we were there and it was that sort of ability to go explore at our own pace and what we were comfortable with and that really got my sort of thoughts is yeah I quite like and feel comfortable I want to be involved in some of this play that's gone on and stirred and observed and tugging a lot of that information of what was happening and seeing then thinking okay I want to go and try some of this myself so back at home as you do behind the closed doors you start to explore some of these sort of areas of fetish and finding what you're comfortable with and yeah it was really from there the journey started really into a life of enjoying the fetish sort of scene but upon walking into that club did you have any idea about this fetish scene did you even know anything about it I must have known something because the first words was this is a fetish event so I think looking at magazines and internet and what have you stumbled across sort of porn or what have you where some of this is and you start to have that realization of what is fetish but never really encountered it in a real life situation that was the first encounter so there I must have understood or had an inclination because the first words were this is a fetish event after you felt a little more comfortable in the menu what fetishes in that situation did you find the most appealing I quite like dumb bondage and that is something that really intrigued me the actual sort of restraint and that ability to just sort of then allow someone else to then have a little bit of control it's not something I'm comfortable in giving other people control it tends to I'm quite sort of a person that likes to just have a little bit of the reins on things and again it challenges you on on that to hand that over to someone else and for me a lot of the time is that I give out rather than and sort of have done to myself but again it's still that exploring some of the sort of enjoyment around bondage and sort of also seeing sort of again the sort of guys being sort of whipped and what have you as well in their intrigue me and also electoral play they were doing and the ability to stimulate a guy with electorals and just put in a pulsation and there was definitely something that sort of interest me and intrigued me and and finding more on sort of the ability to enjoy that play with with someone so in this club conversely if you found things there that you did enjoy and were titillating were there things going on that you found awful off-putting terrifying um well yeah there were guys being um fisted um in the venue and first off that sort of thinking I'm not quite certain on that um element of off-play and um even now um I'm quite wary in going into that play um especially sort of exploring it with someone new and not adverse to sort of um sort of fisting a guy or what have you but again for me is being more um I talk and then I want to enjoy um a sort of fucking a guy um compared to then fisting so I'd keep off um unless they regular um be infested I try not to go into that play um too much what other activities did you find in Bristol within the sort of club in in Bristol they sort of as they ran this on a sort of monthly basis and again it continued on in Bristol to sort of the actual fetish scene um then became two socials and and that as well understanding that they done a social event so got quite involved really in Bristol with the social environment um or with the other fetish guys um separate events that we would go sort of through to and enjoy that social element as well as sort of the play um element um on it and even sort of um on different events that um started sort of springing up across the city then Bristol on one of them we went to was uh done a class and to teach you how to um do bondage and and what have you as well was always um quite interesting seeing a lot of different styles and types of fetish play um into breath control and again the sort of guys in various different fetishes rubber um lycra sportswear um leather um started to start to see some um packs um coming on board as as well in that sort of um period of time um happening in in in Bristol yes what did you what did you discover about yourself in that situation as for me it was really that exploring the actual sort of what I enjoyed um in fetish and the actual sort of reality of well this is really who I am um I'm much more into this play um I like a little bit of variety I like to um try stuff new and um that is really understanding really um exactly the sort of things I was comfortable with and the play that I wanted to get involved um into but also it grew I think there in sort of for myself is wanting to really be much more involved in the LGBT um sort of scene as well um and there it prompted me um to open an LGBT and business secure in Cardiff um I had a sauna and gym and that had that for a short period of time it just didn't really um take off but it was that actual sort of thinking I wanted to give something to um the sort of LGBT community as well so um became a businessman um in the sort of um scene here in Cardiff why did you choose a sauna and gym as opposed to another business we only had one um sauna um here in the city and it wasn't always where people wanted to to go so exploring um just felt and doing sort of speaking with other sort of venues and and that around the UK at the saunas was felt that it was something to branch out into um I think the combination of the balls just wasn't sort of um the right concept um at the time um but again it was the sort of um ability to offer something different you said it only lasted a short time yes so again um I was still working full time my partner time was running the business um but again sort of finances and all of that um if you've got sort of little coming in a lot going out is that balancing with the business and the right we decided then um to sort of move on and sort of do um something um completely unrelated then what did you ultimately do so um as I said I was continued working uh I do now is doing the same job I've been in so similar same employer um for 20 years um and that so my partner then went more into um back into his um sort of stream of work in being a engineer so went back into engineering um and that so is where then things went on from from there tell us how your journey in the leather community continued so for me it then in Bristol continued um picking back up um there in being involved in the scene uh and that in in Bristol and with it is being sort of involved with sort of a little bit with Leather West um at the time they um created the group a few guys um and we had nothing in Wales Wales there'd never been any sort of fetish or leather or anything like that club or scene at all it here in Wales everything was um geared in in Bristol and compared I mean Bristol's only what 45 minutes away um by car um sort of from Cardiff it's quite easy to um get a car or the people and head over yes so we would quite regularly just journey over to to Bristol and start again involved in the um scene then being sort of um going to Darklands in Antwerp and what have you with uh Leather West um being on their stand and talking about sort of leather um sort of fetish and what have you then they sort of um done a Mr Leather West um competition and I was thinking do I stand for it do I not decided um to actually enter into the uh Mr Leather West um competition and on the evening there was five contestants and um I then became the first um runner up um of that actual competition over that period of time um 2015 into 2016 um it became knowledge um here in the UK that the practices really of Leather West wasn't fully sort of um what we really knew and understood that the title of Mr Leather UK they had gone and trademarked it back in 2013 and um with that they started to say that they had ownership of this title and it was being run in London um and that and this became sort of that title uh a period time really where um it caused a lot of um upset and actually sort of the groups just didn't like um and want to be associated really with Leather West at all so with it again in the build up we had events sort of starting then um in Cardiff um as Leather social started and with that we decided that we wanted to do a lot more here in Cardiff um be in the capital of Wales um there'd been nothing most of the guys that would head over to Bristol were here um in Wales out of the five guys that entered into Mr Leather West um the actual four of them were here from here in south Wales um so with that there was a core of um Leather fetish guys um really here in in in Wales and we number of us decided at the time we wanted to do a lot more um and the Leather social grew we started then to go into the pride parade um here in Cardiff and that started attracting a lot more people into the um city and wanting events so from that natural venue the Eagle bar in Cardiff they decided um that they wanted a Mr Leather Wales um in 2016 and I wasn't really going to enter into the competition and on the actual weekend they were holding it I was at um a wedding um up in Yorkshire um about four and a half hour drive away from Cardiff and we were asked by the um husband of um our friend who um sort of was getting married he asked if we would stay on the Sunday because he had a surprise for his partner and they were um an helicopter was going to land in a hotel to take them off on their honeymoon so we waited until lunch time just after lunch for all of this to happen and whereas time was getting sort of tight and we were thinking okay we're head back home but we my partner and I at the time we discussed on the way back we had Leathers with us and we decided to call into the services change into our Leathers and head to the actual social event um that was happening and the Mr Leather Wales competition when I was there the proprietor who I knew quite well from my days of um having the LGBT business and that I knew quite well and the socials and all of that just came on to me and said well Rich why don't you um stand for Mr Leather Wales so I am then I decided okay give me the application form and just filled it out briefly and handed it in and there was five of us who sort of then stood for Mr Leather Wales in 2016 and with it I always had this passion I wanted to do something here in Wales with the Leather Fetish community so I didn't really think much of it um I went through the competition and then the sort of time for the results to be announced and there on that night being announced the winner um the first Mr Leather Wales so for me it was then okay what do I do I've got a title what does that mean my desire I want to see more happen so over that year um it challenged me um in many different ways um being in work um I wasn't really out in work so in the August of 2016 I led um at the front of Cardiff Pride and I was thinking well if you can do that why aren't you the same in work and decided to actually be open and honest about my sexuality to my work colleagues and became then the um in early 2017 the actual sort of LGBT staff network lead for for Wales for my organisation and again grew um the biggest staff organisation for our sort of staff network for our organisation here in Wales myself and a colleague of mine and that really sort of helped me sort of on sort of my journey really being and doing stuff in Wales but then there was as I said there was no club or nothing here um I'd been involved with the bike and scene as well with my partner at the time the gay bike and scene in in the UK I decided then I wanted to start a leather fetish club here so I sat down talked her over with a couple of the other guys and decided it was the right thing really to do so I started the actual Leatherman come comeery and with that in 20 late 2016 2017 is where we seen the birth of the actual sort of Leather fetish club and with that then all over the period of time go into different events across the UK and into Europe is then the understanding that there are other clubs out there there are other leather fetish clubs who are part of the ECMC the European Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs so explore started to explore during my title year the other clubs touring the both the UK and into Europe as a a mister and then serve the desire to take the club into being something connected to something bigger a bigger family of our leather fetish community so with that it started the actual application process to become a full member club of the ECMC tell us more about that how how do you do that so first off you have to state to the actual organization that you are a club that you have members you have the constitution and that you are holding events you're operational so you the sort of at the time when the other guys went to their AGM event it was held that that year in Amsterdam declared that we are a club in here in Wales we started it we have members we have a constitution and then sort of over that year is you then constantly through trying to build the actual club and then you need to apply for probationary membership as a club so I went and to Paris to the AGM in Paris and presented the club to the members the member clubs of the ECMC and with it so just showcasing what we had done and during that year as a club we made a big stand that you're against a backlash that we had here in Wales where we had a pride event tell us that we weren't welcome as leather and fetish men after their pride and we have to remind them that what pride was about and the support that we gained across the world really was astronomical and even we had a member of our parliament our UK parliament stand up in the the chamber in Westminster to say that this had happened in his constituency and that he was supportive of us being involved in pride and what pride was truly about and I never dreamt at all that we would have that influence even within the UK parliament as a group when we started but then from that we went on then in Italy in 2019 to then apply for full membership so you continue on and you apply for full membership it goes to the clubs of the ECMC to then vote you in to be a full member club as well and yeah I'm pleased to say as you can see we are now full members of the ECMC and we sort of have now gone on to support other clubs Leathermen of Scotland to come into the ECMC and we work very closely with them so it's good to that we are seeing really clubs leather fetish clubs starting to come back really here in the UK and for a long time we were starting seeing sort of clubs closed older guys in the clubs the clubs were dying and out but we are starting to see the change we now have sort of four sort of ECMC member clubs and we are working with other groups in the UK to become members of the ECMC and also as a sort of smaller groups to think about where they are when they are meeting is being sort of a true member club not just an events organisation we have in the UK from numerous cities where they just have event organisations are not truly a member club and this is where we are wanting to really bring back that sort of essence of belonging to something actually sort of being able to enjoy the fellowship and friendship that we have as being sort of part of a actual leather fetish club what do you think has caused this resurgence I think some of it is that we have very segregated groups I think in the especially here in the UK we have a lot the sort of we have the leather groups we have those who are into their rubber with rubber groups we have the pups who are in pups groups we don't have them actually really integrated with each other very few events where they actually sort of combine some of these events and some of these older clubs I think for some of the younger community members of our community I think they see us as being old they're not relevant they're not up to date and don't attract to them and therefore I think sometimes the happy scene has actually sort of been much more attractive to the actual sort of younger element I think it's sometimes the play element and sometimes the costing as well around it and I think that is sort of for us to have I think a much I would like to see some of these groups come together and work together a little more in holding events that are for everyone in fetish and not just sort of okay the leather guys have theirs the pups have their events and the rubber guys have theirs that we actually work together to bring about an all fetish event that allows everyone to come together and enjoy whatever fetish they're into what is your current membership so currently we have around 50 members to the club so we're not a big club we don't expect to be being what three million adults in in Wales we don't expect to have a big club here we're not gone out for that we just want to be sort of a community that work together and actually support one another and have events that we can actually sort of go out to in our leather or fetish where we want to be able to give people that ability to come out in in their fetish are you succeeding in being able to do that we are we have started different events here in Cardiff we've gone into Swansea as well our second city here in Wales and again it's that sort of bit by bit growing the club and seeing new people come on board and again on the our sort of club website we sort of show a film called the lives of a Leatherman and that came about because of a student who was from studying here in Cardiff was in Europe spoke to and Kate I'll stumble across really the Mr Leather Europe at the time Joor King and had a conversation with him about sort of leather and fetish and in his studies he needed to create a film about something and it was an idea for him to actually then create and sort of and do an interview about the leather community so for that was a real sort of ability to showcase really what a life of Leatherman is we had a younger lad coming into sort of the fetish scene we had we know as Daddy Ian here in the UK from Manchester talk about his experience as an older leather guy and what that meant to him and the changes that he'd seen all over the period of time and myself as a Mr what does that mean where does it all come from and bit by bit is we've started to see the community here in Cardiff grow we're now seeing we have a vibrant puppy community here we have a rubber community is just starting to take off here and our clubbers started to sort of appear here for our rubber sort of friends as well and also we started to sort of see our events are becoming much more popular and then they were much more attendance at our social events in Cardiff and again sort of working to actually sort of branch out to everyone really of all ages and that is what is I quite enjoy is seeing that we do have people attending of all ages and they if they have leather if they don't have leather they welcome to the social and again for me is the importance really of our attraction is do we only welcome people in if they've got certain leather or again do they look in a certain way and myself I just sort of went on the route of anyone is welcome if you've got leather or not you're welcome to our social and we had one guy who came to the social for at least a year or more did never never ever wore leather at all we turned up one day at the social and he just completely surprised us in wearing some biker leather at the had actually been able to afford to buy and turned up with his bag changed in the venue then unchanged and walked back to Gays Basso and over the period of time we suddenly started seeing that he would he had a bit more leather and then he would sort of walk through then out of the venue in a little bit of leather to the point of now he gets on the bus full leathers comes to the actual sort of social walks through Cardiff back home in his full leathers and is that nurturing as well of people like that to explore really what they are feeling comfortable in as well and it gives me the great pleasure when I've been able to see members of our community who are into rubber or into sort of leather or actually explore that being able to come and ask us the questions and have the advice and on what have you as well when we were preparing for this interview you mentioned that there's been some difficulty among the various factions in the UK would you tell us a little bit about that please so as I said I mean the actual sort of title of Mr Leather UK that argument and discussion really has not gone away only quite recently have we started to have that conversation again here in the UK about the actual title and the name of that title we don't see it really from Wales we have our own Mr we don't see Mr Leather UK really represents our people here in Wales speaking with our friends of Leatherman Scotland they were feeling the same it just didn't represent them either so the organising company that owns the title of Mr Leather UK went out for consultation a public consultation on the actual title and as clubs we wanted to have a discussion with the organising company and on it we made our point very clear that from Wales we wouldn't get involved in the title of Mr Leather UK Scotland as I said we're feeling the same as us we see it more a title of Mr Leather England when we've looked at the history of the people who have won Mr Leather UK actually they've represented England quite a lot of the time it has been held in England London Bristol Birmingham it really hasn't come from that so we are sort of still this sort of point of okay we haven't fully stepped back but at the moment we said at this time we won't be getting involved and again for Ireland being part of the United Kingdom is the same thing we can never and I mean I may be wrong but I can't see someone from Ireland actually wearing a Mr Leather UK sash I think from Northern Ireland they sort of look to the Republic of Ireland and do a lot with them down in Dublin and with Leatherman of Ireland and again we think that they would want to wear Mr Leather Ireland sash rather than someone from Northern Ireland wearing a Mr Leather UK and it's the same a little bit pure in Wales we do have people especially in West Wales and North Wales would be unlikely to want to wear a Mr Leather UK sash they will be very happy in wearing a Mr Leather Wales because that is who they represent that is where their heart is and that is what we are seeing here at the moment here in the UK is that the sort of title of Mr Leather UK we think should really be known as Mr Leather England and also we have as I said previously we have a lot of organisations that do events and they aren't got any membership to them at all and there's a still a lot of discussion around that what we have found is some of these companies have gone ahead and trademarked certain titles here in the UK so for us in Wales we can't really run a Mr Puppy Wales because the word Mr Puppy is trademarked here and that really to me is what are we trying to sort of gain from trademarking titles who really owns a title we've always declared the ownership of Mr Leather Wales it's not the Eagle it's not Leatherman Cymru it is the actual Leather community themselves they're the people that select the person that they feel should be their ambassador and therefore I think that is where really the title should be and continue to be no matter then who wants to actually and run that actual competition so there's still a lot of debate and discussion going on around some of the actual sort of organisation and that of different titles here in the UK. Do you think you'll succeed with the Mr Leather England shift? We hope so we are still working with it and with different groups London Leatherman, Manchester Leatherman, Leatherman South there's also a group in Leeds and a group in Birmingham that are starting to sort of develop there and we're hoping that is where they truly will see that really England need their own title yes I'd be happy if they wanted to be still known as Mr Leather UK but the actual sort of underneath that what it represents really are the Leather guys fetish guys in England rather than from the other countries or that make up the United Kingdom Where do you see Leatherman Camry in about five to ten years? So for me is where I want to see it go and grow is being able to meet really sort of all fetish really across both sort of the gay lesbian trans and all of that I mean for me I'd go back to sort of Swansea pride in 2019 as a group Leatherman Camry we were in the parade we had a stand at the actual sort of pride event and myself and my partner we were walking around I had my leathers full leathers and that on and just stumbled across a health stand that were there at the event and I went through hats as I said and I also in were on the lead for our staff network here in Wales so started to engage and talk to a group of trans men on one of the stands and got to find out that they were actually boot plaques oh and for me it was that thinking why do I not know about you they were from West Wales and and that I hadn't heard or knew about them at all they'd never been to any of our events and they never knew anything about us they knew nothing about the fetish and leather community within the LGBT sort of network or on sort of community at all and realizing that they were going to straight events straight fetish events in Swansea and south Wales and from that is that ability to have that discussion about the different events through Darklands in Antwerp and knowing there they just had boot black Europe competition that year and was able to share some of that with the the two guys from Downing West Wales and talking to and some of you may have already seen Alastair was one of the actual surf guys that was on the stand and sharing really about boot black and I'd seen it around in different events in London and across in Europe but not here in Wales and from that is where then Alastair went to Darklands and became boot black Europe and that for me is where I want to see the club grow in people understanding what our community here in Wales we have what interest people have the ability to come and fellowship and enjoy the social element of things and see and that grow people being who they want to be and the freedom to be able to do what they want to do here in Wales we're very restricted on play in LGBT venues and bars and what have you we are not allowed to do any of that we can't have that in our bars and therefore we don't have a safe environment for people to really play in and that is something really I want to see happen the change happen that we can have safe spaces here in Wales where people can come and actually explore their fetish like I did when I stumbled across the bar in Bristol and see in the play and knowing it's a safe environment to be able to explore and understand really and have the knowledge passed on to me on what is safe play how to play correctly that is what I want to be able to see happen here and working with Eagle Bar to see what we can do in the future in being able to offer really some form of safe space for people to actually come and explore really their fetish in an environment that they feel comfortable in and are able to actually then explore it how about a private dungeon space yeah it could well be is sort of having like I know in London they do have that compared to other major cities in the UK we seem to be quite a way back here in Wales on the ability to allow that to happen and it is that challenging of our local authority to be able to offer some of these spaces so it could well be a private dungeon space we have tried events in different venues I think people like the social element as well as the play element so trying to get that balance really or an environment that people feel comfortable in that they can explore and that is I think having it in a bar maybe a better environment but again I'd say a dungeon space could well be that perfect sort of opportunity to hold something in what advice can you afford people who are new to the community I think for me is do not be put off really by how harsh some of the actual sort of look of things are when you first encounter it go and explore for yourself don't be put off but to play safe gain the advice from those who are doing this play learn from them I think is a real sort of key element on some of this is there's a vast amount of knowledge that lots of people have who are willing to share that with you and get go and explore and enjoy the life freely or fetish how do you want to be remembered by your community for me is what I want to be remembered for is yeah when he stood up on that stage as Mr Leather Wales competition and he said he wanted to see the change and leave a legacy or fetish here in Wales that is what I'd love them to remember me by what's the biggest misconception about you I think for me a lot of people find me quiet and that really I don't get involved in things I may be a little bit standoffish as far as what they may see but if they really get to know me then they'll see a completely different side to myself yeah I may be someone who is a perfectionist and want things done right but I got a true heart behind it in wanting to see the best for our community and wanted to really be something that will last for years and years to come Richard Leather thank you for an amazing year for Inside Leather History a fireside chat thank you Doug