I am disgusted with the recent comments of FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, in regard to speculation about footballer Christiano Ronaldo's future.
Blatter is quoted as saying, "I think in football there is too much modern slavery, transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere."
I recently returned to Wearside from South Asia, where I saw bonded child labour - a form of modern slavery - at first hand and photographed it for a charity organisation's campaign. Those children were working 16 hours a day for a pittance.
Fooballers have agents and advisors to help them assess contract conditions before they choose to sign for a club.
Given recent claims against certain sportswear manufacturers, that they have been exploiting people to produce low cost items, I think Blatter should choose his terms more carefully.
I love football and, just a couple of days ago, checked ticket prices for the season opener between Sunderland and Liverpool. Unfortunately I can't afford the £30+.
I am a free man and can't afford the prices that the likes of Ronaldo wouldn't even flinch at. Don't overstate your case, Ronaldo, it is an insult to the thousands of people who genuinely do suffer as modern slaves.

What a dull summer this is turning out to be in northern England.

As if grey skies and rain were not enough, we are now confronted by the sporting horror that is Wimbledon. After whipping the cream to go on the strawberries, the nation whips itself into a frenzy...is this the year? Will a Brit finally win?

I don't care.

The Scots seem to be getting upset that "the British" commandeer Andy Murray when he is on the brink of doing well.

I hope that one of them will buy me a whisky and talk football or cricket instead.

Tennis is an individual sport and frankly it does not matter what nationality the players are.

Nor does it matter to me if the rain blows south and tennis matches have to be decided by whatever the raquet sport equivalent of Duckworth-Lewis is.

This may sound dull but I need to make changes in my life and lifestyle for the better. Went jogging today and did some sets of exercises. I'm posting this as a landmark in my turnaround.

I have been feeling overweight and underexercised. Maybe making a blog post like this is one of those ways of measuring when I eventually got up and active once again. It's long overdue.

Viva fitness. This is the low watermark of my fitness. It will be better from here on in...and hopefully my blog posts will take a turn for the better too.

I am left empty and disappointed following a verbal attack by a racist on Brigade Road, in Bangalore, last night.

I noticed that the man leant in next to me as I was walking along the street. He began to spout abuse. "Get out of my country, whitey!", "Go home, bast***!", "You westerners f*** animals and your women are whores!" These were just some of the torrent of filth.

The man, who spoke English very well, was dressed in a checked shirt and baseball cap. In short, he was far more western in his appearance than many of the other people on the street.

I stopped walking and did not wish to be provoked by his outburst. Bypassers stopped and listened, but did not intervene. The man then began gesticulating and pointing to his groin, making lewd comments.

Two police officers were stood on the junction of Residency Road and looked on. I noticed them smiling but doing nothing, despite the abusive nature of the man's actions.

As I walked towards them the man moved around the corner but continued his abuse from a distance of five metres. I asked the police to take action and they refused. When I said I wanted to register a complaint they waved me away and told me to go to the nearest police station.

The disinterest and arrogance of the police, and fact that they were more interested in being entertained by the episode that dealing with an antisocial menace, leaves me cold.

I was advised that going to the police station would also be a waste of time.

Not one person on the busy street did so much as ask the man to stop his abuse, though the perjorative phrases he was using are by no means accepted in society here and tend to shock far more than in the west.

He got away. The police more or less sanctioned his racist and sexually explicit harassment.

No one explicitly condemned the attack. The incident was unprovoked and ugly. Racism is always negative. To see it and experience like I did last night is a sickening experience.

I am left asking myself a number of questions:

What does this say about the society in Bangalore (and India)?

How should I feel in a society where the police so blatantly failed to do their duty and maintain law and order?

Would anyone have intervened and provided protection had the man attacked me physically?

What would have happened had I responded to the abuse?

I am also interested in knowing what people recommend, as a course of action, when such incidents occur? To ignore something like this is, I believe, wrong. Racism is a social cancer that needs to be eradicated.