OK, mea culpa, I never spoke about this with my daughter. Primarily because I'd never heard of such a thing happening -our police do racially profile, but they're not routinely armed, so the outcomes are likely to be different.

However, I did speak to both kids about dating people of Indian/Pakistani origin.

To Jen I pointed out that while she could date whom she pleased, she should be aware of the high probability of such a relationship being brusquely terminated in the event of the young mans' parents procuring a suitable bride for him.

For Rik it was different. I had to point out that by dating a girl from such a group, he was placing her in very real, physical danger. The beating of young women by fathers or brothers for crossing racial/religious/traditional lines is common. So-called 'honour killings' are less common, but they do happen. Even were the girls' family to be happy with the relationship, other members of their community might take it upon themselves to 'correct' matters. I advised him to steer clear, for everyones' sake.

Funnily enough, after reading your article, I ran into an old school friend of Jens', a Black lad called Justin, in the supermarket car park. We talked about stuff, caught up a bit - he used to come round occasionally, back in the day. Once I'd convinced him to call me 'Tony' rather than 'Jens' Dad', we got to talking about current affairs. Thinking of what you'd written, I asked him if his parents had ever warned him about White girls and the danger they might pose. He told me that his dad had warned him about ALL girls being more trouble than they were worth. He did say that he ,and most of his mates had been careful around Jen. Not because of her colour, but because of her temper and her karate kick, which apparently could stop a rhino!

BTW, thanks for reading 'The Crooked King', comments and constructive criticisms eagerly sought, for I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, you know!