LOUGHRAN: Kenyan soldier in the UK joined by daughter after visa victory

Lance Corporal Denis Omondi of Kenya served in the war theatres of Iraq and Afghanistan during an eight-year British army career with Scotland’s prestigious Black Watch regiment.

But his biggest battle came when the Home Office refused to let his teenage daughter from Kenya come and live in Britain.

Mr Omondi is married to Shelagh, from UK, but discovered that he had a daughter, Ann, by a former girlfriend in Kenya.

He visited the girl in Kenya every year and finally applied for a visa for her to come and join him and his wife in Inverness, Scotland.

However, the London bureaucrats refused his request, saying they had spent too little time together.

The disappointed father sought the help of his MP, Drew Hendry, who set up an online petition that attracted 3,200 signatures.

Mr Hendry, a Scottish Nationalist, raised the issue in the House of Commons and said, “If you are willing to lay your life on the line by serving in the armed forces, you should be able to have your family with you. It’s as simple as that.”

Mrs Omondi was shocked by the government’s decision and also campaigned on Ann’s behalf. “There must be hundreds of Commonwealth families who are separated,” she said.

Faced with growing opposition, the Home Office backed down and Ann, 14, flew into Inverness last week, where she met and hugged her father and stepmother.

She said, “I am so happy to be with my dad and step-mum. I love her so much.”

Denis Omondi said, “I feel overwhelmed by the support I received from every corner of this country, especially from Drew Hendry and his team. I am so thankful that they took the case and that Ann is here now. I have no words to thank everybody.”

It was late evening in the busy centre of Newcastle and homeless Colin Martin wanted money for a bed.

He said, “I tried this group outside Harry’s Bar and one of them said he had no change, just his bank card. Joking, I said, ‘I take cards,’ and walked away, but he called me back and gave me his card and his PIN and said to take out 10 pounds for him and 10 for myself.”

Colin withdrew £20 from a nearby ATM and gave the donor £10 and a receipt. The moment was caught on camera and later posted online.

An admirer responded, “The homeless lad received respect and trust and that’s what he gave back.” Another said, “This has renewed my faith in human nature.”

Nobody knows the name of the donor. Good Samaritan.

Of course there’s the other side to human nature. A woman knocked on Debbie Williams’ door in Helston, Cornwall, said she was from the Environment Agency and warned there was a problem of rat infestation in the neighbourhood.

Shortly afterwards, a man telephoned and said rats had been reported in local gardens and his company was available to dispose of them. Debbie went to her back door and there were five large dead rats.

Realising it was a scam, she refused to pay any money, but she ended up in tears. Such is the revulsion many people feel for rats, it’s possible they would pay readily to get rid of the corpses.

Debbie’s husband, Ronnie, said he believed the rodents were pet rats, which had been killed and placed in the garden by the two tricksters.

Have you ever lost your temper with modern technology? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Almost eight million Britons have broken gadgets in a fit of rage, according to a recent poll.

The chief causes of frustration are slowness of the computer, pop-up ads, paper jams, forgotten passwords and Wi-Fi outages.

Typically, users endure an average of 63 IT issues a year.

British actress Lesley Joseph recalls her visit with the Pope. “The Pope said, ‘You don’t look 72,’ at which point, I said, ‘Oh, bless you,’ and then realised I had blessed the Pope.”

Popes themselves are not without humour. It was the rubicund, jolly John XXIII who was asked how many people worked at the Vatican, the headquarters of the Catholic Church. He replied, “About half.”

On another occasion, John said he would often mull over problems in bed at night and decide, “I must consult the Pope about this.” Then he would realise, “Oops! That’s me.”

Back in 1809, Emperor Napoleon arranged for the then Pope Pius VII to be kidnapped from Rome and brought to France.

There he told Pius he would destroy the Catholic Church. The Pope is said to have responded, in modern terms, “Good luck! We Catholics have been trying to do that for nearly two thousand years and still haven’t succeeded.”