A TEMPORARY SUSPENSION

                                                      

                                                   A TEMPORARY SUSPENSION

Dear Reader
You will probably have noticed that the last comment was at the back end of October.   Luckily for me business is doing well, sadly for me it takes up the time that I would be blogging, so for  the foreseeable future this site is temporarily suspended.   According to my man in Cornwall, who looks after these matters, it's on a cloud somewhere - a cloud which will no doubt bump into the cloud carrying Nelson Mandela, as with all the news coverage of his demise I cannot see him going down, but only up and wearing the largest halo available in the Heaven Halo Store!   When people say, "Do you remember where you were when news came  through that Nelson Mandela had died?"  I will reply, 'Yes, I do.  I was trying to watch "Mrs. Brown's Boys Christmas Special" when the BBC in its infinite left wing fashion decided to do away with what I was watching and bring me the next two weeks of wall-to-wall Mandela'.   Some of us are not interested - there is other news, although the BBC seem incapable of understanding this.

So, with invitations to speak at functions  extending into 2015 I won't be retiring from work before then, but I would like to say thank you to all those who took the trouble to read the blogs as they were posted.  The older one gets, the less surprised one becomes, but I was surprised by the number of overseas readers when I looked at the statistics.   So until the next time I shall look forward to  the immediacy of Christmas and then early January when the next round of Bulgarians and Romanians take to the streets with their Big Issue magazine.   Oh, what fun we'll have!

NICE TOUCH

                                                                    

                                                                     NICE TOUCH

I see this morning that 16 rebels have been hanged in Iran in retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border guards in an ambush.   They don't muck about when they have a problem with security.  Oh, that we dealt with terrorism with the same haste and in a manner that didn't waste public money waiting for appeals, more appeals and a final plea to the Court of Human Rights.

We are told that those hung were linked to groups hostile to the current regime.   This announcement came from the Attorney-General of Sistan-Baluchistan province.   Now I never knew that the Iranians had the post of attorney-general - awfully English, don't you know....

THE CONTINUED EROSION OF A BRITISH ICON

                                   

                                    THE CONTINUED EROSION OF A BRITISH ICON

The Tories have never been the most supportive party when it has come to the BBC, an organisation I took to be a British icon of fairness and impartiality.   Unfortunately,  intrusion and leverage have undermined these principles over many years.   Successive governments just cannot leave anything alone and sadly, the BBC has come under the spotlight more and more over recent years.

I will gladly pay £145.50 for a TV licence just to ensure that I am not subjected to minute after minute of banal advertising that I can only assume was designed for people who are either totally retarded or with an IQ so far advanced that it leaves people like me in the cold.   I watch "Downton Abbey" but like everything else on ITV1 or ITV3 that I wish to watch, it is recorded and played back later.

One hundred and forty five pounds fifty pence for one year's freedom is not a considerable sum.   It is peanuts.   I feel yet more dismay when I  learn  that Grant Shapps suggests the licence fee may be cut or shared with other broadcasters unless the BBC rebuilds public trust.   He goes on to say that the Beeb must be more transparent and change its culture of secrecy.   This is from a  man who represents a party currently in government, whose MPs, along with those from other parties,  have totally lost the trust  of the public with regard to their expenses, greed and their total inability to listen to the public about what they want for their country.   What a bloody cheek!  It would be nice to find government being more transparent.   You know darn well that the only winners against the BBC will be yet more power going to people like that Antipodean Murdoch, who pays no tax in our country but tells people through his tabloids who to vote for at an election.   Another bloody cheek!

YOU CAN'T TRUST ANYONE

                                                   

                                                  YOU CAN'T TRUST ANYONE

According to  the German magazine Der Spiegel  the US have been listening to Angela Merkel's phone calls since 2002 - before she was elected Chancellor.   This revelation comes after the French have been protesting to Washington over the same issue.  I'm not sure which is worse,  American arrogance or American insecurity.   I wonder if they thought back then that the 'sour kraut' would one day become Europe's most influential politician,  that Germany would once again dominate Europe's political and financial policies and structure  -  and all without setting foot in Poland first or a shot being fired in anger  -  as opposed to Onger where I haven't heard of any shots being fired at all!

David Cameron seems to suggest that Britain's 'special relationship' with the USA would somehow make us immune from such dastardly deeds.  The truth is more likely to be that with all the cutbacks  we probably wouldn't have the intelligence available to know whether we have been spied upon or not.  My advice is for us to ask the Taliban or some other terrorist organisation who probably have far more resources than we do.  Where else do you think our foreign aid ends up!

POSTSCRIPT TO SWEET FA

                                                       

                                                     POSTSCRIPT TO SWEET FA

The comments made by Ms Rabbatts regarding the lack of black representation within the FA's new 'Think Tank' led me to consider the route that has been taken of late on behalf of perceived racial injustice and inequality.  Over the past few years this country has witnessed the founding of the Black Police Association, the Society of Black Lawyers, - which is now involved in the formation of the Black Players Association - and the annual Black List, which apparently celebrates the contribution of the black community to the game of football.  I wonder if Ms Rabbatts attends?

I cannot think of anything more divisive than having separate organisations within a given industry based on colour.  In previous books I have commented on the furore that would ensue should a native of this country found a White Lawyers Society,  a White Players Society or a White Police Association.  Jamie Lewis made the same point a year ago in an article in 'The Independent'.  The disappointment I felt with his column was that he prefaced his paragraph on this aspect of the situation by referring to those who query such matters as 'fascists'.  Surely one may make comment without being labelled in such a manner, but then, isn't that the preserve of those who never stand back and wonder why that view is held in the first place?

Kick it Out, the anti-racism lobby group had an annual budget of £453,000 in the season 2010 - 2011 of which some £330,000 was donated by the FA, Premier League and the Professional Footballers Association.  You could throw millions at these action groups, but you still have to understand the root causes of why the indigenous population feels the way it does, otherwise it's a complete waste of money. Lets face it, the fact that these societies and associations have been formed is down to the native population's ability to accept, for we sadly are a nation of acceptors.

DOCTOR, DOCTOR

                                                                

                                                                   DOCTOR, DOCTOR

Another groan!   Now here's a surprise.   UK ethnic minority doctors are four times more likely than white candidates to fail their clinical GP exam according to the General Medical Council.   A review into 5000 candidates was ordered after ethnic minority students complained that their exam was unfair.   I think that's a euphemism for  "I haven't reached the required standard, so let's blame somebody else".   And let's face it, racial bias is always a good one to fall back on.   There is apparently a Professor Aneez Esmail.  Guess what his job is?   No?   Well, unless you're his wife who would obviously know what he did, there is no way in the world you would come up with him being an expert on 'racism in the NHS'!   It is he who led the investigation and came to the conclusion that 'unconscious bias' could explain the findings.  Luckily, the Royal College of GP's who set the exams denies that they are unfair - which is nice to know.

A couple of years ago I met a doctor at Frimley Park Hospital who was obviously from abroad but displayed almost impeccable english. I asked him where he was from and he replied "Malta" I then asked if he liked it here.   He told me that not only did he like it here, but he proffered the opinion that to be born an Englishman was to be born into a very exclusive club.  Interested in his answer, I asked him how he felt about himself, now that he had taken up residency here.  "Oh", came the thoughtful reply,"I consider myself to be an associate member"  Now that shows class!

SWEET FA

                                                                     

                                                                      SWEET FA

I read with a groan that the Football Association has been accused of letting down black and ethnic minority people after setting up an all-white, all-male commission to improve the English football team. Well, not too long ago the English football team was all-white, so where's the lack of so-called improvement there?   They are never satisfied.

Apparently, there's a lady who goes by the name of Heather Rabbatts who is the only female board member on the FA.   She has now come out, as they say, and said she had no choice but to go public with her concerns as there had been a "refusal to understand" her position in private.   I suspect what she is saying is that nobody could be bothered to take her whinging any further.   She said, "The opportunity to lead an informed debate on the future of English players has been singularly damaged".

I don't know anything about the lady but I suspect that her whole focus on the job in hand is to promote ethnic minorities in the way that holds back real discussions on the wider picture, when there should be a far more rounded approach to football, ie why is there so much money going to agents?   Why are we allowing so many foreign businesses and rich individuals to buy iconic clubs in this country?   Why are we allowing people to reside here for five years and then play for this country?  (see previous post)   I would have thought these were far more important topics to discuss with regard to the improvement of English football, but then those with "agendas" are generally prone to very narrow thought patterns.

Those who know me are aware that I suffer from diabetes and have monthly injections into my eye to take away excess fluid.   It was interesting that whilst lying on the table awaiting my injection last month the doctor, as ever, dropped anaesthetic into my eye, followed by iodine (the idea being that if you can't feel the sting of the iodine then the anaesthetic has worked).   The iodine ran from my eye towards my ear and I brushed it away with a finger only to be told by the doctor, "Don't do that,  you'll get a smear and you'll go home looking like a golliwog".   Interestingly that as the doctor laughed at her own little funny, I thought to myself, "She's not being politically correct and she's Asian!"   It generally turns out to be the white do-gooders that can't stop harping on about inequality and all things racial.

As Chas & Dave would say, "Rabbatts, Rabbatts, Rabbatts .........."

TV ISN'T SO BAD AFTER ALL

                                                     

                                                      TV ISN'T SO BAD AFTER ALL

My winter viewing during the dark nights of that season have been  made more pleasurable by the Saturday night presentation of "Strictly Come Dancing" and "Merlin".  "Merlin" sadly ended its run earlier this year and its replacement "Atlantis" is a very poor imitation and I endured the first two episodes before switching off for good.   "Strictly", however, continues to amuse and entertain me.  The first two weeks of dismissals have seen two of the three that I would wish to be dismissed, so I can ask no more.   Tony Jacklin didn't seem a bad sort, but his smile was so ingratiating.   I know he can't help his facial structure or what it does when it breaks into a smile, but every time he did, I could only see  Tony Blackburn's face.  It didn't get any better.   I've never been a lover - no, definitely not a lover - of Vanessa Feltz.   I've never rated gobby, lippy people, either male or female - how non-sexist can one get!   So I was rather pleased when she departed last Sunday.   I hope my expectations are fulfilled this Sunday when Julien McDonald is voted off as his over-the-top antics, not to mention his accent - there's lovely hasn't it - are tending to grate.

Having just started decorating the kitchen  it was an absolute joy painting a ceiling whilst listening and watching a set of TV programmes that really made afternoon television a joy.   Two episodes of "Keeping Up Appearances" which had some priceless lines in it , followed by "Are You Being Served" and "Allo, Allo", both classics of their time and style, and to cap it off, one of the best American imports ever, "Cagney & Lacey".   Not such a bad day after all.

SO SLAVERY ISN'T DEAD

                                                      

                                                        SO SLAVERY ISN'T DEAD

According to the Global Slavery Index 2013 (didn't know there was one) it appears that many countries still practise  slavery.   It was interesting to read that 14 million people in India are considered by this survey to be slaves.   Quite what the definition of being a slave is I'm not aware.   It's probably a bit like being pigeon holed by quangos  as in poverty in the United Kingdom, but still having enough money for cigarettes, lager and Lottery tickets.   It's a strange fact of life, by the way, that by doubling the price of a Lottery ticket from £1 to £2 it  means that only the unemployed can afford them.

Getting back to the slavery question, it appears that Mauritania has the highest percentage of slaves per head of population at 4%.   I've no idea of where Mauritania is.   I know it's somewhere to the right as you stand in my garden and look north and I know there was a ship named after it.   In the wider realms of society, however, it still appears that slavery is a dirty word and yet as I've always contended, inflation rose dramatically when it was abolished - now there's something to conjure with.

SO, WHERE WAS THEIR GOD THEN?

                                          

                                               SO, WHERE WAS THEIR GOD THEN?

BBC news has reported that at least 60 pilgrims have been killed in a stampede near a Hindu temple in Central India. Thousands were apparently gathered at the Ratangarh Temple for a religious festival - probably similar to the festival they attend in a small Surrey village each year, but without clogging up minor roads and making locals feel like strangers in their own county!  No doubt we will get used to it given time.....

Getting back to India, and oh how I wish they would, it appears that panic broke out as crowds of pilgrims tried to cross the Sindh river, which is fairly close to the temple.  Most were killed in the stampede, while others drowned after jumping off the bridge.  Stampede?, Stampede?  We gave the world a word and system designed to combat stampeding, it is called queuing, if people cannot understand something as basic a courtesy as that then no wonder their god wasn't there when needed.

Thinking about it, he probably washed his hands of them in the River Sindh - which, I suspect, many of them had!

NICE TO FEEL SECURE

                                                         

                                                             NICE TO FEEL SECURE

I read with a degree of acceptance and resignation that the Director General of MI5 announced that in his opinion thousands of Islamist extremists in the United Kingdom see the British public as a legitimate target.   Andrew Parker said Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Pakistan and Yemen present "the most direct and immediate threats to the UK".   This comes at the same time as the independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration found that fewer than two thirds of passenger movements were checked and that almost 650,000 records relating to smuggling had been deleted by those responsible before they had been read - unbelievable!

Who allows this situation to get into such a state?   Is it that we just have too few people on the borders because we've cut back to the point that it is totally ineffective?   Is it incompetent management?   Is it agency workers?   Is it that the staff are totally demoralised by the change of policies?   It doesn't seem to matter what industry one works in, the workers always seem to be the whipping boys and girls for government ineptitude and mismanagement.   Policies seem to change so quickly that nobody can get into a routine and see any structure that isn't going to be destroyed and replaced by yet another structure before the first one has had time to bed in.

Still, as long as we know that terrorists in the UK number "in their thousands" I am sure that will  help with their  next restructuring.

IT'S ALREADY A MOCKERY

                                                     

                                                        IT'S ALREADY A MOCKERY

I heard pundits on the TV last weekend refer to the latest imported teenage footballing sensation as a possible future England player.  His name is Adrian Januzaj, and he already has the legal right to play for Albania, Belgium, Serbia and Turkey - how much more choice can he need?

I read this morning that Billy Stark, the Scottish Under-21 Manager has stated that his playing for England would "Make a mockery of international football", adding "For me, international football could become a laughing stock" - well he's not wrong!  The problem is that the genie is already out of the bottle.   One's heritage is taken too lightly, it seems that you only have to go for a day trip to Llandudno and you have the opportunity to acquire another nationality.  I would much rather England lost to a better side knowing that they had played  a team consisting of born and bred Englishman, than to have won using imports who had merely gained another nationality.   Sadly, winning is all.

DO CHILDREN NOT HAVE RIGHTS?

                                          

                                                DO CHILDREN NOT HAVE RIGHTS?

I see on the news today that ministers in Ulster are refusing to give in without a fight re the seemingly unstoppable march of the 'gay wrongs brigade'.  They never seem satisfied with their lot.  People's sexual preferences are their own, but their adopting of children is not only a step too far in the clamour for so-called equality, but a blatant denial of children's rights.  ALL children are entitled to have a Mummy Bear and a Daddy Bear as parents.

My foremost irritation with homosexuals, lesbians, transgender, transvestites etc. is that their sexuality seems to be the only aspect of life that they are interested in.  They continually whinge about some or other aspect of their down-trodden gender-repressed lot and are always marching to promote  yet another  cause.  What a pity they cannot expand their breadth of horizons for their seemingly endless frustration and anger.   My main concern is that due to their apparent narrow field of vision,  children in their care could easily be brainwashed into thinking that their upbringing was the norm.  As a member of the public commented on  Breakfast TV this morning  "What's the chid going to think when he or she goes into the 'parents' bedroom and sees the pair of them together?"  And that is the point, what sort of effect is that going to have on the child.  Are they supposed to think that this 'normal'?  The ramifications of this drive for so-called equality is often at the expense of logic and the' natural' order of life.

Still, as we all know, everyone is equal, though most minorities are more equal than others!

HALLOWEEN - ANOTHER AMERICAN IMPORT

                                       HALLOWEEN - ANOTHER AMERICAN IMPORT

A broad grin developed as I listened to a report on Radio 4 highlighting the apparent embarrassment  suffered by both Tesco and Asda with regard to certain halloween costumes.  I have always baulked at  such imported Yankee tosh, but if they are going to indulge in all things tacky, then at least they are being imaginative in their quest to increase  income.  It would, however, seem that costumes with 'Mental Patient', and 'Psycho Ward' on them cross the line of acceptability!

My grin was swiftly wiped off my face when I realised that mental charities had complained - but then they would do, wouldn't they!  What is wrong with these people?  So busy being good, they seem to have lost all sense of proportion and humour.  Can you imagine working with these people?  I can just see them running to their politically - correct  bosses shouting "Please sir!", or  "Please Miss" - although that should probably be "Please Ms" every time someone says anything which they consider to be an 'inappropriate comment'.  Still, at least the charities have copped for an unexpected windfall from both of the supermarkets,  which adds credence to the saying that all publicity is good publicity.  It has probably also stopped the charities - and their patients - from suing for trauma and compensation.

Whilst shopping in Waitrose (Frimley) earlier this week, the subject of Halloween came up with the customer in front of me.  It was really refreshing to hear the chap relate how, on the night in question, his neighbour places effigies of the Whicker Man and Jimmy Savile in his front garden to ward off evil children.  Now that's humour!

ANOTHER £100 MILLION

                                                         ANOTHER £100 MILLION

It's funny, isn't it.  Whilst Nick Clegg was being ever so pleased with himself with his announcement to the world that our government is about to pledge a further £100 million to Syria, I fumed at this use of  our - yes, our money.  He seemed to take great delight in stating that Britain was 'Leading the charge', and that 'We cannot avert our eyes from Syrian people'.  I could, and can, very easily in fact. IT'S NOT OUR PROBLEM!  I thought this country was broke?  Isn't this why VAT was increased to 20%? Were we not 'All in it together'?  I don't expect Messrs Cameron, Clegg or anyone else in government to be in touch with the public or their views, but surely they must have considered using the money to top up their pension funds or their expenses at least.

Still, the one thing you can be sure of is that if they are not being self-serving, they will be contributing to those who have never contributed to this country and will never thank us.  Whatever we do - or give -  we will  always remain 'Those western imperialists'.

ANY FOOL CAN BE BRITISH...

                                                     ANY FOOL CAN BE BRITISH...

I see on the news that there has been a very unpleasant incident in Nairobi.  Some 65 people killed and many more injured.  It appears that 'British' subjects have been found amongst the innocent dead and those named within the terrorists ranks - either dead or alive. None of those from either group is 'British',  they are from  a country with different values, culture, and in many cases, a desire to change the society of the country they have adopted.

Everyone has to tiptoe gently when discussing race or religion, which is rather sad when one considers that this country has prided itself on freedom of speech.  A presenter on BBC news, when commenting on the child sex victims of gangs in the midlands and the north stated that the guilty were of asian and North African heritage.  Heritage!, heritage!  No-one would dare say they were plain asian or black.  However, if they were white, the term would be used without a thought to the inequality of it.  Every time Stephen Lawrence is mentioned, you can bet your bottom pound that those found guilty of  his murder are always described as white, and that the crime was racial.  Strange how nobody comments that  all the young girls used in trafficking were white, but those guilty of their abuse were merely of 'Heritage' stock!

As I always say, any fool can be British, but it takes a heck of a lot more to be English!

SURGICAL MASKS OR NOTHING AT ALL

                                       

                                             SURGICAL MASKS OR NOTHING AT ALL

It was interesting to see the most odious of the current crop of ministers - Jeremy Hunt - bottle out of making any decision on behalf of the government by stating that the wearing of niqabs, ie full veils with just eye slits, should be decided by the medical industry and not by government.   Well, that's giving leadership isn't it.   But they won't if it has anything to do with race or religion. 

I understand that 17 hospitals have banned these full face masks and it was interesting to hear a doctor on radio state that whilst she uses a full veil outside of work,  once she is inside a hospital doing her job, she removes it as she feels that all patients should be able to see her face.   Whilst I accept her argument I still think it's a bloody cheek that anyone  should  be allowed to wear them, whether at work or not.   I would love to be lying in a hospital bed  looking up at a pair of eyes staring down at me.   Actually, I wouldn't put up with it and I sincerely hope that others wouldn't either.

There was a recent case in the courts where a Muslim woman was told she had to remove her full face veil and a Muslim group said it was "disgusted" at the judge's decision.    Frankly, I'm disgusted that anyone feels they can live in another person's society and impose their will on the host nation.  It comes under the heading of "bloody cheek"!

 "If you don't like it here, there's a very easy answer - bugger off!"

YOU SAY TOMAYTO, NOW WE SAY TOMAYTO!

                                       YOU SAY TOMAYTO, NOW WE SAY TOMAYTO!

I wonder sometimes which country I actually live in.   I used to know it was England because we spoke English.   Why on earth anyone would want to sound like any other country than the one they were born into baffles me.  I am singling America out because t it is the country that has invaded our dictionary more than any other.   And the BBC, that bastion of everything that was well pronounced, has succumbed.   For instance, on the Media Show only last week, a presenter stated that something had been"downplayed", as opposed to "played down".   Yesterday morning Susannah Reid mentioned that something was "upcoming".   This is an increasingly used word.   What was wrong with "forthcoming".  Things have been forthcoming for years - until they arrived, that is.   Even this morning, when the very lovely Lisa Faulkner was offering Susannah and Bill Turnbull slices of her homemade ginger cake, Bill actually said,"I'm really loving this".  It's not a bloody McDonalds.   What was wrong with saying, "I really love this" or "I really like this".

Why is there a lemming-like desire to jump into the linguistic American pond?   I remember many years ago when Aldershot 'welcomed' a Burger King branch.   The local council asked the company if they would spell the words "drive through" in English, i.e. drive through, but no, such is the arrogance of a large number of Americans that we have "drive thru" as they refused to acquiesce with the request.   Again, one has to ask, why are these councils so gutless?   Presumably, it's because of the council rates being brought in by a new business.   I would have told them that this isn't America, it is actually a different country and we spell things in the original way.   And if they don't like it, then planning permission would not be given.

POST SCRIPT

                                                                        POST SCRIPT

Hard on the heels of the previous posting,  I notice with some amusement - with a lot, actually - that the flu vaccination programme, a pilot scheme in Leicestershire and Rutland, contains pork gelatine.   This has been trialled on 70,000 pupils aged 4 to 10 years.    At one school in Leicester the head is quoted as saying, the inclusion of pork gelatine showed "insensitivity".   The school apparently has 650 Muslim children, which as an indigenous parent I would feel particularly worried about  if I had my children attending that school.   Health officials have naturally apologised for not informing parents at the offset.  Oh, there's a surprise!    You can't see me, but I'm shaking my head in dismay.   Still, I'm about to enjoy my breakfast - eggs, baked beans and pork sausages .....

ABOUT TIME TOO!

                                                                ABOUT TIME TOO!

Any readers of my books will know I have been harping on about this subject since time immemorial.  Surprisingly it was Jeremy Browne, the Lib-Dem Home Office minister, who has stated that whilst he is uneasy about restricting freedom, he has urged a national debate on the state's role in stopping veils being imposed on girls.

This comes after the particularly worrying decision by some obviously misguided and gutless people at Birmingham Metropolitan College, who have dropped a ban on pupils wearing full-face veils.   He says the government should consider banning Muslim girls from wearing veils in public places such as schools.  It shouldn't be considering it, it should have acted on this years ago.   Some Muslim group was quoted on the BBC teletext as saying it was "disgusted" by the Minister's suggestion.   But then they would be, wouldn't they?

I come back to the point I made years ago, that freedom is two way and at the end of the day, this is actually OUR country, not theirs.   I don't care whether they are first, second or third generation Muslims in this country.   They should still abide by the rules initiated by the indiginous population.   If they don't like the way we run our country there is a very easy answer, which somebody in government should spell out poste haste.  Bugger off!!

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT

                                                               I DIDN'T KNOW THAT

I've just been catching up on the Radio Times for the week 17th-23rd August.   On the penultimate page is My Watchlist, which I usually find quite interesting.   The week in question featured Evan Davis, who I've always found easy to listen to in the days when I used to watch Dragon's Den, and he is particularly good on Radio 4.   I wasn't aware that he is homosexual, because in the first paragraph he talks about his partner, a French landscape architect with the name Guillaume, which could to me have been male or female.  I just assumed it was female.   In fact, I assumed that until I got to the second question which asked, "How do you feel about the portrayal of gay people on TV?"   His answer included comments on a recently shown sit-com starring Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi.   At the end he said, "It's useful to normalise the promotion of gay relationships.   To be fair, he was answering a question put to him, but it always seems to be so narrow a subject.

I was interested also in the name of the interviewer.   It was a lady (I presume a lady) by the name of Alexia Skinitis - sounds as if she needs to visit a dermatologist|!

A GAY OLD DAY!

                                                                 A GAY OLD DAY

I read with much amusement that those humourless scrotes from the mind-bending group Stonewall, have invited players from all 92 English and 42 Scottish football league clubs to wear rainbow shoe laces during matches played over the weekend  21st and 22nd September.                                        

Apparently, there is something called the " Right Behind Gay Footballers " campaign who would like to change attitudes towards homosexual footballers - and I can just imagine them being right behind a gay footballer!   They must have little get-togethers, presumably over bowls of nuts and a ginger beer, and actually waste time and energy coming up with these pointless suggestions.  The worrying thing is that the football authorities take these people seriously, but then they would as they are a minority - and minority = rights.

What these minority pressure groups never seem to understand is that other people, i.e.  the majority, also have opinions, are equally entitled to them, and do not need to be re-programmed into thinking that  what is right for the homosexual goose is right for the straight gander!

THAT INCREASINGLY EXPENSIVE HS2

                                               THAT INCREASINGLY EXPENSIVE HS2

It was interesting to note that a committee of MPs  has concluded that spiralling costs do not appear in proportion to the alleged benefits bandied about by those arrogant bastards who wish to destroy even more of our once green and pleasant land. Governments from both sides of the house have a long and distinguished history of under-estimating costs of projects, both civil and military.  To be fair, it is never their money, merely that taken from the poor sod who works to keep them and their ilk in a manner to which we will never be accustomed.  Not for them a once timeless view about to be destroyed forever.  We have lacked collective government foresight for the last 60+ years.

With regards to the railways this is no better exemplified than in case of the HS2 route.  The Great Central Railway (the remains of which still run out of Marylebone Station) was built to the continental loading gauge and afforded a direct link to Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Grimsby and Hull.  En-route the line served Rugby, Leicester, Nottingham, Bradford, Doncaster and Lincoln.  The short-sightedness of the infamous Dr. Beeching's recommendations  sounded the death knell for the GCR, finally succumbing in 1966.

And so it has come to pass that we taxpayers are now being asked to stump up an unknown sum of money in order to build a railway line which will initially take one to Birmingham, some 30 odd minutes quicker than is currently achievable.  In all honesty, who would want to hear  that awful Brummie accent  30 minutes earlier than you have to!

THE CONTINUOUS DESTRUCTION OF THE GREEN BELT

                             THE CONTINUOUS DESTRUCTION OF THE GREEN BELT

I noticed with dismay yet another set of brightly coloured hoardings around what was a lovely field, the advert on the hoardings proclaimed a new housing development, courtesy of Greedy Development Bastards PLC.   It exalted all of the benefits of purchasing one of their brand new houses, and they even had the gall to end the name of the development in "Meadows".  These were the meadows that were enjoyed by all before council planners' hands shook those of GDB PLC and council accountants rubbed their grubby little mitts at the thought of yet more revenue in the form of council tax swelling the authority coffers. And for whom are we providing the housing?   We certainly are not looking after local residents whose family lineage goes back years. It's all changed.   Social housing is more often than not the dumping ground for ne'er- do-wells and immigrants taking advantage of our very generous benefits and hospitality.

Locally, I understand that 520 houses have  been authorised for construction on fields in Worplesdon, hundreds more in Ash and over 700 in Normandy, which is a pretty little village, again, to be totally destroyed by these acts of over-development.   As I have said in the past, and will no doubt continue to do so for the rest of my life, we know the price of everything and the value of nothing.   Once that land is gone, there is no turning back.

SUPPORTING THE WORLD

                                                           SUPPORTING THE WORLD

It came as no surprise to learn that David (all things to all men) Cameron has graciously decided to donate £52 million to Syria in some form of aid - quite what, the BBC didn't specify.   This now brings the total support to £400 million.   We have water voles that need protecting, we have libraries that need saving, we have historic buildings falling down around our ears and we have a cultural lifestyle built up over many hundreds of years,  being destroyed by successive governments of all political colours.   Did he not consider that the money could  be better spent in this country?   I would love to have a Prime Minister who put this country first and announced on election that the first thing he or she was going to do would be to cut overseas aid to the square root of bugger all.   How on earth you ring fence money to others who have paid nothing to this country's lack of wealth is beyond me.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

                                                BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

I am extremely glad that the vote went against David Cameron in the House of Commons with regard to the Syrian situation.   I think everybody is slightly wary after the weapons of mass destruction debacle in Iraq a few years ago.  The effects of not getting your facts right have resonated for longer than the Americans would like.   I cannot understand why Mr. Cameron decided to have a vote before the results of the findings of the team seeking the origins of chemical warfare.

 Even if  the Assad regime is responsible, is it really down to an independent country, ie the USA, to use military strikes, however limited and  however free of footfall on the ground.   The whole concept seems to be a little loose to those trying to understand exactly what their limited strike actually means.   And you do have to be careful of what you wish for, because the outcome could be exactly the same as Iraq, Egypt and I have no doubt, Afghanistan, once allied forces have left the country.   Chaos, factions and a clear lack of leadership will be even more endemic in Syria and a great helping hand will have been given to Muslim extremists.   However awful war is, I really do think it is down to them to sort it out and I have to say, whatever everyone may think of Mr. Assad, you never see him without a tie!  And that counts quite heavily for us in Surrey .....

BACK ON BOARD

                                                                     BACK ON BOARD

The reason there has been no space to watch over the previous month has been down to two situations .  One was the complete demise of our PC, which got to the point where, having asked it to print at 4 pm, just one letter I'm talking about, it would then print at 4 o'clock in the morning.   My son-in-law, who is an avid supporter of AppleMac, told me that  what we needed to purchase was  an IMac.  The thought of visiting a computer shop fills me with dread, especially when the only AppleMac shop around is in Basingstoke - double dread!   I'm not good with shopping centres or shopping.

The other problem was that our physical location, ie beautiful downtown Ash Vale, is at the end of the cable run from the Aldershot exchange.   This means that our Broadband suffers continuously and whereas one would normally be able to type this in seconds, to get this far would have taken several days!   Many phone calls to India and two weeks of frustration later  I received a phone call from an extremely pleasant chap in Newcastle who had been advised that I was not a happy bunny and had noted that our computer had actually failed on no less than 500+ times in two  weeks.   Another engineer was sent and two days later a new hub arrived.   For those interested, it's a type 4 and is replacing our aged type 2.   Now I wasn't even aware that we had a type 2 or that it was ageing.

What impressed me was the fact that the extremely pleasant Georgie gave me an ex-directory number with my very own pin number in which to tap into their immediate service, without going via any sub-continent and an accent,  which to be fair,  was slightly more easy to understand than the Geordie!

So, all has come at once - armed with a PC that may not be working, but with Broadband that is, I made haste and good speed to Basingstoke shopping centre, where I managed to locate the AppleMac store.  There were tables with computers everywhere.   I eased my way past the excited throng of adults and children to the counter at the end of the store, which informed me that it was the "Genius Bar".  A young man who looked barely over the age of consent smiled and said, "Good morning, you look bewildered".  I told him that he was looking at the greatest fish which would ever be out of water.   I told him I wished to purchase an IMac, the only option according to my son-in-law, was whether I bought a 21" or 27" screen.  Very politely and  efficiently he escorted me to a table displaying both options and within a minute the sales rep appeared and for once, it was a pleasure not to be sold something I didn't want, but to be  informed what it did, which was basically to be turned on and work!   I must have made the quickest purchase they have ever had as I deduced that the 21" was the right screen size for me.   I am now minus £1100.   I made my way back home and the following day Tim, my son-in-law, came round and connected the new computer.   Hence why my wife has been able to type this in record time and get it posted before I leave to take a brewery tour at the Hog's Back  Brewery.

Tomorrow morning, the first of the month, I look forward to being able to contribute regular musings and jottings with the newly acquired toy and just hope BT is good to its word and that the type 4 hub will continue to give years of good service as will my wife at the keyboard!

WHAT HAVE BRUNEL AND McADAM IN COMMON?

                                WHAT HAVE BRUNEL AND McADAM IN COMMON?

I tell you what they have in common - they'd both be turning in their graves if they knew just how long the roadworks on the M25 were taking between Junctions 5 and 6.   They appear to be replacing the central barriers that separate north and south, or in that part of the world, east and west.    I have to travel that section quite frequently and the number of accidents that one finds oneself behind, the queues of which are hideously long and up to an hour to get through.   And what do you witness from your driver's window as you sit patiently, because that is what an Englishman does?  I tell you what you see.   Bugger all going on.  There's white cars with flashing lights, there are various high viz jackets with hard hats talking, but precious little work being done.   Are they on piece work?   Or is the contract spread out over so long a period so as to incur no penalty charges.   I cannot believe that the Victorians wouldn't have had this one sussed and repaired within an extremely short time span.   When you think that the Great Western Railway changed hundreds of miles of broad gauge track to standard gauge over one weekend it makes you extremely depressed at the lack of progress we've made since those great innovators of engineering were around.

WHY CAN'T MY COMPUTER BE NORMAL?

                                          WHY CAN'T MY COMPUTER BE NORMAL?

We're going to have to do something about this computer.   It is now taking up to 20 minutes just for the cursor to react to a command from yours truly - well, not actually yours truly as my wife is typing this.  As you know, I am completely computer illiterate, so I dictate from the sidelines whilst my wife types, but as she says, you've been dictating for the last 40 years, so why stop now!   Even as she is typing this a box keeps appearing in the corner and the cursor springs to life in top left-hand side of the screen and you have to close the box before you can return to what you are doing - why?

The other day I asked it to print a letter, nothing complicated, just a letter.   This action should have taken (sorry, just had to stop to delete a previous e-mail  we have just sent which suddenly appeared in this sentence!) place immediately at 4.15 pm.   Despite making grunting noises and lulling me into a false sense of security that something was actually going to happen, nothing was forthcoming in the printer tray.  At 2 am I was awoken to the sound of the printer bursting into life and going through the machinations of my one letter, plus 20 forms I had asked it to print the day before!

I wasn't aware that computers were dyslexic either.   On Thursday of last week I had to travel to Aldington in Kent, so I typed in - or rather my wife typed in - Aldington Village Hall, Kent.   It came up with Adlington Village Hall.   Yes, our spelling was right, but its interpretation wasn't.   The problem is that nowadays I don't know what to replace it with as you can't trust anyone at PCWorld or at Curry's not to sell you a machine they get the greatest commission on.   If I sound cynical it's just that I live in England and expect poor service.

WINIFRED ROBINSON

                                                             WINIFRED ROBINSON

For those officiandos of that flagship broadcasting station Radio 4, I wonder how other listeners respond to the delightful intonations of the presenter Winifred Robinson.   I listen to her on "You and Yours" during the week as I travel around the south-east of England and there's something about her voice that really captivates me.   There is a dream-like quality which emanates from her voice and even the fact that she pronounces  the word "says" as "saze" is completely forgiven.   In fact, I have sat parked in a layby having munched my lunch and been totally consumed, to the point of being comatose.   I am of the opinion that  no-one need attend relaxation or stress busting classes - just listen from 12 noon to 1 pm on the days she presents, and the world will seem a much softer, peaceful and ethereal place.

COMMON IS AS COMMON DOES

                                                    COMMON IS AS COMMON DOES

I was just departing from a talk I gave  yesterday on the Surrey/SW London border and I happened to stop behind a car at a roundabout.   It was one of the very early Mondeos, more of a blancmange mould than a car.   Not only did it sport a personalised number plate, but it also had a slogan on the offside rear bumper, which read "I'm driving fast cos I need a poo!"   Can you imagine anyone in their wildest dreams having that on the rear bumper?   It was interesting to note that on the two occasions he turned left in front of me, there was no sign of an indicator being used.   As you know, in my book, if you have money to spend on a personalised plate then you should give it to a donkey sanctuary.  I t beggars belief that anyone could derive pleasure from having a number plate on their car just to say "look at me".   The most dreadful and heinous part of this whole encounter was that there was a total lack of an apostrophe in front of the abbreviation "cos".  I just hope that the driver stayed within the south London side of the Surrey border.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE

                                                                 IT'S BEEN A WHILE

My apologies for not having scribed recently but we've been busy clearing out my mother's house and getting it prepared for rental.  With a house that looks the same now as it did in 1981 when it was built, except slightly tired, there was quite a bit to do and it's surprising how one thing leads to another.   We were just going to decorate until we walked into the kitchen and realised that the lino really did need replacing before one could let it out.   We then looked at the brushed orange cupboards on the wall and realised that brushed orange is not a colour to attract a tenant.   So the cupboards have to go, along with the worktop and the base units.   You then realise that, in fact, it's easier just to completely gut the kitchen and instal new units, along with an oven, fridge and freezer.   Thankfully the boiler is only 2 years old, so that shouldn't need replacing - yet.   Fortunately, the bathroom isn't in avocado, though dusty pink it is still very eighties but at least it's clean.   My parents had carpet in the bathroom so that needs replacing.  The rest only need cleaning.   Being a landlord for the first time in my life, I also need to get an electrical somebody and a gas somebody to check over the systems and give me a certificate confirming that I haven't failed any EU dictat or extended British version.   So we look forward to that.   It's a bit like going into the Post Office as one used to do, with all your paperwork to enable you to re-tax the car.   It was always such a challenge remembering everything and such joy when they accepted your cheque and handed over your new disc.   But that was when we had Post Offices.

The other reason, of course, why I haven't been typing too much is that the computer has been buggered for the last few weeks.   It now appears to be only semi-buggered.   It seems to do what it wants to when it wants to and not what you want it to, when you want it to.   I've come to the conclusion that my computer is female.   Coincidentally, my wife, who is as always typing this, has come to the conclusion that it is male for exactly the same reasons! 

GERMANY CALLING

                                                             GERMANY CALLING

The full title of this comment should be "Germany Calling The Shots".   I see they have now come to an arrangement over the Cyprus financial situation which means that the poor people will not be losing all of their savings.   Did the powers that be at the European Central Bank and those in the political corridors not understand for a moment that there would be repercussions from the general public when confronted with their savings being taxed, irrespective of the percentage to be levied?    The fact that they obviously didn't expect resistance and thought  the Cypriot people would  just roll over and hand over their money is incredible and shows just how out of touch with the general public those who live in Euro towers tend to be.   It does not bode well when a bank spokesman comments  that this could be the model to be used for all other bail-outs.   We have used the term "thin end of wedges" previously in both blog and books but they never stop coming.   Before the Euro zone was inaugurated, countries never became bankrupt.  Somehow they seemed to pay their way.  A European central bank with common currency seems to be an ill thought  concept for political reasons, but reasons that are very conducive to German dominance.   As I said before, it's interesting to note that Germany is now running Europe without setting foot or firing a shot in Poland first.

COMIC RELIEF? MORE LIKE COMIC STRESS!

                                   COMIC RELIEF?  MORE LIKE COMIC STRESS

It has now become a quest, attempting to avoid Red Nose Day and everything that goes with it.  As those of you who know me will be only too well aware, I am not miserable by nature but I do find the substandard comedy, the improvisation and the hideous attempts to sit for six hours in a bath full of baked beans, all slightly unedifying.

I never thought I would have anything in common with Germaine Greer but I am reminded that she appeared on Room 101 a little while ago and attempted to send charity organisations to the bin.  To be fair, it wasn't charities per se, but their attempts at raising money.  I am in total agreement with her.  The idea of jogging up 20 mountains, travelling by pogo stick from John o'Groats to Lands End and generally being an embarrassment to those you hope will sponsor you just fills me with dread.  As she said, why not just send a cheque to the appropriate charity and get it over with?  Last night was not conducive to tuning in to BBC 1.  Luckily, there was an extremely interesting programme on George Mallory and Everest on BBC 2.  I can't remember him being sponsored by  Red Noses  in the mid-1920s.  He just donned gaberdine attire and hobnail boots - a proper person! 

The only contact I had with Red Nose Day yesterday  was due to my fruitless attempt to find the car park entrance to Waitrose in Cobham, Surrey.  With a desire to consume an Indian meal once home, I continued my journey to Sainsbury's where I was greeted by some complete oaf donning a red nose and a t-shirt, expecting shoppers arriving to donate to his cause.  I gave him a wide berth.  It didn't end there, of course, as every member of staff was wearing red.  Have just made a note in the diary not to visit Sainsbury's on Red Nose Day next year.  Can somebody please send me a bucket of sand and I will willingly bury my head in it.

SMOKE SIGNALS

                                                                 SMOKE SIGNALS

Can someone please tell me why the election of a new head of a religious sect should be given such a large amount of  air time and printed space in the media.  Unless one is an unquestioning follower with sheep-like tendencies, I cannot fathom who would be interested in a group of people whose record on human rights, equality and child care is to say the least inadequate.  

To view television pictures of the masses in Italy awaiting the right coloured  plume of smoke gives one a slightly wry smile as to the total inadequacy of those involved.  They really should stay home more.

BEWARE OF GREEKS BEARING GRUDGES

                                     BEWARE OF GREEKS BEARING GRUDGES

So, both senior members of the Huhne family have been found guilty of various crimes - and all to save the male of the specie from incurring a penalty worse than points on his licence - a ban!  Mr. Huhne already had nine points for speeding offences.  Does that not show the total disregard he appears to have for a law that is appropriate for everyone else and the total arrogance of a man seamlessly climbing his way up a very greasy pole.

Found guilty by a jury, Vicky Price will also pay a hefty penalty for her involvement in the cover-up.  What can be better than the prospect and satisfaction of knowing they could both be behind bars come the summer.  I'll not be visiting myself!

EASTLEIGH BY-ELECTION

                                                      EASTLEIGH BY-ELECTION

What strange coves the voting public are.  I honestly didn't expect the Liberal Democrats to retain Eastleigh constituency.  I am aware that the election only came about because of the downfall of its MP and we are mid-term and governments are never very popular at this time, but how on earth did so many people come to the conclusion that a Lib-Dem candidate was the candidate for them?  It beggars belief that anyone would vote for a party that is only in government by default.  It is without doubt the most 'fence-sitting, namby-pamby, let them all come to our shores and settle here party' I have ever had the misfortune to witness.  Heaven help this country from a full Lib-Dem government.  As a speaker on Radio 4 put it very succinctly, two thirds of the electorate voted for right of centre parties and once again, the left of centre party got pride of place at the finishing post.  What a pity a few more people didn't vote with confidence and put their cross against the UKIP candidate.  For David Cameron to comment that it is a typical mid-term blip and the UKIP was once again a protest vote, shows a great deal of arrogance and little real comprehension that the public is frustrated beyond belief at the Conservatives' inability to really tackle Europe and immigration.

THE THIN END OF A VERY THICK WEDGE

                                       THE THIN END OF A VERY THICK WEDGE

I note with dismay but not a little surprise that the Malaysian owners of Cardiff City Football Club are to tamper with its history once more.  Having already changed the nickname of Cardiff City Football Club from The Bluebirds to The Dragons and their playing strip from the traditional blue to red, they now have the audacity to propose a change in the very name of the club.  

For the whole of my lifetime it has been Cardiff City Football Club but apparently, should they gain promotion to the Premier League, their owner has suggested the name Cardiff Dragons, which sounds as if they should be in a rugby league or rugby union division instead of football.   It smacks of everything I dislike in the modern game where tradition counts for nothing, but then with so many foreign owners of football clubs, is it really the tradition they are interested in, or the money to be engendered from the selling of a 'brand'.  It is the word 'brand' that the owner used to describe Cardiff City Football Club.

I really do hope they do not succeed in gaining promotion and was extremely glad that Middlesbrough won yesterday by two goals to one.   I've read of supporter dissent but  this is where they really have to stand up and be counted, because if the club is allowed to change its name it opens up the floodgates for other clubs to do likewise, with perhaps the sponsoring name of the club coming after the town in which the football team evolved.   Will we see some dreadful concoctions such as  Manchester Toshiba or Chelsea Sony, although strangely enough Waitrose Reading doesn't sound quite so bad...

I DO OR I DON'T!

                                                                

                                                                     I DO OR I DON'T!

It never ceases to amaze me that anyone who possesses a view that maybe at odds with the "politically correct" is denounced out of hand, without thought that their opinion is theirs to freely express.  I was under the impression that that was the society we lived under, one where freedom of speech was the very foundation of our democracy.

David Jones, the Conservative MP and Welsh Minister, stated that whilst he is not opposed to same sex partners adopting children, he feels that as they cannot biologically procreate children themselves, the institution of marriage is one that should be reserved for opposite sex partners.  Can anyone tell me what is wrong with that?  It's his opinion and why he voted against the recently debated same sex marriage laws.  His opposite number in the Labour Party, Shadow Welsh Secretary, Owen Smith, stated that "David Jones's comments are profoundly offensive and he should apologise immediately".  Why?  As I said just now, it's his opinion.  If he didn't stand up for his beliefs what is the point of him being an MP.  We have few enough of them who are prepared to stand up and be counted, the majority pander to the minorities as it is,  and someone who stands up for what they believe in should be applauded.

Frankly, if I was an MP I too would have voted against them, but then, I am not as liberal as Mr. David Jones and am totally against same sex couples being able to adopt a child.  I am firmly of the opinion that all children deserve a mummy bear and a daddy bear.  Please don't tell me it's natural to be brought up with either two mummies or two daddies, because it ain't!

BEEF, HORSE, KANGAROO... BADGER?

                                           

                                          BEEF,  HORSE,  KANGAROO... BADGER?

Why is it that I happily consume pork, lamb, beef and venison, but shy away from kangaroo and horsemeat.  I mention kangaroo because it was on a local pub's menu recently.  I'm not sure whether it was seeing the 'roo'  in my mind's eye and thinking 'Aaaaah', or whether it was the thought of the poor animal being carted half way across the world in order to satisfy a publican's ego.  Actually, I think it was my preference for  meat to be obtained as locally as possible.

Most of our meat is purchased from Farmer's Choice who deliver frozen traceable cuts and we also buy fresh meat from our local butcher.  We  occasionally buy meat from Morrisons because they have their own abattoirs, and from Waitrose, because I have faith in their ethics.  I do hope that faith is not misplaced.  Those who know me will be only too well aware that I will not touch ASDA now that it is American owned, Lidl or Aldi (equally foreign owned) and I wouldn't soil my shoes on Tesco's doorstep. Up until now it has always been my contempt of their ability to build wherever and whenever they like. They appear to run rough-shod over weak and inept planners and planning regulations.  There is an arrogance that I find most distasteful about the company.

It is therefore with great delight that I follow the latest twists and turns concerning the horsemeat debacle. I really do hope  this issue encourages more consumers to buy British traceable meat slaughtered as locally as possible.  It should be our farmers' future, not  the future of the French or Romanians!

WHEN EQUALITY IS NOT QUITE SO EQUAL

                                       

                                      WHEN EQUALITY IS NOT QUITE SO EQUAL

Can someone please tell me why a criminal who attempts to smuggle five-and-a-half pounds of cocaine into this country is allowed to wheel free from prison after only a few brief months?  His sentence was three-and-a half years, so why isn't he being made to serve his very just reward?  Well, a disability helps no end.  Add a vociferous mother and a group of banner-waving supporters and any government minister will succumb.
It's all very well chiming on that Mr. Daniel Roque Hall is not a well man, but should he not have thought about the consequences of imprisonment if caught?  With a street value of £370,000 surely he wasn't expecting to be given the Queen's Award for Industry!  His mother stated that he'd been through a major ordeal!  What kind of ordeal?  Finding out that concealment of drugs in a wheelchair is not an Olympic sport?  A crime is a crime whether you are able bodied or disabled and no difference in sentence should be applied.

A SMILE FROM EAR TO EAR

                                                       

                                                        A SMILE FROM EAR TO EAR

I have been following the slow-burning story of Chris Huhne's speeding case over the past couple of years with not a little relish.  Always hopeful that he would eventually be found guilty of being the actual driver, as well as any other associated crimes, my delight at the outcome is on a par with the moment that Gordon Brown described that lady voter as a 'Bigot'.  Sadly for Mr Huhne his whole personna is there for all to see - and hear!  Cold, calculating, arrogant and driven - something I suspect he wishes had happened that fateful day.  One cannot speak more lowly of a man who 'asks' his wife to  take his punishment for him. 

Other than his immediate family and those very close to him, one will never know exactly what sort of people they are, or as a couple, were.  But having seen his wife being interviewed, she sadly seems to be in the same mould.  There is a smugness.  Was she like that before she met him, or did it come from marrying somebody who appears to be extremely domineering and his idea of success is to be at the top of politics as well as a business life.  Right.  Let's put this file to bed until the sentence is announced - oh, joy!

THE PRICE PAID FOR A PRACTICAL JOKE

                                        

                                    THE PRICE PAID FOR A PRACTICAL JOKE

I read that the Australian radio presenters responsible for the hoax hospital telephone call have had their show axed, although they continue to be employed by the radio station.  Is this not very unfair?  It wasn't their fault that a somewhat naive nurse believed she was taking a call from our Monarch concerning the well-being of her grand-daughter!  It wasn't their fault that the nurse slipped into an apparent slough of despond and decided that the only option was to take her own life as a result of it all.  You never saw victims of  'Beadles About' committing suicide after every episode did you.  Not only were we more resilient, more rounded back then, but we were British with a sense of humour to match!

PUNISH AND BE DAMNED!

                                                      

                                                      PUNISH AND BE DAMNED

I read with some degree of interest that a British lady has been found guilty of bringing illegal drugs into Bali and sentenced to death by a firing squad.  The fact that the powers that be wish to make an example of her is to be applauded.  What a pity the British government's reaction is to comment that they do not support the death penalty.  It has nothing to do with us, or our principles - or lack of them.  It is about a regime attempting to stop their youngsters falling into the same abyss that thousands of British teenagers have during decades of lax control and inadequate punishment.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE....

                                                          

                                                          IT'S BEEN A WHILE....

Whatever happened to the last six months?  On reflection, I think we can regard the first blog as a pilot, and work on the principle that the series proper has now commenced.