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!