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 .....