But as for 'poor Mary' .. not a trace of her to be found .. and that was before the political and judicial flack started.

  There could be Zombies living next door ! 

Heck, you could be one ! !

'Zombie borrowers' is the term is used to describe people who are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments but are able to stay in their homes only thanks to low interest rates and leeway from their lenders. A return to 'normal' interest rates would mean re-payments which they are unable to meet.

The report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research warns that there could be more of them (!) since at least 800,000 of all mortgages are already subject to ‘forbearance’ (which means the owner has either been late or has missed a payment) .. many of whom would lose their homes if interest rates were to rise or banks decided to 'clean-up' their balance sheets.

‘A significant number of households are already in quite a difficult situation.’
Angus Armstrong - director of economic research - NIESR

And, of course, a flood of evictions would mean more properties on the market and average house-prices falling .. and District Councils having to find and fund emergency (but long-term) housing for the dispossessed.

The fall in house prices has also plunged soaring numbers of homeowners into negative equity - where their re-payments are geared to an out-of-date property price.
Many took out interest only re-payment plans linked to a with-profits insurance policy which was projected to fund the capital cost of the house at the termination. The fall in interest rates and the partial collapse of stock-market prices mean that the final dividend will not be enough to pay for the house. 

How will YOU bridge the gap ? 
Take out a further (with interest & capital re-payment) loan ?
Keep working and re-paying well past your planned retirement date ?
Sell .. and have to down-size .. and leave Wyre Forest ? 
Be re-posessed .. and walk-away with a (small) check for the balance / or even an invoice for what you still owe ?

The financial crisis has cost British families around £30,000 per household.

But by far the biggest victims are the pensioners who have seen the capital value of their homes and their savings income plummet. 
Household wealth in the UK is now £787billion lower than it was at the end of 2007 - devalued because of the £1,000billion of taxpayers’ money which was used to prop up the banks at the worst point of the financial crisis.

The report says output will not return to its pre-recession levels until the second quarter of 2014, 6½ years after the slump started - the longest downturn since records began.

WHO would have thought it ?

2006 .. "Those were the days, my friend, 
                   We thought they'd ne-ver end ..
                            We sang and danced ..
             Oh yes .. those were the days."

[The Russian song  'Дорогой длинною': "Dorogoi dlinnoyu" / "By the long road": music by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) to words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. English lyrics by Gene Raskin]

We know how to queue .. we're British ! 

Heathrow		Gatwick		Liverpool

UKBA - the United Kingdom Border Agency - the body tasked with "homeland protection" within the UK - has a budget of £524 million this year – up £36 million on the previous year.

But it spends £391 million of that on 'asylum support' - accommodation and payments to asylum seekers (until their cases are decided refugees get furnished, rent-free accommodation with bills covered by taxpayer and cash payments, amounting to £72.52 a week for a couple, £35.62 for a single adult and £52.96 for an under-16).

Then they also spend £26 million a year on administration, £23 million a year on human resources, £13 million on “policy and strategy” and £4 million on communications.

Let's 'do the maths' - 26 + 23 + 13 + 4 = £66 + £391 = £457m: leaving just £67,000,000 to do the job we're expecting them to do.

Does that buy us security at our frontiers ? NO

Alongside the 3 hours queues (sometimes longer than the flight itself) .. queues which magically disappeared last week when Damian Green, the immigration minister, visited Heathrow for a photocall and staff were ordered to “drop everything” and “fill the desks” to empty the hall of waiting passengers .. come claims that anti-smuggling activities have been shelved in order to meet targets on waiting times.

"We have actually ceased doing [anti-smuggling operations] at the moment, even though they won't say they have. Word has already got around to criminal enterprises. Heathrow could be described as having 'no border controls' when it comes to smuggling drugs or arms."
A senior official at Heathrow - quoted in The Observer.

Paul O'Connor, Home Office national manager for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), representing 6,000 border staff, claimed members believed operational cutbacks were leading to an increase in small-scale drug-smuggling into Britain.

"Organised crime networks will only be too well aware of this and, if they can recruit couriers, will be having a field day."
Chris Hobbs, a former Metropolitan police officer who worked with border control at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Last year, relaxing passport controls cost Brodie Clark (the previous head of the border checks) his job.

This year, Dave has ordered his Home Secretary, Theresa May, to downgraded checks by the end of this month. How long will she / should she remain in post ?

IT'S ALL SO VERY RE-ASSURING

"Crikey .. not another four years of having to act the buffoon ?"

Credits his rival with helping him win
~ 'Thanks Ken'

What an exciting time they had in London with the Mayoral election.

• Boris and Ken's "..****-ing liar" confrontation in a lift (always a difficult scenario to extract yourself from)
• Livingstone called Michael Gove “a fervent Zionist” and “Islamophobe” (Sophie Hobson interview for ‘London Loves Business’)
• Fist-i-cuffs at a polling station
• The Alexandra Palace vote-counting centre suffering a power-cut during the counting process
• An automated machine mal-functioning and "eating" the papers it was counting - meaning that everything it had processed had to be checked again, manually
• Trouble finding two 'mislaid' batches of ballot papers in the Brent and Harrow constituency which had been "put into storage" - before being counted (crafty one, that !)

The 'London Elects' spokesman explained what happened at Brent and Harrow, "All batches of ballot papers were registered and scanned. Two batches went to storage without some ballot papers being manually entered, as required. The issue was identified during the verification stage and these two batches are being re-processed."
Details on the organisers' website appeared to show the number of verified votes going backwards at this period .. but a spokesman insisted that the problem was not down to the electronic scanners used to count papers.

• Boris won 1,054,811 first and second preference votes 
  (* after first and second preferences were added)
• Ken finished 62,000 votes behind with 992,273 
  (* after first and second preferences were added)
• Winning margin 51.5% to 48.5%
• Green party candidate Jenny Jones finishes 3rd (98,913) .. ahead of Lib Dem Brian Paddick (91,774).
• Independent Siobhan Benita attracted 83,914 votes .. ahead of UKIP - Lawrence Webb - 43,274
• BNP candidate Carlos Cortiglia revealed that 28,751 idiots are living in the Capital
• Boris loses two allies; 
  deputy Mayor Richard Barnes and 
  fire chief Brian Coleman

Ken, fighting back the tears as he watches his own 'promo' video
in which selected Labour supporters represented 'ordinary Londoners'

Ken Livingstone announced he would not stand again .. after a defeat which included acrimonious texting targeting the Jewish community - who had been accused by Livingstone's supporters of being "too wealthy" to vote for him!
Stephen Pollard, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, wrote "Let's see Boris' majority, but it looks like it could be Jewish vote that won it for him ! We're proud @ JewishChron played its part in exposing Ken !"

The Capital's papers carry the headline_ 

So Ken, ..
how did that 'wealthy Jews' thing work out for you?

The Two Faces of (Keith) Rupert Murdoch

Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG (born 11 March 1931)
Founder, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation
the world's second-largest media conglomerate
Companion of the Order of Australia (2nd rank)
Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (3rd rank)

Nota Bene; we did NOT say that he was two-faced

Said to have "the common touch".. particularly fond of 'The Sun'		Born in Melbourne, the privilaged only son of Sir Keith Murdoch - wealthy newspaper tycoon
His father (Keith) was a protégé of Lord Northcliffe - dubbed 'Lord Southgate'		His father set him the example of aggressively acquiring the 'Melbourne Herald' - then taking over 'The Sun'
Has thrown his support behind the  Labour Party		Has thrown his support behind the Conservative Party
Described the day at the committee as "the most humble day of my life".		Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers says evidence suggested a "culture of illegal payments" while he was boss
Parliamentary Report:		His response
Mr. Murdoch exhibited "willful blindness" to what was going on at News Corp.		The report findings were "hard to read"
Branded 'unfit to be in charge of News Corporation'.		Some of the comments were "unjustified and highly partisan".
Regulator Ofcom is considering whether satellite broadcaster BSkyB is "fit and proper" to hold a broadcasting license - given that News Corp holds a controlling stake.		'Proud that News Corp had worked to put things right.'

So, in the words of the song .. "Should he stay or should he go .. ?"

Well, with a personal net worth of US$ 8.3 billion (ranked 106th wealthiest person in the world - March 2012) - and ranked 13th most powerful person in the world in the 2010 [Times 100] - he might quote Catherine Tate's character Lauren ..
                                                 "Am I bovvered ?"

And with BSkyB's operating profit for the nine months to the end of March coming-in at £939m, up 25% from the same period last year, shareholders (Newscorp own 39%) aren't going to be bothered.

And with BSkyB's UK subscriber figures up 78,000 to 10.5M, the great British public doesn't seem too bothered, either.

So, let us quote the words of Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) from the film 'Pretty Woman' .. the restaurant scene .. where a stray escargot goes a-stray .. and is deftly caught by a waiter .. "Slippery little sucker !"
Quite right, Miss Vivian.

Tory / Lib Dem ‘posh boys’ ..  

"Never have politicians been so shamefully detached 
from the real lives of voters .."

This week's Hansard Society poll shows increasing disengagement from politics - more than at any time in the past decade.

• Only 42 per cent claimed to be interested in politics
• Only 24 per cent thought the Coalition was working
          .. that's just a quarter of those interested enough to reply !

'They have no understanding of the lives of others'
Nadine Vanessa Dorries (née Bargery, born 21 May 1957) 
Con MP for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005

Cameron & Clegg defending Jeremy Hunt

Why this madness in our 'leaders' ?

Clegg’s desire for reform of the House of Lords (hardly a pressing issue) has been described as "gratuitous, narcissistic and ignorant" .. and Cameron's desperation to retain power and, consequently the necessity of keeping Clegg 'happy', force him to sit idly by while 'the spoilt child of politics' stamps and shouts until he has his own way.

I ask you .. property prices fall, unemployment pervades, 'double-dip' recession escalates - and Clegg wants to reform the House of Lords !

And Cameron is in such a weak condition - control-wise - that he has to pander to his deputy's desires.
Bear this in mind when you come to vote !

Anyway, things could be worse .. we could be Londoners .. 
and having to chose between Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson 

(described as 'two self-serving clowns').

Gordon Brown (remember him ?) 
 is about to turn the heat up ! 

Bob. Peck  (1945-99)
Considered "the actor I learned the most from" - Sir Ian McKellen

What haven't we heard much about recently ?    "Global Warming"

Why ?                                                                      Because it's stopped !

New figures published by Environment Minister Gregory Barker reveal that world temperatures have remained almost stagnant in the last two decades, rising by just 0.29 degrees C (less than one third of a degree) above the average of 14 degrees Celsius of the last 30 years (recorded between 1961 and 1990).

Greg. Barker  Con. MP Bexhill & Battle

Despite all alarmist theories, temperatures have barely risen in the past 20 years.

Yet we are about to face great environmental change - change brought about NOT by "global warming" - but by the previous Labour government who have set in place a whole raft of environment policies, and all in the name of "climate change".

Labour's ‘green’ policies have already raised YOUR current energy bills by £78, annually - and will cost families an extra £267 a year by 2030.

Still time for the Green Party to change its mind (and no jokes about 'Does it have one ?')

James Ephraim Lovelock, CH, CBE, FRS (born 26 July 1919) 
independent scientist, environmentalist and futurologist living in Devon,
best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis
which postulates that the biosphere is a self-regulating entity with the capacity 
to keep our planet healthy by controlling the chemical and physical environment
(remember 'Edge of Darkness' ?)

Environmental guru and 'maverick scientist' James Lovelock, responsible for such fantastic claims as "billions would die before the end of this century and only the Arctic would be fit for human habitation" has admitted that he may have been ‘alarmist’.

"The problem is we don’t know what the climate is doing. 
We thought we knew 20 years ago. 
That led to some alarmist books – mine included – because it looked clear-cut, but it hasn’t happened. The climate is doing its usual tricks. There’s nothing much really happening yet. We were supposed to be halfway toward a frying world now. The world has not warmed up very much since the millennium. 
Twelve years is a reasonable time… it (the temperature) has stayed almost constant, whereas it should have been rising.’"

Now he's writing a new book in which he will say climate change could still be happening, but we just can't tell if it is.

His best-selling (is that a clue ?) trilogy is_ 
  'Revenge of Gaia': 
  'Why the Earth Is Fighting Back – and How We Can Still Save Humanity' 
and now .. 
  'The Vanishing Face of Gaia'.

Published by Allen Lane: £20
'Available at all good bookstalls'
_______________________________

Boat Race 'scuppered' 
 by a former Rower ! 

And he sure knows all about elitism .. from the inside !

"You'll wonder where the Yellow went
when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent !"

Pepsodent ad. featuring Fashion Stylist Nancy Ruhl - Vintage 1948

David Cameron's father, Ian, died in 2010 aged 77, being survived by his wife Mary Fleur Cameron.
Ian was a city stockbroker who began setting up investment funds in 1979 after Margaret Thatcher abolished capital controls, so making it legal to take any sum of money out of the country without it being taxed.
He then became chairman of Close International Asset management, a company based 'off-shore' in Jersey

*Blairmore Holdings is named after the Cameron's ancestral home in Aberdeenshire. Blairmore House, next to Boghead, was built as a private home in 1884 for Alexander Geddes, a wealthy businessman and great-great grandfather of our Prime Minister. 
Ian Donald Cameron, was born there in 1932.

Dave was a 16-year-old pupil at Eton, in 1982, when these companies were formed.

Ian Cameron's wealth was once calculated at £10,000,000.
The Guardian newspaper reported that, when he died in 2010, he left a fortune of £2,740,000.
Dave received a personal legacy of £300,000.

Perhaps our MP will have a word with his Head Boy ? 

So there you have it .. in the judge's own words ..

Trying to make a "fairer society" through decisions and policies arrived at by an open and transparent collation of peoples' experiences .. IS ILLEGAL.

Peter Kerridge
Chief Executive, Premier Christian Radio.
                       ________________________________________________

For those who might wish to live vicariously and possibly listen to material that the Government, the Courts and commercial industry wish to ban, Premier Christian Radio can be heard on-line at http://www.premierradio.org.uk/ 

For those who want to live 'dangerously' and promote a "fairer society", you can taste the freedom of Premier Christian Television at http://www.premier.tv/ 

Enjoy .. but don't tell anybody that we told you .. we're living in Dave's version of a 'totalitarian' state.

Mark Garnier condemns George Osborne 

Our MP calls the Chancellor's Policy "..extremely lax"

MPs have only just started calling for the Bank of England to award compensation to the millions of thrifty pensioners who have had their retirement plans shattered.

A report from the Treasury Select Committee calls for an urgent lifeline must be thrown to those hurt by Quantative Easing .. PENSIONERS .. and those dependent on capital investments for their income.

Wikiquote: "In Westminster, Garnier serves on the Treasury Select Committee"

So, Mark ..   HOW MUCH compensation ?
                     WHEN will pensioners receive it ?
                     HOW LONG before your Chancellor reverses this ..
                              ..  'extremely lax monetary policy’ (YOUR words, .. not mine)

This "..'damning report' lays bare the crippling impact on the recently retired and savers of the Bank’s decision to pump £325billion into the economy .." according to national newspapers.
"Older people have become the sacrificial lambs of the Bank's (and the Government's) 'emergency rescue policy'."

The aim of QE has been to keep interest rates low in order to to boost economic growth, prevent a wave of mortgage repossessions and pump money into the flagging economy. Those able to afford a holiday abroad will have realised just how much the £ has de-valued on the world market. The $ now trades at $1.56 to the £ .. as opposed to $2.10 
[Do any of you remember the 'Half Crown' coin (2/6d) being called "Half a Dollar" = a rate of $4 to £1 . ?]

Pensions took a major hit when the Bank pumped £325billion into the economy three years ago.
The committee states_

• We recommend that the Government consider whether there are any measures that should be taken to mitigate the re-distributional effects of QE
• Ministers should ‘consult’ on any help - such as compensation - that could be given at the time of the Autumn Statement, expected in November
• The Bank should publish its estimate of ‘the overall benefit and loss to pensioners and savers’ from QE

"There is precious little evidence that QE is actually working to boost the economy .. but there damning evidence that it is having a dreadful impact on pensions funds, pensions, and pensioners."
Dr. Ros Altmann, director general of Saga
"In 1990, the average annuity rate for a 65-year-old man was an annual return of 16 per cent of his pension 'pot'. Today it is just 6 per cent."

The Bank’s deputy governor Paul Tucker says he has ‘great sympathy’ for savers .. other than that, the Bank declined to comment.

"Gee .. thanks a bundle, Paul"

A Professor states the ****din' obvious

Prof. Keogh has ordered Hospitals to end the “obviously unacceptable” practice of sending vulnerable patients home in the middle of the night, demanding that all hospitals review how they discharge patients and explain what action they are taking .. by next month.

"Hospital boards must 'take ownership' of this issue” Sir Bruce says, in words worthy of Sir Humphrey Appleby GCB, KBE, MVO, MA (Oxon).

Revelations by The Times reveal elderly patients are among thousands being sent discharged in the middle of the night and left to make their way home by themselves, in order to 'free up' beds.
"It is unacceptable to send people home when they may have no family support"

Well, OF COURSE IT IS. 
You don't need to be a "Medical Director" or a 
"Prime Minister" to know THAT. 
So why do it ?

'King' Alex glows salmon-pink

In an article which ought to have Alex Salmond wriggling and squirming like a Spey-side fish on the angler's fly, The Economist had a really good 'go' at Scotland, this week.

While pointing-out Scotland's less-than-healthy future outside of The Union ..

• Scots will become 'one of Europe's most vulnerable, marginal economies' if they vote for independence in the 2014 referendum

• Scotland's North Sea oil will start to dry up in the next decade

• The borrowing costs of a small nation will be much higher

• Entry to the European Union will not be automatic

• Scotland would be far more vulnerable to shocks as a nation of just five million people 
  (Yes, that's how few there are - less than live in the Black Country / West Midlands)

They accompany their text with a map .. feel free to print this out and add their witty rejoindres .. 

and all part of 'Skint-land'

My. those guys at 'The Economist' can really 'stick-it' at politicians when they give it a try .. I'll bet the Chardonnay was flowing that lunchtime while they were thinking those up ..

I wonder what might be said about our local politicians .. just wait until the 'Offie' opens and we get our hands on a bottle of Pinot Grigio .. .. ?

  A Homily for Good Friday

Contrast David Cameron’s sterling words promising "a ‘Christian fightback’ against attempts to ban the wearing of crosses and crucifixes."
"The values of Christianity are the values that we need." 

"The Prime Minister has made it clear that his view is that people should be able to wear crosses."
Downing Street spokesman

.. and the words and actions of Lib-Dem 'Equalities' Minister Lynne Featherstone (and approved by Home Secretary Theresa May) in a statement to European human rights judges saying that "Christians have no right to wear a cross at work and that any Christian who does not like it should find another job."

"Christians must be content to keep their religion for their own time."
Home Office

In his Easter Sunday sermon, Cardinal Keith O'Brien referred to remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 that Christians "need to be free to act in accordance with their own principles".
Britain's most senior Roman Catholic Church cleric told worshippers to wear a cross every day.

"Wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ" each day of their lives."

As the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, he voiced concern at the growing "marginalisation" of religion - as a case goes to the European Court of Human Rights to allow employees to wear crosses.

  Although they are required to accept an oath sworn .. on the Bible .. to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so help me God" Lord Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury 1991 / 2002, blames judges for treating some worshippers as "bigots - so he says in a written submission to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)

Christians are being "vilified" by British courts and "driven underground", he said.

The criticism is part of an appeal to Strasbourg judges to protect religious freedom ahead of a landmark case.

In his submission, he says the "the State and Courts... not parliament" are destroying the legal right to freedom of religion by insisting on stringent readings of equality law.

Galloway's Campaign (and not the man himself)
a potential game-changer in British politics ?

'Gorgeous George' Galloway won because young Bradford Muslims turned out for him in droves - not because he was promising them better public services, nor because of any British domestic issues - but because (like many a demagogue before him) he tailored his message to appeal to their religious passions and prejudices - in particular, about conflicts abroad.

Declaring that his victory would help satisfy voters’ religious ‘duty’ to care about such grievances, he campaigned against the wars in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and the conflict in Palestine.

‘All praise to Allah!’ was his victory-salute at the count .. not words we have heard in The Glades (and may never again) .. echoing campaign slogans such as_
‘God knows who is a Muslim’ and 
'If people don’t vote for me, Allah will want to know why'.

Now that both his 'pals' - Gaddafi and Hussain have been eradicated - he proclaims Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad as ‘the last Arab ruler’.

Many .. perhaps most, of the Muslim community will be as appalled as anyone by this playing to the extremist gallery - and there are many serving in the UK’s Armed Forces who will doubtless be horrified by such cynical support for Iran or the Taliban - but, among young Muslims radicalisation has reached such levels and has turned so many away from mainstream politics that, in future elections, there is a real risk that millions of disaffected voters will sit on their hands and give radical Muslims the opportunity to begin reshaping the political map of Britain.

This particular "trick" has also been used by 'Red' Ken Livingstone who has aligned himself with the radical Muslim Brotherhood (who wish to conquer the free world for Islam) and has pandered to Iran by working as a presenter for the 'Press TV' channel - owned by the Iranian regime.

At Finsbury Park mosque, last month, Ken pledged to ‘educate the mass of Londoners’ in Islam, saying this would help to cement London as a ’beacon’ for the faith" *  .. endorsing Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi's Islamic policies (suicide bombing of Israeli children, the execution of homosexuals, female genital mutilation and the killing of coalition troops in Iraq and Afghanistan).

This is the state of today's Labour Party.

And do you think that Ed Miliband is the man to do something .. anything .. about it ?

It is not often (if at all) that we have been wont to quote 'gorgeous'
George Galloway
but, on this occasion_

The full result (with vote share and change since 2010 in brackets)

Downing Street fuels panic 

No. 10 dismisses claims that it caused yesterday's "panic" over the threatened fuel strike by urging motorists to make "contingency plans" .. they mean filling-up.

Adding to the tension is news that COBRA - the civil contingencies committee - will meet to discuss plans in the event of a strike by petrol-tanker drivers.
This on top of BBC reports of RAF and Army drivers 'in training' to strike-break.

Just in case this is insufficient, COBRA will also hear plans of recruiting foreign tanker drivers, setting up fuel stockpiles, and the practicalities of 'Ration Cards' .. remember them ?

The Politics:

• Trade union Unite, whose members have voted to go on strike, is the biggest donor to the Labour Party, so Ed Miliband has been trying to distance himself from the union's leadership and has said that a strike "should be avoided .. at all costs".
• Cameron, saying that he's "learnt the lessons of the 2000 fuel dispute", will be wishing to convey the impression of being in charge but also of being separate from a row between haulage drivers and oil companies.
• Conciliation service ACAS has invited trade unions and oil firms to talks to try to resolve their differences.

The Practicalities:

• Unite (the UK's biggest union) wants minimum standards covering pay, hours, holiday and redundancy.
• Unite represents about 2,000 drivers who deliver fuel to Shell and Esso garages, as well as supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsburys - 90% of the UK's forecourts.
• Workers at five out of seven companies involved in a dispute (over terms, conditions and safety standards) have voted to walk out.

____________________________

• COBRA is an acronym for "Cabinet Office briefing room A" - where the meetings are held.
• The British Ministry of Food refined the rationing process in the early 1940s to ensure the population did not starve when food imports were severely restricted and local production limited due to the large number of men fighting the war. 
  Rationing was in some respects more strict after the war than during it - bread went on ration from 1946 to 1948,
  potatoes for a time from 1947.
  petrol ended rationing in 1950,
  tea was still on ration until 1952,
  sugar and eggs until 1953,
  Food Rationing ended in 1954.
• Ration Cards for fuel were last issued in the 1970s during the Arab/Israeli war

 THE BUDGET .. 
 and how it effects US 

Millions of middle-class pensioners are to be hit by a £3.5billion ‘granny tax’ that will help pay for a record income tax cut 
for people in work.

How can ANY PENSIONER bring themselves to vote 
 either 
 TORY or LIB DEM ? 

  Level playing fields ? .. No such luck ! 

The celebrated "Playing fields of Eton"
.. so familiar to our Prime Minister

Wouldn't it be nice .. if the same rules were applied to everybody ?

Take, for example .. HORSES.

US network HBO cancells its lavish TV horse-racing drama "Luck" - staring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, filming its second season looking at the seedy side of life in US horse-racing - when a third animal was injured and had to be put down during production.

The series debuted in the US in January with the first-season finale scheduled for broadcast on 25 March - it is currently being shown in the UK on the Sky Atlantic channel.

"While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won't in the future. Accordingly we have, with heartbreak, reached the difficult decision to cease all future production."
HBO statement.

Contrast that with five racehorses dying at the Cheltenham Festival in just two days.

Day One: Dual Festival winner Garde Champetre and Scotsirish in the Cross Country Chase and Educated Evans in the Pulteney Land Investment Chase all after breaking legs. Officials were adamant the deaths were unrelated to the drought-like conditions.

'The layout of the cross-country course does not allow the operators to soften the going by watering what was officially termed "good to firm" ground. Rather than take the precautionary step of calling off the race, officials risked the lives of the horses, and two paid the ultimate price. 
More horses have been killed at Cheltenham Racecourse than at any other in the country over the past five years - a little known statistic that the owners of the course will not be keen to share with the paying punters. '
Animal Aid

David Muir, equine consultant to the RSPCA is "very saddened and concerned by the deaths."

Day Two: Featherbed Lane lost his action and was pulled up after the fifth jump. It was later confirmed the seven-year-old had been humanely destroyed after suffering a broken leg. Abergavenny fell at the third and had to be put down because of a leg fracture.

Wishfull Thinking also suffered a fall in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, with the horse rolling under the rails and into a crowd of spectators. Jockey Richard Johnson suffered a minor injury and a photographer sustained a facial injury, but the horse was reported to be fine.

"Sadly these things happen."
Clerk of the course Simon Claisse

            PEOPLE.

Then there's the US government, taking the role of Shylock and demanding their 'pound of flesh', and the extradition to the States of 28 British nationals under by a treaty signed in 2003 and introduced to speed up the extradition of terrorist suspects.

The 'definition of terrorism' has now been stretched beyond credulity to include alleged hacker Gary McKinnon, alleged importer/exporter Christopher Tappin and alleged web-writer Richard O'Dwyer.

Come off it, Hussain Obama; what's the building of a website that allegedly shared links to pirated TV shows and movies have to do with terrorism ?

Contrast that with the American government's response to Afghanistani demands that an alleged mass murderer (accused of killing 16 civilians, including women and children) remains in the country where the offences were committed to stand trial.

Why .. the US government 'cuts and runs' .. and the staff sergeant, held by the US military in Kandahar gets flown out of the country .. either "based on legal recommendation" .. or because "We do not have appropriate detention facilities in Afghanistan" (according to one Capt. Kirby) .. and is now confirmed by NATO as being in Kuwait.

So .. we have the Americans showing us (the animal-loving British) the way .. in animal protection - and canceling events which kill animals

And leading the way in the mis-management of justice when it comes to human-beings.

  "Mornin' All .. !" 

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police has said: 

'Police have today arrested six people at addresses in London, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire.
The co-ordinated arrests were made between approximately 5am and 7am this morning by officers from Operation Weeting, the MPS inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes.
All six - five men and one woman - were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977.'

Rebekah Brooks and her millionaire husband are believed to be among the six people held in the latest phone hacking arrests.

Mrs. Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband Charlie would have been arrested at their home in Chipping Norton in the series of dawn raids by Metropolitan Police officers. 'Officers are now searching several addresses' Scotland Yard said.

Officers from Operation Weeting - the inquiry into voicemail interceptions - are believed to have consulted the Crown Prosecution Service before carrying out the operation.

'A number of addresses connected to the arrests are being searched.'

The people arrested are a 43-year-old woman from Oxfordshire, a 49-year-old man from Oxfordshire, a 39-year-old man from Hampshire, a 46-year-old man from West London, a 38-year-old man from Hertfordshire and a 48-year-old man from East London.

It is Operation Weeting's largest individual round of arrests. 23 people have so far been held and then released on bail.

Operation Elveden (which runs alongside Weeting) is investigating alleged corrupt payments.

Just how close is this going to come to Cameron ? 
                                                                               .. who's left the country !

  Even the Tories are sick of the Tories .. 
 let alone the Lib-Dems 

The Daily Telegraph reveals that David Cameron's Bill of Rights Commission is riven by division and is not likely to to come up with concrete final proposals later this year - indeed, it might issue a number of conflicting reports, all at variance with the Chairman (if he survives that long).. !

"Rigged"
Noted academic Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, one of the four Tory members of the nine-strong Commission, has resigned amid claims that the Commission was 'rigged by Europhiles' .. which include deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

"Not up to the job"
Conservative MP Douglas Carswell has called for Ken Clarke (Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary) to go, arguing that the Commission which was set-up to look at the idea of a British Bill of Rights was "not really up to the job".

So plans to replace the Human Rights Act (currently enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights within UK law) will be delayed until the time for the next election (2015).

What a fine election issue !

"Provocative" .. "Bullying"
And the cause of all this friction ? Why, the "friction-chief" himself .. chairman 
Sir Leigh Lewis, former Whitehall mandarin, who keeps coming perilously close to quitting .. last year.. and, again, last week. 
Conservative member Anthony Speaight QC labelled him “provocative and bullying”, and trying to “pick us off one by one”

What a fine Chairman !!

Oh, and did we say that Leigh Lewes was selected by David Cameron ?
Axing the controversial 'Human Rights Act' and replacing it with a 'British Bill of Rights' was one of Mr. Cameron’s key Conservative commitments at the last election.

What a fine Prime Minister !!!

"Look Out .. the Professor is BACK .. !" 

Prof John Walker-Smith, who carried out research with Dr Andrew Wakefield to find if there was a link between autism and the MMR jab (combined measles, mumps and rubella), then found guilty of ‘serious professional misconduct’ for taking a stance contrary to the General Medical Council, has won his High Court appeal against being struck off ! 
Quashing the General Medical Council finding of professional misconduct, 
Mr. Justice Mitting called for changes in the way the GMC 'Fitness to Practice' panel hearings are conducted in the future saying .. 

"It would be a misfortune if this were to happen again." 
"There had been inadequate and superficial reasoning and, 
in a number of instances, a wrong conclusion." 

The judge said the GMC panel failed to address whether Prof Walker-Smith had been doing research or simply investigating symptoms to help treat children... in other words .. it was a witch-hunt.
Prof John Walker-Smith, former head of department at the Royal Free Hospital, North London, and Dr Andrew Wakefield carried out research to find whether there was a link between autism and the combined jab for measles, mumps and rubella. 

And the GMC’s response to the Judge’s findings ?
‘Reforms to disciplinary hearings were being considered.’ 
            Oops GMC, better be careful of the old ‘contempt of court’ ruling.
"Today's ruling does not however reopen the debate about the MMR vaccine and autism.”
Niall Dickson.- Chief executive.

Doesn’t it ? So Niall and his chums are prepared to ignore work abroad and cling to their old beliefs .. ?
• Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina - 85% of children referred to the study after the vaccination programme tested positive for the measles virus - and their research pointed to the specific vaccine measles strain that was injected into the children and not a wild, natural strain of measles virus that normally transmits from child to child.
• The U.S. National Institutes of Health website at PubMed Central still carries “Persistent measles virus infection of the intestine: confirmation by immuno-gold electron microscopy,” by Lewin, Dhillon, Sim, Mazure, Pounder, and Wakefield (April 1995) as part of its medical library information_
This study provides the first direct confirmation of persistent measles virus infection of the intestine. 
• A study by Dr. John O’Leary, Professor of Pathology, done at the St. James Hospital and Trinity College in Dublin (2001) found the same findings as Wake Forest.

And, for the record, let’s get the ‘Wakefield story’ correct. 
Dr. Wakefield was only saying that there was a possible connection and 'reason for concern' that ought to be investigated .. and, for that, he was disbarred from practicing medicine.

Good to know that Prof.’s back on the case ..
Dr. Wakefield isn’t so lucky .. he was forced to withdraw from the appeal procedure due to the costs involved [http://www.ageofautism.com]
Oh, and shouldn’t someone do something about the Wikipedia entry for Dr. Wakefield  .. otherwise people might start to think that it’s been written by the GMC .. it’s so biased and one-sided ?

  "Bob Murdoch, Bob Murdoch,

Lend me your grey mare"

Downing Street, having prevaricated for days over whether the Prime Minister had or had not ridden 'that' beast, the poor quadruped which has come to symbolise the dubious links between the Metropolitan Police and the 'evil empire' of Rupert Murdoch, Dave eventually confessed that he'd got his leg over Raisa, the horse in question.

She was among those he rode while out with Mrs. Rebekah Brooks' husband Charlie - an Old Etonian 'chum' - who live in the aptly named Hackers Lane - just a mile down the road from Dave.

Obviously horse-lovers, the Brooks were charitable enough to find space for the 24-year-old retired Police-horse - named after the wife of the Russian Premier Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev 
(Михаил Сергеевич) 

The Camerons, Sam's father - Sir Reginald Adrian Berkeley Sheffield, 8th Baronet (her mother's folks 'the Astors' live somewhat further a-field), the Brooks, notorious PR 'fixer' Matt. Freud (married to Murdoch's daughter) all live around Chipping Norton .. that area of Oxfordshire / Cotswolds where we see affluent Londoners 'at play' in the countryside.
And they share this idyllic idyll with .. TV's "Mr. Motormouth" .. Jeremy Clarkson.

1 .. The Brooks   2 .. the Freuds  3 .. the Clarksons .. the Camerons

The 'No. 10' "admission" came all of four days later. 

Raising the questions .. 
         Why the delay ?  
         What did they think there was to hide ?
         Was there anything to hide ?

WIDECOMBE FAIR takes place this year on Tuesday 11th September 2012 
9 am till late
Click here to download the song

  The only way is UP ! 

 .. for pensioners 

The Bank of England has kept its key bank base-lending rate pinned down at 0.5 % for nearly three years in a bid to keep borrowing cheap for individuals and businesses - and so stimulate the economy.
The Bank of England has kept its base rate at this record 300-year low while, since 2009, it has poured a staggering £375billion of cheap money into the banking system through so-called "quantitative easing".
This has also had the effect of devaluing the Pound 
US$ rate has fallen from $1.76 to $1.53 over the year - 
Aussie$ has fallen from A$1.64 to £1.46 - 
NZ$ from $2.24 to $ 1.85 - 
and even against the Russian Rouble from 50.52 to 44.58.

Anyone travelling abroad will have noticed the change .. or rather, the lack of it .. every time they pay for something.

But lower interest rates mean lower returns for investors .. and particularly for the retired who have to live off their savings.
This has been a time of cheers from the young homeowners and crying from the pensioners.

But what other lending rates are there ?

• Known as LIBOR, there is the rate at which banks borrow from each other on the money markets so that they have enough to lend out as loans and mortgages - because, obviously, you can't 'borrow' money that isn't there until you have re-payed the loan.
  Rates on inter-bank lending vary according to the Eurozone crisis. In the second half of 2011 the LIBOR rate - for three-month sterling – rose from 0.75 per cent at the start of 2011 to 1.08 per cent by the end of the year.
• Then there is the Mortgage Rate; and RBS-Natwest group are pushing their interest rates on home loans (200,000 customers) up from 3.75% to 4% - with Halifax expected to follow suit with an immenant announcement of a 3.99 % rise (1,000,000 customers).
  These rises would drive up repayments on a £100,000 mortgage by £24.31 a month.

However, a rise in interest rates will mean cheers from the pensioners and much weeping and wailing from new homeowners (who aren't acquainted with previous 'historic' interest rates). Anyone remember ..

                                                                                                
"We been broken down .. the lowest turn .. and been on the bottom line.
Sure ain't no fun, but if we should be evicted from our homes ..
We'll just move somewhere else .. and still carry on

            Hold on, Hold on, Hold on;
            The only way is up, baby .. For you and me, baby."

Yasmin Evans, b. 19 May 1960, Shepherd's Bush; 400m champion and UK -19  volleyball team; five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart 1988 becoming the biggest selling UK single of the year; now active in the Baptist church in Spain.

   "Now I lay me down to sleep, 
 I pray the Lord, my soul, should keep .. 
 If I should wake before I die,
 I'll flush the Temazepam right away." 

Just 8 (eight) pills per year appears to be a 'critical' dose.

One in every 16 patients taking sleeping pills in a trial group died inside just 3 years (638 out of 10,531 in total) compared with one in every 80 of the non-users (295 deaths out of 23,674 patients). 
This is indicated by research from the Jackson Hole Centre for Preventive Medicine in Wyoming and the Scripps Clinic Viterbi Family Sleep Centre in California.

This increased risk was irrespective of other underlying health conditions (heart and lung diseases) and other factors like smoking and alcohol use.

They looked at many drugs in use in the UK, such as benzodiazepines (temazepam and diazepam), non-benzodiazepines (zolpidem - 725,000 UK prescriptions), zopiclone and zaleplon (9,400 UK prescriptions), barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.

People prescribed these pills were 4.6 times more likely to die in just 2½ years time than those not on the drugs.

The researchers say that_
"Those taking the highest doses of sleeping tablets also appear to be at greater risk of developing cancer. 
The meager benefits of hypnotics, as critically reviewed by groups without financial interest, would not justify substantial risks.
Even short-term use may not be justified."

Now, in the interests of 'balance' .. let's hear what others have to say ..

"Don't panic !
What we don't want is people stopping sleeping tablets and then going through a very disturbing period of insomnia.
People should discuss this with their GP but should not under any circumstances stop taking their medication."
Malcolm Lader, professor of clinical psychopharmacology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London.

"This is an important study and it should raise awareness and remind both patients and 'prescribers' to the potential risks of sedative use for insomnia."
Nina Barnett, of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

So, the science says "Change your habits .. !"
but the scientists say "DON'T change your habits .. !"

Well, that's scientists for you .. .. ..

  "High petrol prices ? 

Marie-Antoinette 1759-1793
'the widow Capet'
& pioneer of 'shabby chic'

 "Let them fill-up with Diesel .. !" 

Tory Chancellor "cocks a deaf 'un" as Tory MPs urge "Gorgeous George" Osborne to meet the party's pre-election pledge to introduce a fair 'fuel stabiliser' to help cash-strapped motorists.

With Diesel prices now exceeding an eye-watering 150p a litre at M6 service station Corley, nr. Coventry, it can now cost more than £100 to fill up the 70-litre tank in a typical family car.

Instead of doing what he said he'd do .. implementing real reform of the tax system – so fuel duty goes down when oil prices go up .. the Chancellor slapped a supplementary tax charge on oil and gas production in the North Sea.

Costs of a litre of Petrol - 135.4p:

Currently, fuel duty is planned to rise every year by at least the rate of inflation, regardless of what happens to the price of oil. 
In addition, the other tax levied on fuel, VAT, is charged at the standard rate. 
So as the price of fuel rises, the amount of VAT charged also rises.

Osborne succeeds .. in taxing tax itself .. What a numbskull !

Thousands of campaigners are due to lobby MPs at Parliament on Wednesday March 7th .. while the threat of a blockade of the waters near Iran could force further the hike-up in the price of fuel.

A new poll says that petrol prices are THE major concern for nearly 60% of people - as the recession and rising prices force drivers off the road.

"But, Darling .. I was led a-stray .. !" 

Apparently .. according to the SatNav industry .. it's the Ladies who are more likely to shout at their SatNavs and to place the blame on the little machine if they don't arrive at their intended destination.
Blokes, on the other hand, are more likely to place the blame on the SatNav if they are involved in a crash while following instructions.

"That's Life .. "
                                                                                                

'Oh - La - La .. !'

French Law changes on July 1st .. after which ALL MOTORISTS are required to carry a breathalyser in the car. 
The fine (isn't there always a fine ?) for those failing so to do is .. €11 (£9:30).

And remember .. the French drink/drive limit is only 50mg of alcohol (per 100ml of blood) as opposed to our limit of 80mg.

Top-tip: 
Buy more than one then, if you use one, you are still carrying the minimum requirement.
                                                                                                

'I'm so green .. that I'm not going anywhere

Those interested in saving the planet have encouraged the move to incorporate increasing quantities of ethanol into petrol. 
The government's 'Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (2005)' has given us petrol with 5% ethyl alcohol (aka ethanol). 
The EU directive E10 should have given us 10% in fuels by 2010 .. and, in Brazil, they have vehicles running on a 20% mixture.

But .. and why is there always a 'but' .. ethanol is a particularly powerful solvent.
It attacks zinc and zinc-galvanised metals, brass, copper, aluminium, cork, polyurathanes and epoxy resins - in fact, anything used to store and convey petrol .. such as fuel lines and petrol tanks.

This especially true of older vehicles .. and the DoT estimates that 8,600,000 vehicles will require expensive modification if they are still to be used if / when E10 is introduced.

Some motorbikes, stored over-winter, have revealed 'muddy puddles' where fuel tanks used to be, come Spring.
                                                                                                

"Keep rollin', rollin', rollin, .. "

And ANOTHER new law comes into force in November.

This one is to do with tyre labelling, when all new tyres will have a sticker showing their "impact on the environment". 

With a coloured scale (similar to washing machines and fridges) they will show_

• rolling resistance

• wet braking efficiency

• noise generation

These parameters don't take into consideration that all tyres are a trade-off of safety, economy and performance in a wide variety of conditions (ie a tyre with no rolling resistance at all would not be able to brake because it can't grip the road).

"Currently there's no guidance at all on tyres .. so some guidance is useful."
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

  How ? .. are the mighty fallen ? 

Ranked at 1,794 on the 2008 Sunday Times Rich List 
with an estimated wealth of £80 millions
& living at 'Thornbridge Hall', 100-acre country estate in Derbyshire

"You just lost it, girl !"

Emma Harrison_

• an Engineering Graduate B.Eng (Hons), 
• Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Derby, Sheffield (Hallam) and Bradford.
• CBE in the 2010 New Years Honours for services to the unemployed and to the voluntary sector.

Having been nominated_

• 'First Woman Award' for Public Service
• NatWest 'Everywoman Award'
• Management Today: 'Top Women Entrepreneur'
• Management Today: 'Top 100 Entrepreneurs'
• Inner-City UK 'Woman Entrepreneur of the Year'
• Fast track 100 Motivational Award
• Finalist: Veuve Clicquot 'Woman of the Year'
• National Finalist: Ernst and Young 'Entrepreneur of the Year'

Starred in 'The Secret Millionaire'_

She ( or, rather, her company - the A4e welfare-to-work group )

• has been fined £60,000 (Nov 2010) by the Information Commissioner's Office for the loss of the laptop with 24,269 un-encripted names and addresses
• "forgot" to remind David Blunkett, MP for Sheffield Brightside & former secretary of state for work and pensions, to add his entry in the House of Commons register of interests a trip to South Africa paid for and organised by A4e, the private training company for which he works as an adviser
• oversaw the management of  her company in such a way that - following The Guardian's disclosure of information regarding to a fraud investigation into A4e (28 June 2009) - four former employees of A4e [two women, aged 28 and 49, and two men, aged 35 and 41]were arrested on suspicion of fraud dating back to 2010
• Has had to add to the company's website this disclosure _
  

  Neil Watson -  Interim Group Financial Director with Matt Stevens taking over from April 2012.

• Has had to step down as the government's "family champion" 
• Has had to resign as Chairman of her own company
• Faces inquiry by Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood into how back-to-work tsar (paid £8.6m from taxpayer) was ever appointed in the first place

  Government giving birth .. 

to a 'toothless' Tiger

In a 'shock' announcement the Health Minister Earl Howe has revealed that the government’s plans which would "revolutionise NHS accountability through a power shift from Whitehall to patients, communities and the public" will, instead, "be a 'toothless tiger' .. " since the plans will now be substantially watered-down.

The government’s latest plans will ensure that it is almost impossible for most LINks (Local Involvement Networks - the NHS and social care watchdog) to evolve into your local Healthwatch body.
Healthwatch was to be the government’s proposed statutory consumer watchdog for health and social care.

This change will also result in vast sums of money - which the NHS CANNOT afford - being spent on commercial procurement logistics – in some case through the EU procurement route.

Just how 'toothless' will it be ?

• Healthwatch will be stripped of it statutory status 
• It will have virtually no statutory powers of its own
• Healthwatch will be accountable its local authority ~
  accountable to the very body it monitors as the provider and commissioner of local social care services. 

To do so, the government will have to amend it own Bill, removing the statutory status it originally. 

"This is the Minister proposing the death knell for effective and powerful public involvement in health and social care."
Malcolm Alexander, Chair of NALM

“Government now plans to spend £60 millions on yet another new system of public involvement that will have even less influence than our current system. 
Clearly the local authorities were worried about Healthwatch having too much power. The government has capitulated to their demands.

Healthwatch without its statutory status delivers little for local people."

  Yes .. You're 'clucked' 

 You Old-Etonian 'rubber-duckie' 

As unfavourable comparisons mount between Tony Blair’s Downing Street and that of David Cameron - and, in particular, when it comes to the quality of the people he invites to surround him - it is alleged that - David Cameron "let something slip" after just a 5 minute briefing on the NHS reforms.

No 10 had called-over Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, for a 'friendly chat'.
Andrew was away, so two special advisers took his place to give David a briefing.
The pair struggled vainly – for much longer than five minutes – to encapsulate the Lansley scheme. 

As the door was closing behind them the PM turned to Steve Hilton, his strategy guru, and was lip-read to have said, grimly: 
“We’re cl * * * ed.” (or something similar).

As former public relations men they recognise that, if those closest to it could not give him a succinct account of the flagship health policy, then it would be nigh on impossible to 'sell' it to the voters.
So it is proving. 

Yet insiders say that this is part of a greater problem. 

They fear that No 10 itself lacks overall direction, that it is losing clout in Whitehall.
Problems - and examples - are not hard to find _

• No 10 cannot deport suspected terrorists
• The PM is powerless to stop the appointment of a university admissions tsar who seems to value social engineering above academic standards
• LibDems * plan House of Lords ambush for Health reforms
• Coalition enters the mid-term period -  always tricky for any government
• Reform of the Lords unlikely to galvanise the electorate.

Steve Hilton (born 25 August 1969) - director of strategy for David Cameron.
The son of Hungarian immigrants, the Hircsáks, who fled during the Revolution of 1956, anglicizing their name. He won a scholarship to Christ's Hospital School in Sussex before reading Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford. He then joined Conservative Central Office, where he came to know both David Cameron and Rachel Whetstone (Global VP of Public Affairs and Communications for Google and his future wife). They were godparents to David Cameron's late eldest son, Ivan.
                                                                                                    

More BAD News* 
Apparently the Lib-Dems have a conference coming, soon .. and their type of conference is rather particular to them .. its quite democratic ( ! ) .. and propositions from the floor (for which the Chairman is unprepared) can be voted into Policy. (Wow ! )
It's just that "Little Nick-ie" might then find himself as leader of a party whose policy is to oppose what he and David Cameron are presently promoting !

  "Quote .. Un-Quote" 

It's only Thursday, and already we have two quotations vying with each other to be 'Quote of the Week'.

CERN  - the European Organization for Nuclear Research - with 2400 full-time employees as well as some 7931 scientists and engineers - to which EU Member states contribute € 664 million, annually - who recently thought that they had measured movement at faster than the speed of light ..
"A loose connection between a GPS unit and a computer may be to blame. We have, since, tightened the connection"
Antonio Ereditato, spokesman for the researchers at CERN.
                                                                                                         

He was considerably more than the way he told them ..

"The trouble with Ireland is .. there are too many Protestants .. and there are too many Catholics .. and not enough Christians!" 

Hugh Francis "Frank" Carson KSG 
6 November 1926 – 22 February 2012
RIP

  You're late again, David .. so it's YOUR round ! 

How many stories have you read about excessive alcohol consumption (that's people drinking too much) ?
"Binge drinking costs NHS billions" ... 
                         "Hospitals reel as drink cases soar" ... 
                                                       "Alcohol abuse to cost NHS an extra billion"
How many videos have we seen of drunken youths staggering around the streets before collapsing into the gutters ?

 Guess what .. it's all wrong ! 

While there IS new evidence that more people are being treated in hospital for excessive drinking, we are in fact drinking less as a nation.
Less ? How can that be ?
David Cameron now states he is .."determined to tackle the scandal of alcohol abuse". 
Sorry David, but stop trying to stick the tail back onto a dead donkey.

We agree that nothing should be subjected to abuse .. and that includes the British public .. who should be protected from the press abusing the facts and statistics in this affair.

'Britons have been drinking less and less every year - since 2002' 
according to the annual survey from the Office for National Statistics for England, Scotland and Wales.

And .. young people are leading the drive towards healthier drinking ! 
The decrease of this age-group pre-dates 2002 (with men aged 16-24 drinking 26 units a week on average in 1999 and just 15 units a week in 2009).

Behind these stories is an unexpected truth - men and women of all ages are slowly curbing their excesses and are drinking in moderation .. .. heavy drinking is falling, abstinence is rising.

Why is there this mis-conception ?
The 2003 Licensing Act was publicised in the newspapers as '24 hour drinking' and the introduction of 'Binge-drinking Britain'.
"There was the Daily Mail campaign featuring images of young people slumped on pavements and park benches. This, allied with health warnings from groups like Alcohol Concern, Drinkaware and the Royal College of Physicians were very successful at making the health impacts of alcohol a news story."
Dr James Nicholls of Bath Spa University (researcher into the social history of alcohol)

In reality, 24-hour drinking never took off - with the average pub only opening for an extra 24 minutes after 11pm last orders were abolished.
But the press didn't let facts come in the way of a good headline .. 
                                         "Britain is out of control !"

So, sorry David. It's yet another case of you selecting a topic too late to do any good for it. Indeed, you can forget all about your "increase in duty" to curb drinking .. we, the great British public, are there already .. 'curbing away'. 

Anyway, the Exchequer needs the duty from alcohol sales - if only to keep the NHS afloat !
The Treasury is already squeaking from the loss of £257 million a year in taxes due to falling beer sales - down 3.9% overall (with a drop in pub sales of 7.5% because, with Drink/Drive penalties, we're doing more drinking at home).
Alcohol duty has already risen by 26.1% since March 2008 when the Labour Government introduced a "duty escalator" that saw the tax rate increase by 2% above the retail prices index (RPI) every year. Two increases in VAT, which have seen the rate increase from 15% to 20% in the past 13 months, have also hit prices.

Pub beer sales have fallen by 20.2% over the past three years as the trade has been hit by the economic downturn, the smoking ban and increased taxes. Lost beer sales have resulted in 40 pub closures a week - with the resulting loss to community life (sports teams, games leagues, quiz nights) and increased social isolation .. as we sit .. on our own .. at home .. alone .. drinking.

 "He's Not the Messiah .. 
He's a Very Naughty Boy !" 

But, oh boy, can Omar grow whiskers ..

Dial 112

"Hello, is that the Police ?"

"Ναι, αυτό είναι η αστυνομία" "Ja, is dit de Politie" "Sim, esta é a polícia" "Ja ist dieses die Polizei" "Sì, questa è la polizia"

Did you know that the 11th day of the 2nd month of the year, that's last Saturday, 11/02/2012, was "European 112 Day" ?

Why 112 ?

Did you know that dialing '112' puts you in touch with the Emergency Services .. throughout the EU ? .. Even in the UK ?

No ? 
Well, you're among the 97 % of this country that didn't know this little-known fact. Some of us, recently interviewed by the Foreign Office poll, thought it connected to directory enquiries, while others believed it was a brand of perfume, the number of a bus or type of jeans.

"112 works right across the EU and in a few other countries too. In a lot of countries you can even use English, because it will take you through to a particular call centre where there will be English-language operators. It works in the UK as well, you can use it in parallel with 999, which is the same in a number of EU countries but some have adopted it as their only emergency number."
Ms. Lynda St Cooke - Foreign Office.

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/112/index_en.htm

Even the Ukraine will be using the 112 number in its cities which are hosting matches in the Euro 2012 football championship this summer.

And now, you're among the 3% of the country who DO know .. except, that by joining that 3% .. it's grown to 4% .. ..

And the replies indicate that you are in GREECE, HOLLAND, PORTUGAL, GERMANY and ITALY, respectively. 

  Feel like you're dying ?   And its the weekend ? 
 Better that you linger-on at home and wait for Monday 
 before crawling to hospital ! 

You will have a better chance of surviving if you arrive at hospital .. that's any hospital .. from Monday to Friday !

Researchers from a collaboration between several Universities and colleges (including Birmingham Uni.) have analysed 14,000,000 NHS admissions and - even allowing for more serious accident admissions taking place over the weekend - there is an increased risk of death (within one month) if you are taken into hospital on Saturday or Sunday ! 

Think of it .. 16% is more than three people in every twenty ..
that's AN EXTRA 3 PEOPLE DYING .. .. ! 

No-one can disagree with the government statement that the NHS must fundamentally revise its working practices.

Our photo is of 16-hand Friesian stallions Twm and Will, and Marston Hearse No. 11969 (originally built in 1914), owned and run by Mark Evans, Carriage Master.
Friesians horses' strong black colour, noble bearing and quiet temperament have made them the first choice for funeral horses for over two hundred years. During the 19^th Century Friesians were imported to Britain via the port of Antwerp in Belgium and, confusingly, they became known in Britain as "Belgian Blacks".

 Pity our poor MPs .. 
 no longer able to get their "Top Totty" 

Ms Green MP, Stretford and Urmston, branded "a humourless sort" by UK Independence Party MEP for Stafford Mike Nattrass, used Thursday's Commons 'business questions' to have a beer brewed in Stafford by Slater's Ales slung-out of the House (well, out of the 'Strangers Bar', at least).

She doesn't look the "humourless sort" ..
but who are we to go by appearances ?

Introduced in 2007 .. it was selling at just £2.70 pint .. making it London's cheapest beer ?

This "Queen Bee" said that she had "..only just learned of it" and apparently took exception to the bikini-clad young lady seen outlined on the bottle, not the price .. or the colour (the beer is described as 'blond') .. or, possibly, the taste (since she was haranguing it before having tasted it).

Mike Nattrass responded in defence of his constituency business by saying .. 
"This sort of knee-jerk Puritanism does more to damage the cause of equality than a thousand beer labels”

Later on Thursday, a member of staff in The Strangers' Bar told the Press Association: "I can confirm it was withdrawn from sale at 1.30pm."

'Top Totty' is described by "Roger Protz - Beer Pages" as "a stunning blonde, full-bodied, with a voluptuous (hop) aroma. At 4 per cent, it has a ripe and generous fruitiness, with deep and complex hop notes and rich malt. The beer is available in barrel and bottle."

Top Totty sits alongside Premium (4.4%), Queen Bee (4.2%), Why Not (3.6%) and Original (4%).

Slater's Ales
 St Albans Road - Common Road Industrial Estate - Stafford - ST16 3DR
Tel: 01785 257976

"Top Totty" .. "Why Not" .. indeed ?

 "The one, the only, the original .. "

Much publicity is being given, this week, to the opening of a "House" as an adjunct to Birmingham Hospital to care for military personnel and their families.
Well done; its a very good thing.

Based on the American model, and receiving funding from across the pond, it aims to unite families and soldiers in their recovery after battlefield trauma.

But; it is not the first: the British charity S.S.A.F.A  Forces help
             (Soldiers, Sailors and Airmens' Families Association)
on Thursday 26th February 2009, opened a 6-bedroom house in Selly Oak and fitted it out for family residency and communal living, where servicemen in the Selly Oak hospital could live during the day and integrate back into their families - who both had to change and adapt to new circumstances.

Called "Norton Homes" (named after the originator of the concept) SSAFA's 'take' is very much the British-way of doing things. 
A charming, domestic house in delightful suburban surroundings; all run on an intimate scale.
The American model is of a design similar to a barracks building, is located on a military base, and aims to cope with 40/50 families, all living together. But then, their army is larger and their casualty numbers higher.

But every injury is a sacrifice - and merits the best attention that can be given.

“The creation of a military atmosphere on the ward ensures that our people are cared for in an environment that is conducive to their recovery.”

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association was founded in 1885 by Colonel Sir James Gildea GBE KCVO CB

"I say Caruthers, the natives are rebelling .. again .. !"

Here we display the Argentinean flag

We do not abuse it .. unlike the 100 or so protesters who gathered to burn Union flags in front of the British embassy in Buenos Aires, recently.

With tension increasing ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, in April, Argentina is demanding talks on its claim to sovereignty over the territory which it calls 'Las Malvinas'.

Left-wing activists of the Socialist Workers' Movement (MST) took the day off from work to protest (showing they weren't that keen on being 'workers') and carried banners reading "Government break off relations now," and "English out of the Malvinas". Recently the MST suffered a split in their ranks as many broke away to form the 'Socialist Left' (Izquierda Socialista).

Prince William - third in line to the British throne - arrives in the Falklands next month for a tour of duty as a helicopter rescue pilot.

Ms.Wilma Ripoll said the MST was planning further protests - much good will it do her as the UK has reaffirmed that the Falkland Islands will remain British for as long as its inhabitants want.

Tension over the remote South Atlantic archipelago has increased following British companies' success in drilling for oil in waters on the Falklands' plateau.

Britain has held the islands since the 1830s; but Argentina feels it has a prior claim and, in 1982, launched an invasion which was repelled by a British task force who recaptured the islands in a short but bloody war in which 649 Argentine and 255 British servicemen were killed.

 Euro = Junk 

S&P (the US agency looked-to for a third-party appraisal as to the financial health of nations) has down-graded NINE of the Euro countries.

NO CHANGE

DOWN

JUNK STATUS

Ratings range from AAA, the safest, down to D, a company that has already defaulted. Ratings of BBB- or higher are considered "investment grade". Below that level, they are considered "speculative grade" or more colloquially as junk.

With just 100 days remaining before the French Presidential elections this is BAD news for current President Sakozy who has made much of telling voters that, although he acknowledges they may not warm to him personally, he has what it takes to battle through the crisis.
Voters might prefer to interpret that France has just lost its gold star status - under his watch.

It may be that in the short term the economic effects of the downgrade are quite limited; the markets were aware that this was coming and so may have absorbed the impact on France's cost of borrowing already; but, with a yawning poll deficit between him and the Socialist Francois Hollande, his plea that France should entrust the ship of state to a proven captain may be ignored.

Is there a President Hollande on the horizon ?

Pity poor Sakozy .. .. ?

If he looks 'a gauche' ..

 
"The 'blow-up' model - and so true to nature."

François Gérard Georges Hollande
born 12 August 1954

Nominated as the Socialist and Left Radical Party candidate in France's 2012 presidential election, he has been a special adviser of the President Mitterrand as well as having served several times as a member of the National Assembly (1988-2010), and as Mayor of Tulle from 2001 to 2008; and, briefly (6 months), as an MEP.

And if he looks 'a droite' ..

"You have repeatedly said that the gas chambers were a mere detail."  "Yes...
"Heaven help me, the National Front could also become a detail in history !"

Jean-Marie Le Pen
born 20 June 1928

President of the National Front - 1972-2011, he first entered the National Assembly in 1956, and has been an MEP since 1984. He describes his position as "ni droite, ni gauche, .. français !"

Austria, like France has lost its top AAA rating, and been downgraded to AA+ as its economy exports a lot to recession-struck Italy, while its banks are facing losses on subsidiaries they own in financially troubled Hungary.

 With deep regret,  Health Concern  announce 
the demise of the
Conservative AND UNIONIST Party
Tory Party - 1678, C&U 1886 - 1965, Cons 1965 -
(R.I.P.)

Speaking at the new Olympic aquatics centre in Stratford, David Cameron went in at the proverbial deep end by saying that ..
                        .. 'Scotland must decide its own future'.
[2:43 pm GMT 09 Jan 2012]

But by 9:30AM GMT 10 Jan 2012 he was saying that ..
             .. the Coalition will challenge Alex Salmond's plan ..
to use his majority in the Scottish Parliament to order a vote on ending the 305-year-old union, insisting that the power to call a referendum remains with ministers at Westminster.

All good "Unionist" 'rough & tumble' stuff.

But, just a minute .. before Scotland goes 'drifting off' into the Nordic twilight .. and that's even if we want to let them go .. shouldn't we first present the bill of what they owe us ?

When we placed our country into the hands of David Cameron, we gave him

• 4 countries (three kingdoms and a principality) ruled through 1 national parliament and 3 devolved national administrations
• a number of islands ruled as unitary authorities (Scilly, Man, Channel)
• 14 overseas territories
• the world's seventh largest economy

The very least he should do is hand the same back to his successor.

 £17,000,000,000
that's £17 billions

just so that London Ladies can shop in the Bull Ring ?

May Health Concern suggest a cheaper option ?

British Trains are the shortest in Europe .. and carry the fewest passengers per main-line train of any E.U. country.

• Lengthen the existing trains by adding more carriages. 
  (The longer Pendelino train is about to be introduced, anyway.) 

• Lengthen the platforms to cope.

• Put advanced sat-nav. / radio / signalling in the existing cabs.

• Ditch the Victorian timetable that says Birmingham / West Coast trains arrive in Euston and that passengers then have to drag their suitcases 6 city blocks to board HS1 trains at St. Pancras International.

• Ask Alex Salmond to pay for any improvements to link Scotland through to the European network.

There you are .. a perfectly feasible, much cheaper solution. Job done.

The DfT has announced that 31 out of the 53 existing 9-car sets will be lengthened to 11 cars to increase capacity. 
"The longer units will require major infrastructure changes to allow stations and depots to accommodate the 11-car units."

"Politicians fail ..
to speak-up about the quality of nursing"

So says David Cameron

David says that he will deliver TWO MAJOR CHANGES in NHS service ..

• Nurses have been told to do regular ward rounds

• Patients will be encouraged to carry out inspections to improve hospital standards.

And what will be the THIRD improvement which might follow ?

Why, David will provide all nurses with flashlights .. .. and then we really will be back to the "jolly-old-days" of the Crimean War.

WHEN did YOU last see regular "Ward Rounds" ?
Except at the old Selly Oak Hospital - where the military influence pervaded all levels - and where consultants rounds coincided with visitors hours one day out of five (so that families got to talk to the specialist about the treatment regime).

Florence Nightingale. OM, RRC (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) 
Celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician who came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War where she tended to wounded soldiers. 
She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night. 

                                        
An Anglican, Nightingale believed that God had called her to be a nurse and she laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment, in 1860, of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London, the first secular nursing school in the world, now part of King's College London. The Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses was named in her honour, and the annual International Nurses Day is still celebrated around the world on her birthday.

The Original Pledge
"I solemnly pledge myself before God and the presence of this assembly;
To pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully.
I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.
I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling."

In modern times, a number of institutions have modified or dropped the pledge altogether .. and haven't we noticed the difference.

Eagle-eyed Lawyers swoop on Redditch 

"Legal Eagles" Leigh Day & Co, the law firm which has won the largest-ever group claim against a single NHS hospital*, said they believed that the families who had contacted them so far about a "class action" against the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, may represent "the tip of the iceberg".

[* - 119 victims of the Stafford hospital scandal]

23 families have contacted them with "shocking" claims of indignities and the most basic failings in care, including_

• A 35-year-old father-of-four who, his family say, wasted away because staff did not know how to fit a feeding tube
• A retired NHS worker who died after (allegedly) being left without food or crucial heart medication
• A man who fell into a coma after contracting E.coli, apparently from a filthy catheter
• Vulnerable patients left to starve when trays were left out of reach
• Others left lying on soaking bedsheets

Death rate statistics at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals trust, which runs the hospital, were 10 per cent higher than the national average.
That's 239 deaths more than would be expected.

A 2011 Health Service Ombudsman review condemned the service for its "inhumane treatment of the elderly" - with patients' basic needs failing to be met, many left hungry, unwashed or given the wrong drugs - and all because of the "casual indifference of staff".

The legal action comes after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published the findings of spot check visits to 100 hospitals to inspect the care of the elderly in October and half were found to be failing basic standards. 
The "major concerns" at Alexandra Hospital were so fundamental that it was warned in May that it was breaking the law.

And the statement issued in reply ?.

"We actively encourage patient and family feedback and where there is any indication that standards of care fall short of the high standards we expect all staff to deliver we will always address it."
Helen Blanchard, the trust's Director of Nursing and Midwifery

'Oh .. Helen .. !'

The number of British military personnel killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 414, after the recent deaths of_

An Aiman			12.05/12	Royal Air Force
A Soldier			12/05/12	1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
Cpl. Roberts Andrew, 32		Middlesborough	04/05/12	23 Pioneers 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
Pte. Silibaravi Ratu, 32		Fiji	04/05/12	23 Pioneers 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards

Guardsman Roland Michael, 22

Undisclosed

27/04/12

1st Battalion Grenadier Guards

Sapper Ray Connor, 21

Newport

18/04/12

33 - Engineering Regiment

Cpl. Stanley Jack, 26

Bolton

Injured 03/02/12 died 08/04/12

C Company, The Queen's Royal Hussars

CAUSES (not including latest casualties)

Hostile:	IED / Landmine	216
	Shot	89
	Grenade	20
	Suicide Bomb	16
	Indirect fire	6
	Other	1
Accident:	Air	15
	Vehicle	14
	Weapon	2
	Other	1
Other:	'Friendly Fire'	6
	Suicide	2
	Under investigation	11
	Other	6

                                                                           

Link to  The Royal British Legion (2008) Registered Charity No 219279.  199 Borough High Street, London SE1 1AA, Telephone +44 (0)20 3207 2100

Help for Heroes Registered Charity number 1120920 Steynings House, Summerlock Approach, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 7RJ Current running total of donations _ £25.539,000

______________________________________

The following quotation has been drawn to our attention .. equally significant during the Afghanistan conflict .. which originated at a dinner-party at Marl Bank, Little Malvern, hosted by Sir Edward Elgar, in the company of George Bernard Shaw and 'Lawrence of Arabia' ..

"Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. 
It is their war, and you are there to help them, ...
... not to win it for them." 
T.E. Lawrence

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      The past week's 'MONEY MATTERS'

Markets

THE WEEKEND'S FIGURES

FTSE 100

5575.52

DOWN

79.54

DOW JONES

12894.43

DOWN

161.01

Market Movements

CARS & PARTS GAS & WATER PROPERTY FOOD BEVERAGES

Going UP

INFO TECH AIM BANKS HEALTHCARE MINING

Going DOWN

Greek 'socialist' party are the old Communist rear-guard .. bent on making trouble.
Spanish towns reveal that they hold 7,000 yrs-worth of debt repayments.
UK Banks lose because of JP Morgan's loses - "an 'accident' waiting to happen".
Sales outlets M&S, Debenhams, Home Retail Group (Homebase/Argos) and 
J Sainsbury have all become market favourites - considered 'lean & mean'.
Severn-Trent rose with speculation they will be taken-over - possibly by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund.

Over the week.

Gold

..

Fell  < $    54.00

..

$ 1,590.00

Brent Crude

..

Fell  < $      1.59

..

$    112.62

Goldman Sachs predict Oil Price DIP is TEMPORARY - 
2012 prices are set to be new record highs 

Currencies

"The Euro was doomed from the start" says its founder, 86 yr-old Jacques Delors.

US Dollar $

High point - last 52 weeks: 1.67070

Low point - last 52 weeks: 1.53180

______________________________________

£1 buys ...

[Last week's prices]

$ 1.60.72 US

>

fell ¾ cent

1.61.50

$ 1.59.54 CAN

<

rose 1¼ cents

1.59.54

$ 1.60.25 AUS

<

rose 1¾ cents

1.58.60

$ 2.05.13 NZ

<

rose 2¼ cents

2.03.05

€ 1.24.36 EURO

<

rose 1 cent

1.23.41

 The £ is nearly at a 52 week high against the €  

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