Insurance

Having got two different insurance policies, or is it three, because the House and Contents policy, where payment is made to one company seems to be administered by two companies, I actually phoned our other insurer;the Emergencies insurer. They were wonderful. A man arrived today and reassured us that the wasps nests were redundant, and that there was no life in them. He removed the nests, though he said that may be tempting fate for a return of wasps in the spring. The wasps never return to an old wasp nest, but they will return to a place with appeal that my home has being made of wood shingle tiles. The opening now left that they got into before, could become another nest!
When a roof fell in during heavy rain last year we used our 3 insurers to deal with the matter of a leaking roof -or the two insurers! We phoned the one company that we paid and they said we are not fully covered because we do not have contents cover-then they checked and realised we did have it-after three weeks. Communication was appalling, nothing was resolved for weeks and the two subcontracted insurers never liaised. We phoned our emergency insurers and they came and gave us some temporary arrangements-within 12 hours. The temporary cover had to last for ages, as the rain came down, and the two other insurers did not do anything. Then the roof collapsed well and truly and it was far worse. In the end an independent assessor had to make things happen! And it still took weeks- 6 months in fact, before everything was sorted out. Because of the delays things actually got worse and more expensive.

Anyway the wasps nests are sorted, and our flat roof extension is now all sorted too! The timing of this saga has been virtually twinned with my hospitalisation and surgery, and the recovery. The wasps hopefully bring the negatives to an end and some optimism for the year. Maybe I will work out the sort of the work I can do in the future too, as going back to teaching will be very difficult, as it is a physical job with carrying, moving about, bending-a lot, standing and walking, and it is in a very big campus, a massive one with far too many doors, loads of rooms and three blocks that are only connected on the ground floors.

And England won!

I have had quite a week!

I am at home enduring a slow recovery from a major op and hoping to not only walk, but walk better and have less pain, in due course. I have only had one op. I HAVE TWO MORE OPS TO GO! But I am getting more mobile, but under duress/difficulty, and pain. I still cannot go up stairs, one leg and one step at a time, for I still have to go one step and two legs to each step, then the next step. And I get terrible pain in the knees when being only slightly ambitious, but you don't want to know my pains.
So after Comic Relief on Tuesday-it was an exhausting trip by train, and Charing Cross has a lot of walking to get from train to underground- I had a busy Wednesday.  I am a Councillor in my Kent Parish. We had a site meeting, by a field, at the entrance on the side of the road, to agree what to do with the field. It had been bought under a Compulsory Purchase Act, and protected with massive concrete bollards, a gate, and a well dug trench, now filled with water, that was impassable. We got very wet as it poured with rain. We had plenty of ideas that included using the field as a venue for loud rock concerts, or boy scout camps, or boot fairs, or a "growing community" almost like a market garden centre but for local people, and far bigger than allotments. We need to use it, and be seen to be using it. It was bought to protect the area from a massive invasion of gypsy travellers  in that particular area. I have no problem with travelling people, some of them provide a very useful set of skills that our community benefits from:leather work, blacksmithing and farriers, but  the constant abuse of planning law and the desecration of our countryside appalls me. They just move in and within a few weeks, there are masses of them, and they occupy "green fields" once used for farming or some country pursuit like grazing horses, and stick tarmac down and fill the space with caravans that become permanent abodes. And if they go they just leave rubbish. Where I live it has become an easy target just to move in, and few bodies choose to do anything about it. Even in our local community role, and responsibility, local Councillors seem to have no weight, as the Gypsies use Human Rights law to move in when very expensive enquiries always seem to side with them, and governments-of all persuasions-do little to influence those decisions.
In the afternoon I attended a Funeral Thanksgiving service to celebrate the life of a Councillor who sadly departed because of the big C. She had seen her husband die only 18 months before with cancer, and when she reported her tiredness following his death, she was then told of her cancer. The children and grandchildren lost both of them, valuable parts of their family, within 18 months. We in the Parish lost a strong community member.
Such events also call for Council members to be available-and as such a number of people made the most of the opportunity to see me and relate their concerns. We have to be apparent and open, answerable and avialable. We also have to be transparent and honest.
The next day I had awoken following a terrible night of  some rat ta tat tat noise to see a massive hole in our eaves of the roof. That noise was a woodpecker or squirrel or something else. A hole the size of a dinner plate had appeared.  I opened up the attic above the hole to see if there were any new homes for birds or animals and discovered several wasps nests, and an attic full of growth from some vine like growing plant. We needed a builder for repairs, a pest controller for the wasps, and somebody to clear up the plant mess.
I contacted our house insurers. We contacted them 6 months ago, when our flat roof on the dining room extension collapsed. It was only completed-all the repairs and decorating last week! So this was stressful. Not again, more hassle!
So Friday has been dealing with and responding to affairs of the roof! And I am in agony!
Its a Rugby weekend-great!

Esther O'connor Lost Innocence for a free track www.estheroconnorfreetra...

Comedy Store and Red Nose day

It would not be fair to tell people what I saw at the Comedy Store yesterday, as I could influence decisions;decisions that are part of the Red Nose Day fundraising activities, but what I am happy to say is it was a great day out! I will give some detail: all 6 BBC radio Channels provided a personality to be trained and mentored by a comedian to become Stand-up performers. They performed at the Comedy Store yesterday. We are all asked to watch these performances and vote for our favourites and donate to Comic Relief-when Red Nose Day goes "live". So I do not want to influence anybody so prematurely with any comments based on the real experience of actually being there! The world will get the chance to see the show on a website and probably hear the event on radio, but wait for the Red Nose day announcements! They may or may not cut out bits, that may or may not influence decisions, so I shall say nothing having seen the whole thing! But Red Nose day is a good cause and it deserves support without my influence.

What I will say is that every performer was their own style and performance. Each gave their own accent to the art of stand-up performance, each with a different style and content. I have to say I enjoyed every one, although they were quite different. Was it because of the different radio styles? Was it because they were different personalities? I leave others to judge that!  I like difference. Whether or not I agree/support or just ignore their politics, their sexuality, their opinions or whatever, its does not always matter to me. I love democracy and free speech, and in comedy I believe it is a wide scope, with hopefully lots of freedom, but yes there are limits!  But thats why all six of them get my vote! One thing was clear, none of them failed, and every one succeeded, and depending on your view, each had a special something.

The radio personalities were so good you would have thought they were having a go-without their mentors, because each seemed so personal, so into their own lives and their own ways and history. Every one of them got chuckles and every one of them got roars and every one of them had some of the audience in hysterics, depending on associations, empathy and understanding.  I think this says how good their mentors were.

I have to say though how lucky we were in the audience to see the mentors perfom too, as they introduced their proteges. They were the warm up acts, and we had such fun with them. Whilst Julian Clary had most people in fits of laughter and Mark Steel made such an impression, it was Sandi Toksvig that really made my day. I know that she is not only a superb comedian, but she is also a genuine diamond and 22 carat person thats caring and a lovely person who really makes a difference to peoples lives. I am biased perhaps, having followed and loved her since the days of Maidstone Studios and Saturday morning TV many moons ago!But she mentored  Tom Service of Radio 3, and he was very, very, very competent, but in his own style!

I hope I have not influenced any future votes, but to be fair you must see all performers to make an honest judgement. Do not be fooled by your allegiance to one BBC radio station, judge the performance of all 6. And do not be sexist either, there were 5 men performers and several mentors of various sexual persuasions, but there was one woman representing the radio personalities, and she was Jenni Murray of Radio 4 Womens Hour, and she was CLASS!

I had a great day. Watch the Red Nose day website and vote!

Telephone calls and poor food at Railway stations.

I am actually getting sick of telephone calls from seemingly call centres around the world asking various questions, offering services, claiming I have won a holiday, and now the latest surge is from people saying "have I claimed my UK government grant for insulation?" In the last week I have had 4 calls on this same subject. Do the government ask these people to call us? Is there a percentage fee they take?

I had only just got back from London, and the Comedy Store, when one phoned and I could hardly understand a word he muttered, and there was lots of background noise and interference. In the morning I took one before I left. That person rang up, did not know my name, apologised for being slow and then said "sorry my system is very slow, and I cannot find your details", so I said "perhaps you should know who you are phoning and what you need to say before you make such a call", and I put the phone down!

And by the way I bought a Pastie at Charing Cross before I stepped up onto the train, and it had nothing in it virtually. £3.20 for doughy pastry and some gravy browning. I am going to use the feedback system at the station and mention the awful food. There was a time when you could depend on railway food being awful, but in many cases it has improved, now in this enlightened age of quality food, it has become awful again. Is it another austerity measure? So my mood went from what a great show to grumpy and moaning! 

Sandi Toksvig

I have long admired Sandi Toksvig, since she did  a childrens programme many years ago that I think was called No 10. It was a house, where she was the one in charge of a family and she kept order and entertained both the family and visitors. I remember she had a game where she made sandwiches that were layered in double decks and triple decks and more that rewarded people. It was a programme made at the Maidstone Studios. Then I saw her in a terrific stage show that was an "end of pier" show where women were friends and talked after a show that was a typical holiday summer special often found on a pier. I recall it was funny and starred people like Una Stubbs and Anita Dobson. It also had a film that set the scene before the stage show started. It was filmed at Hastings, my old home/work town, and now the Pier is burnt down. Ironically I was a Manager of the Councils Tourism and Entertainment Dept at Hastings when that was filmed, and when I saw the end of pier show I was working for Nottingham City Council when the show was done at Nottinghams Playhouse.

Anyway Sandi is a lovely lady. She was a true gem today at the Comedy Store. I'll tell more soon!

Cotswolds to the Capital and Comic Relief

I have just had a nice long weekend in the Cotswolds. I never stop marvelling at the greatness of our homeland; the United Kingdom of Great Britain. I stayed in Bourton-on-the-Water, a beautiful river based community, where there were as many ducks as there were Japanese tourists, lurking between the bridges on the river Windrush. I went to Stow-on-the-Wold too, another lovely place, together with Moreton-on-the-Marsh, which was equally enchanting. The Cotswolds are bigger than those places I visited, but it is such a charming area. I mean to return. But there is so much to see and do in the UK of GB, and it is a wonderful place with too little time to cherish every wonderful element. I am lucky to have seen many places over the years, and travelled widely in the UK and some parts of Europe, but I still want to see more of my homeland.

Today I am off to the capital, to visit the Comedy Store, and see "ordinary" celebrities be stand-up comedians-in aid of Comic Relief and Red Nose Day. Tony Blackburn, amongst others is giving it a try. I so admire him, for he is never afraid to have a go and even make a fool of himself. Hes been making me smile for years, but does he have the timing,and the jokes to actually do serious stand-up? 
I will go by train, as I still am not allowed to drive after my operation. So if you want to know how Tony Blackburn did then watch this space! But I will not be able to tell you everything, as you really should watch and listen to Red Nose Day as it unfolds on TV and radio in a few weeks time.

The UKs Health Service

It seems to be de rigueur, or fashionable, to knock the National Health Service every now and again and read about another scandal of incompetence, inadequacy, failing or funding, but there are few good news stories that get the same headlines. Dear old NHS took a bashing last year when the USA were making comparisons with what could be their model and then certain individuals made comments about it using their opinions to create a vision of uselessness for our friends accross the pond.  I was horrified by that criticism. None of us are perfect, many of us make mistakes, and I know that lives are often at stake in our Health Service, so that does not excuse the mistakes, but there is more to the NHS than a few random poor examples.
Personally I cannot see any US model that could replicate our NHS model anyway, when so many precedents and history has been so solidly based on private health and insurance schemes. Our NHS has evolved and developed over many years, from an entirely different base, and it will continue to move on, and with a private sector in the market place.
I can speak with much experience, and I would generally say the NHS is wonderful, but I have to admit I have had moments when I have also been upset, annoyed and even disgusted by what I have seen in the NHS. But where I have seen faults, I have seen people try and fix things and resolve problems.
I had an awful road accident 21 years ago. I was in a mess. I was virtually dead, when I got to the nearest accident and emergency unit. They patched me up, I lived, and I have had pain and difficulties from those injuries ever since. I have actually lived with one leg much shorter than the other. I cannot run, I lose my balance, and I get terrific leg and back pain-and headaches. But I am glad to be alive. 21 years ago is a long time in medical history. I have also aged in that time! Now the NHS is rebreaking me and resetting me. I have several operations to go through, and only one has happened, but that was the most significant-breaking and straightening the hip/pelvis and femur. It was a 7 hour operation and a pretty tough one for the medics, and me! Its taking a while to recover, but its still the NHS.
I went private to get a diagnosis, and a possible solution, as I had experienced about two years of increasing and burdening pain. I was then referred to Kings College London, back on the NHS, because this particular specialism-Limb Reconstruction-is the best you can find in the UK. And despite my frustrations and overcoming my own demons-boredom and a lack of activity-I have had superb treatment-at every step and from every individual involved. It has been communicated, coordinated and controlled superbly too.

So I have nothing but praise for the NHS. I just wish I could have had this surgery sooner, but hindsight is a great science, and the knowledge has not been around for long anyway.

I can of course talk about poor service at the NHS, but hey that was in Maidstone during a time when the world probably heard about the scandals there, under a certain Chief Executive who no longer holds the post.

If the USA ever gets anything like our model that bears any common ground with the NHS then they will be lucky. I do not know the US well enough to make any predictions, but its more political and economic than it is to do with health, so I can only wish Obama well with it. But then will he be around long enough to actually see it happen for it to be anywhere near our NHS?

BBC Inside Out-South East/Kent

I know its not the most watched programme and it is on at the same time as Coronation Street on ITV I think, but I do watch it quite often, as it features some topical and local issues and presented in an easy and very affable style. Last night it featured people who are scammed, or ripped-off, conned, by falling into a love trap on the internet usually when on a dating site, and when completely false identities are used, often using some other photo of some other identity and sadly an innocent victim. The BBC featured American military identities being used, and sometimes dead soldiers. The BBC are right to highlight this horrid and sick crime. It seems that women do it all the time!
OK it was a valid story and worth doing, but that is one of many devious deceits and deceptions that can be found on the net EVERYDAY! And they are found even on sites like Facebook, MySpace and the other social networks. But whilst I have every sympathy for the people that fall into these traps, I really think it is important to know that men fall into these traps too!
I also think some hints and tips could have been issued to avoid it happening, rather than just say the normal thing like "be vigilant" and "never trust strangers". These con artists do give out clues. Almost ALWAYS their English is poor, and I do not mean "text speak" English, or abbreviated email standards, or even lazy badly written English, it is English that sticks out like a sore thumb-but then I am an English Teacher and even I make mistakes, especially when rushed and very often on the net, but there will always be a few clues! Sites like Twitter do not have them in such numbers, as the words to use are so limited, and you either have to be basic, which can be rude and crude, or you have to be quite clever and erudite in an innovative way, that people like Stephen Fry have mastered.
When they introduce themselves they may even say they come from a town or district. If they do not say where they are from-then ask them. In other words carry out some checks.  "Hi, nice to hear from you, where you from?"Then you check them out.  Do not carry on the dialogue. Stop there and you can get back later. Suppose they say they are from some big city or town, or even a small community, then get straight onto Google and get a picture of the place, or a map, or even a relevant website-often there is something like a Council/Local Government or a Chamber of Commerce website and you will be able to find some features of that place. I once did this when an "American woman" made romantic overtures to me. I noticed the town she claimed she came from had a really popular drive through Restaurant at a prime location in the area. So my next email just popped the question " I think I went there once-is Ziggys restaurant still popular?"  I then give the conversation a lot more time-hours, even days.  Their reply may ignore my question, so now you should be alerteted. Then I introduce one of my set-ups. I find out the names of say the two schools.I use two other names and ask them which one they went to. This tests them further, where they could be honest and say I am wrong or state that they do not know them, or they could fall right into my trap and say one of them! Even if they have lived there a few weeks they must know something-even if it is nothing so to speak!!! Even when you have tested that remember they could still be on the con. I got the reply from my teasing tests "oh you know my town well" -with no response one way or another, so that suggests a con, so instantly cease. Basic psychology is when there IS common ground, people will talk in that area, as they feel safe. Yes I know you are now a bit deceptive but you are not a liar! We all need to use any tools in our toolbox!
I actually got someone from Norfolk posing to me, but she was on holiday apparently. I know Norfolk well, so I chatted about various places like Cromer and Swaffham and she seemingly did not have a clue, and did not follow the conversation I was feeding. She laid her trap very soon, as she felt I must have been comfortable. She claimed she needed money to return home - as I let her believe I was falling for her. So I told her I would go to Norfolk and get all her friends and neighbours pay for her return. I then offered to fly to her with the money. I had no intention of doing it. The emails dried up. I doubt it was a woman, and I am sure it was one big con.
Very often they ask for money on Western Union, or use a hotmail or yahoo address, there are many clues. But there are genuine people out there too.
Men seem to be gullible to people who pretend to be young Asian or East European ladies. This is often because their cultures are so different that their differences, poor English etc seem so logical or rational. But even that gives out clues. They often say as young women that they want the security of an older man, or the young men they meet are too irresponsible or drunk. If they have recently set up profiles then they are certainly on the make! But American identities are used often too where they act as shy, demure and often religious types-they love a Brit apparently.
Another tease to use for the innocent, to avoid the con, is a bit of further deception and say you are not at home, and that you are on holiday. Remember you could be emailing from anywhere on the internet. The trouble is that we are all basically decent and honest people and we do not go out of our way to deceive-well most of us! Thats why these people do it and continue to succeed. I actually say I am on holiday in Lagos when they get curious, and I offer to bring the money to them personally, as 9 times out of 10, they are in Nigeria. That has always silenced them.
And sometimes I really am in Lagos!
Another thing I notice is the list of friends they have-many are the same people who turn up frequently!  That is a clue in itself. I have even made friends myself with some of the men that are targeted as I warn them!

But the internet is not the cause of the problem, its merely a conduit, a conduit of life in a microcosm.

Salaries and austerity

I note from the press and TV that there remains concern about salaries of the more privileged and those in senior management positions. It seems the banks and those in the financial world are still  paying big salaries or hefty bonuses and latterly I have seen comment about the Universities giving the upper tiers of management some equally large salaries and bonuses. Now they have the green light to wack up fees, that seems to mean that they can wack up their salaries! If this is true then it horrifies me.

I am basically politically a Conservative, a Tory, a person who believes in a "reasonable" free market that believes you must create wealth to have a richer society, that in turn spreads it about. In this respect I mean businesses create wealth, and they employ people, and some people do get rich out of it, but the entrepreneurs are entitled to that, as they do tend to pay more tax, or invest it, or spend it, and this provides jobs and/or they themselves tend to employ more people in their expanding interests as they progress. Good and decent entrepreneurs often go on and give generously too, or set up philanthropic activities. Government must therefore be able to balance this act of wealth "spreading" to assist the "fairness". Each political party will have different ways of addressing this basic economic model and that is why I use inverted commas around spreading and fairness as there are many viewpoints. Conservatives will always see that wealth is the PRIME creation and that this must come from business, then that can support the country, and the public sector. But as a Conservative I see other models I like.

I like the French Cooperatives, they succeed in many ways. The farming industry is full of them, including the wine industry. There is a culture of "we are in it together" and we will work with each other. They are happy to share and spread things out. I love the way in France that if you want an ordinary road and do average speeds to get from A to B, then there is an ordinary road for cars. But if you want to go quicker and want a better road, the motorways are tolled. If you can afford it you use motorways and if you choose the main roads and want to take more time then the main roads are quite sufficient. This is something I really enjoy as a Tourist, but I can really see the economic benefits, and the cultural ethos that comes out of it.

Yesterday we saw David Cameron talk about his "Big Society". It is a vision, but I believe I can see his point. It is about co-ops, mutuals, community localism, and people taking some initiative for themselves. Some people may include The Third Way or community enterprise, or social firms in this vocabulary. It is a vision I broadly subscribe to, and it should relate to good times or bad times. Sadly economically it is bad times at the moment, and people are so quick to turn the screws on a fundamentally good vision, and blame him and HIS cuts for it to fail. Politically I just ask "who got us into this mess in the first place"???

Back to salaries and austerity some of the banks are supported by public money given by the former Labour government, they should recognise the need not just for returning profits and creating their own wealth, but also being accountable for the public funds placed in them-that kept them up and able! Yes there has to be incentives and rewards in all walks, but what is actually fair and just?

There has to be some reward in Education too and well run Universities, Colleges and Schools and in the whole public sector. Yes I agree that in essence they are businesses. Hospitals and Local government need to be run on business terms, but there are without doubt some greed and sanctimonious attitudes about. I may be a Tory, but I am also pro-Unions, sensible ones, like the University & College Union and Sally Hunt have said that many of the bosses are just looking after themselves as they make many of their best workers redundant. Indeed a lot of things I have seen imply that bosses are just re-inventing or massaging new management structures out of old loyal friends who have pledged allegiance in an obeisance subservient manner. In other words members of the family, friends, the sycophants, the croneys, the shoe lickers and the brown nosers are alright! And they have done this-created new structures-to appear  as if "we are all being affected" by changes in job roles and salary adjustments in the name of austerity measures! Whilst more people suffer and actually lose their jobs entirely.

I suppose life is never fair and as I promote a wealth creation economy, then I should accept these unfair situations. Or should I? I am actually active in my own local community affairs, and maybe this is even more reason to stay there and get stuck in.

Later that same day

As I have said elsewhere/before, I am recovering from surgery.  Currently I must walk with one crutch, and I must not drive. My leg was sawn in several places, so it could be reset and straightened with plates and pins. Over 20 years ago I had a near death road accident, I was lucky to recover as I did, but I did it with bent rejoining of one leg to the hip/pelvic girdle and one arm. Medical knowledge and technology is much better now and it can be sorted out with a series of ops. I have had the first op done. The hip has been cleaned up with a chisel and plane, and the excess bone has been used to regraft over the breaks and assist reunion of the femur which has been reset with metal. Its more like carpentry and metalwork, and some horticulture!

Currently the leg has NOT united, and any excessive or sudden strain/pressure, would have serious consequences-this is not just standing and walking, but  even getting in and out of a chair-or car! My right leg operation is entirely dependant on my left elbow/arm giving the support with a crutch. I was expecting an operation on the arm-and am still due to have it-but the leg MUST be fully unified and consolidated before any elbow op. The estimate for a FULL united bond is usually 6 months-that takes us to the end of March 2011. I am making good progress against that but still feel a great urgency to progress faster and better-knowing I am generally fit in the blood, skin and bone quality areas with a good diet! I miss driving terribly and not being able to get out and about as I would normally does frustrate! I do get out but need reliable friends and a spacious car to do it!

So the elbow will be done in about 9 weeks-but this is the optimistic prognosis-nonetheless Kings College Hospital in London have been not only very good at the job but also very reliable and efficient so far in their predictions. Anyway predictions  are still unpredictable. I could put it off, and/or they may decide my leg has not united sufficiently!

The elbow will be a minor affair compared to the leg. Then another leg operation is anticipated-but not until the bond of calcification-and the FULL uniting of the breaks, with "good solidification" taking place-this possibly takes a year! Then they break the leg again, and reset it again with another pin that lengthens the leg. The last op just broke & straightened the leg, and it was a big op, it was 7 hours in surgery and technically it was 9 out of 10 on the surgical scale of intensity and seriousness-and risk!  It was also major trauma to skin, bone, blood etc with a massive cut and severe blood loss, anaesthesia etc. Thats what the "elbow" consultant said! As he said the elbow op will only be about 3 out of 10!   Yes I have a lower torso consultant-for the leg and hip, and an upper torso consultant for the arm. Its National health too and they are brilliant.But it took a private consultation to get there, after suffering so much pain in the last few years I used my private health scheme, and they told me the best people in the business-for me- was at Kings!

Anyway lets forget the medical stuff! I am surviving and pretty well considering. I get bored though, but I have not depended on daytime TV to do it. I have never watched the Jeremy Kyle show! I have seen bits of it though-its awful! I do tend to switch on the TV for some News events and move through the channels and see this utter rubbish for a few seconds. As long as I do not finish up watching this sort of TV I think I may be able to contain my frustration with recovery. That sort of TV will made my recovery worse, I could want to commit suicide if that was the only thing to see or do. I do have a TV weakness though. I am not a big watcher of TV anyway, especially if it means sitting down in front of the TV and just watching it. There are few programmes that entice me to that. But I am fond of old "retro" TV, the sort that both ITV 3 and 4 has. I have seen The Champions and The Saint all too often, but Alexandra Bastedo and the guests of the Saint seem to enchant me. Randall and Hopkirk with Anette Andre has the same effect!  It may be rubbish to others like Jeremy Kyle is to me, so that just says that it takes a load of different people to "make the world go round"! Or as they say "up north" "there is nowt so queer as folk"!   But as I enjoy them I can also see the flaws of them. Well TV was a lot younger in those days, and budgets reflected the thinking where the same sets were used for these programmes all out of the same stable led by Lew Grade and ATV. Scenes featuring foriegn places seem to have old film stuck in and taken from old news reels or some old library material, and jungle scenes were in a room with rubber pot plants, and desert scenes were made on a pile of sand or scattered sand on a floor.  I still love them. Its amazing to see that some of them have actors in them, unknown at the time, but household names now!

So I am now going to digest David Camerons views on Big Society.

The Big Society and Government issues

Today in the UK we will seemingly find out about what the PM thinks and believes about the Big Society initiative, or project, or it is just a vision or ethos? I look forward to this, as imminently I am expecting to be redundant with no job, yet I am very active in my community and have great belief in establishing localised initiatives for local people. Too often government does things, even local government, that bears no relationship to a community. I live in a rural area, a large village, which is considered to be a town by some, where there is a distinctive difference between cultures and that of a big town. I give an example: all of us have been given special bins to recycle our kitchen waste of old food, tea bags and coffee beans etc. Some of us in our community have been recycling for years and we use that sort of waste as COMPOST and put it back into our garden soil! 1000s of people have been given these plastic bins at how much in cost? I can think of other examples of waste, duplication and useless actions that are pointless, so if the PM thinks we can "localise" better and support ourselves better, then I am listening!

So Egypt and Tunisia have revolted, and others are simmering for a fight with their duly appointed governments-whether appointed fair or foul! Even in democracies of the west there is unrest, mainly as the unease appears over spending cuts. France have had some massive demonstrations and in the UK we have had some full-on student protests, but now the women of Italy have spoken with full conviction. They have paraded with signs saying  we love sex, but we dont like ------------ which basically means abusive and disrespectful "using" sex.  I applaud them, even in Italy which has a fairly broadminded approach to sexuality, they are making a very valid point about a PM that seems to think he can do what he wants.

For those that do not know I have had a fairly major bit of surgery in the last few months which is very restrictive. It means I cannot walk that well and I am not allowed to drive. But I used the train to go to Twickenham and watch Rugby, my favourite team sport, and I am currently suffering the pain and punishment of the trip-by train.

I enjoyed the game though as England beat Italy emphatically. Italy may not be in the same class, but they have become a very good team over the last few years, and my respect for their players and supporters is very high, as they really got into the spirit of the game, and the event. Italians must be good people if they like Rugby-and the women are so mobilised to protest against their PM.

Its Valentines Day! I must go and write a schmaltzy poem or something, or write something on the side of a bus declaring my love for ?????

My Mum and how the Internet drives her mad.

I was greeted this morning by my mother telling me how worried she is. She was in one of her panic states and highly charged with stress. She rarely makes sense like that and a sense of rational logic completely disappears.
I live with her in the family home that I was brought up in. I have been there for the last 7 or so years. I made a mess of my last relationship, or should I say relationships, and I was at rock bottom in all ways as I was without a job and had no money! I returned to home as my father was weakening considerably and mother was not coping too well. So we all needed each other. I got a job pretty quickly and I spent five years watching father die from Leukaemia. Mother has had her ups and downs since! More about that another time!
Anyway today she was clearly upset.I asked her why she was so agitated. She showed me a leaflet from the milkman and the delivery service they offer. It was an invitation to use the website "milk and more" to order and pay! There was a £5 incentive. She said it worries her so much she goes into panic. She then tells me how she doesn't understand the world of Computers, the digital and virtuals worlds and the internet and THAT SHE WILL NOT try to learn. So I said "Fine-keep writing him notes and pay the bill when he gives you one"!!!  "But he has given me this note-they want me to do it on a computer". I offered to do it for her if she wanted. "Oh no" she said.
Then she went into a tirade about how "none of it works" when she announced the Doctors have suggested she orders her prescriptions on line. "And that doesn't work", she said.  She confirmed her current prescription was wrong this week, because the doctor and the pharmacist must use the internet to do most of it these days!
And then she said it doesn't work for me either! Why, I ask. Well Tesco didn't deliver at Christmas time was her reaction! I then told her, as I have told her a dozen times; Tesco did not deliver because of the heavy snow and the dangerous roads for the delivery times I booked!
So the internet does not work!
Then she launches into an attack on both family members and dear friends. She said she has been really upset by "all these people" that say speaking to your grandchildren is so easy using the internet. She is also upset by "all these people"   that send each other photos to each other on the internet.
The trouble is that it is NOT the internet that hurts. I have never had children, and my sister and brother in law were killed in a road accident 25 years ago, so she has not got grandchildren. People talking about grandchildren just makes her upset, and then it becomes anger.
The other thing that happened this week is my cousin told her about her grandchildren, and over Christmas others had mentioned the emails they got from family. Also this week a 80 year old told her about some photos she got-but they were on paper, and not glossy, in a week a new shop opens in our village and advertises digital photos presented on traditional glossy paper in frames-"for pictures to treasure"!!!!!
Its all too much for her-but she gets angry about it.
Panic will come next.
Its all very confusing for me, but mainly her reactions and logic. Its incredibly confusing for her, she feels pressure to do things on the net and regards a leaflet or a letter as an instruction. She also feels stressed by the begging letters from charities she gets. She seems to think that all junk mail and begging mail needs to be read fully-whereas when I see the type of mail it is from initially opening, or even realising from the envelope, then I just throw it away! And she will keep it and read it over and over again!  The problem will then just fester and multiply and then I have to cope with  more ranting.
Oh dear panic is going to happen sooner than I expected. My Aunt has phoned-from Canada, and she has dozens of grandchildren and can't stop talking about them!

Egypt, Cuts, My problems, my attitude and

We can all get depressed about something these days, there is a lot of bad news about and events that make you think. So Egypt, why did this problem happen? Mubarak has been there years! The people took a while to revolt, and now the rest of the world starts supporting them and says to him that its time to go! Why did the people take so long? I know the Army has a big role to play in countries like Egypt, and to be honest I know too little to really comment, but hes been around a while. And hes been a friend for some countries that now want rid of him! Every dog has his day and Mubarak has had more than his fair share I guess. It suited the western democracies to work with him during the worse days in the Middle East, and now its time to move on. But why did a smaller neighbour like Tunisia become the catalyst to start this? I suppose there will be more unrest in the African/Asian areas now. Some say religion has a bearing. I think it may be because the people there are too nice and too tolerant, and now they have taken enough-its still taken a long time! The trouble is that time may have been long enough to have problems that have just simmered, and then radicals have worked it up, extremists have made the most of it. We will have to see what emerges over the weeks, but it is good the people have had their voices heard and reacted to.
Will it take the British that long to react to the economic cuts of the Coalition government? This Coalition are in danger of becoming the most unpopular government ever. Yes we know drastic measures were needed after the mess they inherited, but can we seriously see an economic turnaround in the private sector that quickly? To employ all those that are losing jobs, to boost savings and cut debt-all within the period of this elected government? And maintain some level of public services-that affect all of us without most of us questioning the stark realities of these measures?
I do believe when one door closes there will be another door that opens! You have got to hope. You cannot give up. Trouble is there is usually a long dark tunnel to go through before you see the light, and sometimes that tunnel is a long time and it seems longer. How do you get through it?
Well that dreaded door closure looks like it will be on me soon. I only work a short week, but I depend on it. The other activities do not pay my bills. It could be a new opportunity, a new role, a new direction, but I must find it.
I could worry about it. I should do something, but meanwhile England play Italy on Saturday and I will be there at Twickenham, so I do have something to look forward to. A few pints of Guinness may help too.

2011 with one month gone

What a lovely day weather wise it was today. I awoke to a covering of white frost and then the sun shone and in the south of England it was very pleasant. I even opened windows in the house and decided to open the doors in my three cars, that have all been standing still for months, and had condensation on the inside of the windscreens. It was a day for optimism and a licence to live!
But I am off work, following a major operation, and I am still only standing and walking if supported by at least one elbow crutch. And I have been craving to go back to work, but the doctors will not let me drive-so because I work some miles away I simply cannot get to work. (More about the operation in future blogs-but I have had about a Million pounds worth of surgery over time-and I was virtually dead before I was saved!).
Anyway I was optimistic until my place of works Personnel Officer phoned, and asked me to consider Retirement!
Its like being told I am useless! But they want redundancies and I am a good target! I work in Education, and the cuts are happening in most public sector fields. There are going to be a lot of us chasing jobs.
But I am alive -that is a great bonus after what happened to me 21 years ago!