The Backlash of the Credit Crunch must be presenting Alistair Darling with a confusing headache. The repossession of an increasing number of houses might be doing solicitors, surveyors, and the auctioneers an increase in their incomes, and consequently the tax they pay, but the lack of building, and the lack of sales, are having a… Continue reading 14.05.08, Financial Anomalies
12.05.08, Central and Local Government
Briefly, I have worked in consultancies, contracting, quangos, local government and central government, as a technician in the Navy, or as a civil engineer in the rest. Let us first examine Local Government as I knew it, At the top is a Mayor and the Councillors. These are men and women who have worked their… Continue reading 12.05.08, Central and Local Government
11.05.08, Insecutity, Instability and Greed
I believe, unsurprisingly, that many of the old ways were best. Strangely these thoughts came about because I had purchased freezer bags which I discovered to be half the weight of the previous ones, and slightly dearer. Everything today is subject to unheralded change which is frustrating, and in some cases frightening. My early life… Continue reading 11.05.08, Insecutity, Instability and Greed
10.05.08, Food Waste
Joan Ruddock, Minister of the environment, like me, is shouting down a well and the only voice that replies is her own echo. She talks as if she had just discovered the wheel, when the rest of us have been aware and talking about the waste of our money by the food that we buy,… Continue reading 10.05.08, Food Waste
07.05.08, Is Assessment A Blunt Tool?
I looked at the news today and was unsurprised to find that the PM was once again tinkering with the legislation. Ever since Tony Blair was in office every aspect of our lives has been brought under scrutiny time and time again, and many of the changes made have not, in the long run, been… Continue reading 07.05.08, Is Assessment A Blunt Tool?
05.05.08, Another Political Assessment?
Not really, more a reassessment in the light of the last few days. I believe that national and international government requires considerable political experience covering most circumstances. This was a feature of the governments of the distant past, and should be borne in mind at a time when political change seems to be on the… Continue reading 05.05.08, Another Political Assessment?
02.05.08, Iniquity Upon Iniquity
In this country we have developed a new culture, where the silent majority foots the bill for the iniquities of a miniscule minority. It isn’t just one case, it is dozens of cases. Yesterday we were warned by the newsreader that if we did not show the MOT disc on our car windscreen, we would… Continue reading 02.05.08, Iniquity Upon Iniquity
30.04.08, The Humbug Factor
My humbug factor is an imaginary figure by which I assess how much I am being given no real facts yet I’m being hoodwinked by a smooth sales pitch.. The higher the factor is and the more I’m subjected to histrionics, the less I believe what I am told. If the speaker gives the unvarnished… Continue reading 30.04.08, The Humbug Factor
29.04.08, The Wrinklies’ Retort.
Recently in the newspapers, pensions have come under attack, by the managing director of the oil company, and the financial institutions who are saying that due to the change in the tax system, people will need to save more per month to maintain their expectations when they retire. I find also there is an overall… Continue reading 29.04.08, The Wrinklies’ Retort.
27.04.08, The Price Of Old age.
This is not directed at my peers, but at those who are contemplating retirement or for whom it is just over the hill. It was the current financial situation prompted these thoughts and so I will deal with the financial front first. The real problem of old age can be financial, the effect of an… Continue reading 27.04.08, The Price Of Old age.