Health and Safety hahahahaaaaa.... serious end :(

Some time ago I bought a another taxi. I was not quite sure how much diesel was in the tank, but I drove home and parked it overnight. The following day I set off to the local petrol station to fill up. The petrol station is exactly half a mile away from where I live...but ....splutter... splutter..... the fuel ran out on the way. Fortunately I was on the top of the small hill and I rolled onto the forecourt with a silence that must surely have been admired. I filled up and then...in case anyone is not au fait with clearing an airlock, which is what happens when a taxi runs out of diesel, I lifted the bonnet and proceeded to pump the diesel. This clears the airlock so that the engine will start. At this point I was approached by one of the employees of BP, who said that I could not do what I was doing because it was against HEALTH AND SAFETY. Against HEALTH AND SAFETY to start your engine on a BP forecourt!  So I asked him where do drivers start their engines here? Do they push their vehicles out onto the street before they start them?  I wanted to say more but I sincerely did not want to offend of course. I prefer to ridicule !This idiocy took place at the BP Station, Ewell Surrey.
You might think that I am going off at an illogical tangent but I think that this is an example of the state which England has reached. I am ashamed! My father, who was a regular soldier, mainly because of the depression and the threat of the Nazis during the 1930s, almost died in service of this country. By the 1970s he said England would have been better off under Hitler. The day to day erosion of freedom in this country particularly since 1979 is deplorable. Too much power has been given to those who work in our local authoriites. Supposedly they work for us, paid by us, but those who elevated them know that these people were never going to achieve, so they could be sure that they would revel in their authority, and bat out their time in subservience until retirement.
Where will the next OCCUPY movement begin ??

The Watershed

If you are like me in any way, there might be times when you do not go to bed before 9.00 pm. Or in international language 21.00 hrs. The Watershed, that is the time when adult viewing is acceptable begins at 21.00 in the UK. Other countries have different times, such as New Zealand which is 20.30.
So, quite often I sit until after midnight and I hear announcements on the television at the beginning of programmes that warn us...WARN US that the next film or sequel or one off drama contains STRONG LANGUAGE and/ or SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE and/ or NUDITY. Wouldn't you think that anyone who is watching television at this time would be aware that it is after 21.00 ? Why do they waste their time uttering patronising statements such as these ?  If anyone is still up watching this, then well...if they don't like it, hard luck ! If anyone complains they should be ignored. If anyone complains that their children saw these programmes after the Watershed, then it is the parents' responsibility to make sure that they are inaccessible to their children. We are adults and this nanny mollycoddling must stop !  Strangely I do not remember as many warnings about the depiction of violence. Maybe I am wrong? Or is violence more acceptable ?

In the quiet hours

It is early morning here as I write. Without making too much of what I am about to say, this is a time I feel for reflection. Almost one year ago my mother died. She had been in hospital for six months. As with most of my posts there is always an edge of criticism at least, and I do not have any hesitation in naming those who deserve to be named, in my view. My mother ws 93 when she died. She lived for many years in Epsom, renting her flat from The Epsom and Ewell Housing Association. They are an excellent charity who look after all their residents very well.
However there are certain private care companies who attend to those such as my mother, who have reached the stage where much more needs to be done for them. One early evening I was sitting outside in my car when her carer went into her flat. I saw the bathroom light go on, then about thirty seconds later her 'carer' left. A very short visit I thought. I rang the Epsom Social Services about this cursory visit and in due course another company took over. This company was Absolute Care who took over early in Spring 2010. I specifically pointed out to them that it would be necessary to make sure that my mother ate her meal during their visit, because I knew she was very lax in that respect. One day in June 2010 when I visited her flat, my mother had suddenly disappeared.  She had been taken to hospital and no one had notified me.  My mother was dehydtrated and was suffering from malnutrition. So much for care then ! Without saying too much more the so called carers did nothing more than make their call and move on to the next, according to their schedule, not what was needed by the person in need.  I found their daily reports which stated such things as 'my mother had already eaten' when they called. It seems that these care companies do very little and are paid vast sums of money by the local authorities. These are the fruits of privatisation which go hand in hand with no accountability it seems.

Post Riot Discontent

So...... the riots which took place in August in the UK in August now seem such a distant memory. We have been bombarded since then by the Eurozone crisis and the Occupy wherever movement. Many who took part have been gaoled and it is business as usual.  Those who suffered the looting, those who had their businesses burned and lost everything; those who lost their homes and almost their lives...well ......rest assured they have been ......it seems let down by the insurance companies who have, not surprisingly been very slow to compensate these victims, if at all according to today's news. I say not surprisingly because despite this country's pride in its first world status, this status reflects the greedy capitalist attitude, ie the insurance company asks itself a basic question I think,  "How can we get out of paying" ? It seems with no social conscience whatsoever.  As I said, the status quo has been restored. But the Occupy movement is much more organised and intellectually driven. I just wonder when the financial establishment will wake up to the fact that they are derided to a great extent by a growing number of people; that these days might just be the beginning of the end of the old fat cat/ cow attitude. That to display wealth openly might just become the spark for more social unrest and riots, but this time with specific targets and led by a more determined organisation. Those who openly flaunted their wealth in Greece have been targeted. Not well reported but it has happened.  Of course to keep order there will be police on the streets in riot gear to prevent what could escalate into anarchy. Determined people though will not merely be on the streets but will operate in a much more subversive manner,potentially much more dangerous.  And how do you identify the criminality? By those who march and occupy the streets disrupting life in their fight against what they see as major social injustice ? Or by pointing the finger at those who have creamed off and wasted billions of $$$$ ££££ €€€€ and expect everyone else to pay? Moreover to maintain their system ad infinitum?

A Trivial Pursuit ?

Yes and it remains trivial. There is nothing profound about ths subject. Or is there ??  Regarding the continuance of British society and the icons thereof..... I have noticed, as you might have done during some years now, that mobile phones have become quite common. Yes I think that is true ! I hope you agree. Otherwise I think my views are really suspect. Yet there was considerable outcry many years ago concerning the demise of the Red Telephone Box in our country ! It was almost considered heretical that the new, plastic, impersonal, faceless, non- descript usurpers of telephonic communication on our streets, overtook our beloved Red Telephone Boxes. Yet who cares now? There are quite a number around London. In my view paying lip service to tradition. But pretty nevertheless (?) Well I like them. Especially the friendly bunch leaning on one another in Kingston-upon-Thames whose only use is artistic.  But who could have imagined that the over confident,  'we are the future' representations on our streets would become virtually obsolete overnight?  How many people use them ? Does anybody use them? Does anybody see anybody using them? And how long before some now unknown technology, which may be already skipping across the skein of time towards us, brings about the end of the era of mobile phones ???  I might just start counting the users of street phones. Please let me know your results.No duplicates allowed. I am sure this is a worthwhile project.

More cold weather predicted-----in Winter ??

I almost feel like apologising for what might seem to be my preoccupation with weather predictions, but I think that this is becoming an ongoing comedy. Once again the Daily Express (2/11/11) predicted minus 20C to hit Britain within a few weeks.

James Madden, of Exacta Weather said, “I expect the most frequent and heavy snowfalls to occur across many parts of the UK during November, December, and January".

Jonathan Powell of Positive Weather Solutions stated  "By the look of things there will be sporadic episodes of wintry weather. December and January could be problematic this year"
This is so unexpected !! Cold weather and snow from November to January ? I can't believe it ! And where are the predicted Siberian temperatures to be?  James Madden continues.....  "There could also be frequent and significant snow across northern regions and Scotland throughout this winter".  How pathetic has this country become !! The trouble with these people is that they forget that those who have lived a considerable time are not surprised. We actually experienced cold weather across many years and dealt with it.  It has happened before ! Especially in winter! The alarming thing is that there seems to be a virtual army of paid 'experts' who are stating the "bleedin' obvious" or rather, the bleedin' obvious likelihood.
The Local Government Association has assured us that this year authorities has stockpiled salt to make sure roads will be cleared. Remember last year... er... and the year before ? They did not have enough salt. We will see. They will get their salaries regardless.
The Government has also put together new levels of alerts so people, especially the aged can cope with the cold. This is the Government's Cold Weather Plan. Levels of alerts ?  Well, these people have to justify their employment by being patronising and disrespectful in my view, to those who have lived through many cold winters.  What they need is more money in their pensions so that they do not have to worry about spending it on fuel !
I don't know why... but Britain, or rather the British media, when responding to weather conditions which are common, particularly in central and eastern Europe, relish the use of phrases such as 'crippling transport',  'cities grind to a halt', 'blizzards devastate transport'  All they succeed in doing is demonstrating how ill equipped this so called advanced country is, when it comes down to day to day management. Till the next headlines...........