Kiss the babys' time is nigh.

This is the time in the election cycle when we are bombarded with paper from Councillors wishing to defend their places on high and are quite willing to, unlike some of, us forget the past.
Our "friend" Bernard Hughes has just circulated a letter extolling his attributes as a County Councillor, for too long ( 16years) telling us what a good job he has done. Listed is his chairmanship of the fire authority, first the Devon F&R.A. and latterly Devon and Somerset (D&SFRA). He also tells us that if we are silly enough, forgetting the past, to vote a Tory Council into power we will get better financial management of our affairs. What a load of bull from a man who was only two years ago extolling the virtues of a larger F&R authority based in Taunton and time has shown that the cost of which were to have been excessively under estimated. His D&SRFA precept which we have absolutely no control over has risen again to an unacceptable level due to the incompetence of people like him who have been on the gravy train for too long.
Is his wish to remain as the Chairman of that authority not also flying in the face of his glorious leaders statement that if they take over central government after an election to come soon some think that the Tory party will disassemble all quango's and joint ventures that join up into regional organisations. Is BH going to leave the tory party so that he can enjoy the freedom to continue spending our money unwisely, or more likely will he toe the party line and carry on as normal telling us that he didn't agree with the chages anyway!

Have I got news for you?

Interesting that this week one of the guests was the (tory) shadow leader of the House of Commons.
As is usual the conversation turned to topical political issues of the day, the latest being that thorny question of MP's pay and privileges. The topical question this week being on that very delicate subject, how MP's are to be reimbursed and especially the proposed attendance allowances?
Most people would have expected a tory MP to give a frivolous reply to this but the gentleman responded by saying that he did not agree with the allowance nor did the leader of his party. When pressed to find if he had any alternative suggestions he admitted that he would scrap the unpopular and open to abuse second home allowance and would advocate an increased fixed payment to MP's. Once again when pressed he stated that he would just simply put a couple of noughts at the end of the salary they already get.
D...r let me see present number is what about £80K? so that is £80,000 add 2 noughts that comes to £8,000,000! Where can I apply I am well qualified for that, I live away from London, need the money, could find something to spend it all on (visit other countries on fact finding trips...That means sitting on the beach!), Eight Million that would do for me, and my Wife and the Children, and the Grand Kids, I could give all of them jobs to do for that, walking around with a bit of paper in their hands. Oh yes it would have to be called research!

Is this something to look forward to if or when the tory machine takes over again? Last time they lost out because of sleaze, this time they have not changed much still looking out for their own ends!

I have suggestion. Scrap the MP's pay, introduce a payments by resuts scheme. They attend and work at their job in Parliament and get the pay for the job. Minimum pay is what about £7 an hour, I would be generous and pay £8, no travel allowances, no cheap booze or meals, just a simple canteen fare something like the old National restaurants used to serve up back in the late 40's and early 50's. No outside, or part time, jobs, hours of work 5 1/2 days a week from 8 to 5 with a break for lunch 45 hours. I would be very generous ang let them have a Holiday entitlement 2 days per month to be taken on bank holidays and in the first two weeks in August.

On another tack they (tories) are putting a lot of the blame on the other parties for not looking after the economy and failing to ensure that our financial system was working for us etc, etc.
Who put us in this state in the first place? If my memory serves me the start of our problems came when the jewels were sold off by the tory government to balance their books and to encourage free enterprise!!
There is a long list of privatisations by those tories who virtually all had an interest in the sell offs and that encouraged share holding in the once state owned companies like, the Railways, bus companies, electricity, water, gas, car and lorry manufacturing, even banks (remember the TSB?) .Many of these companies have now passed into outside ownership, the country is now owned by France, Japan, USA, Germany and many others who have an interest. that is why we are loosing our manufacturing facilities to Europe (or what is left of them) whilst still expected to pay our way.
Going back into the very dark days years ago when the tory party was in power a certain MP who was the Minister of Transport changed the face of England for ever. He built the first motorway, sorry he didn't build it himself but who was the contractor? Marple Engineering was it not? His name Ernest Marple, a member of the family that owned the company outright and which went on to build more and more roads whilst Ernie closed down huge sections of railway and his henchman Dr Beeching got the blame.
Problem is that now we just ain't got anything more to sell, what they didn't sell the New Labour government has just given away, Scotland, Wales, our Fishing industry and more.
It was my birthday yesterday, I may have a few more left in the pipe line and when my time comes I just hope that because of my protestations someone has taken on board what I have been cracking on about for years and sets about doing something to try at least to get some sense ownership back into this Great Country of ours.

Still the programme WAS funny.

THE RIFLES

Good to see the lads back and on parade through the streets of Exeter on Saturday wasn't it? Not that I am a war monger but it did me good to see these men and women who have served us so well welcomed back after serving abroad for some time, in extremely dangerous places. I did hear a few grumbles from some less than supportive members of the public who were held up for a short while so that the parade could pass. If they had gone over there to fight, then they might have had an excuse, but as "stay at homes" and obviously willing to let someone else do their dirty work, I just ignored them so that if they should want to crawl away and hide they could.
Sadly in today's world there are far too few who are willing to put themselves forward and fight if necessary for what is right, so lets support the ones who do!