Month: July 2021

Hell and Handcarts

(31 July 2021) A couple of weeks of extreme weather and much gloom. I remain puzzled about the competence of our “Leaders”.  They recently announced that they were selling more shares in RBS.

When the financial “crash” came the government, bought the shares in RBS at a fiver each (502 pence to be precise). This gave lots of people money (£45 billion) which was our money from taxes.

They have been slowly selling them off at a loss- the current price is about two pounds.

I fail to see how “the party of business” think this makes sense; selling an asset at a loss for short term expenditure. It puzzles me why this is not a major scandal.

Mr Branson and Bezos both went briefly into space recently. I thought it was pointless- they pollute the planet with various things, pump out a vast quantity of CO2 – for a 90-minute trip costing roughly £175,000.

It is not that I am a miserable curmudgeon about those who are super wealthy; it is the fact that they distort the allocation of resources away from much more needed things.

Finally, the Olympics is on. I like the Olympics especially the obscure sports. Sadly, the European Broadcasting union were outbid by Discovery+. So now much of this sport is behind a paywall; I will no longer have a chance to get genuinely gripped by something unexpected.

Furthermore I remain irritated when there are three races to decide the participants in a Final and they call them “semi-finals”. Surely they should be Tri-finals.

To cheer me up I am using one of my diminishing supply of kittens.

The world is a confusing place if you are small and vulnerable

Shattered Hopes and Dreams

(14 July 2021) There is something that resonates deeply when a match is lost (or won) in a penalty shootout. It is the utter finality of it. Even when one’s team make a dreadful error or have a moment of genius, the match usually continues for a while. With a penalty that is it. They remain moments embedded in my memory.

For example, when we got a penalty near the end of the game, against our rival to top the second tier, our penalty taker, a craggy old pro playing at the back, slowly walked the length of the pitch, the stadium silent and certain of a goal. The opponent’s goalkeeper unfurled his white flag. The ball went to its destiny in the upper corner.

On another occasion, in a penalty shootout against a continental team, we needed to score the fifth to stay in the contest. Our diminutive striker approached the spot with all the slow trepidation of a naughty schoolboy trudging towards the headmaster’s study. The goalkeeper lit a cigar and leaned against a post; only moving to onehandedly pick up the ball which dribbled towards the goal- not even worthy of the description “shot”.

I woke up on Monday missed penalties flying past my weary eyes with a kind thought that I hope the players go on to have reasonable careers though never scoring against Chelsea.

I took the picture below on Monday to represent my feelings.

All those lives..

Freedom? (or just lives to lose)

(7th July 2021) The government have finally given up governing and are prepared for and aware of increasing the level of Covid infections (to get them out of the way before winter flu returns).

For those of a conspiratorial bent this PROVES either:

  • It was all made up anyway and they have given in to common sense, or
  • This man-made virus is not “culling” enough people so needs to be stepped up, or
  • “Big Pharma” (not to be confused with six-foot seven John a smallholder in Devon) have not made suitable profits from Covid vaccines and want to recoup from all required for hospital treatments, or
  • The National Undertakers Society have a sinister influence behind the scenes.

I don’t agree with these, I just think the government do not know what they are doing.

Personally, I shall continue to wear a mask on Public Transport.

Also, if I go into a shop they expect me to wear trousers. This is quite reasonable and I am sure they are within their rights to refuse my trouserless entry. So, they could still insist on masks to protect their staff.

A picture to show what I think

Statue on RFH 2007
Do not jump

Site fixed! Email and Propriety

(1 July 2021) Apologies to my readers but I now seem to have fixed the site (PHP 7.4 did the trick whatever that is).

Today I was thinking about email and the absurdity of ministers using their private email addresses for Government business.

Anyone, at any level, who joins an organisation and is given an email address is, quite rightly expected to use that for their business as an employee. Most organisations have strict rules about not using the official address for personal matters.

Yet, somehow an MP can become a Secretary of State, carrying out an important job and yet they appear to be using their personal email for all sorts of contractual matters. This is not very transparent and could lead the cynics into thinking there was something dodgy going on.

[NOTE: I am not suggesting, in any way, that the hard working and competent former Secretary of State for Health did anything untoward in his time in office].

The rules appear to say that if a private address is used on departmental business the department should be copied in for the record.

However, to my simple mind, why not have a simple rule – “Everything to do with the departmental role has to be through the official email system”

The same should apply to the use of mobile phones.

This is the only transparent way.

Rant over and to celebrate the return of this site here is a delightful kitten.

Kitten and Carpet