Ha ha

Overheard in a pub (honestly!) -
My wife was watching one of those cookery programmes on the television. "What are you watching that for" I said, "You can't cook". She looked at me and said "Well you watch porn".

Book Post

(see post 18/11/06)

Douglas Adams - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - 6.5 
John Connolly - The Lovers - 7 
Lee Child - Killing Floor - 8
Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest - 9
Thomas Greanias - The Atlantis Prophecy - 5
Harlan Coben - Play Dead - 8 
Dennis Lehane - Shutter Island - 7.5 
Dennis Lehane - A Drink Before The War - 8 
Simon Brett - The Witness At The Wedding - 7.5
Janet Evanovich - One For The Money - 8

Census

Well after much umm-ing and ahh-ing I decided to put down "Christian" as my religion (see post of 23rd February).  I've really been mulling this over quite a bit since then, and eventually came to the conclusion that, in view of my history and my philosophy of life, I could not really say that I was not Christian.  What I really wanted was an option which said something like "Christian but not a churchgoer" but of course that choice wasn't there.

Response - what response?

The coroner at the inquest on the shootings in Cumbria last summer has raised concerns about the fact that paramedics were prevented from attending to victims promptly as a result of Health and Safety regulations.  I have the greatest admiration for the emergency services, but don't see how such services can function if the safety of their personnel is considered to be of greater importance than dealing with the emergency. Under those circumstances, they cease to be an emergency service.  In Cumbria, we apparently had the ludicrous situation where members of the public were trying to assist the victims, while the paramedics were held back.  This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue - either that or we simply disband the emergency services and it's every man for himself..

Simples!!

Michael Gove (Education Secretary) has asked why it is that over 90% (his figure) of schools use Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" as their set book for GCSE English.  Couldn't just be because it's a bloody good story that teenage children can relate to, could it??

Spice of life?

Is turmeric the new wonder ingredient?  It's already known for its beneficial effects on cancer and Alzheimer's and so on, but it now appears that it can be used to detect explosives.  Is there no end to its versatility?

Land of my fathers - my fathers can have it ! (Dylan Thomas)

Apparently few of the Welsh football team speak Welsh, and are therefore unable to sing the country's national anthem before the match. The Welsh manager has decided that this is not good enough, and has recruited the current Miss Wales to teach them the words.  If memory serves, didn't someone come up with a "cod" English version which was reckoned good enough to get by provided you were singing in a crowd?  I seem to remember it started "My hen laid a haddock...." but can't remember how it went after that.

R.I.P.

Liz Taylor - what a life!
Fred Titmus - what a bowler!

'Odge up!

When is a seat not a seat?  When it's too narrow to be able to sit on it apparently.  South West Trains have decided that 43cm (just under 17 inches) is enough space to accommodate the average bum and have designed their seats accordingly.  Many passengers prefer to stand, it seems!

Taxing matters.

Little worried by this proposal to combine income tax and national insurance which would see national insurance payments abolished but the basic rate of income tax rise from the current 20% to 32%.  As a pensioner, I do not pay national insurance, so where would that leave me?  Perhaps all will be made clear - or indeed maybe the idea will come to nothing - but I, and I imagine many others, would have real difficulty dealing with a 12% rise in income tax.