Thursday 24 March 2016

A Few Days in Devon

Last week we spent a few days in Devon opening up the lodge. On the way down we stopped at Salisbury Cathedral and saw the Sophie Ryder statues in the grounds. They were really stunning.



This is the statue that people kept walking into.

The cathedral


The lady in blue is not by Sophie Ryder


Black swan and cygnets (a few days old) at Dawlish

Proud parents


It was cold by the sea front

We did a brisk walk

Stourhead on the way home

Friday 18 March 2016

Expenses

If when I was working for IBM I had fiddled my expenses I would have been immediatelysacked and possibly criminal charges would have followed - this would have been the correct course of action for IBM to have taken.
An MP, Simon Danczuk, fiddles his expenses and all he has to do is repay the money - when he has it according to some reports.
As always one rule for them and another for us!

Saturday 12 March 2016

First shave at a barbers!

Some of you may recall that last September I shaved my head to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Nurses and to support Billie a brave young lady who has leukemia. When talking to Billie I said that one of the things that I had always wanted to do was have a shave in a barbaers with the hot towels and done with a cut-throat razor. For my birthday Billie gave me a voucher to have a shave at "Kack the Clipper" in Shoreditch.
Earlier today I went and used it and the deed was done - without a nick! If any men out there reading this have not had a proper shave I urge you to go and have one. It is a sublime experience, my skin feels as soft as a baby's bottom - no doubt in the morning it will be back to its usual state.

PS: Please pray for Billie she is scheduled to have a bone marrow transplant at the end of the month.

Friday 4 March 2016

In or Out?

David Cameron promised to 'renegotiate' the UK's membership and get a new deal then ask the country by Referendum if they agreed with it. Not "can he UK survive outside of the EU?". In his 2013 Bloomberg Speech he himself said, I quote:

"Of course Britain could make her own way in the world, outside the EU, if we chose to do so. So could any other Member State."

Cameron's 'new deal' has not reformed the EU in any shape or form bar for a few possible temporary measures, if agreed by Brussels.

Temporary brake on migants
Temporary brake on paying benefits (up to 7 years)
Temporary 'red card' if we can get 55% support across the EU
Temporary 'objection' to concerns over EZ legislation that may affect the UK/City
All subject to the EU agreeing of course.

The Remainers should stop 'Project Fear' and tell us how Cameron has reformed the EU and how these reforms benefit the UK now and in the future.

Thursday 3 March 2016

Leaving the EU

Lord Rose - head of the "Britain In Campaign" said the following:-

Stuart Rose will have to be added to the long list of British businessmen who have struggled to make the transition to politics. Rose, the Chairman of Britain in Europe, didn’t get off to the best of starts in this campaign when he told The Times that ‘“Nothing is going to happen if we come out of Europe in the first five years, probably. There will be absolutely no change’ a quote that was seized upon by the Out campaign who said it disproved all the dire warnings about the immediate consequences of leaving. But today he has had made an even bigger gaffe.
Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, Rose was asked by the Labour MP Wes Streeting ‘‘if free movement were to end following Brexit, is it not reasonable to suppose that we could see increases in wages for low-skilled workers in the UK? To which Rose replied, ‘If you’re short of labour, the price of labour would go up. So Yes. But that’s not necessarily a good thing.’

So if you want higher wages then we should leave the EU?? Seems an odd message to campaign on.