Law-breaking parents on school run

Posted by on Sep 18, 2006 in Uncategorized | 3 comments I wonder if police will be monitoring schools today to boost their coffers by booking law-breaking parents. I wonder how many hours of paper work this will involve. I would far rather they spent their time nabbing motorists, particularly lorry drivers, who still drive with a mobile phone pressed between their ear and shoulder as they swing around a roundabout. I am appalled by the ignorance...
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Darfur – we can’t blame ignorance any more

Posted by on Sep 17, 2006 in Uncategorized | 8 comments Anyone who has seen the film Hotel Rwanda, will remember how those most shocking and unbelievable atrocities were ignored by the rest of the world, particularly the US, who reckoned it was not their problem. They cannot blame ignorance any longer, nobody can. We cannot fail to act knowing that genocide continues to be a real threat, while Blair has previcated for more than two...
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Our looooong wait for plumber Pete

Posted by on Sep 17, 2006 in updates | 5 comments What’s the longest you have waited for a plumber to arrive after making an emergency call? Can you beat our wait yesterday of more than 14 hours? I was mystified as to why the bathroom carpet was wet in places on Friday night, and it worsened yesterday morning. We called Anglian Water who we are insured with for emergency plumbing and drainage and they promised to send a plumber round. That...
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Thanks for the thrill Iain

Posted by on Sep 16, 2006 in Uncategorized | 11 comments It was a great thrill to return from my walk and discover that not only was I included in Iain’s list of top 100 Tory bloggers, but that I was among his Top 10. It is a great honour as I know his guide will be regarded as the definitive work on political bloggers by the media and politicians alike, and it’s going to keep us all on our toes. Thanks for the ranking Iain, the guide is...
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Time to switch off that screen

Posted by on Sep 16, 2006 in updates | 0 comments Why not try it, switch off that screen and breathe in a lungful of fresh air, enjoy the clear blue sky and the beauty of our unspoilt English countryside. I did that this morning with Cambridge Ramblers, enjoyed an invigorating 10 mile stretch with stunning views of Newmarket studs, where tranquil country lanes were lined with heavily laden branches of irresistible juicy berries. This week is...
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Meet Cambridgeshire’s youngest magistrate

Posted by on Sep 15, 2006 in updates | 6 comments Daniel Schunmann, 25, is Cambridgeshire’s youngest magistrate and has been given a guest spot on this site to speak up for young people like Lucy Tate who are appointed JPs. I feel we should place trust and pride in our exceptionally talented young people who are, after all, old enough to vote, get married, take out a bank loan. “As the youngest Magistrate in Cambridgeshire, I am...
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Tony Benn accuses Blair of abandoning NHS

Posted by on Sep 14, 2006 in Uncategorized | 8 comments Labour’s mischievous hardliner Tony Benn has accused Tony Blair’s Government of abandoning the NHS while frittering away millions on fighting the war in Iraq. His attack was made following the announcement that a hospital in Huntingdon faces closure because of crippling debts. Barely a day goes by without a regional newspaper in East Anglia reporting on the crisis facing the NHS,...
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Our Government is the biggest dunce of all

Posted by on Sep 14, 2006 in Uncategorized | 7 comments This Government has constantly ignored warnings about how it is failing to teach our kids basic literary skills. It’s a well known fact that boys and books do not go together, so why the shock that they lag behind girls in literacy? Why hasn’t the Government grasped this and done something about it? I believe there is an easy solution – to make it compulsory for boys to read...
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Does anyone know any good blogging jokes?

Posted by on Sep 13, 2006 in updates | 9 comments I’m preparing my next speech for Toastmaster’s and it’s going to be on blogging, but it has to be humorous, and it’s for a competition too, so the pressure is on. If you know any good, clean jokes about blogging, would you please send them this way. After all, talking about wikis and widgets won’t get that many laughs. I shall refer to those hilarious named bloggers...
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Pink Floyd and Cambridge’s most desirable house

Posted by on Sep 13, 2006 in updates | 4 comments Offers have soared through the roof for the rather ordinary looking 1930s house in Cambridge where Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett (pictured)lived for 25 years. The ghost of the rock legend has suddenly made it Cambridge’s most desirable house, with offers being made above the £300,000 asking price from the 40 or so fans/house hunters who have so far visited. If you like psychedelic...
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Today’s generation of iPod and chatroom kids

Posted by on Sep 13, 2006 in Uncategorized | 5 comments What a difference a generation makes. When I was a kid, I was happy making dens and mud pies, playing teacher with my dolls and reading lots and lots of books. Today’s digital kids are instantly bored if not plugged in to their iPod, a chatroom or computer games as soon as they are weaned off Telly Tubbies. They have become obese through lack of exercise and a diet of junk food, they are...
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How the Government has failed our teens

Posted by on Sep 12, 2006 in Uncategorized | 15 comments The future of our country lies in the hands of today’s youth, they will be our future leaders and decision makers, the heart of our business and industry. Yet the UK has the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe. And this latest study disturbingly shows that the figure has risen most in affluent parts of the country where one would assume people were better informed. So the sex...
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It takes a brave Government to deal with death

Posted by on Sep 11, 2006 in Uncategorized | 11 comments We naturally want our loved ones to live a healthy and happy life. But life can be cruel and deal us very different cards to the ones we would like. Imagine being robbed of a life that was once fulfilling and stimulating, suffering constant agony and unbearable pain day after day, perhaps having an excrutiating terminal illness, being unable to perform the smallest task or communicate. I could...
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Does Gordon really have Asperger’s?

Posted by on Sep 10, 2006 in Uncategorized | 8 comments The score at my son’s football game this morning was 3-3. There were lots of smiling parents on the touchline. I asked them their views about the Blair-Brown leadership row, but they were more interested in cheering their lads on for a victory than discussing the dire and desperate state of this Government’s failing leadership. That’s what makes their life tick, along with the...
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Check out Prisons Work

Posted by on Sep 10, 2006 in Uncategorized | 6 comments Tory bloggers spearheaded by Alan Drew of Daily Propaganda (pictured) have launched Prisons Works today, a web which proves that prisons work as the best deterrent for crime. He has sourced an amazing collection of reports and data to back his claim and I shall soon be adding to his site with a report on women prisoners. It’s clear that we also need a review on how our prisons are run,...
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My bouquet of the week goes to Madrid

Posted by on Sep 9, 2006 in updates | 12 comments I’ve never understood why fashion designers believe clothes look better hung on waif-like models. So my bouquet of the week goes to the organisers of Madrid Fashion Week who are banning skinny women to develop a more healthy image. Have you ever noticed skinny male models? Would men starve themselves to squeeze into a pair of two-sizes-too-small Calvin Kleins?  Would...
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Chris Mole MP and that letter

Posted by on Sep 8, 2006 in Uncategorized | 6 comments Maybe Ipswich MP Chris Mole was thinking about this when he joined colleagues and quit his post, urging Tony Blair to step down sooner rather than later. With up to 1,000 predicted job losses in Suffolk’s health service over the next two years, and the severe impact this will have for local people, I guess he had no choice. This is what Chris Mole said when resigning as parliamentary...
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Blair urged to protect our children from abductors

Posted by on Sep 8, 2006 in Uncategorized | 13 comments I know Tony Blair has a lot on his mind at the moment, but I hope he makes time soon to discuss child snatchers with John Reid – and makes it a top priority. Amazingly, strangers who abduct or try to snatch children are not placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and the York Press has actively been campaiging for the law to be changed on this. Blair visited York this week and...
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Should London’s rubbish be dumped in Cambridgeshire?

Posted by on Sep 7, 2006 in Uncategorized | 11 comments London’s landfill sites will soon be filled to capacity so the Government plans to dump it in Cambridgeshire where the local authority has excelled itself with achieving the UK’s top recycling rate. The plan could see 5.7 million tonnes of commercial, industrial and municipal waste dumped in the county’s landfill sites between 2006-21 -three tonnes of waste is equivalent to the...
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Would you give your body to medical research?

Posted by on Sep 6, 2006 in updates | 8 comments Would you take part in drugs trials, particularly bearing in mind the fate of six men who ended up in intensive care? I imagine the number of volunteers has since plummeted dramatically, and tonight’s debate in Norwich is aimed at increasing this. It is part of the high profile British Association Annual Festival of Science. Nick Ross – and some of his friends – will be leading...
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Michael Gove is wrong about blogs

Posted by on Sep 6, 2006 in updates | 17 comments I know Michael Gove is a very clever man and a good writer, but he should realise that not everyone is gifted in the same way. His column in today’s Times is harsh on those that don’t meet his literary standards. I share Michael’s admiration of Iain’s blog, and have yet to spend time on Daniel Finklesteins new site which Michael also applauds. I also like the the...
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My Dell nightmare

Posted by on Sep 5, 2006 in updates | 14 comments Geoff told me that following Dell’s recent spate of bad press, the company would be sharply tuned into blogs that reported problems so it could react immediately. I bought a Dell laptop which turned out to be a nightmare. It has repeatedly overheated and the same fault has been repaired several times. Three years ago I paid more than £1,600 for a Dell SmartPC...
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Cameron is latest in long line to woo India

Posted by on Sep 5, 2006 in Uncategorized | 7 comments India must be brimming with pride knowing how many political leaders and countries across the world want to share a slice of their economy’s success. Why successful Asians have even been passing on some of their tips to us. What has happened to our flagship British industry, I wonder, how did we lose our way? It is admirable that India is on the crest of a wave, and everyone wants to get...
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Can we please have an Ofsted for railways?

Posted by on Sep 4, 2006 in Uncategorized | 15 comments I am delighted to see that it is highly likely we will belatedly be doing our bit like Arnie to combat climate change, the warnings have been ignored for too long. Maggie tried in vain 16 years ago to put this on the worldwide agenda. Today, warnings about global disasters are made almost on a daily basis. One way to reduce carbon emissions is obviously to reduce the number of vehicles on our...
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What Miliband’s wiki said

Posted by on Sep 3, 2006 in Uncategorized | 6 comments This is what Minister Miliband’s wiki said before it was sensationally unplugged, and Guido has naturally had a good laugh about it too. Thanks to machiavelli and marquee mark for saving these priceless wiki links. A pity Miliband doesn’t have a wiki-d sense of...
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