Are you superstitious?

Posted by on Oct 31, 2007 in updates | 10 comments Do you touch wood and cross your fingers for luck? Why are so many of us still superstitious? Especially today with our vast knowledge and proof to distinguish between fact and fiction. According to one would-be expert, it’s because people feel increasingly vulnerable during times of conflict and uncertainty. Lionel Fanthorpe, president of the Association for the Scientific Study of...
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The missing – Daniel Morcombe (2)

Posted by on Oct 31, 2007 in updates | 3 comments Today has been chosen to mark the disappearance of Daniel Morcombe, one of the first tragic cases I highlighted in this series of missing people, and one of the most unforgettable because of the normal circumstances surrounding it. It is feared Daniel was abducted and may have been murdered after disappearing 7th December, 2003 while waiting to catch a bus for a shopping trip along the Sunshine...
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Why dancing should be made compulsory

Posted by on Oct 31, 2007 in updates | 12 comments    I would like to propose that dancing should made compulsory, that there is a dance suitable for everyone to enjoy, whatever their age and fitness level. That was the theme of my latest Toastmasters speech at Cambridge Speakers’ Club last night. I mentioned how Strictly Come Dancing was one of my favourite programmes, that dancing would help improve our health and well being,...
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Adoptions and paternity leave

Posted by on Oct 30, 2007 in updates | 13 comments Congratulations to David Miliband and his wife on the adoption of their second son Jacob. The Foreign Secretary’s flying visit to the States clashed with an important Saudi state visit – but he has put family first and still taken his paternity leave. I wonder what the Saudi guests make of our Foreign Secretary’s paternity leave, I don’t suppose it happens in their...
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Argentina and Oman’s contrasting results for women

Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 in Uncategorized | 8 comments Two very contrasting results have been announced for female political candidates. While Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner swept to victory as Argentina’s first elected female president, there were no women elected in Oman. It’s particularly disappointing because a record 21 women out of a total of 632 candidates competed for 84 seats in this year’s election for the...
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My Starbucks experience

Posted by on Oct 26, 2007 in updates | 27 comments After listening to Clifff Burrows, president of Starbucks for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, speak at this event about inspired leadership, I thought he might like to read my post about my son David’s first request on waking up in hospital. It was for a Starbucks banana Java chip coffee based Frappaccino, with no whipped cream. I mentioned how I was a traditionalist when it came to...
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Mandelson reneges on trade agreements

Posted by on Oct 26, 2007 in updates | 5 comments My MEP Robert Sturdy is fuming at the way EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has reneged on vital trade agreements with ACP countries. We have issued the following press release condemning Mandeleson’s proposal for regional agreements to be reached instead: Conservative MEP Robert Sturdy yesterday condemned Mr Mandelson’s u-turn over the critical trade agreements between the EU...
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Is Tech "Guys" a sexist name?

Posted by on Oct 26, 2007 in updates | 16 comments This very interesting comment has been made on my post where I wrote about my difficulties with Tech Guys: You do realise just how sexist dixons group and pcworld are being, don’t you. tech ‘guys’!? I’m a woman and I am a technician. I am not a guy! As a woman and a journalist with clout, can you not join the many women who are already picking up on this and state that it...
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The missing – James Nutley

Posted by on Oct 24, 2007 in updates | 5 comments It is three years today since James Nutley vanished while on a golfing holiday with friends in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, aged 25. That evening they went out in town, but at about 11.00pm James left the group and headed back to his hotel alone. He has not been seen since. Some of his possessions were found on the beach. Despite local searches and appeals for information, James’s whereabouts remain...
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An unplanned tooth extraction

Posted by on Oct 22, 2007 in updates | 22 comments I had toothache all weekend and managed to get an emergency appointment this morning (private with Denplan). How else these days? It turned out I had nasty abscess and the root of the tooth was fractured so nothing could be done to save it and it was whipped out. I had been warned before that I was on borrowed time with this tooth, that it was very iffy. Because it was fractured, it came out in...
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Cambridge residents say: "Every little hurts"

Posted by on Oct 22, 2007 in updates | 21 comments Does any other supermarket arouse such strong opposition from protest groups than Tesco? Certainly not all communities welcome them, many prefer supporting local traders and retaining their unique identity when appropriate. Tesco’s latests plans to open up in Mill Road, Cambridge has caused incredibly fierce oppositon, it is one of the city’s most popular areas after King’s...
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James’ European football debut

Posted by on Oct 19, 2007 in updates | 11 comments The England-South Africa rugby match isn’t the only important game being played this weekend. My youngest lad James will be playing football in The Netherlands with his team, Soham Town Colts FC U15s. They are heading for Heemskerk on a four day trip and have two games planned against Zwaluwen Vooruit U15s and RAVA Houtwijk U15s. They will also have a tour of Amsterdam Arena – pity...
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How green will our gardens grow under these new EU proposals?

Posted by on Oct 19, 2007 in updates | 11 comments I have just issued a press release for Euro-MP Robert Sturdy warning of the wide-ranging impact of the controversial Pesticide Directive which will be voted on by the European Parliament in Strasbourg next week. It is a directive which will affect all our daily lives and is causing Robert much concern. As it stands, the proposals could lead to food shortages in the European Union, and even...
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Can a divorce fair ease the pain of parting?

Posted by on Oct 18, 2007 in updates | 25 comments Surely anything that helps ease the pain of divorce – both emotionally and financially – has to be good idea. Or is it? The world’s first divorce fair is being held in Vienna this month as the divorce rate in Austria hit an all time high of 50% in 2006, with 66% of marriages in Vienna ending in divorce. Forever optimistic, the two day fair is being plugged under the motto...
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The missing – Natalee Holloway

Posted by on Oct 18, 2007 in updates | 2 comments Natalee Holloway went on a celebratory graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba in May 2005 – and never returned home. She was 18. The disappearance caused a media frenzy in both the U.S. and Aruba. Natalee was with a group of 124 graduates on a 5 day trip to the dream island when she vanished. The honours student was last seen leaving the vicinity of a club in the early...
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Can the Brits do anything right?

Posted by on Oct 17, 2007 in updates | 23 comments Today we are told it is predicted that the Brits will become increasingly obese because of the lifestyles we lead. Yesterday there was yet another warning about the hazardous levels of our alcohol consumption. So is it any surprise that we are also said to produce the unhappiest and unhealthiest children in Europe? It makes me wonder if the Brits can do anything right if we believe all these...
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What am I bid for the Citizen Kane Oscar?

Posted by on Oct 16, 2007 in updates | 8 comments I cannot understand how anyone could give away an Oscar, which is what Orson Welles did as payment to a Los Angeles cinematographer. Was he really so hard up after making the powerful film Citizen Kane, which caused a terrific storm in 1941 when there were attempts to suppress it: Nearly every film maker was in some way influenced by this movie. This movie also had a great impact in its time....
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Was age or lack of charisma the reason Ming quit?

Posted by on Oct 16, 2007 in Uncategorized | 15 comments I doubt Ming’s age of 66 was the real reason for his resignation as Lib Dem party leader, more his lack of oomph or charisma, his inability to connect (my favourite word) with voters. It was his greyness of character rather than the colour of his hair that let him down, despite these brave words expressing his determination to prove his critics wrong: “Now when it comes to the next...
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Wills, appeals and denied inheritance

Posted by on Oct 15, 2007 in updates | 19 comments I have written a will, being of sound mind, I hope, solely to ensure the future care of my two sons if the worst should happen to me. There are not many noughts at the end of my bequests, unlike that of Branislav Kostic, who left £8.3m in his will to the Conservative Party. It was successfully challenged by his only son Zoran, 50, at the High Court, who said his father was “deluded and...
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Education, education, education – £100 million axed from higher education

Posted by on Oct 15, 2007 in updates | 11 comments A guest post by Linda Hawkins, otherwise known as Zenfrog, on the government’s commitment to our future education by slashing £100 million from its funding. She describes how it turned her into an activist: I’m blogging about an issue that is very close to my heart – the catastrophic Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) higher education cuts. I don’t pretend to...
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Off to Bristol soon

Posted by on Oct 12, 2007 in updates | 22 comments David and I are visiting Bristol this weekend to tour the University of the West of England. He is keen to learn about their Economics/Business courses, which includes spending a year working with a company, either at home or abroad. This is also offered by Hull uni, so these are both strong possibilities for David’s final choice. I think this is a great idea too as it will give him more...
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How do interns survive?

Posted by on Oct 12, 2007 in Uncategorized | 13 comments Am I the only person who wonders how students survive as unpaid interns when they may also have accumulated a huge student loan debt? A quick glance at the w4mp website where these posts are advertised by MPs shows that the best many of them can expect is travelling expenses. I do appreciate that students can gain a valuable insight into parliamentary work, it’s a unique and thrilling...
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Pensioner eats cardboard to survive

Posted by on Oct 11, 2007 in Uncategorized | 11 comments It’s incomprehensible that patients were allowed to lie in their excrement, and gut wrenching for families to later learn that many of the 90 deaths at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, caused by the infection clostridium difficile, could have been avoided. It made me think about how we care for our elderly when they are vulnerable and most in need. Like an elderly man forced to eat...
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James’ audition today – as a blockbuster vampire

Posted by on Oct 11, 2007 in updates | 15 comments My youngest son James has an exciting audition today, he will make a journey that could be life changing and pave the way for fame and fortune if successful. He could be the equivalent of the next Harry Potter. James is auditioning for the lead role of Darren, a vampire’s assistant, in Cirque de Freak. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it could well be the next Harry Potter or Lord of the...
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The missing – Ben Needham

Posted by on Oct 10, 2007 in updates | 4 comments This latest picture of Ben Needham has been released to mark his 18th birthday on 29 October. He disappearance from the Greek island of Kos 16 years ago when he was just 21 months old. He looks a fine young man. The picture was made at the request of Ben’s mother Kerry Grist, from Sheffield, and produced by facial identity experts from the Metropolitan Police who used photographs,...
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