GENERAL DISCUSSION » IN THE NEWS 2010

I see that the remains of the first aeroplane in the antarctic have recently been discovered. Apparently the rusting remains were discovered when the sea dropped to its lowest level for 30 years.

What puzzles me is that global warming is supposed to be responsible for melting the ice caps and here we are with the lowest sea levels for over a quarter of a century. Do all those countries who refused to do a deal in Copenhagen have similar doubts? 

I read about that baby and a lorry but didn't realise it was the same incident. Any idea how the baby is? The report on the Advertiser website only mentions a cyclist who slipped on spilt oil being hurt

It is a tight bend on a slope. It was a Viridor lorry that ran over a baby in a pram yesterday as reported on the local news.

Was anyone affected by the lorry overturn at pendleton roundabout yesterday? It was a bad spot for it to happen particularly as it was just before the morning rush hour and must have affected traffic in a farly wide radius.

Rush hour commuters faced misery this morning after a refuse lorry ended up on its side on one of the region's busiest routes.

The accident happened at Pendleton roundabout on the A6 in Salford this morning. The driver was able to get out of the cab uninjured after the accident, which happened shortly after 7.30am.

Police officers at nearby Pendleton station were quickly on the scene to divert traffic.

The lorry, from nearby Viridor recycling plant, on Cobden Street, Pendleton, was carrying 18.8 tonnes of mixed waste, when it overturned, resulting in spillage of the load and of some diesel. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, although a cyclist slipped on the fuel and was treated at Salford Royal Hospital.

I thought that i could smell something funny (like burning) in the air tonight when i got home from my brothers! There seems to be a chemical smell to it as well though.

Just heard on the radio the Crescent is closed near Oldfield Road in both ways due to a building fire. I wonder which one it is the local vandals have torched this time. One of the empty pubs? Anyone know?

Thank God the waters back on!

United Utilities are lifting their hosepipe ban after all the heavy rain. I can't figure out if it has rained every day since they imposed the ban or whether the rain started the day after my son bought a new patio set. That's life!

North West's hosepipe ban lifted after heavy rain.

A hosepipe ban across the North West of England is being lifted after weeks of wet weather.

United Utilities imposed the ban on 9 July after the region's driest start to a year since records began in 1929.

Despite a month in which parts of the region were hit by torrential rain and flash floods, Pennine reservoir levels remain below average.

But the water firm is shifting supplies from North Wales and Cumbria to allow it to lift the restrictions.

The prolonged dry spell at the beginning of 2010 resulted in reservoirs falling to less than half their capacity in some cases.

TAKE CARE WITH YOUR BIRD FEEDERS.

Fat squirrel gets stuck in bird feeder A squirrel had to be rescued from a bird feeder after it had eaten so many nuts it could no longer squeeze through the bars, the RSPCA said today.

RSPCA inspector Graham Hammond was called in by a resident in Christchurch, Dorset, on October 17 after they found the animal stuck in the peanut filled bird feeder

Mr Hammond said that the squirrel had managed to climb into the wire-frame feeder but had lost its svelte figure after gorging itself on the nuts inside.

Inspector Hammond said: "This was quite an unusual rescue.

"I think this squirrel had eyes bigger than its stomach but after it had stuffed itself with nuts, it had a stomach too large to escape the feeder - one which ironically, was designed to be squirrel proof."

I LOVE STORIES LIKE THIS.

Just how low can people get, sometimes I feel disgusted at the behaviour of some members of the human race.

Sick thieves have stolen hundreds of burial plaques from a cemetery to sell them as scrap metal.

About 400 plaques, placed there in memory of people who have been cremated and worth about £40,000, were ripped off a memorial at Highfield Cemetery, in Bredbury, Stockport.

Loved ones have been left shocked and angered, although some are still unaware what has happened as cremation records, which are not as detailed as burial records, need to be checked.

The council can then draw up a list of plaques and contact the affected families.

It is estimated the copper plaques cost £100 each.

Although the cemetery is owned by the council, families will have to replace the plaques themselves and they are being advised to use stone ones, which are worth far less

It looks as though BP may have sorted the oil leak but what surprises me is Obama saying that most of the spill has been dealt with either by the clean-up or by natural causes. I hope that really is so and that it is not all just lying at the bottom of the ocean with a continuing effect on the eco system.

Has anyone heard anything recently about the Icelandic volcano? Has it stopped erupting, it seems to have gone from the news.

The point I was making is that the "living in poverty" is a very emotive phrase often used by the press in their tendency to exagerate the facts. There are of course people who live in poverty and who have my sympathy but my feeling is that many of them would be better described as being hard up. Unfortunately there are many places in the world which suffer poverty on a large scale but the UK isn't one of them. 

I dare say that the figures for people living in "poverty" can be calculated in many ways dependent on the reasons for needing the figures in the first place. You know what they say about statistics.

The figure of £279 does seem ridiculous at first glance but remember it is for a family of four not a single person and I know how expensive it now is to raise children. The report also highlights the point that certain categories of people are more likely to be living under the poverty threshold and I think this would be true however that threshold is calculated and one of those categories of people are the disabled and I guess that includes people with long-term chronic illness.

The numbers living under the threshold varies by region and by locality within regions with Salford being pretty high on the overall list though areas like Worsley and Boothstown come out of it very well.

I think Meldrew is right that there never can be true equality in things like this but I also think it is something that our Coalition should take into account when introducing their new drive for employment creation and the big society or whatever it is called now.

Sparky I agree that it is a touchy subject and I think it is only one topic in a long list that will be debated and not just on here in the coming months and years.

I get £91.40 a week Incapacity Benefit. That is the only state help i get. Not the slightest bit of help at all with any other expenses. I do not get any help with council tax. No help with prescriptions, eye tests or dental charges. (I'm soon going to have to manage with NO top front teeth!). I get no help with services like electric, gas or water charges. Home maintenance is at a standstill (Still no bath or washbasin or floor or ceiling in the kitchen!). No help with transport whatsoever. In a nutshell, i get very little help from this supposed welfare state!!! I get far less than £279 a week after expenses, far less.

The reason that i get no help ... It's because i followed all the advice given and put my own hard earned money into a pension scheme, plus my redundancy money. I am now FORCED to use it to support myself, rather than leave it invested for when i reach retirement age!

In other words, i'm forced to spend my retirement now, and be worse off overall than someone on state benefits, and i've got a retirement to look foreward to that in no way reflects the retirement plans that i had saved for all my working life.

The unfareness of this country is outrageous.

It is of little comfort to me when the Benefits agency, and i quote, say : "I'm one of the unlucky people that has fell through the safety net"

I think this is a very touchy subject on here, especially with the move that are taking place in our grovelment.

According to the latest figures available i.e. for 2007/2008 a single person with an income of less than £115 was considered to be living in poverty. The figure for the current year is probably in the region of £125 per week.

I get £96 pound a week. Try living on that after paying all your utilities before you get to anything else.

Whilst I have every sympathy with people with insufficient funds to meet their basic needs it seems to me that the definition of poverty has changed considerably during my lifetime.

It has always puzzled me that the generally accepted definition being in poverty applies to those whose income is 60% or less than the average. If that definition holds then poverty cannot be eliminated because (unless everybody receives the same income) there will always be a proportion who have 60% (or less) than the norm.

As far as the article is concerned, if £279 after tax and plus housing costs is considered to be below the poverty line, then I know a number of people who, whilst they struggle to manage, do not consider themselves to live in poverty.

N.B. £279 is the figure for 2007/2008 and presumably is measurably higher in 2010. We are talking of an income before tax of around £25K.

A really disturbing story about child poverty in the advertiser this week and here are some extracts fron an article headlined by the Salford Star. And this is in the 21st century.

SALFORD COUNCIL REVEALS ALMOST 60% OF OUR KIDS LIVE IN POVERTY

A report out today titled `Ending Child Poverty IN Salford' sets out the true extent of child poverty in Salford. And it's absolutely shocking.

While previous estimates and official statistics have been based on children living in `workless households' and shown a rate hovering around 30%, new figures taking into account `low income working households' show that "the true level of all child poverty in Salford could be closer to 60%".

According to the figures cited in this report, those odds of having `happy, healthy lives' are stacked against six out of every ten of our children. Which is surely not just `unacceptable', but shocking and disgusting too.

A child is in poverty, according to the report if, after housing costs, family income is

• £195 per week for a single adult with two dependent children under 14
• £279 per week for a couple with two dependent children under 14.

The report adds that child poverty is rife in certain neighbourhoods of the city, and in lone parent households, in large families, amongst minority groups and in families living with disability. These families have "only about £10 per day per person to cover all day-to-day expenditure including food, transport, clothing and bills as well as school trips and activities for children."

Children who grow up in poverty have "poorer health, wellbeing, educational outcomes and social lives and relationships both as a child and as an adult".

The main way out of poverty, the report explains, is work. And it lists all sorts of things that the Council is doing to help residents obtain skills and employment - from MediaCityUK to a `pre-employment Academy'.

However, while hundreds of millions of pounds of public money have been pumped into Central Salford – to developers, to MediaCityUK, to Salford Innovation Park etc – the main areas for poverty and, hence, child poverty, are still in Central Salford. Which raises questions about how all this money has been spent

You beat the BBC to the news with that Bear story Surfer. I reckon it was all an insurance scam, the car was old and just about had it so they left the door open on purpose with the sandwich in hoping some wild animal would come along and trash the car. Nah I don't believe that either.

A Colorado teen says a bear got into his empty car, honked the horn and sent it rolling into a thicket with the bear inside.

Ben Story says he and his family were asleep in their Larkspur home, 30 miles south of Denver, during the joyride early Friday.

He says the bear got into the car through an unlocked door and knocked the shifter into neutral, which sent it rolling backward 125 feet.

Story thinks the door slammed shut when the car jolted to a stop, trapping the bear inside.

Neighbors had called 911, and deputies freed the bear by opening the door with a rope from a distance.

Nobody was hurt, but Story says he needs a new car — the bear shredded the interior.

This isn't about world shattering news but I was surprised to read that Zsa Zsa Gabor is still alive, I don't know why but I just assumed it. There is a short article about an accident she has just had.

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor is taken to hospital after fall.

Veteran actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has been taken to hospital after falling out of bed and breaking several bones, her publicist has said. John Blanchette is quoted by AP news agency as saying the Hollywood star was watching television in her California home when the accident happened.

Gabor's husband then called an ambulance and she was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.The condition of the Hungarian-born star, who is 93, is not known.

Gabor is partially paralysed and uses a wheelchair following a car accident in 2002. She also suffered a stroke five years ago.

Gabor starred in films such as Moulin Rouge, Lili and Touch of Evil.

It is the same old problem that many many people seem unable to accept any responsibility for their own actions and are far too quick to say that it is the fault of somebody else. When things go wrong the first question should always be what could I have done differently to avoid the situation. It really should not need to said that things can only get better once people start to learn from their own mistakes.

I haven't read anything anywhere to indicate that Moat's family did something to help him before the tragedy but of course they are very quick off the mark to blame the various authorities after the event, possibly with some justification.

Watching the news on TV yesterday I was amazed to see that one of the big stories was basically saying that the killer Moat could have been stopped if social services had helped him. It may well be that he did have mental problems but the reports seemed to only very briefly say that he failed to turn up for a number of appointments that were made for him with mental health people.

I expect that at some time there will be a very expensive enquiry and wouldn't be surprised if the killers family consulted a solicitor to try to claim compensation. With the finger being pointed at Social services again is it perhaps the case that we expect too much from them? How can they pick up all the pieces from our broken society?

On this occasion I tend to agree with our PM who said:-

Speaking during Prime Minister's Question Time, Mr Cameron said: "It is absolutely clear that Raoul Moat was a callous murderer, full stop, end of story."I cannot understand any wave, however small, of public sympathy for this man.

"There should be sympathy for his victims and the havoc he wreaked in that community."There should be no sympathy for him."

This is from Andrew Grimes in the Evening News about Ken Clarke and his notion of sending less people to prison. I must say I agree totally with the last paragraph. (some extracts)

Kenneth Clarke, whose recent appointment as Justice Secretary on the rim of 70 makes him probably the oldest come-back kid in modern politics, has delighted thousands of petty criminals with his pronouncement on what should be done with them. He wants most of them to be left at large—though preferably under some sort of reformative supervision.

O.K: I’ll give Ken some of the defaulting dads. They might be too skint to pay up. But disqualified drivers? Has Ken Clarke ever seen the human carnage inside a smashed up family car into which a drunkard without a driving license has crashed while being pursued by the police? Has he ever wandered within bullet-range of a gang battle between feuding drug dealers with fake passports.

All the same, today’s victims of casual crime, on housing estate, in pub or town centre, would like to see their tormenters put for a time out of the way. They are quite sick of watching them bound, at will, down courthouse steps, scoffing at the gullible lenity of the magistrates and ready for another night’s brutish fun in the town hall precinct.

SORRY FOLKS BUT MORE ON THE COUNCIL EXTRAVAGANCE.

MORE FAT CATTERY AT SALFORD COUNCIL...

`EFFICIENCY CONSULTANTS' PAID UP TO £1,900 A DAY!

Details have emerged about the cost to Salford Council for highly paid consultants from KPMG who were brought in to make `efficiencies' in the Council's spending, including job losses.Fees were on a sliding scale, ranging from £1,900 a day for a director, to £1,300 a day for a principal consultant, and £850 a day for a mere consultant.

The letter was sent in 2008 and provides a full breakdown of KPMG's fees for making efficiencies at the Council - which included £1,900 a day for a Director/Partner; £1,600 a day for a Managing Consultant; £1,300 a day for a Principal Consultant, £1,100 a day for a Senior Consultant and £850 a day for a Consultant.

For a `Re-design of Management Structures' with the "overall aim…of the removal of 46 management posts", the total fee estimate was £198,000, including 20 Director days; while `Rationalisation of Common Functions', aimed at "the removal of 111 posts" would cost £169,000. KPMG also insisted on incentives for additional savings, with a cap of £50,000.  The "removal of 32 posts" from Administration was costed up at £65,000.

THERE IS A WHOLE LIST MORE BUT THIS COMMENT FROM AN EX COUNCILLOR SUMS UP THE SITUATION NICELY.

 Ex Independent Councillor, Joe O'Neill, who was previously Budget Spokesman for opposition groups on Salford Council commented…

"The sad fact is that this Council brings in outside bodies at disgusting rates to save money and streamline services, or to us laymen, cut jobs. Of course the Council will argue it saves money, but my argument will remain the same as the one I put before Council on budget day. If we pay so many high salaries to officers within this Council then they should manage the task, and not have to use highly paid hatchet men at every corner."

I was brought up to understand that prison served 3 main purposes:-

1. To exact punishment on those who wouldn't accept the rules of the society they belong to,

2. To attempt to get them to see the error of their ways before being released back into society and

3. To protect the majority from the few who wouldn't accept that the rules applied to them.

Fines (so I thought) were intended as a warning of more serious consequences if failure to observe the law continued.

What was wrong with those principles and why are they almost always ignored nowadays?

I read that Kenneth Clarke says that we shoiuld be sending less people to prison and dealing with them in other ways. I wonder does he include more fines being imposed in that? If so he should read this shocking story from the BBC website.

COURTS OWED £1.3billion IN UNPAID FINES, AUDIT REVEALS.

Courts in England and Wales are owed £1.3bn in unpaid fines, confiscation and compensation orders.

The figures were revealed by a National Audit Office (NAO) report into financial management at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).The watchdog said the department was not operating "best practice" and did not fully understand its own finances.

The MoJ said it was carefully examining areas marked for improvement before it embarked on an action plan.

MINISTRY 'WEAKNESSES'

• The consistency of its financial management approach


• Its understanding of its costs


• The consolidation of its financial management systems and processes


• The delivery of its financial management improvement initiatives.

IS IT ANY WONDER OFFENDERS RE-OFFEND WHEN THEY KNOW THAT FINES ARE UNLIKELY TO BE COLLECTED. WHY CAN'T BAILIFFS BE SENT IN AT AN EARLY POINT? OR ARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO ENSURE THAT THE MONEY IS COLLECTED?

                          Disgusting gravy train

They should be ashamed of their over inflated unworthy salaries, but that would mean that they have some sort of morals.

This is from the Salford Star. And it reflects where I would like to see the cuts starting.

SALFORD COUNCIL FAT CATS
 INCREASE IN BIG EARNERS AT SALFORD CITY COUNCIL

While everyone is being threatened with public sector cuts, draft accounts for Salford City Council show an increase in the number of staff earning above £50,000 a year during 2009-2010.

A total of 253 Council staff earned over £50,000, compared to 242 staff in 2008-9. Figures also show 19 people at the Council earned over £85,000 compared to 13 people last year.

Top earner is Chief Executive, Barbara Spicer, who pulled in £201,329 including pension contributions. Her employer pension contributions of £25,214 alone is more than most people in Salford earn in a year.

 Next highest earner was Alan Westwood, Strategic Director of Customer and Support Services, with a whopping £133,593 including pension contributions. One of his responsibilities is, er, `fiscal management' and it's to him that you address your council tax payments.

Next up is the Strategic Director of Community, Health and Social Care, otherwise known as Sue Lightup, wife of the current Mayor of Salford. She earned £133,803 including pension contributions.

THE LIST GOES ON BUT I'M SURE YOU GET THE PICTURE. I WONDER WHY THE COUNCIL WOULDN'T RENEW THEIR FUNDING FOR THE SALFORD STAR!

Yes I agree. We've missed our political correspondant whilst he's been on parlimentary holiday!

Hi Meldrew. It's good to see you back.

I think there is a lot of fat in all our government departments that can be cut without affecting services too much whether that be at local, regional or national level. While I agree with the need for cuts I do think that those cuts where they threaten jobs, livelyhoods and essential services should start "top down" rather than "bottom up" but as those making the decisions will inevitably be at the top I fear that the "bottom up" formula will be the one most used.

An area I think should be closely examined for savings is our prisons. I don't mean sending less people to prison but tightening the current prison regimes of soft living and comfort.

The reason for government departments to demonstrate the effect of 25% and 40% cuts is to enable decisions to be made on which will have greatest or least effect on the population. I would expect that cuts overall will average close to 25% but, if such things as Health are to be protected, then some departments e.g. Transport will be more affected.

Bring home the troops and reduce foreign aid by 25% are  two of my own suggestions.

I've noticed a figure of a possible 40% being put on cuts in the news and came across this on the BBC website which looks about right.

Norman Smith,
Chief political correspondent, BBC Radio 4

There's a standard trick in the world of car salesman known as "the hot water cold water" technique.

And it looks as if the government is applying the same selling skills of the car dealer to the business of selling cuts to the public services.

Basically, what it amounts to is that when a potential buyer comes in to look at a car he is first quoted an exorbitant price.

This is the hot water from which the buyer immediately pulls his hand out.

Then the price is lowered (this is the cold water) and hey presto the price/hot water becomes a lot more bearable even though it's still pretty painful.

Now looking at the government's call for some departments to estimate the impact of forty per cent cuts - could that possibly be the hot water to make us much more amenable to the rather less scorching prospect of twenty five per cent cuts ?

Of the emergeny services, i think that the fire service must be one of the least of a financial burden on the taxes that are collected. I also think that it is one that should not be cut back in any way.

The Ambulance service also deserves the same protection, as you cannot take risks with life or death situations. Maybe the ambulance taxi service could be revised to be more efficient!

The police service. Well i do wonder about them. There seem to be plenty of traffic police, but when i personaly report crimes, and crimes in progress, i sometimes think that i'd get a quicker response if i wrote them a letter instead!!! I really do think the police 'service' is in need of an overhaul. Yes, i know that they do some good work, but i'm not impressed with the 'service' that i personaly get.

The refuse collection service could be organised better too. Cleaning my street once a fortnight immediatly befor the bins are emptied just doesn't make sense to me! My street looks worse at the end of the day than it di at the biginning of the day, thanks to the rubbish that has been dropped by the council binmen!

I know the country is in debt, but i still say that the financial sytem, that is the BIG banks, should do their bit and pay back their debt's that have come about from us, the taxpayer, 'bailing them out' of the crisis of their own making. Also, although the top bonuses have been cut, it is deceptive of them, again, to award themselves bigger basic wages, as they are now doing!

We probably won't feel the full impact of the budget cuts, which I think any government in power would have to make, for some considerable time but one that worries me is the problems predicted by a senior police officer as headlined in this story from the BBC.

Budget cuts to mean fewer police, warns senior officer. Current police numbers are not "sustainable" in the face of budget cuts, a senior officer has warned.

President of the Association of Chief Police Officers Sir Hugh Orde told a conference it was "misleading in the extreme" to claim otherwise. He urged ministers to make structural reforms and not "salami slice" forces. Home Secretary Theresa May told chiefs that cuts would be "big and tough to achieve" but minimum standards and targets would be scrapped immediately.

She said the Policing Pledge, introduced by Labour, created added bureaucracy and that she would be "ruthless in cutting out waste, streamlining structures and improving efficiency".

Sir Hugh told the BBC that the "rub" came with the numbers. "With 83% of the police budget being people, sadly we will lose people in my prediction over the next few years," he said.

WHICH OF OUR PUBLIC SEVICES DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE GIVEN SOME PROTECTION FROM CUTS EVEN IF IT MEANS BIGGER CUTS FOR OTHER SERVICES?

Surferboy, this one from the Metro News is for you.

Bungling thief trapped in charity clothes bank Firefighters with high-powered saws were called to release a bungling thief trapped inside a charity clothes bank.

CCTV operators spotted him climbing into the container - used to collect donated clothes for the Whizz Kidz charity - in Bury, Greater Manchester. When police arrived, the man told them he was trapped and couldn't get out - and after the police were unable to free him, they called in the fire service and their saws.

But faced with the prospect of being sawed at, the man finally managed to find his own way out.

Fireman Paul Marston said: ‘We told him not to panic, then next thing the chute banged open and a head appeared.’

We don't yet know in detail exactly where government spending cuts are going to fall but this story from the BBC gives an idea of the differences any cuts could make to our lives and more importantly the "life expectancy" for some people.

Welfare cuts put added health strain on population  Drinking and smoking are two causes of poor health

Cutting welfare budgets could cost lives, say researchers.

Analysis of European data showed that a £70 reduction in welfare spending per person is associated with a 2.8% rise in alcohol-related deaths and 1.2% rise in deaths from heart disease.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the UK research team said ordinary people may be paying the ultimate price for budget cuts.

One expert added that social support was vital for health.

The study comes after the government announced sweeping budget cuts, including reductions in tax credits for families, housing benefit and maternity grants.

COULD THE HOPE HOSPITAL MATERNITY UNIT BE SAVED?

The controversial closure of maternity units in Salford and Rochdale is to be reviewed, the M.E.N. can reveal.

Bury’s maternity services won a reprieve last week from health secretary Andrew Lansley – and now government officials say they will also look again at units in Rochdale and Salford.

The news means a £100m shake up of maternity care across Greater Manchester is now in chaos.

I've got nothing to cut!

Well the budget with the "tough choices and decisions" made has been delivered. On the face of it it doesn't look too bad, we all expected the rise in VAT and though nothing was put on basic food what they class as luxury items like chocolate biscuits and the like will be affected. I suppose it will take some time to work out how it affects us individually.

The big unanswered questions remains the cuts in public services and the target is an average 25% cut across sevices so that means some will almost certainly be cut more than others. We have to wait till October to get details but I fear that this will be the "Sting in the tail"

My first reaction is that it won't hit me too badly, what are your first reactions?

"This type of incident is rare in the area and I want to urge local residents not to be alarmed. There will be an increased presence of officers in the area and if anyone has any concerns.

That'll be two instead of one Sparky!

Hi Sparky, this is from the Manchester evening news.

A man was fighting for his life after he was shot in the leg.The 23-year-old was said to be in a critical condition in hospital after he was blasted in the thigh on George Street in Broughton Park, Salford, last night.

Police believe the incident may be the culmination of a long-running feud.

Officers mounted a huge operation in the wake of the shooting which included scrambling the force helicopter.Later, two men aged 32 and 36 were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. They were being interviewed today.

Police are putting on extra patrols in the area to re-assure residents.Det Sgt Joe Clark, of Salford CID, said: "I understand this incident will cause a lot of concern in the community, but please let me reassure you that this was an isolated incident and we are working hard to find out exactly what happened and why.

"This type of incident is rare in the area and I want to urge local residents not to be alarmed. There will be an increased presence of officers in the area and if anyone has any concerns, or information about what happened, please don't hesitate to approach us."

Glad that i said rumour. According to the BBC and GMP one person has been shot in the leg. Two arrested for attempted murder. My street is still blocked off, and i have to go out later! Must remember to change my car for an armoured personnel carrier!!!

Like i've said a few times on here, Janice and i were harrased for years by scum arround here right ap to and after her death. We've had many threats over the years, but had no help from police or council.

BBC link

GMP link

Google Earth file below

Attachment: ge1f6.kmz

It's getting very dodgy living around here.

Just got in from chatting with neighbours on the street.

I heard two loud bangs just after 9:15 tonight. I thought, 'Bloody hell, that was loud'.

It seems that they were gun shots from a few doors up the road.

All i know is rumour, but one body was brought out in a body bag, and another rushed to hospital. The police are looking for a brown van. ... It is only rumour at the moment, but there were a heck of a lot of police around, with a few ambulances and the police helicopter flying overhead. My street is blocked off at the moment.

Watch this space ..........

It seems that BP perhaps because of the pressure being put on them by the US administration may be about to try desperate measures to plug the oil leak. It certainly sounds risky to me, if they did go ahead couldn't it just cause a bigger problem?

(from the BBC)COULD EXPLOSIVES SEAL OFF GULF OIL LEAK?

BP's engineers have tried several methods to block off the flow from the well that is causing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

But oil continues to flow into the ocean, with potentially disastrous consequences for the environment. Now a former US military scientist has proposed a seemingly radical solution: detonating a massive bomb underwater to seal the leaking well. It sounds like an extreme measure, but could such a plan actually succeed?

One independent engineer contacted by BBC News agreed that explosives could seal off oil wells. But he also said the plan could make the spill worse. But Franz Gayl says that the explosion could effectively cauterise the well shutting off the flow of oil into the Gulf. However, he points out that, without detailed computer modelling, he is using educated guesswork.

You may read in your paper or see on TV a report that one of the major types of drugs for the treatment of some types of heart disease may increase the risk of cancer. Here is a part of such an article as an example:- But please read the response from the British Heart Foundation below it.

CANCER LINK TO COMMON HEART DRUGS.

A class of drugs commonly used to treat heart problems has been linked with a "modestly" increased risk of cancer.

Analysis of published data from all trials of angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) found one extra case of cancer for every 105 patients treated. The US researchers said the evidence from nine trials should prompt drug regulators to investigate.

But they advised people not to stop taking the drugs, but to see their doctors if concerned.

The results are published in The Lancet Oncology. ARBs are mainly prescribed for conditions such as high blood pressure and heart failure. They are used by millions of people worldwide.

THIS IS THE BRITISH HEART FOUNDATIONS RESPONSE TO THESE REPORTS TAKEN FROM ITS WEBSITE.

14/06/2010

Findings of ARB drug study are inconclusive New analysis of previous trials has indicated that a group of drugs used to treat heart disease could increase the risk of developing cancer in people who take them.

However, we say the findings, published in the Lancet, are inconclusive and if you are taking Angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) you shouldn’t stop based on these findings alone.

Our senior cardiac nurse, Judy O’Sullivan, said:

“This analysis of previous research is inconclusive and anyone taking ARBs to treat their heart disease, or risk of developing it, shouldn’t stop based on this alone.

“The benefits of taking the drug are well established and it remains an effective treatment for many of the 2.6 million people in the UK living with coronary heart disease.

“We need more research to look specifically into any potential risks of developing cancer when taking ARBs. For now, anyone concerned about their risk of developing cancer should talk to their doctor.”

If you had the money and could invest long term it probably would be a good buy. Obama has mid term elections coming up this year could that be why he's rattling his cage he remembers the New Orleans floods and the damage done to the government then by their apparant slow response. 

BP is 40% owned by America and 50% of the board are Americans.

Now that their share value has fallen like a stone is it now time to buy some shares in BP? Hmmmm! Maybe, maybe not .....

BP is as much American owned as British these days. Obahma needs pegging down a bit.

EXPERTS DOUBLE ESTIMATE OF OIL SPILL SIZE.

"As many as 40,000 barrels (1.7m gallons) of oil a day may have been gushing out from a blown-out Gulf of Mexico well, doubling many estimates.

The US Geological Survey says that flow rate could have been reached before a cap was put on the well on 3 June.

BP's chairman has been asked to meet Barack Obama next week, amid assurances from the UK and US that bilateral ties will not be affected by the crisis."

What I don't get in all this is the way Obama is crucifying BP. He makes it sound as though they intended it to happen. The thing is that BP is just as important to the USA econonmy as it is to the UK. Shouldn't the USA be doing as much as they possibly can to help and to support those people who's lives have been affected instead of just stating that BP will have to foot the whole cost.

Will Obama next insist that the british government sends cash from its Overseas Aid budget? 

Not much chance of seeing repeats of this anymore then, I use to love it as a kid.

>CLICK HERE 

I see the person being held for murdering the three women in Bradford has reportedly tried to commit suicide. Would it have been better to let him just get on with it?

The thing that has always puzzled me about this case is that after his arrest he was immediately charged with the three murders even though only one body had been found. Had the police actually found evidence, perhaps in the fridge, of the other two bodies after all he did descrbe himself as the "crossbow cannibal"?

I feel sorry for all of the people and families that died in the Dunblane incident. That goes without saying. They must be utterly distraught and confused with what has happened. The fact that the massacre was as the result of a gun owner is not really all that relevant. His weapon could easilly have been a heavy lorry, or bus, or some other vehicle. In fact there are plenty of ways that an individual could cause an equally sad event to happen.

The real question, surely, is why did he do it. What pushed him over the edge. Why did the 'red mist' fall on this man.

I think there is a story behind all of this that we do not know yet. I probably wont gain any friends by saying this, but i have a small amount of sypathy for him as well. But nothing justifys what he did.

Personally, i'd have done a Reginald Perrin or something, and i'm in no way making light of the situation, or events that sadly took place.

The reason for little discussion I suspect is that nobody really knows what to do about incidents like this where the mental stability of an individual is affected by what appear to be insigniicant actions by others. Maybe we all on occasions realise that we are not always in control of our emotions.

It could be argued that the government is already stifling debate on the issue by suggesting that we should not jump to hasty conclusions. The perpetrator of these crimes was legally entitled to carry a gun but making the ownership of guns illegal will not stop those people determined to get their hands on one from doing so. Maybe we just have to accept that incidents like this will happen in a free society from time to time?

I know the papers are full of it but as in the past I've noticed in the past when major incidents like this happen in the UK they result in very little discussion or conversation. The first time I noticed it was over the "Dunblane Massacre". I wonder if it is because we Brits don't want to admit to ourselves that such incidents could happen in a civilised country such as ours or is it something else? The fact is that in a global table we are pretty low down the list of mass killings.

Think I'll order my groceries from Tesco next week instead of Asda just on the off chance.

This week:

Police have uncovered a cannabis factory worth an estimated £1.4 million in a unit owned by Tesco.

More than 2,200 cannabis plants were recovered from the three-storey building in Whitstable, Kent.

A Tesco spokesman confirmed the property was owned by the supermarket giant, but said it was let out to other parties and the retailer was completely unaware of what it was being used for.

Be careful if your eating a packet of mixed leaf salad from Tesco's. If your feeling a bit giddy after you now know why!

Meldrew you paint a perfect picture of Fergie.

This is from the telegraph and certainly doesn't surprise me and I certainly agree with the last paragraph.

One in 10 'prolific offenders' from Manchester.

One in 10 of the country's most "prolific and priority offenders" come from Manchester, according to new statistics.

About 1,500 of the 15,000 come from the city and its surrounding area, with a similar amount from London, covered by the Metropolitan Police.

The area with the lowest number of regular offenders was the City of London, with just 18, followed by Wiltshire, with 84.

There is no national definition of a prolific offender, with the criteria set by local police forces. In London, a prolific offender is anyone over 18 involved in six or more indications of criminal activity over a two-year period. Other areas with prolific offenders, according to the research compiled by the Tories, included the West Midlands, with 986, Nottinghamshire, with 788, and West Yorkshire at 631.

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: "It's tempting to think of these serial offenders as the Mr bigs of crime. The reality is very different.

"The most persistent offenders often come from the most challenging and deprived areas of our biggest cities and are frequently driven by drug addiction. It underlines how those areas are disproportionately affected by crime."

In November, Peter Fahy, the chief constable of Greater Manchester, said that people's lives were being made miserable because of the court system's inability to crackdown on low-level offenders, while Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner warned that burglars who were being bailed wrongly by magistrates courts were embarking on crime sprees.

The woman (Fergie) is totally delusional. She has pleaded poverty ever since her divorce and to try to persuade us that she exists on £15K a year is laughable. How could anyone with an ounce of commonsense so regularly put her foot in it. In any event since when was being under the influence an acceptable excuse for having no moral standards.

As you may have discerned, I am full of sympathy for the position she finds herself in. 

I see Fergie the Duchess of York has told Oprah Winfrey that she hd been drinking prior to the secretly filmed sting of her accepting money for favours, I'd say, from seeing clips of the film, that she was well and truly plastered. I do wonder if she would have shared the cash with Andy but am I just being cynical?

Saw Ms Blears furtively getting into her car the other day. She doesn't have to do anything now except wait around for the next election in the certain knowledge that she has a job for life - flipping.

Hazel was all over the place up to the election. Since then I've not seen or read a word about her!

As a man respected by all for his "intelligence" should he not then have been more aware of the fact than most that he was in effect stealing £40,000 from the treasury? Don't forget that this is the man who would have had lead responsibility in deciding the cuts in public spending that are coming. I think part of the lack of comdenation for his actions was because his masters and others were treading the PC line and did not want to appear homophobic.

David Laws has made quite an impression on members of all political parties because of his intelligence and abilities and I suspect that is why there seems to be sympathy for him. I don't think that the sympathy expressed has anything to do with his sexual predilictions and in some ways it is comforting that people do not think that it is an issue. However the same rules apply to him as to all other MPs and he should be treated the same as anyone else who breaks the rules.

His excuse that he did what he did to protect the privacy of his partner doesn't hold water. As a multi millionaire he would have protected his privacy far better by paying his partner out of his own pocket.

HOPED HE WOULD RETURN TO GOVERNMENT? .... What a quote as to the integrity of the people who should be looked up to as governors of our country.

Maybe the first rule should read "Don't get caught"

IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG DOES IT?

Less than a month into our new coalition government and yet another "expenses scandal". What I don't get in this incident is the overwhelming support and sympathy from his colleagues for David Laws the Lib Dem man who has been caught to all intents and purposes fiddling £40,000 in expenses.

I have to wonder whether if it had been a hetrosexual person of either sex found out in the same circumstances would colleagues on all sides have been quite as forgiving or would they be screaming "Off with his/her Head" It couldn't be crazy PC again could it?

FROM THE BBC.

Colleagues heap praise on David Laws after resignation

Coalition government colleagues have warmly praised David Laws after he quit as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

The Liberal Democrat MP said he could not carry on with "crucial work" on the Budget after admitting he claimed expenses to pay rent to his partner.

PM David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg paid tribute to him, saying they hoped he would return to government.

I know what you mean Surfer but it is not just the "cash in hand" that is a cost to the nation but also the other things like help with Council Tax, Rent. Prescriptions etc which add up quite considerably.

I do think something does need to be done about non genuine claimants but the big question is how to do it without punishing genuine claimants. The country financially and morally can't go on supporting/encouraging a section of society growing up on the welfare state and creating generations of people who have never experienced work and becoming another "underclass" in our society.

Work or not when you hear some people in the media slagging claimants off you'd think they were on a footballers income. I met a guy yesterday 58 and on income support of £69 a week to manage on.

The ATOS report from one of my ATOS medicals made the remark that "For a person of his age he has good eysight in both eyes"! Very strange. He did not test my eyesight. Even more telling is the fact that only have the use of one eye!!!

He also said i have good muscle tone in my legs. As i was not asked to remove my trousers i can only assume that he had X-ray vision!!!

There was NO MENTION at all of my heart condition, or PTSD nor IBS for that matter!

I've had no end of trouble since i've fallen ill, with the benefits agency, and their cronies. I'm sure that it will continue as well.

My next (appeal) court date is 28 June next month. My last was just a few weeks before my fifth heart attack on the 31 March last year. They awarded in my favour, but was it worth all of the stress?

I watched "Who's Cheating Who?" on BBC Scotland iplayer. I am not on any type of benefit and found the programme interesting. However, if I was on benefits I would have found it worrying.

I know of people who receive benefits but are not entitled to them and I would like to see those people paying their way in our society. The worrying theme of the programme though  was that some of the genuinely needy were not getting the help they need. The assessment on one chap made no mention of the fact that he only had one leg. Another poor lady who was considered fit to work died of her undiagnosed cancer 5 months later. Another lady who was assessed by ATOS was considered unfit for work and retired on grounds of ill health. The same organisation assessed her because she was claiming invalidity benefit and found her fit for work.

As is often the case the system doesn't work as it should.

I see that tonight there is a program about benefits, in particular, a recording of a medical conducted by ATOS the DWP's contracted medical service.

BBC1 Scotland @ 10:45PM (It should be available on the iPlayer) or Sky channel 971

> Link < to Benefits and work site with the details

AHA! FEZ = >>> ELECTROMAN <<<

The pencil is quite a thought Sparky and if it's like previous Queens Speeches they might as well have done. It's interesting isn't it, the coalition really doesn't have to deliver on any of their election promises by claiming that they had to modify their aims because of the need for a coalition that was the wish of the people as shown by the way they voted. It's going to be a very interesting few months or years!

As for my avatar I've gone back into my "electric" identity to continue my quest to light up the world. Fez.aka The Hat.

Is it correct that this years Queens speech was actually written in pencil?

PS - Your avatar has changed again, err, from a Fez to a horned devilish imp???

It'll be interesting reading the morning papers when we will get more details of the Queens speech made available. Don't forget to read between the lies sorry the lines.

Hi GeorgeP. I suppose we have had a bit of a revolution with our coalition parliament though I'm not sure if it was in any way because of the Icelandic volcano more I think an "eruption" of dissatisfaction with our current politicians.

The caretaker in our block of flats is Austrian and talking to him the other day he seems worried that we may be due for an eartquake. He said that whenever there was an eruption of an Italian volcano Austria had minor earthquakes. I don't know how true that is but did find the conversation amusing.

Volcanic Ash and Weather .

Hi Fez,

After reading your `post` dated 5th May about the French Revolution this is what the Readers Digest has to say in `The Miracle of Nature`.

      The effects of volcanic ash on weather and climate have long interested scientists.In the 18th century Benjamin Franklin noted the connection between volcanic eruptions and changes in the weather.He was in Europe not long after Southern Iceland split open along an 8 mile stretch,spouting incandescent fountains of  lava at a fantastic rate.A thick , bluish haze of sulphur dioxide , dust and other volcanic gases settled over the island. Three quarters of Iceland`s livestock died and 10,000 people.Franklin noticed the haze and made the connection between it and the bad weather. The cloud had reached South into Europe and partly blocking out the Sun and causing the severe winter of 1783-1784.

So far we are lucky. George P.

This one goes with your tank. I bet you've not heard them like this before.

>CLICK HERE

It sounds a bit like a beachboys number Sparky. I agree about the "Boombox" cars,if they really like their music so loud why don't they close their windows and enjoy the whole blast instead of losing it to a very unappriciative audience.

I suppose it would sound like any other tank.

Great at two in the morning to get my own back on the fools that seem to think that everybody wants to listen to their music blaring out of their cars sub-woofer!

Attachment: tank_sound.mp3

MORE ON THE VOLCANO AND IT'S ASH.

It's one of those "you'd never believe it" moments but you can now buy volcanic ash on the internet and while it sounds a bit daft I bet there are people out there daft enough to buy it. Here you go:-

Brits wanting a souvenir of the volcanic ash cloud of doom that brought UK air travel to a halt can pick up a 160g jar of the stuff for around £75 on the internet.
 
The dark grey ash in sealed glass containers is available on the nammi.is website.
 
The seller, Sofus Gustavsson, says he is giving all his profits to the local ICESAR safety organisation, which has been helping with the clean-up operation, trying to shift tonnes of the ash in an effort to restore the areas of Iceland affected.
 
'I got the idea from a friend who lives abroad who asked me to send him some ash in an envelope and I thought there must be thousands of people out there who want to remember what happened,' Gustavsson explained.

SPARKY. Here's a car sound "VROOM VROOM" what does a Chieftan tank sound like?

I can see a market for different engine sounds to be downloaded of the internet.

I want a chieftan tank sound!

ELECTRIC CARS

I can't believe that it is not a wind-up Fez and why consult with Guide Dogs for the Blind, the dogs have perfectly good eyesight as well as hearing.

I can't wait to be woken up in the morning to the sound of a Lotus sports car outside my window only to discover that it is the milkman on his rounds.

If, as everybody seems to accept, that we need to cut public expenditure - why not start by getting rid of the numpties at elf and safety.

An item on the news today made the point that when the icelandic volcano last erupted in 1821 the eruption continued until 1823.

Don't be booking any foreign holidays this year or next!!!!!

At first glance this sounds like another bit of beauacratic nonsense and I actually laughed at first reading but it does seem to have some value unlike the angle of curvature of bananas and the like.

Electric cars to sound like noisy sports cars to protect the blind and cyclists

Electric cars will be made to sound like noisy sports cars after concerns were raised that silent vehicles posed a danger to blind people and cyclists.

The gentle whirr of electric motors is so quiet that it puts lives in danger because people may not notice the cars approaching until it is too late, according to campaigners.

Under new proposals, the European Union is set to follow America's lead in forcing manufacturers to fit the vehicles with a simulator to make the same noise as the throaty revs of a petrol engine. Prototypes of the simulators, which mimic the sound of a sports car, are already being tested in Britain.

Trials are being conducted by Lotus, the sports car maker, in conjunction with Guide Dogs for the Blind. The technology consists of a speaker under the bonnet which is wired to the accelerator pedal, which simulates the revving sound of a petrol engine and becomes louder as the car accelerates.

In order to generate the engine sound, recordings of a suitable donor engine were made and analysed to establish the characteristic frequencies at different engine speeds.

Supporters want the devices introduced before the increasing number of electric vehicles cause serious injuries

ICELANDIC VOLCANO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FRENCH REVOLUTUION, COULD IT HAPPEN HERE?

Monday, April 19: More Iceland volcano ash cloud facts: in June 1783, the Icelandic volcano Laki started erupting - an eruption that would continue for eight months. The resulting ash cloud caused catastrophic effects across Europe, as well as parts of North America and Africa. Ships couldn't leave ports due to the thick cloud of ash that hung in the air around Europe for weeks on end, and many crops failed causing widespread famine. The shortages of food and poverty that the volcano helped cause were one of the key factors that led to the French evolution a few years later in 1789.

I THINK WHOEVER WROTE THIS IS PROBABLY TAKING SOME LIBERTIES WITH THE FACTS BUT YOU NEVER KNOW. 

Just doing this and Hazels in our street canvassing. Although I answered the door declined to meet her!

She was on ITV lunchtime news yesterday. The feature was filmed the other week at Salford Hearts Club and yes we were there in the background giving our demonstration on the day. I spotted Lion mooching across the screen and I think Fez but I was out of shot. Pity we were'nt interviewed about our presesence...what a scoop that would have been.

I'm being bombarded with Hazel pamphlets but hardly if any from Norman Owen or the Conservatives. Hardly the way to win my vote.

This week Rory Bremner and his team are doing three specials on the election. Last night he was doing his Gordon Brown impression outside Hazels offices on Langworthy Road and interviewing some of the locals. Worth watching on Channel 4 catch up if you want a laugh at Hazel trying to leave the offices whilst being shielded between two Labour placards.

Has anybody seen her on the campaign trail.

Looks like they need a "John Wayne" character to go down and put a bung in the leak and where is Red Adair when you need him. I wonder if it is possible to cap it off at that depth?

All oil wellheads are supposed to be fitted with a blowout preventer (a sophisticated stop tap) to close the well in an emegency and they are usually operated hydraulically. They are usually tested on a regular basis at a frequency determined by the estimated risk a the well. I assume in this case that the blowout preventer was operated from the drilling platform which is no longer there.  

This news continues to really depress me. Why drill a mile down when you know if it goes wrong its beyond correction. I just hope they can come up with a solution. It was bad enough when they tied to shut off the oil wells in Iraq but that wasn't a mile under water. What if all attempts fail? It's a complete catastrophy.

Yes Suferboy though the oceans do seem to have a great capacity to recover from what we throw at them. Whether this applies to the creatures inhabiting the oceans I am not so sure. Now it seems the USA has set fire to part of the oilslick.

US Coast Guard sets fire to oil leaking in Gulf

The US Coast Guard has set fire to part of a big oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, in an attempt to save environmentally fragile wetlands.

The "test burn" is taking place in an area about 30 miles (50km) east of the Mississippi river delta, officials say.

About 1,000 barrels (42,000 gallons) of oil a day have been leaking into the sea from a well since an explosion on a drilling rig off Louisiana last week.

Officials fear the leak could cause one of the worst oil spills in US history.

An investigation has been ordered into the incident, which is believed to have left 11 of the rig's workers dead. They are still missing.

What has happened to the dust clouds from the Icelandic volcano, have they been sucked back in or what? They have certainly disappeared off the newsfront!

Growing concerns over Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

Another nail in the coffin as we kill off the planet!

I received a leaflet from my local Asian store asking me to support Hazel Blears as he feels she as helped clean up the estate I live on of yobs and vagabonds in recent years. Have any of you received similar in your area. I don't know wether to laugh or cry. 

Brown is unlikely to offer a referendum on mayor even if we wanted one, he doesn't do democracy. He ensured there wasn't any opposition within his party to his appointment as Prime Minister and reneged on a promise of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. I think Clegg is also aware that he is unlikely to agree to a voting system based on proportional representation and will not be doing a deal therefore with Labour after the election.

I have great difficulty in remaining calm when Brown talks about democracy. 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AN ELECTED MAYOR FOR GREATER MANCHESTER?
I certainly wouldn't! Another level of beaurocracy with all that it entails, premises, staff, expenses etc and all that money comes from where?

This is the prospect that Gordon Brown is offering us probably in the belief that it will win votes. Is he once again misguided?

 Election 2010: Brown promises referendum on Greater Manchester mayor

David Ottewell. April 13, 2010

Greater Manchester could get a Boris Johnson-style mayor if Labour wins the next election.

The party’s manifesto promises to give people the chance to trigger a referendum on whether they want a ‘city-regional’ mayor with ‘London-style powers’.

That could see a single politician being given the power to shape the whole of Greater Manchester.

Labour’s manifesto, launched by Gordon Brown, says: “Where new city-region authorities are created, we will give residents the opportunity to trigger a referendum for directly electing a mayor, with London-style powers.”

I FOUND THIS INTERESTING ARTICLE ON THE BBC ABOUT THE VOLCANIC LINKS BETWEEN THE UK AND ICELAND. It is rather long but if you are interested in reading more click ASH

Iceland and the UK: Ancient volcanic connections

The eruption of the Icelandic volcano that has caused so much disruption in the UK and Europe is really nothing unusual.

For hundreds of thousands of years, periodic eruption of Icelandic volcanoes has produced ash that has been carried over the British Isles.

This ash settles down into peat bogs and lakes, where it forms consistent layers. Nowadays, geologists and geographers find the ash incredibly useful, because each ash layer can be analysed and linked to a known eruption, allowing us to work out the age of the surrounding peat or lake sediments.

This way of working even has its own name - tephrochronology.

Because the peat and mud contain evidence of climatic changes in the past - for instance, tiny pollen grains that indicate the type of vegetation growing in an area - these past volcanic eruptions in Iceland are actually a vital tool for understanding how the climate in the British Isles has changed over time.

ANCIENT DIVIDE.

Going even further back in time, Iceland and the British Isles are linked in another, more dramatic way.

Sixty million years ago, America and Europe were joined together - the North Atlantic Ocean simply didn't exist. Then, volcanoes began to erupt in the middle of that huge supercontinent.

This volcanic activity was caused by a mantle plume - a great upwelling of hot magma from deep within the Earth.

Slowly, the American and European continents began to be forced apart, as magma upwelled between them, and a new ocean - the North Atlantic - began to form.

Of course nobody would like to see risks taken with passenger aircraft but they could have tested the quality of the air at least 4 days earlier than they did. They could also have allowed flights south through airspace unaffected by the dust cloud.

Erring on the side of caution  is all very well but I doubt that children are better off for eliminating risk from their lives: I am talking about the closure of schools after an inch of snow and banning conkers. Health and Safety regulations these days don't allow firemen to climb step ladders for the purpose of installing smoke alarms unless they have received training and similarly with policeman on bikes and rescuing children who are drowning etc, etc, etc. What happened to a common sense approach to risk and balancing it with a need for people to go about their lawful business.

Yes Meldrew it does seem that they may have erred in the side of caution but there would have been far more to criticise if planes had started coming down.

At least we've had some nice clear skies now could that have anything to do with hundreds of planes a day not polluting our skies?

It seems that I was not the only one who thought the closure of our airspace was an over reaction. The crisis was brought to an end last night when BA ignored the ban and flew 29 aircraft into Heathrow. The ban was lifted from all UK airports a little time later.

Good idea Surfer you can pick up mine on the way, make sure you wear thick soled shoes it could be hot underfoot.

Why can't they drop all our rubbish in the top to burn. Must be better than landfill.

>CLICK HERE

On the news today a spokesman at Manchester Airport said that they don't realistically expect to get flights moving until the weekend unless there is a very significant change in conditions.

This might teach people to read the small print on their insurance cover, we never do do we! Perhaps the insurance companies should be forced to put everything in reasonably large bold print. Or maybe we have to learn not to have an "It'll never happen to me" attitude to these things and stop going for the cheapest option.

Does anyone remember the film about the earthquake in KraKatoa, or however it's spelt?

I see Russia are taking their friendly stance on the problem of people not being able to fly home. They're holding British subjects under virtual house arrest as they couldn't fly home before their visa's ran out! Includung their children. Armed guards etc!

At least the Navy have mobilised three ships to bring some of our people home from Spain, Santander, and the channel ports, according to the BBC.

A number of NATO planes have suffered engine damage after flying through the dust cloud, turning some of the dust to glass inside the engine!

Some holiday insurance companies are classifying the problem as an 'Act of God' and are therefore refusing to pay out! My recent claime for repairs to my care after my gate blew onto my cars bonnet was refused! They said, and i quote (HALIFAX INSURANCE) "... as there is no God the damage is classed as your fault ". That, contributed to reducing my no claims bonus! Why can't insurance companies just live up to what we expect they are there for. To 'help' in a crisis?

I wasn't suggesting that the people responsible for banning flights should not show caution, just that a considered response is better than the blind panic that there seems to be every time something out of the ordinary happens. I certainly would not be prepared to fly until some reassurance is given that it is safe to do so.

It is interesting that all major airlines sent up flights to test for safety yesterday and all returned without problems. Why couldn't this have been done 4 days ago?

My cars bodywork is covered in a gritty film of something. Could it be the ash? I think that it may well be.

If this ash was sucked into my engine it may eventually cause damage, but the worse that could happen would be that it 'conked out' and i would hopefully just coast to a stop. BUT, if an aircraft engine sucked into it's engine this dust and it 'conked out' it certainly would not coast to a stop!

I know it would take ages for my car to suffer from this ash, but an aircraft engine sucks in a lot more volume of air than a car engine. This is before any account is taken of the aircrafts external sensors, and any 'clogging' that they may also suffer from.

Better safe than sorry i say. That is why we have science ... amongst other things, it's to avert a dissaster!

Hi, perhaps you may recall the eruption of Mt. Helena (May 18th 1980),South West of Washington ,said to be the most destructive in the United States.

Just click on to WWW and you  have the choice of lots of excellent reports on the power of this eruption to compare with our present situation.

ie ; Pyroclastic flows(gravity flows of volcanic material that has been explosively ejected from a volcanic event) periodically poured out of the crater and down the North flank into the valley below.These flows along with hot ash and debris,began melting the snow and ice that remained on the flanks of the mountain. This bebris-filled water, together with ground water and rainwater, raised Spirit Lake 200 feet and created mudflows which moved down the Toutle River valley. More than 185 miles of highways and 15 miles of railways were destroyed or extensively damaged.It was estimated that 2.4 million yards of ash were removed from highways and airports.

The eruptive cloud rose to an altitude of more than 12 miles in 10 minutes. Nearly 550 million tons of ash fell over a 22,000 square mile area .The eruption cloud moved at an average speed of about 60  mph. The cloud became so dense that little sunlight penetrated  it.

      That`s one of the many reasons why you don`t  throw caution to the wind !!!.

       George P.      

Walking home last evening I kept thinking I could smell somebody burning rubbish then I thought maybe it's the invisible ash? Could it be that?

I think we'll soon find empty shelves on the supermarkets especially fruit and veg that's flown in. Have you thought about that too?

I don't know if it is over reaction Meldrew. I guess the only way to really find out is to send up a few planes and see if they reach their destination or not but I certainly wouldn't get on one of them. And if it is over reaction then it is not just the UK that has been taken in. I bet the news people wish it had never happened, how would you like to have to pronounce the name of the volcano in a news report?  Eyjafjallajoekull?

I have to say though that even though we have had 2-3 bright days the sky has seemed to have a greyish cast. As for the dust in the atmosphere I'm sure it's there and is coming in my open windows or at least that's my excuse for the dust in my house. This is from the BBC website:-

Scientists are struggling to work out if the eruption itself could continue for days, weeks or even months.

But, as Professor Jon Davidson - an earth scientist from the University of Durham - told BBC News, it was not the eruption per se that caused the problem.

"It's the fact that the prevailing winds are driving the ash plume over the UK," he explained.

Am I missing something?

On the day that we have had the most prolonged period of clear skies this year we are informed that the sky is not sufficiently clear for aircraft to fly. I have been able to see the sun all day and I don't think aeroplanes fly higher than that. I can accept that some flight destinations may be affected by volcanic dust but that doesn't apply to destinations south of the UK where many flights were destined.

Does anybody else think this might be an overreaction?

I never thought I would see headlines like this in this country. It seems incredible that a volcanic event so far away could cause such a problem:-

SCORES OF MANCHESTER FLIGHTS GROUNDED BY VOLCANIC ASH.

April 15, 2010

Manchester Airport has been effectively closed after an ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland spread across the UK.

175 flights have been cancelled with around 25,000 passengers are affected. The cancellations will run until at least lunchtime, but clearing the backlog of flights is likely to mean that mean more longer-lasting disruption. Travellers are being told to check with their airlines for more information.

The Met Office and National Air Traffic Services have placed restrictions on airspace across the UK and Ireland and 90 per cent of all flights leaving the country have been cancelled.

A spokeswoman said: "The Met Office and National Air Traffic Services (NATS) have placed restrictions on UK airspace as a result of volcanic ash drifting across the country from Iceland.

Have you ever had your car's paintwork or windscreen chipped by a a stone being throwmn up off the road or perhaps being blown off a lorry? Well how about this!

Joan Hall's car was hit by a stone that flew off a lorry. The problem was the stone in question was a five tonne boulder. Luckily no one was inside the car at the time.

 Hayfield in Derbyshire.

Yes SB Virgin have increased some of their charges but unfortunately I have deleted their email that detailed them. Their 'phone charges also increase from today and you can find out what they are on the Vigin Media web site.

I am going to give serious thought to reducing the size of the package I have with them.

I have a trio of services with Virgin, Phone-TV-Internet. The bill seems a couple of pounds dearer this month. Have they increased prices. I get so much guff off them I bin it and never read it.

Once again old comics are in the news and if you've got one of these tucked away in the loft it could be worth more than a lottery win. What I really can't understand is why anyone, no matter how much money they have, would pay this much for an old comic. How much do these type of things cost presently in the shops?

Superman debut comic raises $1.5m.

Superman has soared back into the record books, reclaiming the title of the highest price paid for a comic.

A copy of the comic in which Superman made his debut was sold at a US auction for $1.5m (£995,500) - weeks after a Batman comic had fetched $1.075m. The June 1938 edition of Action Comics No 1 was sold originally for 10 cents.

It is the third time the record has been broken recently - a copy of the same Superman comic fetched $1m just days before the Batman comic was sold. But that copy of Superman's first appearance was said to have been in worse condition than the more expensive comic.

The copy of Action Comics No 1 - of which 100 are said to still be in existence - was sold by auction house Comic Connect after being purchased from a private collector.

Comic Connect co-owner Stephen Fishler said it was bought by a "hardcore comic book fan". "There's been a lot of attempts to acquire this book over the last 15 years," he said. "I can't imagine another book coming on the market that exists that would top this."

A few years back i turned into a one way street in Manchester and nearly collided head on with a vehicle. If i hadn't swerved to avoid him who knows what might have happened. He was on his mobile phone at the time. Janice had MANY choice words for him.

Oh! The vehicle, by the way was being driven by a man in his late twentys. He said that he had been attending to a burglary and was distracted. He was a police officer!!!

Sorry to harp on about this but only this weekend...

A 95-year-old man was stopped by police after being spotted driving the wrong way along the A12 in Essex.

Police received more than 20 calls after the man joined the road at Brook Street interchange on Thursday night.

Road policing patrol units and local patrols closed slip roads to prevent traffic getting on to the road and the force helicopter was also called.

The man was stopped after five miles and taken to his home. He surrendered his licence the following day.

Pc Alan Barlow, of the A12 Alliance patrol team, said: "Numerous police resources were used to stop this man and to safeguard other members of the public.

"Luckily on this occasion no-one was injured. But the last time this happened on the A12 there was a fatality."

If they send me to my GP for a fitness test i'm sunk.

"Anyone who has a heart attack dies" - is words.

I have not had five heart attacks, according to him, even though i've had five occaisions with measurable troponin T found in my blood.  This is just a small part of HIS incompetence. He doean't read letters from the hospital, he says, he leaves it to the clerical staff to sort them! Hence the reason for him stopping my clopidogrel last March, (against previous advice that i had been given) and my subsequent heart attack (or was it just a Myocardial Infarction?) (I'm on Clopidogrel for life!)

Sorry, i'm going off on one again --- but i dread the thought of him doing a report for the BA, or whoever. He'd probably put my name down for the next London marathon!

I hope that any fitness test is done by an independant Doctor, and one NOT employed by ATOS.

Move house to another city!

Surferboy this is from the MEN and makes some sort of sense to me.

March 25, 2010

How many people who work for themselves take time off through ill health? It’s not a question self-employed people need to ask since they are too busy working.

Certainly all the self-employed people I have represented over the years, such as electricians and shop owners, were always the ones keenest to get legal proceedings over with as quickly as possible and get back to the hard grind – since if they didn’t work then, quite simply they didn’t get paid.

Unfortunately, alongside this noble workaholic culture is the startling fact that Greater Manchester seems to have made a name for itself as the sick note capital of the country.

A staggering one in ten working age adults is off work and claiming sickness benefits. Health chiefs estimate that sickness costs Greater Manchester £1.4bn a year in benefits and ‘lost’ tax.

And what’s worse is that they are ably assisted by some doctors, who scatter sick notes like confetti and in the process overlook professional obligation and overload our already disastrously over-stretched public purse.

This flawed scheme, which will see 130, 000 people being sent to their GPs for ‘fitness tests’ – including climbing stairs and picking up objects – is inevitably vulnerable to abuse.

Would-be claimants are hardly likely to require Oscar-winning performances to hoodwink the clinician (as anyone who as ever pleaded man flu could testify). What’s likely to happen is the genuinely sick will suffer.

So what’s the answer ?

I see Manchester is the guinea pig area for getting people off benefits into work. You have to attend your doctors and do physical tests etc. This when 1 in 5 young people can't get a job as it is and Job Centre staff are being made redundant?

Maybe MP's should posess certain political and social qualifications, and be overseen by a political and social governing board.

Maybe a politicians behaviour should be overseen in a way rather like doctors, and their relationship with the BMA!

Some MP's do deserve to be struck off for misconduct, but no one seems to be willing to strike them off --- ie give some of them the sack.

PS - the term 'being given the sack'. Doesn't it come from many years back when a workman was told to collect his tools and leave. (His tools being placed inside a sack?)

I'm not surprised our country is in such a mess when I see the stupidity and greed of some of our ex ministers lying and cheating to line their own pockets as disclosed on the recent Panorama programme.

Having seen this I think an only way forward is to prohibit MPs of any rank from taking other jobs of any sort while they are still in their seat. I would have thought that managing and looking after the interests of a constituency is in itself a full time and very demanding job and would leave little time for anything else if done diligently.

Would such a ban stop people becomong Mps or would it help to attract more people whose ambitions are to act solely"In the public interest"? 

I see the government has now dropped the proposal to insist on insurance for dogs. They don't say whether the proposal for microchipping has been dropped; it has its uses but is a waste of time for controlling those dogs (sorry owners) who are the problem. 

Surferboy, how many young drivers were listed in that paper. Strange although they have accidents every day, we seldom hear about it.

This is from the Advertiser website. I sometimes wonder what planet this man is on and more to the point I wonder about the judgement of the people that brought him back once again into government and also gave him a peerage.

Mandleson: Salford is on the move.

Business secretary Peter Mandelson has praised the development of MediaCity.

Lord Mandelson said the city was 'on the move' when he visited on a whirlwind tour of the region.

He is the second high-profile Cabinet minister to tour the city in two days - Home Secretary Alan Johnson visited Swinton earlier this week.

Lord Mandelson was given a tour of MediaCity before going to Wardley, in Swinton, to officially open a new welding school run by 'Mr Salford' John Wilkinson.

Speaking at MediaCity, he emphasised the role of regional centres outside London in repairing the economy.

He said: "I don't think it's stretching it to talk about a renaissance of regional confidence in Britain.

Just reading BBC teletext last night and found another driver this time 83 killed in an accident.

No Meldrew I'm not feeling sorry for the civil servants just a certain level of disgust for a government that given these economic times can give themselves a pay rise and then deny it to others at whatever level.

Surely you are not standing up for civil servants Fez, I thought they were everybodys' target.

On the dog thing I started work at 16 behind the counter of the Post Office on Chapel Street which at that time was the main P.O. in Salford. One of the services in those days was the issue of dog licences. In those days (1954) we sold about a dozen licences annually so how many do you think would be sold nowadays and how many of those do you think those yobs who use dogs as weapons would buy?

Perhaps our great Labour "spinners" hope that they can make a saga of it to take the gullible public's memory off the financial situation in the run up to the budget and election, but if so I don't think it will work.

Their must be a lot of very unhappy senior civil servants in the country after being told by government that their pay will be frozen and no rise this year. More galling for them is the fact that this has come just a few days after MPs voted themselves a payrise.

Here is an interesting bit from the MEN on the dog thing.

A new word for the English language... ‘Dogbo’. A canine version of an ASBO is just one of the proposals under consideration by the government to deal with dangerous dogs. Woof justice, indeed.

Also proposed is compulsory microchipping of every dog – at an average cost to owners of £30 – and an obligation on Britain’s six million dog owners to take out third party insurance to compensate anyone from whom Rover takes a chunk.

In other words, a doggy tax disc and compulsory insurance. All of which will make dog ownership similar to owning a car.

And the similarity doesn’t end there. There was also a time when dog owners had to have a licence, though, unfortunately, there was no test involved in getting one.

For both mutts and motors, emissions are becoming an increasingly hot topic. And a dog, like a car, is often used to make a statement about yourself.

The rottweiler is the dog world’s equivalent of a 4x4 adorned with bull bars – unnecessarily big and noisy, bad for the environment and designed to say ‘Don’t mess with me or you’ll come off worst’.

All of which flippancy should not disguise the fact that there are too many dogs out there with too many irresponsible owners. And that doesn’t just mean those psychos breeding attack dogs in the back yard of council houses.

Yes you are right Surferboy, a knee jerk reaction. Every time someone identifies a problem this governments response is how can we turn it to our financial advantage and I for one am getting fed up with it.

We had dog licences years ago and most people didn't bother getting one. The people who did, in my experience, were the responsible ones and they are not the problem here.

In any event who is going to police this. There must be plenty of police doing nothing who are just itching to get out with their microchip readers to see if the dog is on  a national database as being insured. It is the owners who are responsible and nothing is going to change theit attitudes.

All dog owners in England and Wales would have to insure against their pet attacking someone under Labour proposals to tackle dangerous breeds.

Is this a kneejerk reaction?

The RSPCA said a serious debate on the issue was needed, concentrating on curbing irresponsible pet ownership.

Whilst there is an obvious problem with fighting dogs and certain types to put all breeds under the same banner would be a joy for insurace company profits. They say it will cost owners anything from £16 to £50 a month in premiums. How are the elderly who have the comfort of a dog as a companion be able to afford that?

Oh dear, I'll hold my head in shame there. I was wrong to attribute 'on ya bike' to Michal Foot. OOPS!

I still wouldn't want to ride a bike in todays traffic though, unless there was a total traffic snarl up, maybe.

I think you will find that it was Norman Tebbitt who made that comment about getting on your bike Sparky; he was referring to what his father did during the 30s. As far as Michael foot was concerned he made Neil Kinnock look like a better leader and that takes some doing. The list of mistakes he made was lengthy but at worst he was misguided.

I remember him saying that people should get 'on their bike' (to look for jobs)

Wouldn't fancy riding on todays roads though. Maybe it was a crafty way to reduce the number of unemployed on benefits? mmmm

Their have been glowing tributes in the papers and in the news to Michael Foot who died this week. To be honest I don't really remember that much about him but what little I do seems better represented in this comment from an article by Andrew Grimes in the Manchester Evening news.

Michael Foot, while preaching equality and peace, once bellowed to a Labour colleague who had contradicted him: “You talk to me like that and I’ll have the skin off your back.” That, without doubt, was the rhetoric of the cat’o’nine tails, the leadership of the lash.

Emotionally, he could behave like a mutinously shipwrecked Captain Bligh. Yet navigationally, he was hopelessly at sea with his indulgent and credulous crew, with whom briefly and disastrously as  party captain in 1983 he was to be cast overboard by a  derisive electorate.

I wonder if anyone else will notice Meldrew. He is a cute little fellow and actually an animation but our website doesn't support animations even so he does make a change.

Like the new front page Fez. I am not sure that Pingu will be appropriate when summer comes but you will have something else in mind by then, I am sure.

He will have been under the supervision of probation officers who will have been sworn to secrecy. For him to have been recalled he has either persistently re-offended or he is committed a very serious crime, possibly both. The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, has said that they cannot give details for fear of predjucing any possible trial. How on earth can he be tried without revealing his identity.

This couldn't be yet another example of the govrnment concealing unpalatable facts from the electorate - or could it.

It's going to be interesting to find out why he was recalled. If it is because of a crime of any sort shouldn't he then lose his right to anonomity as he has contravened the terms of his parole which must also I would think cover his right to have his new identity hidden from the public?

Justice Secretary Jack Straw defended the veil of secrecy surrounding Jon Venables' return to prison.

Venables, now 27, is in jail again after breaching the conditions of his release.

The strict rules included a ban on him contacting his fellow murderer Robert Thompson or the Bulger family.

Venables and Thompson - given new identities when freed in 2001 - killed two-year-old James on Merseyside in 1993.

Another failing for the justice system for letting them out in the first place!

On crimes against society such as the ones he has committed I have zero sympathy and if he wants a date for his release he should be told it will be the day after he turns his toes up. What I find just as worrying is the numerous proposals from women that he has received over the years. I cannot get my head round that one.

Can it really be real The Ripper as a right to appeal against his life sentence. Surely in cases like his he shouldn't still be around to argue his point. What a joke the justice system in Britain allows such frivolous actions. For all their failings in China he'd have been dispatched long ago and we would'nt have to be still paying for his board  and lodgings.

Unfortunately we get what we deserve. If the magazines containing these images continue to sell they will continue publishing them. As long as certain themes in TV programmes attract viewers in numbers we will get more and yet more of them. The answer lies in the hands of the public but too many, I fear, will continue to let us down unless the shallowness of imagery is shown through education at home and in school to be simply superficial.

Couldn't agree more about the "sexual imagery" Surfer. I'm no prude but it has gotten silly even kiddies programmes on tv and kiddies comics and music aimed at the teenie market are full of it. In fact I think it is so deeply embedded in everything to do with media and advertising that it will be very difficult to do anything about.

The other thing that I noticed in the coverage of the subject was a suggestion to limit the amount of "air brushing" in publications and media that give the dangerous impression to young girls that having a size zero body is the only way to be attractive. It really is a crazy world but I suppose our generations have allowed it to become that way.

Children are being increasingly exposed to sexual imagery a report for the Home Office warns.

The report calls for tougher regulation of sexual imagery in adverts and a ban on selling "lads' mags" to under-16s.

It's been obvious for years so why as it taken so long for a report like this to come out.

AND THE COST?

Hmm, Fez. Yes that parade could be very interesting and productive.

Could this be Carnival manchester style. A great parade in Manchester sounds like a not bad idea and may well help communities recognise the mix we now have in our region and some of the good aspects of this.What do you think?

This is from the Evening News.

Manchester Day parade to celebrate city

A huge parade will make its way through the city this summer to celebrate the first-ever Manchester Day. The event – which it is claimed will rival New York’s world-famous Thanksgiving Day parade – will be the centrepiece of an event council chiefs reckon will give residents the chance to celebrate life in Britain’s second city.

Manchester Day, on June 20, is expected to see thousands of people flood on to the streets with floats, inflatables and colourful costumes.

The event will be co-ordinated by Walk the Plank – the arts company behind the lantern procession which closed the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.The firm has also been involved in Toronto’s Winter Festival and the Singapore Arts Festival.

Communities will be invited to work with professional artists to design their own costumes and floats.The day will also see a string of co-ordinated parties taking place across the city, along with other events.

Here's one of 22ct's comic's that he posted on here some time back now. Yes he did seem to have a large collection of old comics, similarly, some of his pictures were just as large!

$1million For a comic! You cannot be serious.

But yes it's on the news a copy of ActionComics that was the first to feature superman has sold on the internet for £646,000 and it originally only cost 10cents. Must admit it reminded me of 22ct who seemed to have a collection of comics.

Hi Sparky, they made a film about that Jamaican team and you had to admire them a bit reminiscent of our Eddie the Eagle, remember him? I see he's doing an advert on TV now.

And in the news today are we heading for another war in the falklands over oil. If so does it comr to late to save Gordon Brown? Don't forget it was the last falklands war that saved Maggie Thatcher's leadership of the tory party.

THIS IS FROM THE BBC WEBSITE

Gordon Brown says UK is prepared in Falkland Islands

The UK has made "all the preparations that are necessary" to protect the Falkland Islands, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said.

However, the Ministry of Defence has denied reports that a naval taskforce is on its way to the Falklands.

Argentina has brought in controls on ships passing through its waters to the islands over UK plans to drill for oil.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague told the BBC the Royal Navy's presence in the region should be increased.The Sun newspaper reported that up to three ships were to join the islands' regular patrol vessel.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt understands the destroyer HMS York and the oil supply tanker RFA Wave Ruler are in the area, as well as HMS Clyde, which is permanently based there.

However, the MoD said Britain already had a permanent naval presence in the South Atlantic as well as more than 1,000 military personnel on the islands.

(P.s. would a bit of a war be good for the economy? fez)

Maybe the winter olympics officials should invite the Jamacan bob sleigh team to bring a surf canoe instead!

> COOL RUNNINGS < - A true story

They had to cancel events yesterday through lack of snow, food and long queues at the toilet!

Twenty thousand fans been told they will not be able to attend Olympic events at Cypress Mountain because lack of snow has made many areas unsafe.

Standing room tickets were cancelled for snowboard halfpipe, ski cross and snowboard parallel giant slalom.

"It's just too unstable out there and too unsafe to have people walking around," said ticket boss Caley Denton.

"The grandstand is not affected at all, this only affects standing room. Ticket holders will get an automatic refund."

Two days ago, organisers cancelled general admission for snowboarding events at the venue in West Vancouver after heavy rain.

Crews have been battling since mid-January to replace snow repeatedly melted away by some of the warmest weather on record

Missed the snowboarding Surfer but I haven't been getting out much recently and have been enjoying the coverage of the olympics. I guess part of the reason is that you get to see stuff like the mogul and snowboarding that never usually get time on tv. Then of course their is the thrill of the spills and falls!

Yes well spotted Fez. It's already been mentioned on Brian's board by a few wags having a laugh.

Loved the snowboard racing.

Surferboy. Your Brian Wilson seems to be a multi talented guy. I see he got a bronze medal in the Mogul skiing at the winter olympics yesterday.

Whoops, sorry that was Bryon Wilson!

I'll try and remember to bring you a sample Meldrew...whisky that is.

I'm afraid I don't do birthdays Meldrew and with the price of your favourite tipple I don't think I could afford to do them.

Yea Fez, Oban 14 years old single malt is near the top of my list if you are buying. I once tried Lagavulin and it was like drinking charcoal and is probably the only one I wouldn't drink again. If it's my upcoming birthday you are thinking about any single malt will do.

Did you get us some samples from the materclass Surfer or have they already gone south? Meldrew do you have a favourite whisky that you mellow out with?

I must have a natural ability, I have never needed instruction on how to taste whisky.

I went to a master class by "Teachers" Master Blender last month. I'm sure he'd be interested in this story as well.

How would you fancy a bottle of this? Could it still be drunk and would it "go down well" at auction?

Shackleton's whisky recovered from South Pole ice.

Five crates of Scotch whisky and brandy belonging to the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton have been recovered after more than 100 years in the ice.

They were buried beneath Shackleton's Antarctic hut, built in 1908 for a failed expedition to the South Pole.

Some of the crates have cracked and ice has formed inside, which means experts will face a delicate task in trying to extract the contents. The ice-bound crates were first discovered three years ago.

The master blender at whisky company Whyte and Mackay said the find was a "gift from the heavens" for whisky lovers. Richard Paterson, whose firm supplied the Mackinlay's whisky for Shackleton, said: "If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analysed, the original blend may be able to be replicated.

Yes Meldrew our Tony certainly doesn't seem to have worked through a cabinet but took a much more presidential style in his time as Prime Minister but why did his cabinet let him get away with it were they too interested in keeping their own cabinet positions and salaries than what was good for the country?. It is going to be really interesting to hear Gordon Browns account of things.

Tony Blair constantly throughout his evidence referred to himself as  "having to make a decision".

No he didn't, we have a system of government where the cabinet takes joint responsibility for decisions and, on matters as important as going to war, the Houses of Commons/Lords surely have a say.

So much for his belief in democracy - he only believes in allowing those people a vote who see things his way.

He also said he would do the same again!!!!!!!!!

The Iraq enquiry seems to be having less media coverage than I anticipated though I have missed some by being in dock and just wondered if anybody had any views on what has happened so far particularly Tony Blairs contribution. I notice that Clare Short has been her usual blunt self today and while her opinions may be a little questionable I feel she does possess a certain integrity.

TATA buys Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar and Landrover are now owned by TATA, an Indian company i believe.

Mind you, at least we have our £sterling .... for a while anyway!

I rang the podiatry clinic at Salford Royal this afternoon.

They're still pulling out toenails! The snow has not put them off!

I'm in there tomorrow, Tuesday, to have mine pulled! ooh err!

Gives me the idea to ring my out patients clinic just to make sure they are running. Thanks Meldrew.

Had two hospital appointments last Tuesday morning when the latest snow had just fallen. The hospital was deserted - no patients and no staff; I have seen it busier in the middle of the night. Neither the cardiologist nor the ultrasound technician could get in so I guess I am now part of a backlog of patients waiting to be seen. 

My teeth are chattering in these MOLAR conditions. BRRRrrrrrr!

Willow is quite right.

My son is a partner in a large dental practice in Andover. Their insurance company has advised him that if they clear the car park of snow and someone slips on the ice they will be vulnerable to a claim for compensation but if they leave the snow and somebody slips they are not liable.

Guess what they decided to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It seems that it is not only some of us humans who are being caused problems by this cold spell.

This from the BBC

'Wildlife in crisis' in frozen UK.  

Britain's wildlife is being pushed to "the brink of a crisis" as sub-zero temperatures continue to grip the nation, according to conservationists.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is organising emergency feeding of several threatened species, including bitterns and cirl buntings.The RSPB is also asking people to feed garden birds, which are struggling to find food in the freezing weather.

The harsh winter could hit bird numbers "for many years to come", they warn.

"The extremely hard winter spanning 1962 and 1963 was arguably the single event that had the greatest impact on wildlife within living memory," said Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director. "With the icy weather predicted to last at least another week, this winter could be the single greatest wildlife killer of the new millennium."

It seems to me that years back we used to deal with weather conditions like the ones we have at the moment much better. Everyone used to get stuck in and clear the snow of their drives and the frontages of their houses and if the resident couldn't do it themselves the neighbours got stuck in and helped. Shopkeepers used to do the same(Willow tells me the insurance compaies stopped them) True you ended up with mounds of snow in the gutter and the roadway getting narrower but at least you could get around easier instead of moaning about the lack of gritting though having said that I've got to admit that currently it is a disgrace.

Although it's called grit, what is used on the roads is actually rock salt, which lowers the freezing point of moisture on the road surface, so it stops ice forming and causes existing ice or snow to melt.

The real frustration and difficulty with any gritting is that the salt goes down and it's hygroscopic which means that it attracts moisture and it only becomes activated when it's 'trafficked'. So when it's driven over and grinds down and mixes with the moisture it attracts from around it, it becomes brine, a salty water. That's what you're ideally striving for because when it's brine that is most effective.

BRING BACK COAL FIRES. BETTER HEAT. MINERS IN WORK. STEAM TRAINS.CHESTNUTS ON A ROASTING FIRE!

It looks as though the climate within our homes could change if this cold snap continues as there seems to be some concerns about our gas supplies (and could this be used as an excuse to raise prices) This is from the BBC

The National Grid issued a gas balancing alert, for only the second time, asking power suppliers to use less gas as more was sourced overseas.

Extra gas being brought in - including supplies from Belgium and Norway - was necessary to meet rising demand after a 30% rise on normal seasonal use during the cold snap.

The gas balancing alert (GBA) was issued on Monday afternoon. It warns industrial users such as power stations to reduce fuel consumption and encourages suppliers to bring in more gas.

The only previous time a GBA was used was in March 2006.

This current alert was due to expire at 0600 GMT on Tuesday, with National Grid bosses then due to meet to consider whether to extend the warning. A spokesman said the alert had already proved effective

The climate has changed constantly since the planet has existed and will continue to do so. I see no evidence that the climate has changed during my lifetime although it does vary from year to year.

Because I could be wrong I do recycle and do some of the things recommended to reduce our impact on the planet but I still want to see evidence before I make significant changes to my lifestyle. All so-called evidence at present is pure conjecture as evidenced by The University of East Anglia hiding that evidence which didn't suit its case.

The real reason for failure in Copenhagen was the poorer countries trying to hold the richer ones to ransom by demanding financial support to make changes. If they were really serious and really believed in changing the planet they could make changes without extra funds.

As for Gordon Brown jumping on the bandwagon he sees it simply as a means of raising yet more taxes.

There, I feel better now with that off my chest. 

I don't know Meldrew. I still think Climate Change is happening and that it is being accelerated by human activity and possibly population size. I suspect that no agreement was arrived in Copenhagen, a great city by the way, because there was a bit of "I'll do it if you'll do it first" exchanges going on. Plus the major effects are some considerable years down the line and politicians are renowned for only caring about there own period of power and shy away from decisions which may rock that particular boat.