I had to check it was not April the first for this headline , but one look out the window at the drizzle and the fact that the heating is on made me realise that although the story may be a tongue in cheek it is actually a genuine warning issued by Food Standards Scotland (FSS).
Quote “Consumers are being urgently warned to not drink whisky or gin products from an Orkney distillery over fears they may pose a risk to health.”
The Kimbland Distillery has not been producing spirits for the last eighteen months due to building work , so it’s quite possible that all of their products that they have sold for the five years prior to the building work starting; through wholesalers and their own website; have been drunk. (If so then they must be good). If they haven’t then the recommendation from the FSS is that they should not be; due to safety concerns and the fact that Kimbland distillery cannot provide evidence that their spirits were distilled to the necessary safety requirements whatever they are. Alcohol after all is a poison. At least the distillery has decided to halt production during the building work, we should be grateful for small mercies. No dust in the whisky! It probably wouldn’t make much difference to the gin. I mean what are sieves for?
Whether they used peat and sheep poo in their processes we will never know, we just know that the likelihood is they didn’t fill in the right paperwork.
Thanks to BBC Online and Craig Duggan and Aled Scourfield BBC Wales for the Headline
The list of respectable people involved in illegal dog breeding in Wales during a period of eight years that the Trading Standards were able to investigate and bring charges for is appalling. One of them is a local Councillor who you would have hoped would know better. Although, perhaps that is a misguided hope.
Either way, it gives me the opportunity to give you some information that was shared to me and really impacted me about all animals and how we should care for them and not abuse them. It was shared by Peter Egan, a talented actor and a phenomenal advocate for all “animals”, though I like to think he has a particular fondness for dogs.
What is Kahu?
In Hawaiin culture , you do not call yourself your pet’s owner. You are referred to as their “Kahu”. The word Kahu has a deep meaning and is defined as the sacred role of a guardian, protector, steward or honoured attendant. Essentially, someone entrusted with the safe keeping of something precious- something cherished. What a Kahu protects is not their property. What they protect is a part of their soul. We become better when we truly love an animal. We embraced the connection of all life when we embody what it means to be a Kahu.
As decisions are subject to the Law of Randomness, whether they are ill considered or for reasons unknown fall by the wayside in a heap of confusion despite initially being a crystal clear plan. This is all perfectly normal.
Just watch a sparrow misjudge landing on a branch it has landed on a thousand times before, but this time the wind blew in an unexpected direction and when said sparrow put out it’s claws the branch wasn’t there and the poor thing ended up lying upside down in the bush much to the other sparrows amusement.
Such is life and actually when you meet the people who go on and on about their achievements you begin to realise the randomness is worth savouring.
Thanks to Christal Hayes, Aoife Walsh from BBC News Online for the Headline
Frankly what in the blazes did the editor who chopped up a long speech from President Trump think he/she was doing, were they bored and wanted a laugh. I know that President Trump is famous among other things for going on and on, but splicing a speech with a break of 50 minutes to make it look as if he was encouraging violence was very naughty. To air it a few weeks before the election, quite frankly this was unnecessary as the Democrats had done enough damage to themselves to lose the election as they eventually did.
Not just that but the BBC offering an apology, was absolutely nuts. In car crash terms it’s a no brainer, never admit liability.
Sad to say , Trump’s lawsuit can only harm the British Public as we are the ones that own the BBC, although the BBC doesn’t really want to have to deal with the scum who are it’s public. We just pay the fees. I’m sad to see the BBC and what it used to stand for deteriorate to this petty behaviour.
The BBC’s defense is that the programme was for UK viewers only, this is damning also as do they want to mislead us , don’t we matter are we not able enough to make our own minds up. Anyway modern technology nowadays mean controversial opinions or indeed “fake editing” can spread like wildfire and also end up in Court which I’m sad to say has happened.
Their have been resignations, but what a mess these people have left in their wake. Who are they? George Orwell wants to know.
I can knit my own version of cotton socks , which are really good for my feet and I knit them in bright colours so they are not so easy to misplace and look bright. I have a pair for each day of the week but I’m going to knit more.
Thanks to Cash Murphy from South East BBC Online news for the Headline
The Boxing Day Dip , which until two years ago was a tradition at Deal Kent has been cancelled again in 2025.The Rotary Club who run it were given the all clear on the water quality in November by the Environment Agency but this was far too late for them to get the necessary organization in place for Safety and Sponsorship to run the event.
Another miss from the Environment Agency and not wishing to look at the dark side but what guarantee is there that the water quality is not going to deteriorate and the poor swimmers will be back to square one next year.
The city I would most like to visit is Belomagnificance, because it is a place no one else has visited. The people who are there are just there and you have to be invited to visit and you can only stay three days and you are sworn to secrecy that you have visited. So in truth probably lots of people have been.
In the three days you are there you will have the best “City” experience without the deteriorating roads, the traffic , the prices and the pollution . Oh and most of all you won’t see the detritus on the streets including those who have come to the City for somewhere warm to sleep and to take shelter in a doorway.
Yes , it is an ideal City which only exists in my imagination , or at least that is the story I’m sticking to.
Thanks to Aljazeera news online and Al Jazeera Staff for the headline
#Being homeless eats away at your self-worth says care leaver.
Thanks to BBC News Online and Annika Grosser at the BBC England Data Unit for this headline
I decided to do two headlines today as much as the fact that the American’s are playing at Pirates amuses me, on the other hand the debacle that is the Social Service System in the UK is accurately described and the vast amounts of money that are wasted on it while not achieving results or support needs to be highlighted too.
You might not see the connection , but I do. Yes , we can worry about the Americans who according to the Chinese in Bejing ” opposes unilateral illicit sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in International Law or authorization of the UN Security Council, and the abuse of sanctions” Guo Jiakun , the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
In truth, I think the Americans are on a sticky wicket with their interceptions of tankers and container ships in order to impose their will on Countries who the American Government feel are not playing ball.
However, the rest of the World is left with the prospect that safe maritime traffic is being put under threat and goods that quite reasonably should be reaching a destination are not and in the case of the Chinese vessel going to Iran , this could mean that they Iranian Public are subjected to further shortages.
At the time of the seizure of the Chinese Tanker, Bejing chose to keep quiet, perhaps to allow the investigation of what the ship contained to be completed. The cargo was released as there was no evidence that goods which were part of the Worldwide Sanctions on Iran were on board. End of story, until the Americans seized a Venezuelan Oil Tanker the following month and this very much upset the Chinese.
You might ask why I see the sad situation of a young lady who was as a 16 year old in the care system in the UK, reduced to seeing her Social Worker every now and then and only when she was to be given £50 in cash from her Universal Credit allowance. Most of the time the Social Worker was on “leave” as connected to the above story. The young lady was inspired to become a Social Worker herself , and got the necessary qualifications in order to “improve” the system”, which I’m sure with her actions she already has and in whatever role she has in the future will continue to do so.
I was surprised how defensive the Council that looked after her were, saying that “they had made improvements and that “cover arrangements ” were always in place. This struck me as denying what was really going on.
Also another quote is from the Charity Become is
” Part of the problem is that young people aren’t reaching out for support.”
Their concern being that some children are overlooked and are not in the statistical data analysis. My concern is how do you expect a young person , who already feels neglected and whose belonging are handed to them in a black plastic bag(like a prisoner leaving prison) to feel like reaching out to anyone.
The common factor between these two stories, is the conviction that everything is being done right by the Powers that Be ,whether it being the American Government or a Local British Council. The self righteousness and arrogance is obvious and the talk or money and big budgets being used for the good of all is bandied about. Meanwhile on the ground there is a lack of achievement or any ability to do what’s right because those right at the top have decided what they want to do and the money is being spent the way they want it to be spent. Whether it’s sending soldiers on to ships or not helping vulnerable young people who are looking to leave care and build a life for themselves.
Thanks Ian Jones of the London Standard for this headline
We have reduced the human story behind these journeys to a line graph showing that according to records the last attempt by someone to reach the English Coast from mainland Europe across the channel was on the 14th November.
There is the data in black and white, no matter what the truth is . The boats have not been crossing. Which does make me think that the authorities know exactly where these boats are, when they are leaving and where they eventually land for them to be intercepted. That is if they don’t sink in between and then if this is so why aren’t they all rescued?
I feel like waving the graph at the lunatic fringe who go on about immigration being the cause of all our ills and stopping the boats is what it’s all about. I wonder if it would satisfy them. They’d probably say the migrants have no backbone as they can’t stand the cold. There will be hoards of them in the summer.
thenotsomightyom 