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.
Well I woke up this morning at some ungodly hour and could not get back to sleep. So I progressed a project that I’ve got at the moment where I’m tidying up some photographs on an old computer , making it ready to transfer to one place so I can use them as I wish. It’s a labour of love bringing back many happy memories, but also a gift to edit as it is clearing out a lot of the pictures that I don’t want to keep , which are mainly unfocused and scenery which I must admit I have rather a lot of.
Thanks to Jess Warren, on BBC Online News for the Headline
Supercars are being parked outside a prestigious hotel in Grosvenor Square London , blocking pedestrians and other road users access and showing no consideration to those living in the vicinity.
The lovely Blue Rolls Royce that was towed away by the Council and left in a new location a few streets away was part of the Council’s new policy after the various cars that have been given tickets in the past to deter their owners from parking inconveniently outside their hotel accommodation have been ignored The fines remain unpaid and the Council having no traceability as to the whereabouts of the owners as the number plates are foreign.
Unfortunately , the article doesn’t say who is paying the cost for the tow and also where the cars are being left. Perhaps there is no room in the pound for vehicles and randomly dumping them in another street, possibly with London’s parking problem is just moving the problem elsewhere. Are these cars going to be reported as stolen? I pity the poor chauffeur who has been dragged in to carry the luggage by his rich employer, only to find the car has been taken. Surely ,the first thought is theft. Also don’t these hotels have resident’s parking?
Good quality stone slabs are in such demand that they are stolen much as valuable lead is stolen from Church roofs.
Beautiful ancient walkways and paths are ruined by having individual slabs removed,leaving dangerous and unsightly gaps all for the sake of providing a beautiful piece of decorative stoneware for those who can afford to pay premium prices for it.
One innovative suggestion is to smart mark the stolen stones so they are traceable much like a stolen bike.Perhaps this might make the stones less attractive to the hooded thieves in white vans with their fake road repair signs loading their stones into white vans in broad daylight.
Thanks to Seher Asaf from BBC Online News for the Headline
I offer the family of Alfredo Diaz my condolences for his passing and I hope that they will be told the circumstances that resulted in his death in custody at El Helicoide prison in Caracas, Venezuela . Let’s not forget that a family member has died and that his wife and children need to know exactly what happened. The Venezuelan Government need to be open about it and also to be clear that holding people without trial is not a good image for any Government.
Needless to say death in custody is not an isolated incident, Government’s all over the World have experienced it and continue to experience it. Probably one of the most high profile cases was “Jeffery Epstein” who died at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York in the United States, but there have been many lesser known incidences for example here in the UK.
Venezuela is a beautiful country and needs to be treasured and looked after. I don’t understand what is happening either in Politics or The Drug Cartels, least of all why there should be any move to military action from either side. Military force is deadly to innocent people as we all know.
President Nicolas Maduro whether elected fairly or not needs to behave in a Presidential manner and not be seen as someone who needs to wipe out the opposition. He needs to take the lead from Maria Corina Machado who won the Peace Prize and recognising President’s Trump’s narcissism agreed by telephone call that he was the rightful winner, thus satisfying his ego while still keeping the prize. Oh yes President Maduro , that lady is someone I would want on my side.
Thanks to Coventry Live and Rachel Stretton and Andy Mitchell and Local Democracy Reporter for the Headline
HS2 Contractors will be questioned by Council Authorities about the amount of litter , including bottles filled with wee that has been deposited at the roadside and had to be collected by local waste workers.
The waste workers noticed a significant increase in the amount and type of waste collected from the A46 dual carriage and the surrounding area and have identified the Contractors as having been responsible. HS2 and Balfour Beatty Vinci will now be questioned by the Council.
In truth , with the amount of house building underway along with the associated infrastructure this has became a Nationwide problem and will have to be addressed Nationally. There are so many contractors doing all sorts of work in Utilities and Building , it’s obvious some Companies look after their employees with locations where they can take their breaks and portable facilities that they can use for toilet breaks. It is obvious some companies don’t and my experience in my local area is that it makes the said workers( who are obviously on a very tight timetable) very grumpy. Unsurprisingly.
Gone are the days when grateful locals will offer the workers a cup of tea or even the chance to use the toilet. Nowadays it seems we are at loggerheads with each other. The result is resentment from both sides. It is a sad state of affairs and if the bad employers are made to improve it will result in additional costs and therefore reduced headcount and more pressure on the employees who are left to do the work. While in truth, all the bad employer was being asked to do was to provide a basic requirement. I think in modern language this is regarded as negotiation, which explains why working conditions for many continue to be eroded.
We are all too hard on each other, and if we follow these analog prompt questions with ardour we will just make ourselves unhappy.
Silly question .”What could we do less of?” Hopefully if we know something is doing us harm then we are not going to keep doing it, tell that to an addict!
Or perhaps from the comfort of a comfortable position we decide that we need to do less sitting around and do more exercise classes, problem solved.
Worry less, but then things happen and sometimes it’s useful to ponder.
We should concentrate on perspective and perhaps look less at the smaller picture.
It was a nice day, Milo decided he was going to go for a walk in the woods. Stan was asleep in his shed and Milo decided not to disturb him as Stan had been up late doing his rounds with the Security Guard who went to the Bank with the money from Milo’s businesses in Town.
Milo headed off , it was going to be nice to get some fresh air. It didn’t take long until he reached the woods. It was early and the birds were singing and the warmth of the sun was beginning to wake everything up. The flowers were opening up and the bees and bumble bees were beginning their long day of nectar gathering. It was just what Milo needed after a busy week.
Milo was very happy. He loved the Natural World and really appreciated it when he had the chance to do so.
Stan , meanwhile had woken up and his instincts told him that his friend Milo had gone off by himself. Milo had left a scent trail and Stan decided to follow him. Which was just as well.
Milo had wondered deep into the forest and began to feel quite hungry. He found a little hollow underneath some trees and saw what he thought were delicious mushrooms.
” An ideal lunch, this will give me energy for my walk back home”.
He began to munch the mushrooms, but they weren’t mushrooms at all they were toadstools!
After a few minutes he began to feel very unwell.
Luckily , Stan , his faithful bodyguard was not too far away and found Milo in the little hollow.
Stan realised that he had to get Milo to the doctor as quickly as possible , so he put Milo on his back and then galloped away towards the Doctors Surgery.
When they got there, Milo explained to the doctor what had happened and the doctor was able to give him special medicine to cure him. After a few hours of rest Milo was back to his normal self.
Milo came out of the Doctor’s surgery and said to Stan, let’s go home, I was going to have steak pie tonight , but I don’t really feel like it now. Would you like it? Stan yelped his approval.
So Stan and Milo spent the evening together on the sofa, Stan ate his steak pie and Milo drank a nice cup of tea.
They were both very happy and laughed when the Chef told them that he had decided not to give them the mushrooms that he cooked to go with the steak pie, although they were delicious, so the Chef had eaten them himself.
