Rabbit Thought of the Day

I have sorted the problem out, this time it was me that was at fault, somehow my LAN settings become messed up, so I wasn’t able to view some web pages correctly, but being a good engineer, I managed to solve the problem.

Rabbit

Is it me or is this site playing up again, I don't seem tobe able to display the pages properly

Rabbit

Another player made the maximum break of 147 in the World Championship Snooker at Sheffield yesterday. In the history of tournament there have only been 8 maximum never before has there been two in the same year. Out of the eight maximum’s Ronnie O’ Sullivan has made 3 of them some going!

One a bitter and disappointing note Manchester United made it to the Champions League final night, this will set up the first all English final, they opponents will either be Chelsea or Liverpool who platy their second fixture tonight.

Am sitting at my desk the office is very quiet, once again I was the first one in, have been here for over half an hour and no else as yet arrived. We don’t have set working hours office based staff have to work 37 hours a week, while site based staff should work 40 hours a week. At present I am office based but I do far more than 37 hours, in fact I normally do about 42 or 43 hours a week.

Yesterday the traffic was bad and I wasn’t feeling too good so I left at 14:15, boy did I get some funny looks as I walked out, even though I had already done 7 ½ hours, honestly they want blood some people. Perhaps I should give them dirty looks when they get at 09:00. You know the look I mean, look at them then glance at my watch, shrug your shoulders while tut tutting , that will get to them.

I find I get more down starting early no distractions, about from writing this blog which only takes about 5 minutes, 10 at the most.

April is nearly over, today is the last day of the month, well they say times flies it certainly has this month, I can hardly believe just how fast it seems to have gone.

We have finally booked our summer holiday, we have been meaning to do it for weeks, but never actually got round to doing anything about it. Well we have booked a cottage in the Lake District for the middle of August, just what we wanted. A week walking and of course talking lots of pictures.
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While we suffer at the rising cost of fuel over the last few months, oil giants shell is laughing all the way to the bank. In the first 3 months of this year Shell profits have risen to £3.9bn. While BP saw it profits jump by 48% to £3.1bn for the same period.

In January shell reported annual profits of £13.9bn, a record for UK listed company. It really quite astonishing that petrol prices keeping rising at the rate they are, we are being held to ransom by the oil companies and this is not helped by the amount of tax the Government levies on fuel.

It doesn’t matter if you own a car or not, eventually this price will be passed on to us, by the supermarkets or by public transport companies we will not escape these risers.

Both my dad and father in law are in their element at the moment, the snooker as entered its second week, much to pleasure of males of the households, but to the disgust of the females.

I don’t watch the snooker myself, however saying that I have just watched Ronnie O Sullivan score the maximum 147, you have to admire the skill of these players, I have tried to play the game, my maximum break being about one.

At least this summer we won’t have to suffer the humiliation of England failing again in the football, because we have already been through it. So it’s only the cricket where we will have the chance to show just how bad we have become at sport.

I forgot we have the Olympics later this year, we should produce our usual performance do well at boxing, sailing, rowing and a few of the other minor sports but in the major events we will under perform as usual, and then we blame the weather for being too hot or the pollution in Beijing.

Sorry for being cynical, but that’s the way this country is at the moment.

Rabbit

Only a few days left before the local elections, I think Labour will take a bit of a hammering in this one. They seem to have come of the track a little; I think Blair jumped ship at the right time. It probably won’t make any difference to us, we will just get rid of one bunch of scheming idiots only to be replaced by another bunch of crooks.

I have now living in Southend on Sea for about six years and in that time nothing has happened in the town to benefit the public. What has happened in that time, well the councillors have had there expenses increased by 70%, the pier has burnt down, we have had a landslide on the seafront and nothing had been done about it, oh and the illuminations have been taken down.

The town has become so run down, the locals people don’t even recognise the place, all this under a Conservative council. The local MP is no better he claimed £23,000 last year for a second home even though he only lives 30 minutes from the Houses the of Parliament and he does even live in the town.

We should line all the politicians up and shoot them, (god I sound like a 1970’s socialist). I just get so fed up with how inept and sometimes corrupt these people are it maddening

Well am first one in the office again and even earlier this morning, even though I left at the normal time. Very little traffic on the road, I asked myself half down the road, 'is it a weekend'. Probably won't stay that way and I will struggle to get home tonight.

Am on mine own today, the team is away been educated and trained, so a fairly quiet day, just sit here and get onh with my work.

Rabbit

Have just looked at my watch and find is 3 o clock already where does the time go, have been very productive today, sending emails out fast that it clogging up the server…well maybe not quite that fast but it going great.

I was feeling knackered earlier, but I seem to have overcome that and am now working at full steam, perhaps I should slow down a little otherwise I may run out work, however, I very much doubt that. Only one problem at the moment I have spread all my work over two and half desks and a couple of large drawing boards, heaven knows what I’m going to do when my neighbours come back to work.

Rabbit

You can tell its Monday, am knackered already and its not even lunch time yet. At this rate I have burnt myself out by Wednesday. Still we have a long weekend to look forward to, but still a long way of yet.

Hope your week has started good and I hope it continues.

Rabbit

It the start of a new week, which will probably be the same as last week, nothing too taxing but enough to keep me occupied and stop me from becoming bored. Work is actually going well, to well, something’s bound to happen to throw us into chaos.

The good thing is that that it early spring bank holiday this coming weekend, so I will have to start making plans on what to do. However, I suppose I better consult Rosemary on that, I am sure she will have soy on the matter.

Things didn't go to plan yesterday, firstly we had planned on going to the woods , but changed our minds due to the weather forecast, only to find it was dry. So we thought what the heck lets go, on our way there it poured it down, the woods were like a quagmire so we abandoned that and came home.

Then I decided that I should have a photoshop day, and actually did about an hours works before receiving a phone and then having to dash off to Rosemary’s parents because they had a bit of flood. We spent about 3 hours round there mopping up and repairing the leak, which wasn’t too bad just a bad joint on a heating pipe, fortunately I didn’t have to lift any floor board it was in clear view.

So my plans didn’t come to fruition, but we have a busy day, and every thing turned out alright in the end.

Rabbit

It looks like a photoshop day, I have to play with all the pictures I took yesterday. It seems a little chilly as well, may have to but a jersey on

Rabbit

Very quiet this morning, back to the rain my plans are in tatters

Rabit

Well done to Chelsea, hopefully you can leap frog Man Utd to the title, the lesser of the two evils.

Rabbit

What a wonderfull day, have been out for most it, am just processing my pictures at the moment. I'm a little disappointed with my landscapes today they seem a little under exposed, hopefully I can rescue them.

But am very pleased with my wildlife pictures, at first glance I have caught some great shots, hopefully.

Am now relaxing at home, tired but vey happy

Rabbit

It looks like a nice start to the weekend. Lets hope it continues this way.

After last weeks visit the barbers, this week see's Caz visiting the hairdressers, normally Rosemary would also be going but after her accident, where the nursers shaved part of her head, it has not grown back, and it is still rather tender to the touch, so she is not going this time.

I need afew from town, but after that, well we shall see. Gaia, my little cat is presently sat on the table looking of the window, watching the birds flying past to their nest in the tree. She is makinhg funny little squeaking noises at them, I am sure she wouldbe after them if she got the chance.

Well time to go for now, will try and get back on later if I am given the opportunity.

Rabbit

It friday lunch and the meeting is over, I don’t know if we achieved very much, which I suppose is typical for any meeting. We did agree to meet again next Friday, where we will be issued a program when the design for our project will be complete. We have agreed to issue the designers comments from the design drawings that we have already been issued. Therefore something did come out of it.

Not long now before I disappear home, I have a couple of things that I need to look at before I go, nothing taxing but it best to finish things off before the weekend.

Friday is here again just a few more hours and we will be into the weekend, it seems that tomorrow we will have nice weather but Sunday is not looking too good, with more heavy rain forecast, just my luck. Just when I was planning on going into woods do little photography, it may be time to get my umbrella out.

I have a meeting this morning at 10:00, with the designers of a project we are undertaking, we have a number of issues that need to be resolved before we can complete our firm price. We are building a new magistrates court, a building which in this present climate that we always need. The specification is quiet demanding and quite a few of the systems ar5e very high tech, so it could be a challenge.

It could be a n early finish again I will have done well over my hours before lunch time, in fact if I did my allotted hours for the week I think I could leave at 08:45.

Am looking forward to the weekend, even if the weather is bad.

Rabbit

After a great morning and early afternoon where I achieved loads, I now have slowed down a lot and am struggling to keep my concentration. Still I only have a hour left here before I can head home.

We have some weird weather here, one minute its sunny next we have heavy rain. We have even had some thunder and hail storms. Thankfully it a good forecast for the weekend, perhaps we might get out and do some serious photography.

The first teachers strike is on for today, the NUT have voted to go strike in a dispute over pay. Unions say that 2.5% offered is below the rate of inflation and are demanding a 4.1% rise. It the first time in over two decades that teachers have gone on strike. It is estimated that across the country over 8000 schools will close.

Some parents have complained at the lack of notice and some are struggling to find child care, while others have had to take a days holiday to be at home and look after their children.

Caz (my step daughter) is lucky in that she is a sixth former and will taking her exams in the next few months so her teachers will be at school. It can therefore be said that while it is unfortunate that they have decided to strike they are still thinking about the children’s education. Children who have exams coming up will not miss out on vital school time because the teachers will not harm their education.

I don’t believe in unions and have never been a member of any union, but while I was a serving a solider I did a number of jobs because of strikes, fire, ambulance and rubbish collection. So I know how disruptive strikes can be for all involved, dialogue is the only solution to disputes. By the way I only received a 2% pay rise this year and I work in the private sector.

On the subject of photography I have been thinking of joining the Royal Photographic Society. I have been contemplating this for a number of years now and I have been putting together a portfolio of my best photographs. I would like to apply for one of the societies awards.

The Royal Photographic Society's Distinctions are recognised as measures of achievement throughout the world.
When you work towards a Distinction you will improve your photographic skills and also know that once you have been successful the quality of your work will be recognised worldwide.

Distinctions are awarded either on the basis of a portfolio of work which may be photographic images or it may be research, or by successful completion of a recognised course.

There are three levels of Distinction and, in addition, the Imaging Scientist Qualifications which are specifically aimed at engineers, scientists and technologists and provide vocational qualifications relevant to a professional career in imaging science.

The three levels of Distinction are:
Licentiateship: The Licentiateship (LRPS) is normally the entry level Distinction and is awarded for a good level of basic skill and competence.

Associateship: The Associateship (ARPS) is awarded for a high standard of technical competence and individual creative ability.

The Fellowship: The Fellowship (FRPS) is awarded for exceptional standards of excellence and distinguished ability.

I now have a collection of great wildlife pictures which should stand in good stead. Although it quite expensive at £91.50 a year, there are many events which as member you can attend, with special interest groups and area groups is seems like a great organisation to join.

If you are interested in photography follow the link and check if out.

http://www.rps.org/

Rabbit

Wednesday, half way through the week already, yesterday morning seemed to drag but the afternoon just flew by. Am already looking forward to the weekend the weather is supposed to be good and apparently the bluebells are now out in full blow so I am of to the woods with my camera. I am already in the process of sorting out my camera equipment. I had some batteries on charge last night; I will finish charging them to night and clean all my camera equipment.

Am thinking of buying a new camera, Canon have brought out the EOS450D, with a 12.2 megapixel sensor, 3” LCD screen and self cleaning sensor, it is getting great reviews. The cheapest I have seen is advertised for is £472. I think I better start saving up.

Rabbit

Am a little miffed at the moment, I wrote a blog about hour ago, came back to view it and found its not been posted.

I can remember what it was about but not exactly what I said. So here goes once again.

A man in Whitehaven, Cumbria has been fined and given a criminal record for over filling his wheelie bin by 4”. Council officers took photographs of Gareth Corkhill wheelie bin and issued him a £110 fixed penalty noticed. When he refused to pay Copeland Council took him to court where he was found guilty of overfilling a waste receptacle, and magistrates added another £115 to his fine.

Copeland Council has defended its actions and pledged to continue to take action against overfilled wheelie bins. The council have just switched from weekly rubbish collection to fortnightly collections and the public have complained that the wheelie bins are no longer big enough.

You would have thought that the council would have realised this, and issued warning notices in the first instance rather than taking people to court. How long will it be before someone is sent to prison when they refuse to pay the fine? What happens when somebody else puts rubbish in your bin when you have left it out?

Bureaucracy gone mad, and power crazy officials no wonder this country is going to pot!

It’s no where near lunch time yet and I have already eaten part of my lunch, an apple and two plums. Don’t know why am so hungry am not usually like this, I did have breakfast (consisting of cereal and a coffee). Still not long till lunch then I dig into my roast beef sandwich.

It seems to be dragging this morning, I have had my head down working steadily, and then I glanced at my watch expecting to be around 12, and was surprised to find it was only 11:00.

It seems the weather is finally starting to improve, its forecast increasing temperatures and more sunshine, hopefully summer has finally arrived. More time to get out with my camera and take some great shots, hopefully.

Rabbit

The training is over and I am now fully trained on the company’s financial package. All I have top do now is to put what I have been caught into practice unfortunately it will probably be a little while before I actually use it in on any project as we are not due to start on site until later this year, so by then I will have forgotten all that I was taught.

It was a very useful day and despite what I said above it not really that difficult and the guides are really very good, so I should be ok. I didn’t get away as early as I would have liked, but I still got away at the normal so it wasn’t too bad.

It now back to my normal work, reading specifications and checking that they and the drawing conform to all statutory regulations and the actual design is build able.

A number of South American leaders have issued warnings over the production of biofuel. Speaking in the New York the Bolivian President Evo Morales said that the production of biofuel will harm the world poorest people.

Opening a UN forum on the global impact of climate change on indigenous peoples, Mr Morales said that capitalism should be scrapped if the planet is to be saved from the effects of climate change. "If we want to save our planet earth, we have a duty to put an end to the capitalist system," he said.

Campaigners say providing a renewable alternative for conventional fuels can help stop global warming. But as food prices climb worldwide, there is a fear that development of biofuels could reduce the production of badly-needed basic foodstuffs. The EU has come under criticism for its target of getting 10% of road transport fuel from crops by 2020.

Meanwhile UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is hosting a meeting to discuss European policy encouraging biofuels. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Brown said that the UK should be "more selective in our support" for biofuels.

Not a bad day so far, have leant lots of interesting stuff, the question is though will I remember it when I come to need it. I won’t be using it every day, so when I come to use in probably 2 or 3 months time, I doubt that I will remember any of it.

But it seems a relatively simple system to use so I should be able to find myself around pretty quickly in future.

Oh well back to work in question.

Rabbit

A very quiet day yesterday, I just vegetated on the sofa read the newspapers and a book. Later on in day while I finished pressing my shirts for the week and of the course the rest of the ironing I watched a DVD. Altogether it was a very relaxing day, no stress or worries. I didn’t even come back on here.

Today is a training day; I am learning the company’s financial package, how to raise orders, goods receipting that type of thing, should be very interesting (I don’t think so). Unfortunately it has to done, so there’s no getting out of it. The only good thing is that we should finish early

Rabbit

It seems very quiet this morning, not a lot of traffic on the road, I had a little lay in this morning didn't get out of bed until 09:00, which is very unusual for me.

Not a lot planned today, a quick tidy around the house and I have to press my shirts and that about it. I don't think I will be going out the weather doesn't look to good!

Rabbit

I have completed my alloted task and am now at home witha well deserved cup of coffee. Life is so easy when you have plan, I suppose it all that military training I had.

I have been out done what I had to do and got back back in before Rosemary and Caz got out of bed. God am good!

Rabbit

It now 06:50 on Saturday morning and all ready I have had 135 page views, at this time in the morning can nobody sleep.

Rabbit

Am up and about, ready for my Saturday morning tasks, first of which will a visit to the barber’s I definitely need a hair cut, followed by a trip to the recycling centre to get rid of the old electrical appliances. Then to the charity shop, Caz has been sorting out her bedroom and has managed to get a large sack full of old teddy bears she wants give a away.

Then it's of to the supermarket, have promised to make something special tonight, and I have decided on beef Wellington. I can almost hear the veggies out there cringing. Well to you guys, if you have never tried a beef Wellington you haven’t lived. Oh and tomorrow, I will be having bacon sandwiches. Tthere is nothing in the world like the smell and taste of bacon sandwiches especially with HP brown sauce on them. You veggies don’t know what you missing……lol

Rabbit

I am sat here waiting patiently for a contractor to send me some documents by email. I am supposed to review these documents and return the comments by the close of play today. However, despite a number of phone calls and promises that the documents are on the way they have not yet arrived in my inbox. I am beginning to think they have been sent by snail-mail and not email.

When calculating the energy requirements of building the lighting is taken at 12W/m sq. One of my projects has a total floor area 22,600m sq, giving a total lighting load of 271kw, if the lighting was to be on 24 hours a day, as is in a lot buildings in London, this use 6504kWh a day, assume a rate of 7.35p then the daily cost of the lighting would be about £478 per day and a total annual cost of £174,484.

With lighting control the lights are now going to up for a maximum of 8 hours per day, this would give a annual cost of £58,162, giving an annual saving of £116,322. Not bad eh, that’s just using PIR sensors, if you incorporate photo cells you could decrease your fuel costs even further, I would imagine that if an office block didn’t incorporate this type of control and we wanted to convert the lighting scheme the payback period would be in the region of 3 years. This is for a small office block there are many much larger than this in central London.

If anybody reading this needs an energy manager/electrical engineer, then make me offer I love this type of work.

Rabbit

A article today on the BBC website is reporting that Mp’s are investigating how to lower the carbon foot print of Britain’s offices, shops and factories. If you travel around London at night you will see that the majority of London’s office blocks have their lighting switched on throughout the night. There is no reason for lights to be on during the night its just wasteful. I would imagine that the tenants of these offices receive massive fuel bills, which could lowered with a little though and investment.

In my job as an electrical project engineer I am now working on a number of projects in central London, the lighting in these blocks has been specifically designed to switch off when not use, using PIR and photo cells it very easy to control lighting in any environment. If fact the Building regulations require us to design new buildings in such a way.

If you look at Canary Wharf in an evening nearly every light on every floor in every block is switched on, it makes you wonder how much these companies pay for electricity annually. If they controlled their lighting better not only would it reduce cost and of course increase profits, but it would also reduce emissions of CO2 light pollution as well.

Friday already, this week seems to have flown by, just a few more hours of hard graft and it will be the weekend once again. The weather doesn’t look to promising though, but does it really matter. As long as we have a few days of relaxation put our feet up and do nothing it will do us the world of good.

We have a bank holiday coming up soon, so I will be making plans on what to do and where to go, I already have a few ideas formulating in my little grey cells. The late spring bank holiday am planning on visiting my father in Yorkshire, I always try and get up there a 2 or 3 times a year. Rosemary loves Yorkshire she always says is much greener and far better scenery than Essex.

I have a few things that I need to attend to this weekend, it doesn’t involve a great deal of effort, but I need to visit the local recycling centre to get rid of a couple of old electrical appliances that no longer work or in a dangerous condition.

More Later

Rabbit

Follow a link for an article on the BBC webite, for those who take an interest in photography.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7351252.stm

Rabbit

Once again it’s that time of year when we have to suffer the ‘Party Political Broadcast’ on TV. This normally happens just after the news, where the main subject is the up and coming elections. A fortune is spent on electing a President, Prime Minister or in this case the Mayor of London or the local council.

What do we get after these elections, absolutely nothing? Sorry we do get something, a rise in council tax or income tax no matter who wins, we lose. Who ever gets into office they never fore fill their promises, surely there must be a better?

I have just made a little trip outside, I looked out of the window saw the sun shinning and thought to myself, ‘I go outside, phone my beloved and get some fresh air at the same time’. I lasted 5 minutes it was freezing, typical British weather and I’m being a typical Brit by complaining about it.

The NHS has called for police to be based in hospital A&E units and in ambulances of Friday and Saturday nights. Nurse and ambulances crews have reported a massive increase in abuse and violence fuelled by binge drinkers.

A number of schemes are all ready running and police are going out with paramedics and are manning some A&E units but doctors and managers want to see more.

Healthcare Commission statistics show that 13% of workers have experienced violence at the hands of patients or their relatives - a figure which rises to nearly a third among ambulance crews.

Some police forces have been seeking to tackle this by getting officers to work alongside NHS staff.

The latest on the Shannon Matthews case direct from the BBC website!

The mother of Shannon Matthews will go on trial alongside Michael Donovan, who is charged with Shannon's kidnapping and false imprisonment.

Karen Matthews, 32, of Dewsbury, Yorks, appeared at Leeds Crown Court via video link to face charges of child neglect and perverting the course of justice.
The second charge states she "repeatedly concealed information" in relation to Shannon's whereabouts.

Ms Matthews was remanded back into custody to go on trial on 11 November.

A terrible, mother and parent just trying to con the world using her daughter as the inveigle (for a better), how did she think she would get away with it?

Is it me or does this site seem very slow today, it seems to hanging a lot when trying to access post. I suppose it could be my computer but it seems to working ok on other sites.

Rabbit

Doesn’t seem a lot happening today, I just can’t seem to get motivated. I was in early as usual and managed to print of a couple of documents (another rain forest destroyed). I have added a few comments to drawing and that’s as far as I have got. I have to review the document I printed off (all 392 pages of it) so that should take me a couple of day.

I do like to read but I prefer Terry Pratchett, or Tom Clancey, reading the Electrical Technical Specification for a project, is not my idea of fun. However, it is a necessary part of my job.

Am looking out of the window has the bosses transport as just arrived, a nice medium sized helicopter, he must be going out to visit a site. Oh well I suppose I better on.

Grey and dismal this morning withy rain, just as the weather forecast predicted, please put your hands together for the weather centre, they have got it right at last.

The rain that was forecast never arrived. My dad taught a lot of things when I was young. One of his sayings was and I will never forget is

"Son never trust the weather man, he lies through his teeth"

At least I think thats what he said.

Rabbit

A news report on the BBC website;

'British Airways has said that two of its senior executives will leave the company after the opening of its Terminal 5 was dogged by problems.

BA said Gareth Kirkwood, director of operations, and David Noyes, director of customer services, would be leaving. The company said it would now look to appoint one person to cover both roles.

The opening of Terminal 5 was beset by a catalogue of problems, with staff not able to get into work, thousands of bags mislaid, and flights cancelled.
Terminal 5 opened on 27 March, but were not able to offer its full short-haul schedule until 8 April.'

I suppose they will get a good pay off, we Brits are good at paying failures.

That’s what profit Tesco made every minute last year? Tesco has reported an 11.8% rise for 2007 to £2.846bn. The UK high street has suffered in the last 12 months as households have been squeezed by higher mortgage, fuel and food costs but Tesco’s remain upbeat.

The supermarket group said it would create 30,000 new jobs worldwide this year, with about a third planned in Britain. The results confounded analysts, many of whom had predicted that the wheels had started to wobble on the Tesco juggernaut. Tesco shares rose 17.5 pence, 4.5%, to 408.5p in morning trade.

A wounded Iraq civilian has been awarded a 2 million pound settlement after he was accidentally shot by a British solider. The man was wounded in September 2003 when a solider who he had befriended dropped his gun making it go off. The wounded man suffered spinal injuries which have left him paralysed. He moved to the UK where he began legal action.

While he does deserve this compensation, he does need care for the rest of life. It is far higher then any compensation paid out to injured military personnel. The maximum a serviceman can expect to is a lump sum payment receive of £285,000. The MoD have defended the payment, saying this is a one case and does not set a precedent.

What it does show quite clearly is that the MoD and the Government care little about the lives of our servicemen. They only pay lip service to the injured and care even less about the men who are killed, it time for a rethink we need this sorted out now, its not only this Government who treat our military like this the Conservatives were just as bad if not worse.

Am looking out of my office window, to a lovely blue sky, although there is a chill in the air, it's great start to the day. While I look out I wonder if there isn't a better place to be, walking down a deserted beach for instance. I beleive rain is forecast for later, but at this time and moment its a beautiful day.

Rabbit

It’s all doom and gloom today in the news, house prices are falling like a stone (if you believe every thing you read), and The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has said that 78.5% more surveyors reported a fall rather than a rise in house prices in March.

I am not an expert in the money markets but even I have seen this coming, mortgage lenders have been increasing the amount of money they have lent to borrowers to but their overpriced houses. It has been reported that some people have been borrowing amounts equating to 10 times they annual income. No wonder some are now in trouble, okay interest rates have come down a little, but other cost have risen, fuel for instance which included petrol, gas, and electricity have all risen over the last 12 months and well above the rate of inflation.

The credit crunch seems to be the in term at the moment; although interest rates have fallen I can see a lot of people getting themselves into severe difficulties in the near future, and their dream of owning their own homes will come to a sudden and dramatic end.

I have just received my first payment from selling my photographs online. So I am a happy little sole at the moment, its not enough to retire, nor will I be taking up photography professionally. But am really pleased that people like my pictures enough to buy them.

Things are a little quiet at the moment; we have checked all the tender returns and submitted our bid for one of the projects we are looking at. So we can now relax before we start on the next project. We do have things that require our attention but they are not urgent so we can take our time with them.

I have now looked at all the photographs took on Thursday and Friday some have already been processed, I still have some work to do but I have uploaded and posted some already. I will be uploading quite a few in the next couple of days.

We went out yesterday and bought a new DVD player and kettle, from Tesco’s. It didn’t break the bank so I quite pleased about that. I didn’t know what it is about our flat but electrical appliances seem to have a limited life span, and kettles are the worst, we had the last one for a little over a year, before it started to leak. But we have only bought a cheap one this time; we will see how long this will last.

Rabbit

Congratulations to all the runners who completed the London marathon yesterday and doing so raised millions of pounds for charity.

In particular, many congratulations to Blind Dave (Dave Heeley), who completed 7 marathons in 7 days? Dave completed the London marathon in five hours and 23 minutes he was meet at the finish by his children and wife Debbie, in a statement he said “I’m going home for a rest”.

I think he deserves one!

Rabbit

The body of a man believed to be that of Mark Speight the missing TV presenter was discovered at Paddington Station. The family are expected to formally identify the body today; a post mortem will also be carried out to confirm the cause of death.

Even if drugs were not the cause of death, drugs are ultimately reasonable for his death. When will people learn?

For those big kids amongst us, he is the latest must have toy. Most of us old buggers will have grown up with leggo amd maccano. But the latest meccano kit is "Spykee the Spy Robot"

Boasting a motion detector, video camera, microphone and loudspeaker, Spykee is the ultimate Wi-Fi-enabled robot. We love him and so will you!
But at £199.99 I think I will have to safe up a bit first. You can control him from anywhere in the world.

Forget everything you think you know about interactive robotic toys - it will make life a whole lot simpler when Meccano's creation Spykee (previously known as Spyke) totally blows your mind.

Standing approximately 1 foot tall, Spykee (aka Spyke) is the Wi-Fi spy robot to build. And once built? Well, this remarkable robot acts as your walking, talking spy, a wireless VOIP phone, a webcam, a digital music player for your MP3s, and personal video surveillance thanks to Spyke's motion detector. And what's more, he delivers on every front.

Unlike the majority of his predecessors, Spykee (previously known as Spyke) nails both sides of the fun and functional fence, and the result is a very cool robotic toy that boasts an impressive set of features.

Run the comprehensive software and you have a Wi-Fi-enabled robot that can be controlled on a local connection or remotely from the Internet on a well-crafted and easy-to-navigate MMI or Machine Man Interface. This page can be opened using the CD ROM provided or downloaded via www.spykeeworld.com.

I WANT ONE

A lot of articles have appeared in the media over the last couple days concerning the disappearance of Mark Speight. Mr Speight a former children’s TV presenter and boyfriend of the late Natasha Collins who died from a drugs overdose in their flat. Ms Collins had 60% burns over her body and had taken a quantity of cocaine, sleeping pills and alcohol.

Mr Speight was originally arrested after the police believed that Ms Collins was murdered. However, an inquest returned a verdict of misadventure and Mr Speight was released with charge. Although he did not kill Ms Collins he was responable for her death, he will pay for that the rest of his life, he appears to have a good family who are concered for him, it a shame hedid respect them and stay off the drugs.

This case is sad and no doubt the family of both are very distressed, but I hope that this sends a clear message to out young that drugs are dangerous and will ruin your life.

This couple were children’s presenters what message does this give to our children, was their life so sad that they had to turn to drugs in order to a live in an imaginary world. Can some explain to me why intelligent people turn to a substance that has proved to deadly will either kill you or destroy?

There is one element of this that makes me a little angry, what about the others in the same situation, where is the publicity for others who are missing, the media don’t give a damm about them because they are not famous. I sometimes wonder if the press and TV give a hoot about the general public.

The London Marathon has begun, well it has for the elite ladies, it looks quite warm out there the sun is out and it’s beginning to warm, very nice for the spectators but not so good if you are running 26 miles.

I decided not to go and watch, Rosemary and I need to go and buy a new DVD player and kettle, then we are going for a stroll in the woods for some fresh air and a little exercise. I think it will do Rosemary good; she has had a difficult couple of weeks.

Rabbit

Am working hard processing a few of the pictures I took yesterday, have already posted some in the Photography Group.

This week challenge is'Transport' so I have posted 3 pictures showing for that, and a few wildlife shots (my favourite subject), have loads more to come. But will probably leave it until tomorrow.

We are just getting ready to go out, a quick trip to Rosemary mum's then out for a chinese, back in time for Dr Who

Rabbit

We have returned from our shopping trip, and the good news it wasn't too expensive, A nice breakfast in Debenhams, a few items of ladies attire and a monthly bus pass for Caz (back to school on Monday, sixth form. On the whole not too bad, but I think our DVD player is on the way out, it can be a temperamental

It still looks good out there, although it is beginning to cloud over. It’s the London marathon tomorrow, I bet runners are hoping for it to be cool, with maybe some showers, just to help them a long a bit.

More later!

Rabbit

Just a quick blog, I have to go in to town this morning so I thought I would have a early start. I must say the day has begun beautifully, a clear and sunny start and barely a cloud in the sky.

Hopefully I will get the chance to download the pictures I took yesterday today, mind you for that to happen I will hve to on the computer before Caz does. Hope you all have a good day, I will try and get on later

Rabbit

You have a look at Rainham Marshes today, a RSBP site on the banks of the River Thames, haven’t been there before even though it only about 20 miles from where I live. The weather doesn’t look promising.

But I still hope to get some good pictures

Did a little photography yesterday, I think I got some good shots will post them over the weekend, when I get time to process them.

But am afraid no Bluebells, or should I say very few, Bluebells I think it will be another week maybe two before we see carpets of them, there were one or two small patches of them. I did manage to get one close up shot of one which did turn out ok. But I was after lots of them.

The same goes for the fields of rape seed, although some are just starting to turn yellow, they are a bit patchy, it will be another week before they are in full bloom. I love yellow fields they make for great pictures, the contrast between the yellow of the fields and blue of the sky is great.

It wasn’t a total success yesterday, Rosemary had some stitches taken out, but she still has 8 in, the nurse said that part of the wound had not healed properly. She has to go back and see the nurse again on Tuesday. The nurse also said that the would should have been stitched by a surgeon and not a casualty doctor, because who ever did it, didn’t really do good job.

I did forget to mention, I have to take Rosemary to see the nurse this afternoon, with a bit of luck she will have her stitches out.She is definitely looking better, although hshe still has some bruising.

Just a few quick lines before I set off out into the early dawn, I hope we get another good sunrise this morning. I have the camera and tripod in car and I'm ready for it.

It does look promising the sky is ready taking on that pink glow, I have the perfect spot in mind. Si fingers crossed lets hope I am lucky.

By now most of you will have heard that Karen Matthews, mother of Shannon has been remanded in custody, on charges of child neglect and perverting the course of justice. Let’s hope she rots there!

The London marathon event has been opened by six Maasai warriors, they will run the marathon on Sunday wearing traditional dress and wearing shoes made from tyres. The warriors are raising money to provide safe drinking water in Elaui, their village in eastern Africa. They will be carrying sticks and will sing will running the 26 miles.

Meanwhile ‘Blind Dave’ is nearly half way through his international challenge, real name Dave Healy 50, from West Bromwich is planning to complete 7 marathons in seven days,. He started in the Falkland Islands on Sunday, next was Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Sydney on Thursday, and followed by Dubai, Tunis and finally the London marathon on Sunday.

This feat has previously been completed by Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud. He is raising money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. I wish him all the best.

The Mayor of Pasadena Bill Baggard who greeted Mr Heeley at the Los Angeles Rose Bowl. said of Mr Heeley "Dave Heeley's Seven Magnificent Marathons challenge has inspired and encouraged people across the world to reach for their dreams, no matter how challenging the effort.

"The success of Seven Magnificent Marathons will not be measured by how many miles run, but by the courage necessary to undertake such a challenge.

"Such courage, in the face of adversity, will be an inspiration for years to come."

Rabbit

Rail passengers are being asked to shop fare dodgers by text. National Express East Anglia has set up the scheme; a dedicated text message number is given to receive description of people travelling without tickets.

About time some thing like this as been brought in, I travel on this line quite often and the number of times ticket inspectors is really quite astonishing. It seems when I travel and an inspector is on board there always seem to catch someone in the same carriage as me. It simple theft and should be treated as such.

A rival firm, First Capital clamped down on fare dodgers in 2007, since then it as handed out more than 60,000 penalty fines, and took 8,000 people to court. It added that since the introduction there revenue has risen by 30%.

I agree whole heartedly! You should hear some of the excuses for not buying a ticket, its really annoying.

Rabbit

The mother of Shannon Matthews is due in court this morning, charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice. The police are still investing and have not ruled more chargers. It has been reported in media that the family concocted the story to extort money from the public.

When the story first broke it gained the sympathy of the public, it has been said that a member of the Matthews family approached the MaCanns supporters asking for money to help find Shannon Matthews; it now seems that we have conned and it was all a scam to get money. How did they think they would get away with it?

Rabbit

It a lovely start to the day, it might be a little chilly. But the sky is blue and the sun is out. It looks like it will be a nice day. I was driving to work this morning and I was lucky enough to see the sun rise, and what a sunrise it was, I was driving down the A13, looking in my mirrors all I could see, was a great big red ball has the sun appeared over the horizon.

I just wish I was able to stop and photograph it, but alas the road was quite busy and it might have been a little dangerous.

Rabbit

At last the courts have come to their senses and jailed Pete Doherty for 14 weeks. He has repeatedly appeared in court for drug offences and had repeatedly escaped going to prison. However, this time he has broken the conditions of his probation and for using drugs.

It’s only his celebrity status and because he can afford good lawyers that he has managed to avoid jail for so long. There are a number of people in the media that say he should have punished earlier, because he has got away with for so long it’s sending a message to the youth of today that you can break the law and get away it. I have to agree with them, it does give our young the idea that they can get away with taking drugs and continually break law the only problem is the sentence is not long enough; he will probably be let out in a few weeks, and will back on the drugs not long after.

Rabbit

The working day is coming to an end, thank god! I’ll soon be on my way home; I think a well deserved glass of red wine will be on cards when I get in. The traffic home hasn’t been too bad recently, long may it continue, I think that the schools are on holiday may have something to do with it. Caz is back to school next week; I think her exams are very close; she seems quite busy revising at the moment.

Right time for me to pack up and hit the road, catch you all later!

Rabbit

Time is dragging now, I’m fed up of going through technical specifications and entering data into a spread sheet, it’s making squint (even though I have my glasses on) and I have the makings of a headache. Still only about an hour and half to go and I can head home. The roads look quiet again, let’s hope they stay that way.

I have just seen the boss signing our expense forms, so I doubt we will get paid them this month, they are supposed to be in before the 4th April. That’s two months running he’s signed them late and we haven’t been paid them. If we submitted our work late, we would probably be sacked, however. He the boss, it doesn’t matter that he’s like a lighthouse in desert (bright but bloody useless) what he says goes and he gets away with murder.

Work is continuing at a hectic pace, we have received all the tenders back we had sent out and have been through each one to ensure compliance with the specification. We are now nearly in position to submit our price. Our team has 3 major projects on the go at the moment, all due to start on site towards the end of this year.

I am on holiday Thursday and Friday, I hope the weather is good, I have planned a couple of day’s photography. I am in a bit quandary I don’t know whether to go into London on Sunday to watch the marathon and get a few pictures of the runners, or take Rosemary out and visit some local woods for a bit of fresh air and see if the bluebells are in full bloom yet, I have seen some in a neighbours garden so I am hopeful that the woods will shortly be full of them. They make for great photographic opportunities. I also love fields of yellow rape they also tend to make great pictures.

The race is on, the election for the Mayor of London will take place on the 1st May, and with 10 candidates running it’s sure to be close run contest. The 3 main candidates, Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson and Brian Paddick are out on the streets meeting the people and campaigning like there’s no tomorrow. But for two of them there will be no tomorrow.

Although I don’t live in London and therefore will not a get a vote, I will be working in London so who ever is elected will have an influence upon my life. I must admit I do like Ken I believe he has done a lot for London and should continue in the job, Boris I am sure is an intelligent man, but he just comes across as some private school buffoon, I think he was chosen by the Tories because of his charisma but I don’t think he his right for London. Now Brian Paddick on the other might be good for London, his only problem his is lack of politic experience, the former senior police officer has promised to reduce crime. Now I think that’s a little ironic considering that when he was a serving officer crime rates kept rising, and have only started to fall since he retired. Still I think he would be a breath of fresh air for the capital.

Only time will tell, public transport and congestion charging are probably the main issues, but other issues such as affordable housing and a skill shortage will also provide debate between the candidates. I actually enjoy watching the exchangers between the 3 main candidates they are sometimes quite amusing for politicians.

What I love about sites like this is that you are able to air your views, and have a sensible debate on the issues of the day. Not every one will agree with your views although sometimes you may agree with a blogger on one subject you will undoubtedly disagree with that same blogger on another subject.

Only since the inception of the internet and blogging sites as this been possible. We can criticise Governments and other organisations to our hearts content as long as we don’t liable anyone we are ok, lets hope sites like this keep going and allow us an outlet for our frustrations.
wonder.

Not long now, before I leave for home, looking out of the window the roads seem quiet, but there is still 45 minutes to go, lots of time for things to go wrong, you can never trust the M25.

More protests have occurred in Paris over the China’s breach of human rights in Tibet. It seems that this will go on and on; however, I don’t think it will deter China from continuing its operations in Tibet. The mentally of the Chinese Government is one that they will not back and lose face, that would be more dangerous to them, it make them look weak and in capable. They will most definitely continue on what they are doing. I firmly believe that the only way to influence the Chinese Government would be for all the Western countries to boycott the games altogether. Its time for our sportsman to make a stand; and think about other people before themselves. The rights of the human race is more important than sport. The argument that you can change the minds of Government through co-operation and sport does not hold water, what we need is dramatic action, the sportsmen and women of the western world have the power to do this.

I’m struggling to concentrate this afternoon, for some reason I feel totally drained of energy. I just feel like going to bed for a few hours kip, I slept ok last night so there’s no logical reason for it, apart from being Monday of course. Mind you am not doing a very interesting job at the moment, perhaps that as something to do with it. Have just taken a little a break and booked a few days leave for this coming weekend, am planning a photo shoot on some of the local tourist spots in the area.

So far I have Leeds castle in Maidstone and Reculver castle in Herne Bay, I am sure at a few more will be added to the list before the weekend. This coming weekend, also see’s the London marathon the first race was held in 1981 and is acknowledged as the biggest in the world, I might drag myself out of bed early jump on the train and head to Tower of London to watch the runners come past, I’m to fat and lazy to do it myself, so those who attempt it are the tops in my book. Good luck to all of them.

I have just finished writing a couple letters, one to the Chief Inspector at Southend on Sea, and one to the local newspaper thanking both the police and paramedics who attended Rosemary, after her fall last week. The police always seem to be criticised in the press but never seem to gain any praise. So am trying to reverse that albeit in a small way.

Rabbit

Monday once again, the start of a brand new working week, am back in the office after having two day off’s because of Rosemary, accident. Her mum and dad will pop and see her today, I don’t really want to leave her on her own just at present. Although she has seems to have recovered well, until we find out happened and she as been treated for I’m reluctant to leave her on her own for any length of time, maybe I’m being over cautious, but that’s the way I am.

Rumours in the media are saying the mother of Shannon Matthews has been arrested for perverting the course of justice. This case seems to be getting stranger every day at first it seemed to a simple abduction and then they found her at Stepfathers uncles’ house since then some new revelations appear every day and it just gets stranger every day. I suppose we will eventually find out the whole story

Surely, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's must know that his time is now over. He has ruined his country, 28 years he has been in power, inflation is out of control and the country is in debt up to it eyeballs. Why doesn’t he and his Government just quit or hasn’t he the balls to do what is right.

Since he took the farming land from the white settlers and gave it to his friends, family and supporters their country has been a slide into oblivion. It was once a beautiful and prosperous country now from what we can see on the news it’s just a slum.

Yes there was discrimination before he came to power and the blacks were treated as second and third class citizens, but they must have been better off then they are now.

I suppose that one of the reasons he and his supporters don’t do the right thing, is that they afraid of the repercussions, they have been corrupt and have shown nothing but contempt for the people of Zimbabwe.

Rabbit

Charlton Heston died yesterday, the star who made over 70 films was 84, he portrayed Michelangelo, El Cid, Moses and many others. His wife Linda whom he married in 1944 was at his side when he died.

In 1952, after working on Broadway, Heston starred as the ringmaster in the movie The Greatest Show on Earth. Four years later, he appeared as Moses in The Ten Commandments, one of the roles which would define his career.
After the success of the science fiction film Planet of the Apes in the late 1960s, Heston turned his attention to working in the theatre.

Although later identified with traditionally conservative causes, Charlton Heston had been a vocal supporter of Martin Luther King and the 1960s Civil Rights movement. He also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and was chairman of the American Film Institute.

“In his own words, 'I have lived such a wonderful life. I've lived enough for two people'."

Rabbit

Rosemary is improving, her black eyes are fading already, but the swelling as gone down and she is definitely looking better.

Many thanks to all my friends on here who have shown concern and sent her their regards, you are really good buddies.

Rabbit

I had a little lay in this morning, which I might say is very unusual. Now I am up and sat in front of the computer, I can see can out of the living room window, It reminds of Winter, certainly not of April, we have a heavy snow falling at the moment. Don’t you just love the British weather?

I suppose we should be grateful at least the weather forecasters got it right for a change, usually they are way off, but today they got it spot on.

Rabbit

The Olympic torch will arrive in London today on its way the Beijing for the games later this year. But protesters are planning on lining the route and have vowed to have their voice heard and to protest against China actions in Tibet.

For those of us that live in London we must be fed up with the term Olympics, every night on the local news we have an article on the London Olympics in 2012, they are 4 years away yet, and already I am fed up of them. Lets cancel and give them to Paris, they would make a better job of them anyway.

My tip for the Grand National, don’t gamble only the bookies ever win, keep your money and have a nice meal out, that way your spouse will be happy and then ever one wins.

Rabbit

Rosemary is now home and feeling better, even if she is not looking her best. But she is laughing about what happened so it a good sign she is getting over it. She has to see the district nurse next Thursday to get the stitches taken out and we have to make an appointment to see the doctor to find why it happened. We know that her blood pressure was very low, but she was on two lots of medication for her blood pressure because it was too high, the hospital has taken her off these meds.

Her mum and dad are going to pop in and she every day next week, to make sure so is ok, while I go back to work, I am sure she will be ok now she is off her meds but you can never be too careful. She did sleep very well, during her stay, but she seems to making it for it at the moment. You know what it’s like in hospital, people are always wondering around during the night disturbing your sleep, or in the case of Rosemary waking her up every hour to check her vitals.

But she home and I’m a lot happier now as well

Rabbit

Once again the Government is showing contempt for its ex-service man. In this case a Ghurkha who has served 15 years in the British army is to be deported. Since 1997 any Ghurkha who served in the army is entitled to stay in Britain when he retires, but before that then he must apply to become a resident of this country.

Purna Gurung, 55, also faces a huge medical bill after his wife collapsed and remained in a diabetic coma for 10 days. She is still in hospital. This bill however, has been paid for by a member generous member of the public.

Ghurkhas who have served in the British army should not have to apply to stay in the country; they have served in the army for over 200 years and between them have been awarded 13 Victoria Crosses.

The Ghurkhas are seeking a review of this and there are a number of MP’s on their side, it was only recently that their actually received equal pay, before they only received a fraction of what other members of the British army received, their pension rights were also different.

So it’s not only this Government who should contempt for these brave and dedicated soldiers, but previous Governments have shown the same contempt. We allow foreign nationals to come and stay in this country give free housing and pay them for doing nothing, while ex members of the armed forces are deported, what type of people are we, this Government should hang its head in shame.

Rosemary spent another in hospital after her fall, but the good news is, she will be allowed home today. Her blood pressure was very low, which is the reason she blacked out and fell, say the doctors. So Caz and I are going shopping this morning and then we will go and collect Rosemary this afternoon.

She feels better and is quite chirpy despite looking as if she had done a few rounds with Mike Tyson.

Sport this coming weekend will feature the Grand National and the two FA cup semi finals to be played at Wembley. However, the FA cup seems have fallen a little flat this year as no top clubs are involved. Which is good for the smaller clubs of course, but I think most football fans are more interest in the Champions League games or the Premiership.

Not bothered either way myself.

Rabbit

Once again the UK justice system is working for the criminals and against the law abiding public, detailed below is an article on the BBC website,

A convicted burglar claimed his human rights were breached because he had to empty toilet pots in a Suffolk prison.
Daniel Cornell, of Colchester, Essex, is seeking damages for distress suffered while having to "slop out" at Blundeston Prison, near Lowestoft.
Cornell, who was jailed for three-and-a-half years for a series of burglaries in 2004, is taking legal action against the prison authorities.
The Ministry of Justice said it could not comment on individual cases.
Campaign group The Prison Reform Trust said it was not aware that "slopping out" was still common in UK prisons but said it was concerned at any re-emergence of the practice.
Juliet Lyon, trust director, said jail over-crowding had led to instances of slopping out by prisoners.
"Prison is a punishment because it deprives people of their liberty - prisoners are not in prison to be degraded," she said.
"Slopping out ceased almost entirely except in a few wings in one or two jails which could not be re-plumbed," Mrs Lyon added.

While it is deed wrong that prisoners are slopping out, did Cornell think about the rights of his victims when he carried out his crimes. No he did not, nor I doubt does he care about them, all he his interested at present is making a lot of money out of the system. He his being aided by this organisation who I believe care little about his victims either, I imagine that they will also receive a large amount of public money in order to fight this case. It makes me sick that these goody, goodies they also care about criminals more than the victims. The injustice of this just goes to show how much is wrong in this country. If he wins his case and I think that he will, then both he and ‘The Prison Reform Trust’ should be made to give the money they make to the victims of his crimes.

Rabbit

I missed something out of my last blog, I must thank the police, paramedics and the doctors and nurses, and they were all magnificent. Sometimes we take them for granted, these people are always on hand and they do their job professionally and without fuss.

Once again, I thank you!

Rabbit

I had a bit of a shock yesterday afternoon a bit about 12:45 I had a phone call to say that my wife had a it of fall, she had hit her head and was being take to casualty. I left work in a bit of a hurry not knowing what to expect. I arrived at casualty asked for her at the reception desk and was ushered quickly to a side room.

This was where things got really scary, normally you asked to sit in the waiting area and just wait until they have been treated or admitted. Being asked to wait in side room, where there were tissues on the desk and a notice giving you the number of the hospital Chaplin was not my idea of fun. All sorts of things were going thorough my head, the receptionist did mention one thing and that the police were bringing in daughter. Things were not looking good; I had been in this room for a good 15 minutes a nurse of doctor had not been in at this point I tried to phone my daughter but her phone was switched off. While I was doing this a nurse did appear and did say that Rosemary was okay and they were cleaning her up and treating her. A little relief but I still didn’t know what had actually happened.

After about another 10 minutes the police arrived with Caz, she didn’t looking good herself a bit white and drawn. The police now explained what had occurred, Rosemary had fallen in the house and hit her head on the hearth of the fireplace, she knew she had done something serious because she could feel blood running down her face. She managed to get the phone and call 999, she explained that she lived in an up stairs flat and was unable to get down stairs to open the door. The police arrived first and had to break a glass panel in the door to gain access, then a few minutes the paramedic arrived and started to treat her, a few minutes after that the ambulance arrived.

Rosemary was taken to hospital, I was contacted and the police went to fetch Caz from school where she was doing extra study for her ‘A’ levels. The nurse reappeared and we were taken though to see Rosemary. God she looked terrible covered in blood, on a drip and oxygen and with the heart monitor bleeping it looking like something from a movie. She must have hit her head quite hard, they had shaved the front part of her hair and she had needed 19 stitches. But she was lucid and talking quite well considering. She had to go and have a CT scan but when she came back the doctor explained that it was normal and nothing to worry, nothing to worry about it looked like she had 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.

After a few more hours of waiting around, Rosemary was taken to a ward, where she was made comfortable; we left a little while later she was feeling tired and we felt it best to give her a little peace, we had been there at time for a little over 6 hours. Today we will go back and see if she can come home, but looking at the wound, I doubt at the moment.

More later!

We are half way through the week already and every thing is going great. I managed to get the most important job of the month done today, I have submitted by expenses. It not a lot this month, just two train journeys into London that I did just before Easter. Unfortunately am not able to claim for a second home, or for a new kitchen and flat screen TV. I don’t think I would get with claiming for my son to do some work for me either, but you never know.

It all down hill now to the weekend, the only down side, is that its forecasting the possibility of snow again this weekend, isn’t it supposed to be summer now!

With a backlog of over 19,000 bags, BA is contemplating sending all the bags to Milan to sort and then either driven or flown to their owners. BA has said it was quicker for bags with a European mainland address to go to Milan for sorting.

After the farce of the last few days at T5 it doesn’t surprise me that BAA and BA are incapable of sorting out their own mess and have to rely on someone else to do for them. It’s a sad symptom of what this country has become. This has been shown all over the world, although we are not the only airport to suffer problems when opening new facilities, because Heathrow is such high profile it has damaged even further our tarnished reputation.

It beggars believe what would happen if Heathrow is allowed to expand, further chaos and danger to those who live and work and work in the area.

Have you seen this man!

A security company has put up a reward of £25,000 for information leading to the conviction of an armed robber who shot a security guard in Essex.
The 59-year-old victim was about to load a cash machine outside Tesco in Laindon, Essex on 20 March when he was shot in the leg but was not seriously injured.

The gunmen fled and the cashbox was found with some cash, which had been covered in security dye.

Security company G4F have offered the reward, the spokesman added.

An e-fit of the armed robber who was described as white, about 5ft 10in (178cm) and wearing a black bomber jacket and a multi-coloured woolly hat, was released by police.

Although this is a terrible incident and no laughing matter, how the hell are you supposed to recognise anybody from a drawing like that?

Rabbit

It is finally over for Mohammad Fayed, the coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker has begun his summing up into the Inquests into the deaths of Dianna, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed. The inquest which begun in October last year is estimated to have cost £10m.

The coroner demolished the central claim by the Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed, telling the jury that the suggestion that Prince Philip had ordered MI6 to arrange for the couple to die in a Paris road tunnel on 31 August 1997 was without foundation.
Dismissing Mr Fayed's theories, he said: "Foremost among them is the proposition that Diana was assassinated by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) on the orders of the Duke of Edinburgh. There is no evidence that the Duke of Edinburgh ordered Diana's execution, and there is no evidence the Secret Intelligence Service or any other government agency organised it."

The only witness to fully support this claim was Mr Fayed. "The [telephone] conversation involved three people but only one can tell us about it now," the coroner said. "Sadly the only other people who can confirm or deny it are no longer alive, so this fairly and squarely raises the issue of Mohamed Al Fayed's credibility. Is this a man on whose word you can rely?"
Dealing with whether Diana and Dodi were or were about to get engaged, the coroner highlighted a mass of, at times, conflicting evidence about their previous relationships. And he asked the jury: "At the end of the day does the precise state of the relationship between Diana and Dodi really matter?"

Towards the end even the lawyers acting on My Al Fayed behalf admitted that there was no case to answer and conspiracy, Mr Al Fayed was in court but left without making a statement. Will he now let the case drop, I doubt that very much, and even now I am sure he his planning his next move, only time will tell what that will be.

Rabbit

An influential House of Lords committee has said that immigration has little or no benefit to the UK. Competition from immigrants has had a negative effect on the low paid, training and for young UK workers and it added if has contributed to high house prices.

The committee which includes two ex-chancellors and other cabinet ministers have said that there should be a cap on immigration levels. It rejected claims by Government Ministers that high levels of immigration were necessary to prevent labour shortages. It stated that this idea was ‘Fundamentally Flawed’

It also added that the new points system the committee says ’It is not clear whether the new system will in fact constitute the radical overhaul of the UK’s immigration system suggested by this Government’.

However, Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, head of migration at the Institute for Public Policy Research said, that to say there were no economic benefits was ‘Simplistic and misleading’. Sriskandarajah now that’s a nice English name, seems he’s got a nice job as well, I bet it’s well paid.

Rabbit