Welcome to the last day of May, bit of an indifferent month weather wise, the first bank holiday was hot and sunny and last wet and cold (well for those of us in the south), it seems to have flown by.

Have been out this morning spending my hard earned money (if you believe that you will believe anything), and I had my haircut (was beginning to look like a shaggy dog). If the weather stays this good I will take a walk down the park later, sit in the sun and watch the ducks swimming around.

God it’s a morgue in here today, nobody seems around am thinking of eating my lunch and disappearing home. Very little is going on and I have more or less finished what need to done and must admit I am become a little bored. Maybe I should go home!

Following my report on yesterday’s chaos on the rail services into Liverpool Street, the full details have become apparent. The bridge at the centre of the incident was being worked on by Transport for London (TfL) and will form the extension on the East London Line into Shoreditch.

The 1300 ton bridge was being supported by hydraulic jacks when one of the jacks failed the bridge fell 8”, causing debris to fall on the main track below.

According to reports Network are less than impressed and are calling for heads to roll. They have imposed a ban on TfL and will not let work to restart until TfL give assurances that this will not happen again. TfL argue that Network Rail were fully informed about the work and agreed the program for the installation of the bridge. However, Network Rail and passenger groups want to know why work was being called on the bridge while trains were passing underneath.

A full investigation is underway, and a statement from the rail unions said that a tragedy was narrowly adverted.

Should we negotiate with a-Qaeda? The Government has rejected suggestions that it should; the Foreign Office stated that the Government would not talk to any group actively promoting it aims through violence.  

So if that’s the case were do go from here, over the years it has been proven that terrorism can be not beaten through policing alone, in the middle east Palestinian organisation are still attacking Israel, in Spain the Basque are still actively using a bombing campaign to gain independence for themselves.

However, in Northern Ireland it has been proven that if you talk to the so called terrorist organisations it can help in the peace process and eventually bring peace and stop the bombings and killings.

Violence begets violence, so let’s talk, if it helps then great if it doesn’t then what have we lost. It could help to save thousands of lives and money, we all live on this small planet, if we cannot resolve our problems through negotiation then what hope is there for man kind.  

So in my mind then the answer is a resounding yes, we should start talks with al-Qaeda

Friday the last day of a short week, am doing nothing  this weekend, I have nothing planned just  relax and put my feet up, definitely no driving I did enough last weekend.

Yesterday afternoon finished on damp note as the fire alarm went off at just before 4 O’clock, we all had to venture outside in the pouring rain. It was  really good fun, in fact I think we should do it every time it rains, character building we used to call in the army. Anyway when the all clear was given I jumped in the car and headed home. Bloody, right too I was soaked.

Very quiet at the moment, my work seems to have come to a sudden halt, I am waiting on a few people to email tender documents so that I can review them, was supposed to have them first thing this morning. Now I am sat about twiddling my thumbs waiting for them to arrive.

It appears that the bridge at Liverpool Street Station did not suffer a partial collapse as early reported in the news. However, scaffolding used for overnight engineering work collapsed on to the track. Network rail said in statement that they hoped normal service would resume by 14:00.

This is quite a serious incident, if the scaffold collapsed as packed commuter train was passing it could have dire consequences, yes the bridge is ok (thankfully), but the health and safety implications are very serious. Network Rail or whoever was undertaking the work are in serious breach of their own procedures and who was in charge should be dismissed.

Over the Christmas period Liverpool Street station in London was closed by engineering works to allow for the demolition and installation of a new bridge on the approach to the station.  The work took longer than expected and when the holiday was over the station was still closed because of the overrunning work, the same happened at Easter when engineering work once again over ran.

Today the station is once again closed because of a partial collapse of the new bridge and structural engineers are on site to ascertain the damage. The line operated by National Express East Anglia (formerly One Great Eastern) is known as the miserly line and the customers believe its the worst in the country.

As I drive to work if they are any break downs on public transport or late running trains it is normally this line that’s at fault.

But the latest situation just shows how bad our rail network as become, we know the network is bad but just how bad is it. Under funding by successive Governments has lead to the worlds rail network. Do we have any great engineers such Isambard Kingdom Brunel any more?

Once again I am the first in the office and I have even sorted out my emails and now know which ones I have to address, which this morning is the grand total of one, (maybe I could go home after that).

That should take only a couple of minutes it only involves saving the attachments in a folder and checking a drawing. Maybe I can get on with some proper work today, it took me most of yesterday to sort out the last batch of emails. Mind you I have an idea to stop them, just mark the people who send the most as junk, then you don’t even get them they are deleted before they get in the inbox or I could block them. Somehow though I don’t think that would go down to well, oh well I suppose I will have to continue what I am doing.

One of the places we visited during our stay in Yorkshire was Hebden Bridge, a quaint little market town set in the picturesque Calderdale Valley. We always visit here when we venture to Yorkshire; it has some great little shops and Cafes.

It’s only about 8 miles from Haworth the home of Bronte’s, both are well worth a visit if you are in the area.

If you click on the image, you can see it at a better size.

I took about 75 pictures over the weekend, some need a little editing some are ok as they are, I will try and sort a few out later to be uploaded and posted on here.  

Considering I only took one extra day off, I was surprised to find that nearly everybody in the world decided to send me an email, well it appears that way my inbox is full, I have even got a email telling me that my inbox is over its limit, well I have 25 of them, and another 127 relating to work.

After I go through them and sort the wheat from chaff I will probably have about 30 or less that will need to actioned. The rest will be crap and will sent to the archive box (I don’t delete anything).

The good thing is no one has put anything in my diary, so I have a clear week, no useless meetings to attend, where normally nothing is ever achieved but everyone gets loads of action points to address.

Am still the only one in the office, which is usual for this time of day most people tend to arrive at 07:30 or a little after. Am gradually whittling the emails down, while typing this blog, why do people forward you emails when you are already on the distribution list for the original, probably because they don’t read them properly.

Back at my desk worse luck, I think I would rather be home in bed, alas the holiday is over and I have returned to work (crying into my coffee). Still it was a nice break and totally relaxing despite the amount of driving I did. Fortunately I never got stuck in traffic once the roads were clear all the way to Yorkshire and all the way back.

The roads this morning were very quiet as well, although there were signs of heavy rain last night with some flooding this morning. The radio did mention the storm last night, but I never heard a thing, I will check to see if Rosemary heard anything last night (I left her asleep in bed, lucky thing).

I wish I was still in Yorkshire, although I am not in work today I am struggling to find any enthusiasm, its 11:30 and am still sat here in my dressing gown.  I have down a few things, i.e. I done the weekly shopping online, I have renewed my car tax online, and I have down loaded the pictures I took over the weekend from my camera.  

The only thing that remains to done is process the picture, clean up the flat and do the washing but I just can’t be bothered am I just a lazy git or am I suffering from the holiday blues. 

Am back in wet and windy Essex after a glorious weekend away, it was a little windy up in Yorkshire but it was warm and sunny. However, the weather in the south of England was dreadful am glad I missed it.

More to follow, I need to get my act together, need to do a few jobs around the house and get ready for work (sorry about the swearing ----work)

The bags are packed and I am showered and dressed, the bags are packed and am ready to go. Unfortunately the lady of the house in not quite ready, although I would say another 15 minutes and she will be.

Then it will be up the Great North road into Yorkshire and then a short trip across the M62 to arrive at the destination. Sounds so simple when put like that, hopefully all will go well.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Well that’s it I’ve finished no more work until Wednesday, I about to pack up clear my desk and disappear out of the door, for well deserved break. It appears that every one as the same idea as the office is deserted. Hoe you all have a great weekend, I doubt think I will get much chance to blog, but will try my best.

KNOW YOUR SUBJECT  

Photographing animals, whether your cat at home or a fox in the great outdoors, requires patience, perseverance and an understanding of animal behaviour so you can predict how they will be likely to act or react, and anticipate the moment for a good photograph.

If you consider an animal's character in the same way you do when photographing people, and try to capture it on film, you won't go far wrong. Make sure you know what you want your images to say about the animal before you start clicking away, and then put your knowledge of composition, lighting and angles to work to get the pictures you want.

No shot is worth risking your safety when dealing with animals. Stay in the car if there is a bear or a buffalo on the road. A wild animal's reaction to your presence is unpredictable and even if they look so docile you feel you could walk up and pet them, remember, they can hurt and even kill you. Don't ever follow a dangerous animal (not too much of a problem in this country).

After the word "safety," the next three important words that govern animal photography are patience, patience and patience. Photography is like fishing in this regard. You often have to wait a long time in the right place to catch the best ones.

Patience applies equally when photographing pets and domestic animals. They sometimes seem to have a knack for being uncooperative when you bring out your camera. Keeping calm and taking things one step at a time often helps the animal to relax.

The zoo is an ideal place, because you will find animals there that we in Britain won’t see in the wild.  No zoo nearby? Visit a farm and take some pictures of the animals there. It may sound silly if you live in the country, but for someone with absolutely no experience with large animals, a farm is a good place to get your feet wet.

A car dealership in the United States is offering a free handgun with every vehicle sold. Max Motors in Butler, Missouri, says sales have quadrupled since the start of the offer.

Customers can choose between a gun or a $250 (£125) gas card, but most so far have chosen the gun. Owner Mark Muller said "we're just damn glad to live in a free country where you can have a gun if you want to".

The dealership sells new and old vehicles, including General Motors and Ford cars and trucks, and its logo shows a cowboy holding a pistol. It has sold over 30 cars and trucks in the past three days, an increase which the owners put down to their promotional offer.

Mr Muller said that every buyer so far "except one guy from Canada and one old guy" chose the gun, rather than the gas card. He recommends a Kel-Tec .380 pistol, which he describes as "a nice little handgun that fits in your pocket".

He added that the promotion was inspired by recent comments from one of the Democratic nominees for the presidential election, saying: "We did it because of Barack Obama.

"He said all those people in the Midwest, you've got to have compassion for them because they're clinging to their guns and their Bibles. I found that quite offensive. We all go to church on Sunday and we all carry guns."

The website advertisement for the offer, which continues until the end of the month, mentions that an approved background check on gun ownership is required.

"He said all those people in the Midwest, you've got to have compassion for them because they're clinging to their guns and their Bibles. I found that quite offensive. We all go to church on Sunday and we all carry guns."

ONLY IN AMERICA!

We should have the same promotion in the UK, except of course we would only give out water pistols, which of course would be very useful when stuck in a traffic jam in hot weather and could be used for the following.

• Shooting people in convertibles.
• Good for a drink, when stuck
• Cleaning your windscreen in an emergency
• Shooting people in convertibles

Source BBC News webpage

Fuel Tax
Fuel tax is an imposed sales tax put on the sale of fuel. Frequently, fuel tax is looked upon as a source of general revenue, with some being put towards the maintenance of roads and highways.

Fuel Tax in the UK

Fuel tax in the UK is constantly changing and has risen steadily over the last 15 years. Between 1993 and 1999 there was a rapid increase with duties on fuel increasing by 3% above inflation. This was due to a major change in petrol taxation in 1993 when the Conservatives introduced the Fuel Price 'escalator'. This was a way of the government making money and also to help protect the environment by discouraging people from using their cars. 

Fuel Escalator Forces Prices Up

This fuel escalator forced prices up from one of the lowest in Europe to now one of the most expensive. When it was first added, fuel prices rose by 3 pence a litre and tax contributed to 72.8% of the total cost. By 1997 the escalator had added 11.1p to the cost of unleaded petrol and was at 75%. It didn't get any better when the conservatives left office and Gordon Brown took over, as the escalator increased and 3 pence was added per litre. This took tax up to an incredible 81.5% of the total price of fuel.Fuel

Tax and the 2000 Fuel Protests

Despite the fuel escalator being abandoned in 1999, fuel prices did continue to rise rapidly, with a 2 pence a litre rise after the 2000 budget, contributing to the fuel protest. These rises were however argued by the government to be as a result of increasing oil costs rather than tax increases. This argument does hold some truth when we look at the graph above, showing that although the overall price of fuel has risen, the percentage of tax has stayed relatively constant and even dropped slightly this year.

Duty on fuel in the UK increased again on 1 October 2007, with an increase of 2.00 pence a litre on unleaded and diesel and an even greater increase on LPG and natural gas. See the fuel duty for all fuels below:

2007 Fuel Tax Figures

2007 fuel duty (as of 1 October 2007) in the United Kingdom is:

• 50.35 pence per litre for ultra-low sulphur unleaded petrol/diesel
• 53.65 pence per litre for conventional unleaded petrol
• 56.94 pence per litre for conventional diesel
• 30.35 pence per litre for bio-diesel and bio ethanol
• 16.49 pence per kg for gas other than natural gas (LPG)
• 13.70 pence per kg for natural gas used as road fuel.
• 9.69 pence per litre for rebated gas oil (red diesel)
• 9.29 pence per litre for rebated fuel oil

The bank holiday starts tonight and no doubt there will a rush to get away, either to the seaside (however the weather is not looking good for the south of England) to foreign parts where you are guaranteed warm and sunny weather. Or you might want to stay at home at home and do some DiY.

But before you pack the kids into the car and head down the beach, you might want to consider a report issued by the Marine Conservation Society, in its annual report ‘The Good Beach Guide’ it shows the number of beaches with excellent water quality has fallen by 10% since last year. The society blamed last year’s heavy rain for the decline and that the storms washed up more sewage onto the beaches.

I am lucky in that I only live about ¼ mile from the beach at Southend. I like to walk down the beach when the opportunity arises, but am disappointed at not only the quality of water but  the amount of rubbish on the beach and on the seafront. The council has provided a vast amount of large wheelie bins on the seafront for rubbish (about the only good thing the council has done in the last 5 years though), but the people of Essex don’t seem to have grasped the idea that you put rubbish in bins and not on the ground or on the beach.

One of my work colleagues who lives in Kent commented on the amount of rubbish on the beach and in particular the amount of cigarette butts on the beach, in fact he his so disgusted that he longer goes to Southend. One case I know, but it does make you think if the beach and seafront were cleaner then this would attract more visitors. I would say that this would be the same not only for Southend but for other seaside towns and villages in the UK.

If any council member reads this, just think you have been elected to help the community, do something to help!

Friday is here at last; god this week seems to have dragged. Only a few more hours and it’s a long weekend, tomorrow will travel to God’s County (Yorkshire) and not am coming back until late Monday or might even wait until Tuesday (I have booked Tuesday off).  

Rosemary is a little worried, as Caz does not to come with us, (she is sitting her ‘A’ Levels) so she is staying at home. This will be the first that she has stayed over at home over such a long period. I keep saying to Rosemary, “Looks she 17 nows, time to cut the apron strings”.  “She is a sensible girl and won’t be throwing wild parties (I hope)”.

I am sure she will be phoning her very 5 minutes to see if every thing is ok, I have no doubt though that every thing will be fine.

Time to go home (well nearly), after a very slow and mistake ridden start, it as turned out to be a good, day, I have achieved far more than I expected too, considering  the state I was this morning.

The traffic seems to be flowing quite well so I should be alright getting home, tomorrow may be different, but will face that then and won’t worry about it at the moment.

I have just been reading a report on the political donations made to the 3 main parties, Labour received £3m, the conservatives £4.2 m and the Liberal Democrats a miserable £470,000 (aw the poor Lib Dems), between January and March of this year.

Now I can understand why people give to the political parties, they hope to gain something from their support (I thought that was classed as bribery). What I can’t understand is why we allow it, each party should be allocated a sum of money from public funds, say £1m a year, this should pay for staff and campaign funds and this is all the money they should be allowed, perhaps then with all the parties on a equal footing we might get some decent and serious debate and we would see the parties for their true worth (Labour about £5, the Conservatives about £7.50 and the Liberal Democrats about 1.5p…lol).

What I do find somewhat difficult to understand, is how much debt the political parties are in, Labour £17.8m, the Tories £12m and Liberal Democrats £1.1m. What would happen if the banks decided enough was enough we want our money bank, does that mean that they would have to close down, and stop (trading) i.e. have no MP’s (some hope), but what would happen if they had to go bankrupt.

Interesting!

Oh on a  more serious point why give to political parties when you could give to a more worthwhile cause, Cancer Research or Alzheimer’s or something like that.

Because of my earlier lack of concentration I missed a couple of things that should have been included in a document  I was putting together, fortunately I have finally come around and my little grey cells (Hercule Poiriot) are now fully functional and I managed to spot the mistakes before I sent the said document out.

I have now amended the document, its been sent out and every thing is now looking great, thank god!