Another little job...

Had a look in my Givi top box. Amazing how much junk and bits of kit accumulate over the year.

Again, I have decided to down size and just carry the essential emergency stuff. First problem, what is 'essential'? And for that matter what is 'emergency' kit?

Who made life this complicated? Why can't I just go on my merry way making a pig's ear of the country's banking and have the country's leader, Flash Gordon, award me a 650k annual pension. No, I have to go and complicate life by having a Givi top box!

So I turf everything out of the box and divide my stuff into two piles. Guess what? Yeah, the keep pile is the largest and there are only two items in the disposal pile. Why do I bother?

So I reload my stuff into the top box, what a useless exercise though I must say I reloaded the box much more neatly. Well, until the next time I need something.

Those little jobs

With the temperature rising to ten C I stirred my old bones, stepped outside and whipped the cover off the Burgman.

The seat was full of cat hairs where a stray had made its winter home. Erm, I'll have to apply a bit of soap and water to the bike but first things first.

I had ordered some of those weird rubber nuts that attach the windscreen to the frame, the old ones had become a little chewed up through having to remove the windscreen to do various jobs, there must be a technique to undoing and re-fitting these fiddly bits.

Applied a little washing up liquid to lubricate the rubber and the first one slipped in like a charm. Had a devil of a job with the opposite side. Took near on an hour to get the holes of the windscreen, decorative tupperware and the frame to line up. Story of my life. Eventually seem to get the hang of it and managed to fix all six nuts before sunset.

Checked the oil levels, kicked over the engine and it fired up first time after being laid up outside for four months. Checked all the light, indicators and horn - all working ,no problem. The tyres too had held their pressures.

Ready for the road!

Just Like Watching Brazil....

A real treat tonight! Brazil v. Italy at the Arsenal ground.

A really good game with fast flowing football from both sides. Nice to see Guiseppe Rossi making progress with Italy, ex-Manchester United player who we nicknamed Joe Red.

Both of Brazil's goals scored by Manchester City players - Elano and Robinho.

Even the referee, Howard Webb, and his officials had a good game.

Sorry? Sorry......What do they mean bleedin' sorry?

Appearing before the Treasury Committee, today, the former bosses of the two biggest UK casualties of the banking crisis have apologised "profoundly and unreservedly" for their banks' failure.

Below is their earnings (???) for year 2007.

RBS

Sir Tom McKillop, Chairman, £750,000
Sir Fred Goodwin, Group chief executive, £4,190,000
Johnny Cameron. Chairman, global markets, £3,256,000

HBOS

Lord Stevenson, Chairman, £821,000
Andy Hornby, Chief executive, £1,926,000
Peter Cummings, Chief executive, corporate division, £2,606,000.

These are just two banks senior officials who were so overpaid, their salaries blinded them to the actions of their staffs that has almost brought this country to bankruptcy and all they can say is sorry. In my opinion these pathetic men are no better than Nick Leeson (who caused the collapse of Barings Bank).

Their negligence needs punishing and all forms of pay back should be instituted. "Sorry, my arse!" as Jim Royle would observe.

Further, investigation needs to be carried out to find out who appointed men of this calibre to these positions. Obviously, the headhunters, interviewers have serious problems with their remits and standards of selection and need to be replaced with men of integrity, honour and knowledge.

Selfish Adults 'Damage Childhood'

...so says a report on BBC.

Apparently a panel of 'experts' spent three years on this study. The panel of experts, consisted of eleven members, eight being universtity professors.

Family breakup, unprincipled advertising, too much competition in education, and income unequality.

On family breakup. On my return to the UK in the seventies, my father, who was an astute observer, told me about the growing number of young girls who couldn't face up to problems with their parents, purposely became pregnant, ran away from the family home and successfully obtained tenancy of council property becoming the youngest tenants. Here they tried to raise their children and obviously without any experience of employment became parasites on society, expecting the taxpayer to fund their lifestyle.

With the liberal life style of the time this situation was allowed to expand. Now these children are approaching adulthood with problems.

The report cites research suggesting that three times as many three year olds living with lone parents or a step-parent have behavioural problems compared with those living with married parents.

"Children with separate, single or step parents are 50% more likely to fail at school, have low esteem, be unpopular with other children and have behavioural difficulties, anxiety or depression."

Also, working mothers are establishing more economic independence causing family breakup.

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As a child of the Second World War, the majority of families were one parent families and working mothers. I experienced this as my father was abroad in the army, serving overseas. There were many other families who had lost their fathers in battle. The mothers had to go to work to replace the serving men to support the war effort.

Different times, same problems, but different outcomes!

Then, people lived up to and respected their responsibilities and commitment to their family.

Now, we have a liberal, selfish, individualistic society with these disfunctional single parent families assuming the State is responsible for their families.

The answer seems to be in the resurrection of the family.

More responsibility by the parents of teenagers who use the birth of babies to blackmail society into providing a parasitical lifestyle.

Encouragement, by the government, to re-establish the institution of marriage, by re-introducing marriage allowances in the taxation system at the expense of single parent benefits.

Young teenage girls should not be allowed to take priority of the housing authorities systems, they should be accommodated by their parents thus creating family support and responsibility.

It's Snowing

A shot from my toilet window.

Yes it's snowing big flakes.

I don't usually take my camera to the toilet but it's the easiest and most accessible view.

People from mainland Europe might wonder about the fuss but we don't usually experience snow of any significance. In fact the last heavy snows I remember were December 1978, 1963,
and the daddy of them all 1947.

The Royal Family

Where have they gone? They seem to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

Nothing from society, armed forces, charities, newspapers or the political correct, where are they?