Day 7 on the Lea

I have had a day off today. Well when I say a day off I mean I didn’t move the boat. I went with Sally to the other end of the Hertford Canal. There I set off up the canal in search of a side hatch door which had shaken itself loose and fell overboard.

I walked up three locks before it hove into view lying on the lock surround. It had been hit by a propeller but is OK. At that particular lock on the up side there are two boats moored on the lock mooring. I met Ryan and Mrs Ryan on nb Valhalla who I last saw in Thrupp a few weeks ago.

I had walked about three miles but then I had to walk back to my boat probably about five miles carrying the door (about 20 lbs), which didn’t do my hips any good at all. I returned absolutely exhausted. I collapsed on the bed and slept.
There is some very good art work on the London canals

London Day 6

I didn’t set off this morning until 10, I thought a lazy day was in order. Interesting travelling through London. Even more interesting when you get to Camden Locks. What ever you think about Camden it will one day be the scene of much Health and Safety work. It is only a matter of time before someone gets injured or worse.

What ever it is that makes people ignore the possibility of having their feet crushed, by a twenty ton boat, is one of the seven wonders of stupidity.

What ever it is that stops them from moving away from the edge and allowing boaters to work through the lock without having to step over people must be another of the seven wonders. Sitting on bollards, sitting around the steps makes trying to work the locks a very hard thing to do. And of course you are the one that is in the wrong.

Having said that what a wonderful part of London Camden is! Definitely worth a visit, with or without a boat. I think I will bring my boat up here next year and stay for a week or three.If you look closely behind the ground paddle there is someone sitting against the gate.

At Mile End I saw an old resident of Thrupp. You can see Rowan Reflected in the window.

I stopped for the night moored next to Sally on nb Daisy on the River Lea where I saw this boat.

Tidal Thames Day 5

This morning we were awake before the sparrows passed wind, that's like stupid o’clock! After tea and toast boats started toward the lock. We were all going out on the high spring tide at seven. Only one of the six of us had done this before, when they opened the starting gate we kept this boat in sight all the way. Another stayed behind us. The other three shot out spread across the wrong side of the river, making it difficult for other users
.

This house says there is not far to go

An hour later we turned into the Thames Lock cut. It was after eight. We were expected. One would have thought the lock would have been open ready to receive us, but the staff were late. While we were waiting a large raft of black, decaying leaves floated past.

We occupied both Thames locks. They had trouble closing the gates. We came out heading for the Brentford Gauging locks. The water level under the High Street bridge meant we had to take down the Chimneys. In the lock once more a gate would not close. This turned out to be finger trouble. I thought the operator was the lock keeper but no the lockie hadn’t turned up.

We were the only ones of the group to moor up. I assume the others raced up the Hanwell flight with more important things on their minds than my shower. We stopped for brekkers and to decant Mark and Sarah who had  to leave the boat to fulfil other commitments. After they had left I had the most fab shower in the facilities block. The last time I was here, 2007, this block seemed to be new. It is now very jaded, but the water was ‘kin HOT!!!.

I dawdled about for a bit then set off. I was going to go up two locks then moor up and have lunch at the Fox and settle in for the night. As it happened I  carried on up to the top then Bulls Bridge. The visitor moorings were full and seemed to have been for some time.  I carried on up the Paddington Arm of the GU and moored on the Greenford visitor moorings. As I write this I am sitting in the Black Horse.

Day 4 to Teddington

This morning we were up at the sparrows fart. Mark had to catch a train to Oxford. We knocked on Les and Jaq’s boat while walking the dogs. No answer! Never mind we  wanted to move the boat before they came for their £8 so we drove around the island to moor in front of NB Valerie. A blast on the horn as we entered the stream bought Les and Jaq to the tow path. We moored up and went for morning tea. Unfortunately Mark had to leave to leave for the station but Sarah and I enjoyed a cuppa and were given cake when we left.

On our way down the Thames we were subjected to the antics of many rowers who but for the grace of God and my boat handling skills would have been well and truly splattered. Are these young people, who are after all the future of the country,  really so stupid?

At Sunbury lock a boat was moored at the backend leaving us no room to get in so we went to the front end. It became obvious that they were intending to go in the lock. Well sorry but there are rules. If you are going through the lock you moor at the front. In the lock when we were all moored I mentioned to the chap that he should have moored at the front, because I thought he was maybe stopping for lunch, hence the reason I entered the lock first. He said ‘No worries’. Sorry but no! There are worries! There is a system. We all need to follow the rules here. If you don’t others behind have no f***ing idea what you are doing. This means we have too make our decisions based on incomplete information. GET A GRIP!!! Learn the rules this is not a game.

Coming into Molesy Lock people started waving at us and calling my name from the garden of a pub ‘The WEIR’ Sue and Vic nb No Problem and Ken nb Dogma. SO we had to stop for a drink. Just the one mind. I wonder if Sue noticed this?

As we passed Hampton Court a chap on the bank asked what we were doing. I asked him to repeat what he said  but by then he had disappeared behind the trees so we left it at that. Next thing we know a small rock hit the tiller bar and bounced on the deck. There be injuns! Proceed with care.

More stupid rowers along the stretch to Teddington and we moored up on the moorings to await the lock in the morning.

Mark who had left us this morning had returned after collecting his car from Oxford and parking it in Brentford to be collected after we have traversed the tidal Thames to Brentford. Both Mark and Sarah wanted to do the Thames but have commitments else where for the rest of the journey.

Day three

I was wrong yesterday when I said 16 miles I was counting bridge numbers not miles posts! The total was 44 miles Tuesday. Today we made about 38 miles. We are moored comfortably at Windsor. I thought we might pop along as say hello to aunty Elizabeth  but she is not in her Windsor house house this week.

I had a minor crunch near Henley with a 4 man  scull who insisted on cutting across my track at the last second giving me no time to avoid or stop. It will cost them a couple of grand for their repair! They tried to claim ‘Regatta boats have the right of way during the Regatta but that fell flat when when it was pointed out that it wasn’t Regatta week and outside of the Regatta course rules or the river apply.

Cries of “Ah but the Regatta Master…….” fell on deaf ears. They were in the wrong and they knew it. Someone was going to get their ass kicked for breaking their best boat. Even the lockie said he was pissed off with the antics of the the rowing teams this week.

The Epic journey Pt 2

Today we set off at 8 am and arrived at 8 pm. just short of Caversham. By my reckoning that's about 16 miles down stream. Seems hardly worth the effort really the engine is very noisy and smoked excessively. Soot smuts have turned Molly into a miniature Dalmatian and I seem to have trouble breathing. Hot water comes from a diesel stove and takes ages to warm up hence cold showers.

Tomorrow I am hoping to get at least to Windsor if not Staines, or is it Royal Staines now.

Mark has been suffering badly with hay fever and Molly went off on an adventure on her own.

The Epic Trip

Well today I set off to deliver a boat to London, but before I went I pumped my toilet out. It has been playing up yet again, but it was only urine and calcium five mins max. Three and a half hours later we set off on the epic journey. Following a bout of poo soup in the shower I was not best pleased. (nuff sed).

I am joined on this trip by my friends Mark and Sarah who have never done the Thames before. They will be with me until Teddington When they both have gigs to fulfil. So if you fancy a  trip up the GU, Regents, Lea and Stort my email is in my profile page.

The boat is very heavy on the tiller and I think I will be earning my supper on this trip.

All three of the locks from Langford Lane have stuff stuck behind the bottom gate. We got out but only just.

Moored up above Sandford Lock.

Good word!

Hugger-mugger

Look it up.

Poetry & Prose: A Ballpoint Pen, The Autobiography of

Poetry & Prose: A Ballpoint Pen, The Autobiography of:            I don’t know when I was made, but I do remember being in a box when suddenly the darkness turned to bright light. I looked aroun...

Wolverhampton Flight

From CRT:- Our investigations have revealed the lock wall has moved significantly, probably through water ingress from the recent vandalism, and it would now pose a danger to any boat using it. We have therefore reluctantly closed the lock until repairs can be carried out. At this stage it is envisaged the lock will remain closed until at least the 12th of July. Further updates will be posted once more detail is known regarding timescales.

Wolverhampton Flight

Is anyone in the area can you get a pic of the damage?

New grandchild.

This is a picture of my next Grandchild still in the womb. I think he is either being radical or practicing barre chords.

Huh!

Huge congratulations to Her Majesty for Estimate's victory. . . .

This was a Tweet from our Prime Minister. You remember him he is the posh nob that went to ETON. Is it possible to have HUGE congratulations or is he talking bollox again?

Poetry & Prose

When I was at college, which as most of you know wasn’t that long ago, I was always understanding that there was poetry, there was Prose, and there was normal writing. How wrong could I be? There is poetry and there is prose. If it isn’t poetic its prose whether it be a very well written eulogy or a story in the SUN it is prose.

Prose is a form of language which applies ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure (as in traditional poetry). While there are critical debates on the construction of prose, its simplicity and loosely defined structure has led to its adoption for the majority of spoken dialogue, factual discourse as well as topical and fictional writing. It is commonly used, for example, in literature, newspapers, magazines, encyclopaedias, broadcasting, film, history, philosophy, law and many other forms of communication.

So prose can be poetic as poetry can be prosaic, but the basic idea is that poetry is poetry and prose is any other writing.

Our House

My Mum and Dad never really had much in life. Dad was born in 1917 and mum in 1923. As youngsters growing up they would have felt the full force of the ‘Depression’.

They both served in World War 2. Dad served in the Royal Artillery Mum, well I was never really sure what mum did but we have pictures of her in uniform. I do know she didn’t like it, the military that is. My dad used to sing with a band in the Naafi and my Mum was smitten. Dad was a good singer. He would always sing. I suppose that’s where I get it from. If you come across a singing boater it may well be me.

After the war Dad worked in the furniture manufacturing trade. He was a frame maker for people like Lebus Bros. They lived with his mother and they lived with her mother. Eventually the council gave them accommodation. . . . . .
                                                                a Nissen hut!
Nissen huts were not the nicest of places. Dad raised the issue with the council, several times. Eventually they were told there was a new estate being built and they could have one of those when they were finished, October 1950 they moved in. I arrived in December. Elizabeth was not yet Queen. Some stuff was still rationed.

My parents had a simple philosophy in life ‘Always pay your rent if all else fails at least you can’t get rained on. Dad never missed a days work unless he was seriously ill. He left the house in the morning before I got up and arrived home when it was time for my bed.

Another thing my Dad never did was to call the council. What ever needed doing to the house he did it. He considered that if the council were good enough to let him have a house then it was his responsibility to look after it. Unless it was something major we never saw a council worker. Didn’t need one dad was good at DIY a great repairman/decorator/woodworker/electrician etc. Our garden was always neat and tidy and the gate never swung off its hinge. The property was properly looked after.

They had lived in the house for nearly 30 years when the Tories got elected in 1979 (it was me who convinced them to vote tory). The right to buy scheme was a Tory con. Yes Joe Public could be come house owners, and for many this was a good thing (in all honesty there is not one man reading this that would have said no), but the thinking behind it was simple. If you owned the house you lived in you would be unlikely to go on strike because you couldn't then pay your mortgage. Maggie wasn’t stupid. As I see it the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme was the beginning of the end of the unions as they were at that time.

It was about 1982 when my parents bought their house. Yes they got a discount, but they didn't get as big a discount as the family down the road in a similar house. You may wonder why this was? I can tell you it is down to my fathers hard work. Our house was in very good condition, well looked after. The family down the road did nothing to their house in thirty years. They always called the council to even fix a tap washer or a loose screw in a door hinge. So there is profit in laziness.

Yes my parents did get their house at a reduced price, but had they not bought the house they would never have left it anyway. They were not the sort to walk out on 30 years of memories. They didn’t know how. So when people tell me they were wrong to buy the house I have to wonder if I am in the presence of sainthood. I know I am not, but I have to wonder.

Now when I left the RAF after 25 years 239 days, I too was entitled to get in on the RTB scheme. I however had bought a house three years earlier and never for one minute thought about RTB. People get in a situation and make choices. Some good, some bad. I certainly don't think of my parents as bad people because someone offered them a lollipop at half price and they took it. I do consider saints to be of dubious integrity………and stupid.

Poetry & Prose: Will I Ever Learn

Ever been taken to the cleaners? Poetry & Prose: Will I Ever Learn: Well back in nineteen sixty-nine I got married and things went fine And I couldn’t wait to go home to my wife at night. But after just one y...

Before anybody asks. . . .

. . . . it is not me. I have better things to do with my time.

Calling all dog owners!

I went to Tesco today to get these. They are nappy bags. This ‘bag’ of nappy bags cost 35p for three hundred. each bag cost 0.1167p each. Now I think that is good VFM. I bought 3 x 300 for £1.05p. These will last me for a year. I will have no excuse for not picking up after my dog. Every dog owner needs to stop by Tesco and get a quid's worth of nappy doggie doo bags. If you cant afford a quid once a year to pick up after your dog then how do you afford a dog?
Now I sure as hell am fed up with picking up after your dog where I live. I don’t want to have to clean up the floors of my boat  with chemical cleaners that will damage the environment.
The law says you have to pick it up and remove it. No chucking it in the hedgerows or tossing it in trees. Don’t talk to me about ‘fertiliser’ the hedge rows grew quite happily with out your dog s--- for some considerable time. Just place it in the bin provided or take it home. If you cant manage that then be wary because if I see you I will take a picture and send it to the dog warden.
Your part in this is to reach deep into your pocket and pay the £1000 fine, but of course you have money to throw around so that wont affect you.

The last thing you want is for me to follow you home and do a dump on your door step and you can bet I will because you wont be the first.

Thrupp Lift Bridge. . . .

. . . . taken in the evening as the sun is going down just skittering across the fields.

Facebook Follies

Sometimes when I get a ‘bee in my bonnet’ I cant help myself. Such as the time when Gav Phillips on Facebook said to someone "not sayin i dont like it...i just dont like single minded people that stereotype"….

It begged me to ask the question, “Are you not stereotyping single minded people?”

I thought this was a fair question but Gav didn’t. He said  “You are an arse....your prolli one of those that moans about everything but does it himself,and when you have nothing to moan about you try to look clever makin stupid remarks that you think are clever...lady karma will knock your door one day.

Well he could have a point but in my case but I don’t think so! Apart from poor grammar and spelling I think he was really talking about himself.

“Just asking a question! Obviously hit a nerve,” says I.

Well that really must have got under his skin because his next comment was way of base. He said, “Far from it...ur exactly whats wrong on the canal, a toff...sooner the likes of u bugger off the rest of us full time dwellers will live in peace.”

He’ll be a ‘continuous avoider’ then. Well I had to laugh. Me, a toff, what a giggle! My return post was as follows, “There you go again stereotyping people. I was born in a council house 62 years ago and my mother still lives there. I served 25years 239 days in the Royal Air Force as part of the military forces of the UK that stood on the line to allow the likes of you the freedom to come on here and be WRONG!

And if that doesnt strike a chord with you I have been living on my boat full time since it was built over 6 years ago. Can one assume that when you are in charge of the world, boaters will have to ask you if they can come and live on your canal.

PS If you cant write English please don’t bother to reply.”

I am a bit miffed because he blocked me before I could see his next post which fortunately someone else copied a part of. Gav said "….got yer names,got pics of yer faces and / or boats.....have fun while travelin ill keep an eye out for you…..”

Well if you are going to threaten someone you could at least have the good manners to do it in proper English and ffs learn to spell. I am quite looking forward to meeting Gav on my travels (wherever he may be). I hope I don’t have to introduce him to my friend Mr H.S. Hebble.

Guinness

The Jolly Boatman is now under new management. In the time that I have been “Guinness drinker in residence” at the Jolly I have been served many pints of the black stuff. Mostly they have been well filled glasses. On the odd occasion the new staff made a minor error they were quickly retrained to produce beautiful pints like this. Wonderful!

Many thanks to the out going Andy Cannon for the ‘Maffi’ button on the till. Hope to see you around the cut sometime.

 

nb Lady Ester

When I was on the Ashby canal nearly two years ago I received a visit from Dave & Angie Culley. Angie you may remember makes socks for mooring pins out of Sainsbury’s bags. Being bright orange they contrast very well with the grass and are easily visible. She brought two pairs of socks, one for me and one for Bones. A very kind gesture.

Recently nb Lady Ester arrived on the mooring point. Now I knew I knew this boat but could not remember where or why. Well it took a long time for the penny to drop. Angie reminded me while she was operating the lift bridge. This is quite odd really because their card has been in my peripheral vision since I was on the Ashby. No wonder the name was familiar.

Any way here is a picture of Angie, at Thrupp, doing something she never does, petting a dog. Apparently her family cant believe it!

Of course Molly is an old hand at this sitting still and being fussed stuff, she took it all in her stride.

Oh dear!

When this stupid gorilla stood on the edge of the bridge as it started to raise he put in excess of 2000 foot lbs of pressure on the hydraulic system. He didn’t think it was a problem, but then again I don’t think he is in any position to decide right from wrong coz he’s a twat!!!
Had he been injured while he was pissing about he would probably have complained that there were no signs saying he couldn’t and the clever people at CRT would have wasted even more money making safe a system that we didn’t need in the first place.

Edward Snowden

I am amazed! Well its not like it isn’t a regular occurrence is it? Who is Edward Snowden? Do you really know?

Edward on a salary of $200.000 a year, nice home , nice girl friend gave it all up for you!

Edward is a ‘Whistleblower’ (oh how I hate that word it sounds like he did something wrong), He worked as an analyst on the US governments PRISM program. What do you mean you have never heard of PRISM?

It is a program which has been reading and recording our emails, Skype messages, Facebook posts and phone calls for years.

Edward lost everything because he told the world that the US government were doing underhand things with your privacy.

Here in the UK, the mother of parliament, our authorities have written to all major airlines. So how is that connected with Edward? The content of the missive is to tell them that if they should bring Edward to the UK they will face a £2,000 fine. Apparently our leaders say Edward is not welcome in the UK.
Well I for one do not find it odd that our bunch robbing lying bastards, aka the government, don’t want to let an honest man into the country. Let’s be honest his presence could show them up for the crooks they are.

An ‘official’ said such alerts are issued to carriers that fly into the UK and any carrier that brings Snowden will be liable to be fined £2,000. He said Snowden would likely have been deemed by the Home Office to be detrimental to the "public good."

But of course Honesty would really destroy our society! What a bunch of hypocrites!

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Oh really! So no balls then.

Well, movement!

This is DRAKE, renamed TAUNTON. Its a big old wooden hulled sinker. It has been here for a number of years licenced but unpaid mooring. In that time it has had 3 owners to my knowledge. It is, to all intents and purposes, a shell. BW/CRT seem to have ignored its presence much like they ignore many other boats around here that take the piss. In fact just under the bridge in the background is a boat that has had a ‘poorly’ engine for some eight months. Although this hasn’t stopped him from getting his 20 litres of diesel every week or so.

Well anyway yesterday CRT managed to get their finger out and actually put a ticket on DRAKE/TAUNTON. So maybe it will go soon.

A What?

I am in a bit of a quandary over the possibility of what I may become if I ever return oop norf again and continue litter picking. This Tweet appeared today and had me foxed for a bit. WTF is an Canal Angle?

CRTManPenVolunteer‏@CRTManPenVolun3 Jun

@CRTManPennine are holding a towpath tidy day at Red Bull on Wed 12 June. Please join us! and become a #CanalAngle

Crap-o-gram

This has to be the way forward in the dog shit war!

http://boingboing.net/2013/06/09/town-delivers-sidewalk-dog-poo.html

Sent to me by Skippy

That bridge again

This is what I asked for:-

This is what we were given:-

Cheap jackshit solutions to a pressing problem.

No one will ever see this sign!

A meeting is to take place

A boaters meeting is to be held on the 12th June, 2013. Doors open from 6pm, start time 7pm, at the Masonic Centre, rear of 263 Queensway, Bletchley (Fenny Stratford end), MK2 2BZ.
Topics to be discussed include ‘Bone fide’ navigation and visitor moorings. There will also be the opportunity to discuss other current issues affecting boaters.

I find it incredulous that little groups of boaters are getting together to discuss the meaning of terms when there are perfectly good sources in almost every home.

Definition of BONA FIDE :

made in good faith without fraud or deceit.

In layman's terms what that means is, if you sign to say that you are going to be a continuous cruiser knowing that you will be staying in one area hopping from bridge then you are a deceitful fraud.

When groups start discussing the meaning of words and phrases that are clearly defined then their only purpose in doing so would be to try to change the rules that they don’t like.

The word continuous can be attached to other words to define three distinct groups of boater.

Continuous Cruiser
Travels the canals of England and Wales, often all 2000 miles of it. He/she doesn’t need to ask what ‘bona fide’ means because he can read.

Continuous Moorer
Would like to travel the canals of England and Wales (or so he says), but hasn’t learned how to untie his ropes. Doesn’t ask what bona fide means because if he does he will have to learn to untie his ropes.

Continuous Avoider
Moves just far enough to ‘avoid’ getting a ticket and then comes back again. Wants to redefine the meaning of bona fide because they are pissed off moving every 14 days.

You might like to question my interpretation of these terms but the term ‘bona fide’ is in the dictionary or you can google it, no need for a meeting.

If you need more information email

continuouscruisersMK@gmail.com

Richard Parry

Apparently Richard Parry, before he joins the Canal & River Trust, will be hiring a boat for a weekend and will also help to work a boat up the Wolverhampton 21 giving him the chance to see some of the waterways for himself. Well done sir!

I am a bit confused about  ‘some of the waterways’, if he does 20 miles that is just 1%. (he wont want to do more or he wont see anything) I wonder why he doesn’t hire a boat for a week or more. He will probably be able claim it on expenses as pre-employment training so it wont cost him anything.

The good thing is he will be doing the Wolverhampton 21 with John Sloane. John being a very down to earth character will probably be able tell him more about the waterways than the rest of CRT bosses know put together.

Fire at the Jolly

At 4 pm on Wednesday afternoon fire broke out at the Jolly Boatman public house just north of Kidlington on the Banbury Road. The fire was spotted by the crew of narrowboat SANBEC who had just moored up for the night. Dianne Kavanagh, seated on the rear deck, spotted smoke coming from behind the fence at the back of the patio. She called to her husband Brendon and by the time he had put his shoes on to come outside the fence was properly ablaze. Brendon, who works for the Canal and River Trust, sprang into action with one of the fire extinguishers from his boat and doused the flames. By the time the fire crews arrived the drama had been contained.

Dianne & Brendon KAVANAGH
relaxing after putting the fire out.

The fire may have been caused by sparks from an incinerator which was in use at the time. The senior fire officer present advised the staff not to burn waste paper and cardboard in the yard. Damage was limited to a small corner of the patio fence and roof by the prompt action of the Kavanaghs who were rewarded with an evening meal.

The owner Andy Cannon was not available on site for comment.

Oh doo doo!

For some time now I have been having trouble with my services. My TECMA macerator keeps getting the pipe blocked. To cure this I attach my p/o pump to the feed to the tank and  pump the blockage out. Today whilst trying to perform this trick, without the aid of a safety bucket, as the macerator whirred and I pumped the handle the pipe came off and the bedroom was sprayed with doo doo. I love boating!

Canalival

I would like to say a big thank you to all the revellers who turned up for the Canalival last weekend in London.

You have demonstrated that you are not worthy to be called humans. If ever there was a case for fencing the canal off from the likes of you this was it.

Alcohol and water does not mix unless it is in a glass. You have displayed to the nation that many of you are unfit to live in the city and should be deported to a rock in the middle of the ocean.

Destroying public property!
Damaging boats.
Defecating in public places!
Littering!
Being a general arse!
Breathing!

Our canal system is 200 years old and revered by hundreds of thousands as a national monument you treated it like you treat your shitty little back garden.

The scum floating on the canal is more socially acceptable than you people. Now get out there and clean up the mess you made. Skankey bastards!!! Don't come back until you have learned to behave.

Well maybe ….

On the front page of the Sunday Times they led with the ‘questions for cash” scandal

The Mail on Sunday had the story on Page 7, at the bottom of the page! So what was so important that it knocked the QfC story off the front page. The MoS lead was about a secret love affair. They reported that ‘the PM was stunned’ and that the ‘Downing Street Agenda will be dead in the water’.

What struck me was that I had to wait until the second paragraph to find out that they were not going to tell  me who it was. The story was so secret that they could not disclose who the participating shaggers were and that the affair was now ‘concluded’ anyway. Had they  put that in the first paragraph I wouldn’t have bothered reading any further.

What a waste a of a front page for such a non story. Makes one wonder what they are hiding. What juicy piece of propaganda was slipped in under the cover of this so called “Exclusive”.

Nick Cleg: a question.

Ok so three members of the House of Lords are being accused of dirty doings in the new ‘cash for questions’ scandal.

Deputy PM Nick Cleg in a Telegraph article this morning is saying the government are going to get on top of this and pass legislation to control it.

Nick Clegg is paid by the taxpayer to do such things (pass legislation), indeed he said three years ago that the government would be doing this , but since then they have sat on their hands and done bugger all!

Now I don’t know what a Deputy PM gets for an article in the Telegraph, but I think it’s a bit more than the £50 quid I get for my articles when I am lucky enough to get published.

My question is how is Nick Clegg taking money from the press for telling everyone that they are finally going to do that which they promised to do three years ago any different from three lords taking money and promising to do something in the future. Apart from the time reference Nick Clegg is no different to their Lordships, a money grabbing little shit.

We used to have a saying for people like him when I was a lad “Bent as a nine bob note”. I personally don’t think he is any better than those three lords. Were he not holding the protection of the post of the DPM he would have his arse well and truly kicked for dealings such as these. But of course we know both the PM and the DPM can do no wrong!!!

Is it any wonder we live in a society where any one who can get something for nothing does so in the firm belief that ‘if its all right for them its alright for us’ and damn the consequences.

Adsense

On Saturday 18 May I wrote that Adsense wanted me to agree to their new Terms and Conditions by the 23 or I would be blocked from using Adsense. Well the deadline came and indeed I am blocked from using my Adsense. However, you may or may not be surprised to hear Adsense have not stopped putting ads on my page. It seems that just because I haven’t agreed to their Ts&Cs that is no reason why they still should not continue to make money from my blog.

HOW!

Sometimes you just have to wonder how it is possible.
I cannot believe this was done without the application of heat, lots of it!

Huh!

I received an email titled ‘A message from Amber’.

It started  ‘Hi my name is Michele’

This is not a language problem this is a ‘stupid’ problem!!!