STOP…THIEF!

One wonders why the NHS is in such a bad financial state with all the money poured into it.

Then a headline in the local newspaper tells us that over the last few months over thirty wheel-chairs have been stolen! They are provided within the foyer of the hospital to help those with mobility problems get to a car. So it would appear that those friends or relations who have come to collect the patient feel that it is their in-alienable right to purloin the said wheel-chair, fold it up and take it to the patient’s home!

Did no-one ever forsee this, or  did they not twig very quickly what was happening? It is possible to either modify these fold-away units or provide ones which are ‘fixed’. 

Do those who stole the chairs not realise that replacement of stolen units is depriving other departments of funding.

And we thought that this only happened with supermarket trolleys! I suppose it’s just as well that they are not motorised!

Flying high but waiting slowly?

Just back from a business trip using Gatwick Airport, and as usual, for an 80 minute trip, many hours have to be spent getting-to the airport, going thro security and waiting at lounges and gates. And despite so much going-on and people to be watched, airports and their journey are immensely-boring.

Can anyone tell me how they break the monotony?

Re-cycled microsoft?

Ever wondered what to do with your old computer or printer?

We used to collect them from friends and take them to the Hansel Village near Prestwick. A brilliant guy there would rebuild them as necessary so that they could be used by the residents. Unfortunately, having recently collected quite a number of units, I found out that due to some safety regulations they could no longer take them.

So a trawl through the net by Lady of the House brought forward the Charity with the link below. They travel round the UK going to old B & Q sites and they take them away for refurbishment to allow children in the Third World to access the3 internet. Have a look and see if they come anywhere near you.

www.computers4africa.org.uk

Can you spare a dime?

One day after the Royal Bank of Scotland announced that there would be large bonus payouts to its staff, high and low, and the day when there is supposed to be a tightening-up on credit for mortages we received a wonderful offer.

The same Royal Bank which was part of the most non-sensical banking episode most of us remember, have made available an extra 50% in our credit limit.

We were flattered that they felt we were so trustworthy, but if they had looked at, and analysed  our bank statements (which no doubt they can easily do) they would have recorded that our credit card use is only spasmodic and of a minimal amount. Why then would I suddenly wish a 50% increase in funds?

Has no-one told them that as a nation we have a phenomenally-high level of irresponsible spending……..and whilst spending is necessary to see us out of this recession (caused largely by their irresponsible lending ) saving is just as important or they will run out of funds again.

No thank you Mr RBS….keep your excessive credit and leave us to act sensibly.

Good for him!

My brother, who is (whisper it) 3 years younger than me and lives in Australia, has been awarded a silver medal in the 60+ Mens Singles at badminton in the World Masters Games. Good for him…maybe he didn’t have a mis-spent childhood after all!

Of course, the only reason I could not enter was that I don’t play badminton, and Australia is too far away!

CONGRATULATIONS!

It should be called something else…………

My old mobile phone has served me well for many years, but with the advent of a new car (with Bluetooth) being delivered in the next few days,  I was persuaded that perhaps I should move to the next technology step, so I now have a nice new shiny Nokia (not-just-a) phone.

Being a man, I of course immediately took it out of the box, and after charging it up, I started looking at the controls and pressing buttons. However this turned-out not just to be a simple phone, as it had about 2 million functions and combinations of what I could do with it!

It was therefore imperative that I study the supplied Instruction Manual. So I spent all yesterday evening wading through some 48 pages of small type giving me lots of sugestions as to how it would carry-out the multitude of functions I absolutely MUST use.

I have managed to exclude all the irrelevant buttons and get down to half-a-dozen operations I actually need. My next problem comes when the car is delivered, and I have to connect to the Bluetooth. Hopefully one of our offspring will be able to guide me through the minefield!

But why does someone not come out with a very, very, very, simple unit, which is just a phone?

Parting is such sweet sorrow!

…..well maybe that’s a slight exaggeration! 

 

We are parting from our two cars this week. Lady of the house can no longer drive with her eye problems  but the Honda Civic was being held-onto just in case things got better.  However, some months later there appears to be no sign of this improvement happening, and the fact of it sitting at the side of the house was beginning to annoy her, so the decision was reached, and it has gone to a good home! And we hope to see it again, to check it’s not lonely!

 

 

The love of my life, (besides the lady and the family, that is) has been my old Honda CRV with 122, 000 miles on the clock, but still going well. However it was decided that we now needed a smaller vehicle (are we shrinking?) but still liked the height for getting into the car. Consultations with the local garage have brought forth a Nissan Qashqai (We had never heard of it before either!).So having spruced it up for the last time it will be disappearing from our runway this week. The image above is how it will appear to me as it disappears from view.

People say that you should never get emotional over cars, but we have had to admire the mechanical reliability of these two Japanese cars…..British manufacturers….are you reading this! 

Asleep at the wheel!

 

I’m sure that all of us at one time or another have had one of those ‘micro-sleeps’, when momentarily, on a long drive, we get tired, the eyes blink, and suddenly we realise we are a danger to ourselves and others.

Well, this is not about that!

I remember once travelling on a small car-ferry on a 25 min journey which I had done many times. I was tired so just stayed sitting at the wheel. A thick fog came down and I couldn’t have seen anything anyway. I fell asleep until there was a gentle bump as we berthed on the other side. Of course, I suddenly woke, looked out of the windscreen into a thick fog, imagined I was driving, and jammed on the brakes, terrified! It was only then that I realised I was perfectly still and safe!

This weekend Lady of the House, and I, have travelled quite a few hundred miles around the Lake District, and the Yorkshire Dales. We had been out one evening for a lovely meal and were returning , in the deeping gloom, to the farmhouse where we were staying. Classic FM was on and we were listening to a favourite piece, so we decided to sit in the farmyard, with the engine on and lights off until the piece was finished.

We must have been very comfortable sitting in this balmy situation and obviously both fell asleep for about 20 minutes! Goodness knows what anyone driving into the yard would have thought!

Have you ever fallen asleep, and wakened in a strange situation?

Al…..ready?

Santa is alive and well,  I can report!….can Christmas now be far behind?

At least he is (in chocolate form), at a Sainsbury store in the West of Scotland, where we went shopping tonight. Can I hear the distant tinkle of reindeer bells, and the smell of real Christmas trees? …Of course not, let’s not be silly…..that’s probably being prepared for next week!

Can you beat that?

Not Guilty!

So two lads, 16 and 18 year olds, who planned a ‘fantasy’ murdering spree at their school, have been found not guilty of anything….despite wasting their own time in a stupid prank, wasting police and public prosecutor time, involving a considerable expense of public money, and achieving their 15 minutes of fame.

Who do they think they are?…..I have seen no regret or apology from them or the parents, and no attempt to explain why they did this, but they and their legal counsel (presumably paid from public funds) managed to convince a gullible jury that it was only a harmless fantasy!

Do they live in the same world as us? Do they not see what is happening about them? These guys were old enough to know what they were doing. And they just want to get on with their lives!  They hoped that this would not affect their hope to join the army…..I can just imagine an RSM dealing with them, and putting the fear of death into them!………..now there’s a phrase that they might learn to appreciate!