An Englishman's Castle

July 2, 2009

The Unforseen Consequence of Climate Change

A complete list of things caused by global warming should have a cracker of a new entry...

Climate change is causing a breed of wild sheep in Scotland to shrink, according to research.

Now that is one I didn't know about, I'm converted to the cause...

Posted by The Englishman at 10:03 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

At the Sign of the Barber's Pole

Deep joy - I have at long last found a decent Barber's shop in Wiltshire. For years I have put up with an ever changing rota of feral youths in my local establishments who having passed an NVQ in holding sharp scissors in their pudgy white tattooed paws believe they are doing you a favour in randomly snipping bits of hair off. Unless you want a bleached cockatoo for a hairstyle you end up looking like Nick Griffen.
But tucked away on Winchester Street, Salisbury, I found a proper Turkish barber. Not only did he cut my hair properly in silence, I had the pleasure of him scraping round my neck with a cut throat razor, (maybe that is why Nick Griffen doesn't use a Turkish Barber), and the old flaming wand was produced to singe off the hairs in and on my ears and nose. If you have never had a Turk gently blowing a flame into your ear, and balming it with unguents of the orient, you have never been properly prepared to face the rigours of the day.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:47 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

Attention Please

Towns and countryside blighted by 'bossy and patronising' safety signs - Telegraph

The Manifesto Club, a libertarian campaign group that compiled the book from pictures sent in by members, says in many cases the signs do not warn of real dangers.
And with their loud colours and hectoring tones, the book says, the notices disfigure buildings and public spaces.

The Manifesto Club getting attention again, they are obviously catching the mood.
I seem to remember when I walked down to the pub to see in the New Millennium that there was a strident safety notice disfiguring the countryside by the canal bridge, and when I walked back refreshed a couple of hours later it was no longer there. An excellent start to the new age I thought, but it has all been downhill since then.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

ID Cards - The Sham U Turn

Taking kids to the pool? Sorry, you need a card

The Government is still pressing ahead with the national identity register, to which will be added the details of everyone who applies for a passport. Anyone on the register will be obliged subsequently to inform the authorities of a change of address, under pain of a £1,000 fine. In other words, if you don’t want to carry a card, that’s your choice. But we are still going to take your fingerprints, and if you don’t have a card we can march you down to the station to have you checked.

If there was ever a solution in search of a problem, it is ID cards and the identity register. You know what will happen: the authorities will spend thousands of hours pursuing forgetful, peripatetic students. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda sleepers diligently settling down to lives as teaching assistants as they prepare suicide attacks will be careful to conform to all pettifogging bureaucracy. Like the Tube bombers before them, it isn’t their identities they wish to conceal, only their ambitions.

ID cards voluntary? Don’t you believe it

Posted by The Englishman at 6:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

July 1, 2009

ID database to continue to grow

Labour in retreat as ID card plan is axed - Scotsman.com News

THE government was accused of being "in chaos" last night after it all but abandoned its flagship identity card scheme.

Not so fast - PR reports

And yet Johnson is resolutely refusing to simply scrap the scheme, claiming that it would save little money to do so. That implies to me that the Identity Database, with the details of every UK resident, will still be operational and (one presumes) compulsary - although instead of relying on ‘applications for ID cards’ it will rely on consolidating data from passport applications, CRB checks and other sources. The Database will still come into being, and will still need to be populated with information about every citizen if it is to be any use at all.
Given that this aspect, rather than the plastic cards themselves, was the original concern of civil liberties campaigners, the announcement that the expensive cards themselves will not be compulsory could quickly appear to be spectacularly hollow.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:10 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

Beyond Doubt

EU Referendum raises a Bronx cheer

"Today, international action on climate change is urgent and essential. Indeed, there can no longer be any debate about the need to act, because the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), of which I am chairman, has established climate change as an unequivocal reality beyond scientific doubt."

Rajendra Pachauri, today in The Guardian.

Watts Up With That? reminds us that:

... the statement that the following climate metrics “are progressing faster than was expected a few years ago” ;
1. “rising sea levels”
NOT TRUE;  e.g. see the University of Colorado at Boulder Sea Level Change analysis.
Sea level has actually flattened since 2006.
2.  “the increase of heat stored in the ocean”
NOT TRUE; see
Update On A Comparison Of Upper Ocean Heat Content Changes With The GISS Model Predictions.
Their has been no statistically significant warming of the upper ocean since 2003.
3. “shrinking Arctic sea ice”
NOT TRUE; see the Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice Anomaly from the University of Illinois Cyrosphere Today website. Since 2008, the anomalies have actually decreased.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:06 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Ballsing up the Education System

'Licence to teach' to be required in schools - Telegraph

To keep the licence, teachers have to demonstrate that they have "up-to-date skills and learning to be effective in the classroom".
Mr Balls said: "This is not a problem we are addressing, although it may be that we will discover some teachers who do not make the grade and some who aren't relicensed."
He said the licence will put teachers on a par with high-status professions including doctors and solicitors.

So he is claiming he is introducing a system to cure a problem that doesn't exist - I gather he doesn't like being called a liar so I'm at a loss to explain his statement. And all it means is that teachers will join the thousands of other professionals collecting CPD points from seminars, podcasts and signing in for lunch at a crappy hotel just off junction 16 of the M4.

...parents will have the right to clear information about their child's schooling, closer involvement with their child's progress through a designated personal tutor and more influence over the school.
Mr Balls said he believed legal action would be a last resort.
He said the first port of call for concerns would be the school's governing body followed by appeals to outside agencies.
"If a parent feels that the school's governing body, the local government Ombudsmen and the Secretary of State is not delivering, then in the end there is legal redress."

Is that how Mr Balls addresses the problem of poor delivery of his fruit and veg? No, he takes his money elsewhere and starts shopping down the road. Immediate, effective and simple. Cut the bloody bureaucracyand just give the parents vouchers, problem solved and billions off the budget.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:56 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Hot Air Madness

Wind Observation Map - Britain shows that locally the wind speed is 2mph, and that is measured at a hilltop aerodrome (Lynham), and it is similar across the whole country. That is a feature of very hot and very cold weather, the wind doesn't blow. So none of the expensive power generating whirlygigs will be working as a million fans and air conditioning units turn on this morning.

So I'm pleased to note the BBC is reporting:

Wind has the power to revolutionise the UK's electricity industry, according to a study published on Wednesday.
Research from analysts Poyry says that the UK can massively expand wind power by 2030 without suffering power cuts or a melt-down of the National Grid.
The cost of electricity would then be determined not by consumer demand, but by how hard the wind is blowing.
When it is windy power will be so cheap that other forms of generation will be unable to compete, the report says.
If the wind were to drop everywhere round the UK (as happened during the January high pressure cold snap), other generators would make their money by switching on back-up fossil fuel power stations for a very short time, charging extremely high prices, it predicts.
The study bases its assumptions on current levels of subsidy. It concludes that thanks to the wind subsidy through the "Renewable Obligations Certificates" issued by regulator Ofgem, electricity prices would be negative if the wind were blowing hard.
The study amplifies a recent paper from National Grid itself stating that a move towards wind power would not necessitate widespread investment in expensive back-up power plants fuelled by gas or coal.
This is a key finding which helps remove one of the main barriers to the advance of wind (although some will remain sceptical).
But it comes with a warning. Dr Hare said: "It will cost more. There is no such thing as cheap green power - that is a myth."
The authors of a report from the Royal Society this week made the same point. But politicians are still reluctant to pass on this message to the public.

Madness, sheer bloody madness. I need to invest in a diesel generator.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:47 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

June 30, 2009

One for sorrow, two for joy ...

Why we must protect magpies | Chris Packham | The Guardian
...the Songbird Survival Trust has called all bird lovers to arms. They want a magpie cull and they are not just asking farmers or gamekeepers to lock and load; they want everyone with a garden to use their legal right to kill these birds now, in their breeding season, leaving their chicks to starve in the nest. Well, as a lifelong and passionate birder, I'm not going to be signing up for the slaughter.

The trust's reasoning comes down to the same old misinformed chestnut - that evil magpies are causing the decline in smaller songbirds. It's kneejerk ornithological racism, ignorant and counterproductive. It's true that some magpies prey on the nests of smaller birds during the breeding season, but this is for perhaps three or four months of the year and only affects young birds that are easily replaced. The magpies never kill the more valuable breeding adults (unlike cats, which do so 365 days a year). No predator would thrive by dramatically reducing its own food supply...

So how could the trust get it so wrong? I can only assume that this fringe group is still clinging to outdated views built on a foundation of medieval superstition.

Or maybe they understand a bit about Predator Prey Cycles, silly old medieval superstitions such as Lotka-Volterra equations and refinements there of. Mr Packham should stick to gurning to the camera.

Posted by The Englishman at 8:46 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Happy 60th Andy

Andy Scott (born 30 June 1949, in Wrexham, Wales) is a British musician and composer. He was a guitarist, vocalist, and synthesizer player in the band Sweet.
He continues to perform in 'Andy Scott's Sweet'.

And here's one wot he wrote:

Posted by The Englishman at 7:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Another Mandy Whizzo Plan With No Trousers.

Brown takes cash from schools, roads and health to pay for 30,000 homes - Times Online
There was immediate confusion in Whitehall last night as departments appeared not to be aware that they were supposed to be funding the £1.5 billion centrepiece of the Government’s pre-election fightback.
Within hours the sums were being challenged. The Department for Communities refused to accept that it would foot half the bill and seemed to be fighting a proposal to plunder its Decent Homes refurbishment programme. Whitehall sources repeatedly told The Times that no agreement had been reached, amid warnings that the move would leave at least 200,000 council homes in disrepair.
Officials at the Schools Department were also taken by surprise. The Department of Health implied that the money could come from a £350 million underspend in capital projects this year, but had no details....

What a wonderful way to run a country, Mandy has a doodle on a napkin in the evening, Brown's minders write it out in crayon in big letters and it is announced the next day as policy. In a month's time it will all be forgotten as Mandy moves onto something new to grab the headlines for a day.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Friendless, broke and mad

Michael Jackson was emaciated, virtually bald, covered in needle scars and had only pills in his stomach when he died, according to an autopsy report.
Though authorities are expected to pinpoint Michael Jackson's cause of death within weeks, settling the King of Pop's estate — homing in on Jackson's assets, determining his debts and divvying up what's owed to creditors and promised to beneficiaries — could take far longer.
"This is going to be a major headache. These are matters that could take years and years to settle and could touch off a feeding frenzy,"

Why do I keep misreading "Michael Jackson" as "Gordon Brown", they aren't similar in anyway.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Remember Culloden

General Sir Mike: Scotland safer in the UK than under independence - Scotsman.com News

That's the stuff Sir Mike, warn the rebellious Scots that the traditional job of the English Army is to crush them, not fanny about in sandy places.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

June 29, 2009

I've found a new website

No more typing until my trapped nerve stops throbbing and I can go back to using my right fist. I even had to use my other hand to clean my teeth, made a change, almost as though someone else was doing it to me...

Posted by The Englishman at 7:08 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Glasto Bloat

THE BBC was blasted last night for sending 405 staff to cover Glastonbury festival.
The figure was only 32 fewer than those sent to produce 3,000 hours of Beijing Olympics coverage last year.

I'm not one to support them but I wonder if the BBC announced random drug tests on staff and dismissals for the guilty would that reduce the number of essential staff volunteering for overtime at the festival?

Posted by The Englishman at 7:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

June 28, 2009

Halcyon Days

Punting on the Cherwell and a Garden Party at the old Oxford college, eating and drinking with friends on a sunny English weekend, it doesn't get much better.

Posted by The Englishman at 10:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

June 26, 2009

Chilli Cook-Off Reminder

Click for Bigger Version

How am I going to top my Banana Chilli Recipe from last year? If you have a recipe to suggest please put it in the comments below as I believe the Devil is coming to sup with us and I need all the help I can get.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:23 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Friday Night is Music Night (Black Genius Died Too Young Edition)

Posted by The Englishman at 4:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

The Death of the South West Regional Assembly - No Flowers Please

PRESS RELEASE Release Date: May 13, 2009

The Regional Assembly has for the last ten years been at the centre of decision making in the South West, today, 13 May 2009, the Assembly’s Regional Planning Body, housing and transport functions will transfer to the Strategic Leaders’ Board with immediate effect.

The transfer follows agreement between the Assembly Leaders, the Strategic Leaders, the Social Economic and Environmental Partners and South West Councils and brings to a close the work of the Assembly in line with the motion agreed by the Assembly at its final meeting in March.

10th July they have a final wrap up and that is it - it is gone, replaced by a Council Leader's Talking Shop. I only learnt by accident, just shows what a waste it was when its abolition is as pointless as its existence and no one notices.
Are the other Regional Assemblies also being killed off?

Posted by The Englishman at 1:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

No ID, No Cash

A MAN who won £100,000 on a National Lottery scratch card cannot collect his winnings because he does not have sufficient identification.
William Hamilton was told by lottery company Camelot that he had to have a bank account so they could pay out.
When he tried to open an account, Mr Hamilton was told he needed a driving licence or passport – neither of which he possesses.
Hamilton, 52, has been left wondering when he will get his hands on the cash. "I've never had a driver's licence, I've never been overseas, so I don't have a passport, and I don't have a bank account of my own.
"I've got a letter addressed to me from Servite housing, from Greenwood Personal Credit, from Dundee Sheriff Court, as well as my health card from the NHS, my birth lines and a passport photograph signed by my GP. Apparently, that's not enough for Camelot or to open an account, but I can't do much more than I've already done."

Welcome to the wonderful new world of ID.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Scotsman Flouts Wimbledon Conventions

Church tells Murray: God loves you whether you win or not - Scotsman.com News

IT WOULD appear the hype and expectation surrounding Andy Murray's Wimbledon campaign has reached truly biblical proportions.
As the Scots tennis star powered into the third round...

Attention Please Mr Sub Editor, the convention is that he is referred to as the "British" tennis star when he is winning, "Scots" when he is a whining loser..

Posted by The Englishman at 7:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A Million Bedsit Walls Mourn

It's my age...

Other celebrity death news today only induces huge indifference..

Posted by The Englishman at 6:50 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Canterbury Plays for Gays

Canterbury is sufficiently gay, council inspectors rule
The council had to prove its inclusiveness by giving details of "touring plays and musicals, for example, which would be of interest to the LGBT community".
And it had to show that it had "put forward suggestions for small events that it might help fund, as well as proposals for other events such as exhibitions".
Rob Davies, spokesman for the council, said: "Obviously we're delighted with the outcome of the investigation.
"We feel we do a great deal for the gay community in Canterbury and we have always tried to support various gay events and promotions."
"But at the same time it is not the duty of any council to set up a gay bar – that's not what councils do."

Maybe it also not the duty of the council to "fund any small events" for any part of the community. Why should ratepayers be mulct to pay for the pleasures of others? Let Gays, Morris Dancers, Yummy Mummies, Bell Ringers or whoever stick there hands into their own pockets, not mine.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Oz threat to ancient Wiltshire Craftsmen Jobs

'Stoned wallabies make crop circles'
Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite", a government official has said.

Oi! That's our job, I wonder if all those Glasto travellers stuck on the A303 at Amesbury realise that the pretty field to the north of Solstice Park is full of Papavar Sominiferum out in flower....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:29 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

June 25, 2009

Always look on the bright side...

PM uses interview with The Times to deliver rebuff to critics, saying his 'mission' is to get country through recession

In a defiant interview after another crisis of confidence in his leadership, a slump in Labour’s vote to 16 per cent in the European elections and the debilitating expenses scandal, the Prime Minister brushes aside suggestions that he might walk away before the next election.

“I have got a job to do,” he says. “One that every day I address with new enthusiasm.”

Seems quite sane in comparison... And here's a preview of his Conference Speech

Posted by The Englishman at 10:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

A Manifesto Event for Freedom

A glass of wine with your picnic? It's against the law
More than 700 “controlled drinking zones” have been set up across England, giving police sweeping powers to confiscate beer and wine from anyone enjoying a quiet outdoor tipple.
Local authorities are introducing the zones at a rate of 100 a year, The Times has learnt. Some cover whole cities, a radical departure from what the law intended.
Once a control zone is in place, police can seize alcohol from anyone who is not on licensed premises, even if the bottles or cans are unopened.
The law made clear that the zones should cover only streets or city centre areas with a record of alcohol-related disorder or nuisance.
There are now 712 zones, some covering vast areas where there is no record of disorder. There are city-wide bans in Coventry and Brighton, which cover even the quietest suburban streets....
Police in Brighton and Hove appear to be the most energetic in the country. Their 45 community support officers are making 25 confiscations a week. The Manifesto Club was inundated with claims of over-zealous enforcement, such as two young women forced to pour away glasses of wine that they were drinking on the beach, and three men having cans of lager confiscated as they stood on the promenade. Researchers observed drinks being confiscated from people having a quiet drink while admiring the plants in the Pavilion Gardens.
To protest at what it considers an excessive approach, the Manifesto Club is hosting a picnic on Brighton beach with alcoholic drinks on Saturday.

ABOUT THE MANIFESTO CLUB

The Manifesto Club campaigns against the hyperregulation of everyday life. We support free movement across borders, free expression and free association. We challenge booze bans, photo bans, vetting and speech codes - all new ways in which the state regulates everyday life on the streets, in workplaces and in our private lives.
We believe that the freedom issues of the twenty-first century cut across old political boundaries, and require new schools of political thought, and new methods of campaigning and organisation.
There is much to celebrate about the contemporary world, but there is also an urgent need to work out how we can take that world forward. Any attempt to transform our society towards a freer, more enlightened future, must begin from the conviction that people have a tremendous capacity to organise their own lives, both individually and collectively. That is why at the Manifesto Club we campaign, write, petition and argue for freedom in everyday life.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:57 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

Scotland to outlaw ‘dishauntening’ of ordinances

MSPs get power to fine over State Religion - Scotsman.com News

A RAFT of new powers to crack down on wasteful homeowners and businesses were passed yesterday, giving the Scottish Government the tough tools it needs to meet what have been hailed as the world's most ambitious state religion observance targets.

Measures voted through by Parliament included the power to fine householders and companies if they do not take action to improve the idolatory display of their houses and buildings.

The legislation, which comes after months of campaigning, was praised by environmental groups and politicians, who said all eyes would now be on Scotland as other countries set their own climate change religion targets. However, ministers acknowledged that the difficult job of meeting the new targets must begin immediately.

The burning at the stake of non-believers and deniers is expected start in the new year.

More at EU Ref

Posted by The Englishman at 6:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

June 24, 2009

Brown's Bill To Destroy Parliament's Sovereignty

Raedwald: Brown's pernicious and malign Bill

Make no mistake. This is an anti-democratic, pernicious and malign little Bill. Consider this provision;

(8) An order under this section may provide .. for specified property, rights and liabilities which subsist wholly or mainly for the purposes of the House of Commons to be transferred to the IPSA by a scheme

You see, Brown's new Quango doesn't merely check MPs' claims - it pays them. Rather than Parliament owning its own pay chest and being its own master, MPs will now be employed by the government. Brown has taken Parliament's resources from them. And who decides just how much of Parliament's property, rights and liabilities are to be transferred to the government? Why, a government minister, of course! With the complicity of Brown's Speaker, Mr Bercow;

(9) A scheme made by virtue of subsection (8) is to be made by a Minister of the Crown with the consent of the person who chairs the House of Commons Commission.

The last thing this nation needs is an Act that would pack the chamber with vile apparatchiks and 'professional' politicians, rob the Commons of its authority, turn our parliament into just a department of government and treat our MPs - returned by us to Parliament to exercise the thunderous powers and sovereignty of that body - as mere hirelings, irrelevant juniors.

Not only Cameron but all decent MPs must find their balls. Don't be afraid to oppose this most malignant of Bills.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Hot Weather Reading

Daily Green : Global Warming and Other Bollocks Book

Among their claims:

Polar bears are not going to go extinct. The pair of scientists claim that polar bear populations are not declining, but in fact growing in spite of their loss of habitat.
Humans are not to blame for global warming. Feldman and Marks point to the sun being the CO2 culprit, arguing that the sun's heat has simply intensified.
Global warming might be good for us. The duo say a warmer climate and an increase in CO2 could be good for farming and agriculture.
Organic food is not better for you. The anti-organic pair say plant nutrients comes from the air in the form of CO2, and from water-soluble chemicals in the soil. By the time organic foods reach your plate, it is all the same.
There is no need to cut back on salt. The soon to be under fire scientists posit that salt is good for us, and we need it to control our body temperature - a person with low salt can cause overheating, and in extreme cases, death.
Set to publish on July 8, the Global Warming And Other Bollocks authors maintain that the end of the world is not, in fact, nigh. They claim that "the idea that we are one step from calamity is as old as history itself. Every step on the road of progress has always been countered by those who think that we should keep to a primitive lifestyle that they claim is compatible with nature."

One to read under the patio heater on a summer's evening.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:48 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

NHS IT - “no overall concept of affordability or ability to demonstrate value for money”.

Reports from the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) showed that there were concerns from the outset in 2002 about the Government’s ability to take on such a huge project. Over several years the civil servants repeated issues of unrealistic timetables, unknown procurement risk and an inability to predict costs. They wrote that there was “no overall concept of affordability or ability to demonstrate value for money”.
The project is running four years late and its estimated cost has risen from £5 billion to £13 billion.
Stephen O’Brien, shadow health minister, said: “It’s incredible that the Government should have ignored these warnings.”

I think he meant "inevitable" rather than "incredible" - The Government is merely the political wing of the public sector troughers, of course they are going to continue to shovel the swill in.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Olympics - "reckless use of taxpayers’ money" - Fraud Inquiry

Fraud inquiry into £100m hole in London Development Agency’s Olympic accounts
KPMG will determine whether this was a genuine oversight or a cover-up that could amount to reckless use of taxpayers’ money.

Good luck to them, how you could spot a "reckless use of taxpayers’ money" in the Olympic accounts is beyond me, it would be as hard as finding a Catholic in a pointy hat in Rome.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

You will be assimilated

Four-year-olds given 'therapy' to improve behaviour - Telegraph

It comes amid claims that many parents are failing to instill proper values in children...

Posted by The Englishman at 6:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

June 23, 2009

Night Jacks and Finks

I hadn't blogged before about The Times and its unmasking of Night Jack as I was sure there must be a justification for it that I was missing. I am therefore grateful to Mr Devil for providing the definitive article on the affair and putting to rest any idea that The Times' action was anything other than mean, petty, damaging and plain wrong.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Which Nanny Plates

I had the misfortune yesterday to be stuck with only a copy of Which to read. They were moaning on about how easy it was to get forged number plates and steal their members' beige Skodas. They were campaigning for, I think, the Swedish system were there is one government monopoly that supplies all the plates and everything is tripled stamped. They were also pushing for number plates to be electronically chipped, an idea the DVLA is already considering. It is already bad enough in this country to get replacement plates, you have to bring the blood of your first born and a note from your mother, and they think it will help the consumer to make it worse? Criminals will continue to bypass the system, only the poor bloody consumer, who Which are meant to be helping, will be inconvenienced.

Luckily Mr Internet helps and you can buy plates online from Ireland without any hassle, and cheaper than your local registered dealer. Now that is the sort of information consumers need.

Not an advert or recommendation but my car's plates came from these boys in Kilkenny, and I was very happy.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Liberal Jackboots

Minimum prices for alcohol a step closer as Lib Dems hint at U-turn
But after the alcohol summit – which was described by some in the alcohol industry as a "cheerleading event for minimum pricing" – the Liberal Democrats indicated that they were now open-minded on the issue.

Can anyone point out to me how imposing price controls are evidence of being "open-minded", Liberal or Democratic? No, thought not.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Politics Home and Away

There used to be a website called Politics Home for political obsessives to examine each others navel fluff. It used to send over fifty visitors a day who enjoyed a less reverential view compared to the mass of boring clogging MPs it was increasingly featuring. no longer does, I wonder if I have upset Iain as this humble blog in it declining years still punches in the premier league according to independent stats.

So I thought I would check it out http://www.politicshome.co.uk/, looks strangely familiar....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Sir Alistair Graham on The Ministry of Truth

Posted by The Englishman at 6:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Bring back Speaker Martin

At least he was authentic, I have taken an instant dislike to the new smarmball, I'm sure that will save time in the future. It seems the Honourable members have learnt nothing from the last few months and like a recalcitrant hound they need to be taught the lesson again with a louder voice and bigger stick.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)