RON TAYLOR

[foulhook-blog]

E.U. Exit now

May I apologies first of all to my reader as you are expecting me to be setting out all the incontrovertible reasons why we should be voting to stay in the European Union. Unfortunately, the more I have listened  to Dave and his pals waxing lyrical about the merits of being part of a group of 28 like minded Countries all striving for the good of all, the more of a fantasy it becomes. The more celebrities that are being wheeled out to tell us we should vote to stay in, the more damage is being done to the remain campaign .We have religious leaders invoking the support of the deity, scientists like Stephen Hawking telling us it will be catastrophic for science, but then he is an expert in black holes like the EU economy. They are all easily exposed for their short term self interest rather than supporting what is best for the United Kingdom for generations to come. That is what this vote is about, what is best for the United KIngdom for generations to come and I make no apology for repeating it. The major issue is one of our right to govern ourselves through our elected representatives and not be subservient to un-elected outsiders interfering and telling us how to live. This concept can be described as Sovereignty, Freedom or even Democracy but those emotive words seem to be disapproved of by the remain faction who argue that loss of those principles is OK because of the economic advantages. In other words they have a price and we should sell them to the EU for improved prosperity, I have great difficulty with that suggestion and long term I do not accept that the proposition is right. The EU is a failing organisation riddled with problems including massive financial demands to prop up its currency, finance its administration and support a large group of economically failing members. The EU also has to  deal with fallible  security, not to mention a horde of immigrants from Countries outside of the Union. The EU has recently decided it will postpone announcement of its budgets until after the UK Referendum, I wonder why? Could it be possible that they will demand a huge contribution from the wealthy member states to pay for their proposed solutions to these problems or that the figures will only increase  the Brexit vote and of course they all want us to stay in. Angela and Francoise have offered to add their voice to the Celebrity list supporting remain but Dave has apparently declined the offer and asked them to keep quiet as he does not believe it would be helpful, again I wonder why? Could it be that their interference will only emphasise the progress towards their aims to follow in the footsteps of former French, German and Spanish leaders to create a European super state.

Boris received an array of flack for mentioning European History and referring to the names of these former European leaders, for the sake of completeness they are Phillip, Napoleon, Wilhelm, Adolf and a few more depending how far back you look. The fact is they all tried to create a European State and on each occasion it lead to disaster and who says history does not repeat itself. Let’s dismiss a thousand years of British History and development as being irrelevant, let’s look to the future and ask ourselves do we want to be governed by a Committee made up of other nations the majority of whom do not speak our language or understand our culture. How much of an effective say can any single  member of a 28 member committee really have, the answer has to be little and incidentally why would a nation wish to subject itself to the control of such an unwieldy and diverse organisation. The organisation that spends millions of Euros on bureaucratic inefficiency like transporting itself from Brussels to Strasbourg just to vote and takes four years to define Chocolate.     Can anyone imagine the U.S.A. accepting Mexico, Canada or Cuba having a say in the formation of their laws or opening their borders to the citizens of 27 other Countries, of course they can’t, so why listen to Barrack, Michael or Donald telling us we must stay in. The reason we are told to do what the representatives of the  U.S.A. say and not what they do is because it suits the U.S.A. and their interests. Can anyone imagine Japan accepting China or South Korea interfering in their lives or opening their borders in a similar way, of course not.

Now let’s spend a minute to consider immigration as we have no say who gets the right to come to the UK if we stay in the EU, we obviously control our borders but EU members can enter the UK provided of course they are not carrying a Kalashnikov or concealing drugs in a bodily orifice. Naturalised citizens of other EU countries will acquire the right to enter the UK so in years to come refugees from Countries outside the EU will be able to enter Great Britain if we stay in. The right to enter the United Kingdom should be controlled by our elected Government of whatever party whether we agree with their policies or we don’t and not by the representatives of those who wish to come here.

When we voted in 1975 to stay in the Union our right to self government was not an issue it was just about trade benefits, the idea of the United States of Europe was not contemplated but now that is top of the European wish list and we should be ensuring we don’t stay in and become just another member with virtually no say in policy. Should we vote to lead the exit from this juggernaut then it is likely to signal the departure of other Nations who will be encouraged by UK confidence and for the concept of a European super state to be buried once and for all.

The European Court of Justice is not the place where laws affecting our nation should be determined, we have the finest Legal system in the world, copied by many but equalled by none. Our Judges are the best qualified persons to apply our laws and our parliament is the venue where those laws should be formulated and enacted, a vote to remain undermines that position irretrievably. Why a British Prime minister who is the leader of the Conservative Party and his pal the head of our purse strings wants to bend their knee to the leaders of other European countries I will never understand, obviously they have no confidence that our institutions can cope on their own and need guidance. Dave must realise from firsthand experience that Britain only gets what the EU thinks it should have rather than what our electorate want. He and his remain cronies feel that we can’t negotiate our own deals as a sovereign nation, whether the vote goes his way or not his term as the Prime minister of the United Kingdom should be over. He continually advocates staying in the EU demonstrating his belief that we are incapable of governing ourselves or that he has no stomach for doing it and dealing with the issues that may occur if we leave, what sort of a leader is that?. If it is true that we have not formulated any contingency plans if we do vote out then that is total incompetence and he and George can certainly not be trusted to continue at the helm.

I have heard that our agriculture will be crippled  without European subsidies and membership, our farmers operated perfectly well before we ever joined the union 40 years ago and in fact have declined significantly during our membership. The British government would be insane not to equal the subsides and support our agriculture for the benefit of us all after we release ourselves from the shackles of the EU directives and regulation. Our fishermen would be substantially better off out of the Union as they would cease to be controlled by EU quotas which allow French fisherman to take virtually twice as many fish out of British territorial waters than UK  fisherman, how preposterous is that.

So having read a lot recently, listened intently and argued at every opportunity I am unable to find any reason to stay in, the scare mongering cements my resolve, being told what to do by so called experts and International leaders makes me very sceptical of their motives. I am more determined to do what is best for the United Kingdom for generations to come and face the problems we will experience when we leave and face them now before matters get even worse and we have a President of the United States of Europe. Surely the uncertainty and even a short term recession, should it happen, are a small price to pay for the ability to self govern for generations to come.

#Brexit #EU # is.com�|�|4�

[foulhook-blog]

Brexit

Shall we stay or shall we go? would we be better off in or out? Does anybody really know? I am beginning to believe they don't. I am reasonably certain that the leaders of 27 Countries will be looking after their own interests and so they should. We have enough trouble with a Union involving the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish to have a good idea  how difficult, if nigh on impossible, ever closure Union has become. Do we actually trust the European Court of Justice or European Parliament not to make decisions that are against the interests of Britain, of course we don't. We joined the Common Market to improve and stimulate trade and are now subject to directive after directive interfering with our way of life. The goods and produce we export are bought because the purchasers want to use or consume them. The goods we buy  from member states are because we want them and suppliers are still going to want to sell to us whether we are in or out. None of these facts are likely to change because our nation decides we are no longer content to be told what to do by a collection of self interested foreign Countries. Dave tells us that he has successfully changed our position in the European Union to give us special status and therefore we should all be relaxed about our future remaining as members. Dave also told us it was immoral to invest in off shore trusts to evade tax.  Just note how difficult a fight that was for our Prime Minister trying to get what he thinks was best for Britain and by the way he didn't get all he wanted. So he now wants us to stay as members of the Club but only comply with a set of rules that apply to us, surely members of a Club should all be subject to the same set of rules or resign. From the beginning we have refused to adopt the euro, a very significant part of membership, a decision that has proved to be the right one and is not going to be altered which ever course we take. One set of rules for us and one for them is impractical and will lead to resentment. Britain being sidelined by the other 27 Countries and eventually more, who all have to abide by the same regulations , or a majority of them ganging up on Britain to achieve their own objectives.

I thought I would have a think about the in or out arguments and have a say this month one way and in June the other way, I'll leave the reader to decide which one this is. We must be under no illusion, whatever Dave has negotiated can be overturned by veto, vote, directive or the passage of time after we have held our once in a lifetime referendum and stayed in. The only certainty can be achieved by politely declining the invitation to remain as members and renegotiating from the outside. The only way Britain can control our destiny is by reverting to democratic rule without European interference, we are capable of making any decision we are called upon to make applying our own experience and standards. A return to the democracy  we developed and the taking back of complete control is a very attractive way forward, our justice system can function perfectly well on its own and our appellate courts can be safely given back the ultimate decision making process. We would not be disappearing into the ether if we retire gracefully from a Franco- German dominated European Union, we will still be able to consider European Court decisions and treat them as persuasive authority rather than having to follow meekly along with everything they dream up. Does anybody really believe convicted prisoners while serving a sentence should be voting in elections or in the referendum for that matter. Does anybody really believe our lives were endangered by the light bulbs we were all so fond of or the sausages we are used to having for breakfast. We are all affected daily by E.U. regulations which have been infiltrating our society in a constant stream every year.

Do as you are told Britain, even if it is inconsistent with your culture it is what we say you should be doing so get on with it and for goodness sake stop moaning. That shouldn't be what we want for future generations surely, never mind the current ones. This is the chance to draw a line under the restrictions to our freedom and get our sovereignty back, lets buy and sell in the world market place not be fettered by the Germans and the French and their 25 subordinates the vast majority of whom I couldn't tell you who they are without resorting to Google. A fair proportion of them are bankrupt countries anyway and they are not the sort of customers you would give credit too in our shops, being a nation of shopkeepers as we are sometimes referred.  This is our chance for a fresh start without having to resort to physical violence as my Dad's and Granddad's generations did to free ourselves from the threat of German domination.

Now then, what is so wrong about having control over who comes to live in your house, nothing you say. Well what is so wrong about having control over who comes to live in your Country, it's against E.U. regulations you say. Well then, lets wrench back the control we should never have surrendered. This is not about stopping immigration it is about who has the say who comes, how many and when. Our elected government should be able to freely control our borders, who comes here and have the power to return those who arrive illegally and we do not chose to allow to stay for whatever reason. There are numerous reasons why our self generated laws allow people to stay in this Country legally and that is fine, the problem is freedom of movement. The trouble with living in the best country in the world to call home is that a vast number of people who are not so fortunate want to join in and as we are surrounded by sea there are limits to the practicality of that situation. We simply have to be able to control our own borders in the way we choose not the way we are told and the only way we can do that satisfactorily is to change things and get our sovereignty back.

How much money do you think we send to Brussels each week, for the benefit of the European Union and all its members, go on have a guess, £100 million, £200million, £300million? no, £350 million and yes that is every week. Surely we can use this money to better effect than handing it over to the E.U. to distribute as it sees fit. The other Union members are committed to ever closer Union and enlargement in the years ahead, where will this leave Britain if we stay in, further marginalised is the obvious answer and any influence we have therein further diluted.

The modern European Union is a lovely naive concept with all these nations striving together for the joint benefit voting for the good of all not selfishly looking after their own interests. Unfortunately we don't live on a fantasy continent we have to face up to the fact that the major players do nothing that they do not believe is ultimately in their own interests and one is better dealing with them commercially at length not cuddled up in bed with them. Bye the way I wonder how many of the current member states regret the decision to sign up and might welcome the opportunity to turn back the clock, we might find out in the years ahead, whether we stay or go.

[foulhook-blog]

Not PC

I have been disturbed lately by the current and growing trend to re-write history because the actions of our ancestors both relatively recent and during previous centuries are considered, by some, to be inconsistent with how people should be conducting themselves in the twenty first century. I can see absolutely no justification for trying to alter facts because a noisy part of modern society does not like what their predecessors got up too. Just imagine how much we Brits would have to eradicate if this policy were allowed to become established, our forebears perpetrated some absolutely appalling behaviour and grew fat and wealthy on the proceeds. I have no intention of attempting to justify these misdemeanours or in some cases extreme criminality but they happened and they should be accurately recorded and seen as a lesson not to be repeated and to be learned from. Our history contributes to our character and plays a significant part in formulating our national identity and must be available to all in graphic accurate detail. The fact that a University received financial support from a gentleman whose behaviour was open to criticism if investigated with a modern eye is completely unimportant as it happened at a time when his actions were considered from a contemporary view point. Times change, but facts do not and never should, get used to it and appreciate that some good came out of evil. This trend is causing some Art galleries to reconsider the names of works of art, like black boy, given to them by the artist at the time the work was created, how ridiculous is that. The painting or sculpture has a name and if that name is causing offence then maybe there is some justification for not exhibiting it but there is none for giving it a name which people in the modern era find acceptable. No one has the right or talent to change the name of someone else's artistic endeavours and if that name is offensive then that reflects on the artist and nobody else.

We could be seeing the start of a phenomenon which will lead to the renaming of all sorts of things in all kinds of situations. There are some well known Lancashire towns that are at the forefront of a problem, the Council in Blackburn should be particularly worried as that name seems to refer to an activity that disposed off Joan of Arc and refers to a particular ethnic group. The seaside town of Blackpool has similar associations that might attract the attention of the campaign for re-naming. There are local land marks which will soon be attracting attention the well known pile affectionately titled White Nancy might face criticism, maybe we should just start calling it Nancy and avoid the problem. I guess you are probably thinking, this is ridiculous he has finally lost it, we better get someone else to write in the Mercury before he says something totally outrageous. Well you could be right but I bet there are sufficient of you out there who think this whole direction that part of our society is moving in is the ridiculous bit.

I recall a trip we took some years ago to Chicago and we hired a bike and a guide and set off cycling round the city to see all the sights, half way round I enquired could I see the scene of the St. Valentines massacre and where Al Capone used to hang out. Being a criminal lawyer at the time I had a morbid interest in the crimes of the century both British and international. My request was met with a stony silence from the guide who attempted, on being pressed, to explain that the guides do not include that period of Chicago's history on the itinerary as they had no desire to publicise the prohibition era or in fact mention it at all to visitors. This was a clear attempt to wipe out of History a whole sequence of events that were distasteful to modern eyes or were causing embarrassment, our American cousins obviously have the same problem we face, anything we don't like brush it under the carpet. I think I have made the point clearly enough, leave our history alone, learn from it and move on to the future.

I am pretty fed up with this ludicrous popular criticism that what people say is not PC, whatever that means, apparently not politically correct. Now whose politics are we to accept as the standard? should it be a Conservative approach or a Socialist view, should it be a liberal interpretation or an independent one? or is it absolutely nothing to do with politics at all. Who is deciding what is correct and what is not. Maybe there should be introduced a written standard that the public can access on the internet to ascertain what they can and can't say. I was told I could not write about this because it is not PC. I couldn't possibly agree with that because freedom of speech certainly is very Politically correct in the United Kingdom or is it? Mind you how would we find a right thinking member of the public to be editor of such a guide? maybe I should volunteer. I am not suggesting that we should be able to say anything we want as there are very sensible legal restrictions on various types of abuse and incitement but even those should be the subject of intelligent discussion if appropriate without somebody chirping up that it isn't PC. The problem with that sort of legislation, however, is that all it succeeds in doing is driving underground the prejudices not eradicating them. So the next time the self styled debate controllers come up with the pompous criticism that you are not being PC ignore it and carry on with the theme of your argument, unless of course if you are not being PC.

And another thing, why are we content for words to be hi-jacked by minorities? I enjoy being gay, it is a very happy frame of mind to be in and should be encouraged so that everybody is gay more often. When I am gay I am a much nicer person to be with than when I am miserable and introverted. In fact I think I will be gay all the time and I am sure that will be met with approval from all my loved ones, friends and people I come into contact with generally. Does that mean I have come out I wonder, there we go again using hi-jacked words to describe an activity that refers to nothing like a trip to the park , a walk on the Edge or a date. We should all decide for our New Years resolution to be gay and spread happiness and joy throughout the county to offset the doom and gloom that dominates the newspapers and the news programmes. We could promote a be gay February or March and organise functions to get people to come out and be gay, I look forward to receiving suggestions and we can set up a steering committee of committed gay people.

I think I will sign off now before I say something that is not PC and wish my reader a Happy New year and I hope you spend more time being gay this year than you did during 2015.

":{"clhv�C*�

[foulhook-blog]

A Bribery and Corruption accessory development

I thought I might do something positive to support George's idea of the Northern Power House and what better way to be constructive than a business start up in the heartlands of the North. The problem was to decide on a venture that would create employment, generate profits and provide scope for development with a view to the export as well as the home marketplace. The business would need to be attractive to Banks as finance would be required for start up costs and working capital. The product needs to be innovative, desirable, marketable and as far as possible new to the market place. .

I eventually stumbled on the idea of brown envelope production for the sporting and commercial world, the goods would need to be manufactured of resilient material to survive concealment where ever required including being totally waterproof to cope with outdoor assignments in inclement weather. The merchandise would need to be adaptable enough to allow the customer to insert varying quantities depending on the seniority of the recipient  or the reward anticipated as a result of the envelopes use. Our brown envelopes would be available in a comprehensive range of quality starting with the standard model which we intend to brand as the FIFA, this brown envelope would have a flexible gusset to facilitate the need for bulky contents and would be impregnated with UV protection factor 50 for use in hot countries. The customer will be able to arrange for over printing in any language as an integral part of the service with the  object of assisting the purchasers goals. Our market research indicates that Russian, Qatari, and French may prove to be the most popular requests for this optional extra. The deluxe products in the range will include the Athletic and the Parliamentary both of which will be available in modern and reproduction format, the latter to remind us of the use of the brown envelope in years gone by. These items will also be available with matching accessories which will facilitate the inclusion , for example, of previously cleared urine samples or tickets to major sporting events which will be detachable for onward transmission. The top of the range will offer a bespoke service to ensure that  institutions that wish to include the procedure in their development can be accommodated The brown envelopes will be offered with a free introductory offer of logo printing and can be fitted with a self destruct chip should this be specified. The need for the use of brown envelopes appears to be expanding and to cover this continuing trend the business will offer a Junior range, intended for training purposes. The three legged race and selection for the school team is likely to change as our envelopes become more popular with the younger generation as news of their availability goes viral on facebook, twitter, instagram and linkedin.

The business will shortly launch a campaign to recruit volunteers to participate in field trials to be organised throughout the United Kingdom, candidates wishing to be included will need to have connections with individual members of governing bodies of any professional sport, political party or large financial institution. However, connections with any susceptible institution will of course be considered The only significant additional qualification necessary for participation in the proposed experiment will be the ability to provide your own contents to be placed in the brown envelopes to be used. Liability for failure or exposure as a result of actions taken to develop the product will rest with the participant as the company can take no responsibility for contents.

Our research team have been working closely with a number of International organisations and the house hold name leaders thereof to ensure that every effort has been made in the construction of the brown envelope to guarantee fitness for purpose. We will always be grateful to those who have given their time so generously in demonstrating the effective use of brown envelopes and advising on the pitfalls to be avoided in their manufacture and use. As a result of this research we have been able to identify a number of well known, if not respected,  individuals who are interested in sponsoring our range and announcements will be made in the near future signalling a huge step forward in the company's development as to be associated with such world leaders of the practice of the bung and other technical refinements of the art is an unexpected privilege. We were extremely surprised, though grateful for the contents, to receive an example of a competitor's product delivered to our premises by a representative of a world governing body and we have been able as a result to confirm that they will be our main sponsor for the 2016/17 season. We have of course been able to assure them that confidentiality will be paramount and we will deny receipt of any brown envelopes other than from our own  production line. Furthermore should there ever be an investigation of this incident by journalists working on behalf of a newspaper circulating on the Sabbath we will instruct the companies lawyers to issue a firm denial together with a public statement alleging a witch hunt instigated by the country last to lose a vote on an issue decided on by the said governing body and clearly motivated by a lack of sportsmanship. We recognise that we are not being particularly inventive in adopting this stance as it has become standard procedure in the brown envelope environment and has been used consistently for a considerable time.

Our research team have also been active in endeavouring to source areas where our brown envelope company, to be known internationally as "Cheshire Brown Envelopes" can sponsor events to promote our merchandise worldwide. We have received somewhat surprisingly a firm rejection from the Brazilian government corruption encouragement department to our proposal to promote Rio de Janeiro as the venue for the Cheshire Brown Envelope Athletic event of 2016 and also from the Ethics avoidance committee at the Russian football association to sponsor the next world competition they are able to purchase as the Cheshire Brown Envelope human rights suppression Cup. We will however soon be able to disclose a significant deal with a small Arab country which we are currently unable to name, branding their new stadiums as the Cheshire Brown Envelopes Arenas. This announcement will be coordinated with a marketing campaign for our standard Brown Envelope emphasising the benefits of being able to use them for referees in temperatures above ninety degrees in the shade. We are also considering the development of a small brown envelope embossed with the country's logo for use to suppress legal actions being considered by bereaved families as a result of loss sustained during the construction of various stadiums.

The Company is passionate about the promotion of the product range and is hopeful that the younger generation will follow the example being set by role models of today and will experiment with the procedure at home. Parents may welcome the approach of a brown envelope filled appropriately when deciding on the use of the T.V. remote or when deciding on the venue for next summers vacation. The possibilities are endless for the development of the procedure in the domestic environment.

Finally the Company, The author, The Mercury magazine and its Editor wish to make it quite clear that no brown envelopes have been used in the publishing of this article which in any event is purely fictitious.  Any similarity to existing Organisations or individuals is purely coincidental, well nearly coincidental.

[foulhook-blog]

CECIL, ZIMBABWE and PACKAGING

I wondered what all the fuss was about when I read that a big cat had been shot with a bow and arrow in Zimbabwe and there was a worldwide witch hunt for the perpetrator of the attack. This bloke was apparently a dentist who spent a great deal of his time trying to save humans from physical pain by drilling holes in their teeth and filling the cavity with amalgam or  the modern equivalent. He liked to spend his leisure time hunting large animals and paying substantial sums of money to do so, much of which would find its way to support conservation if the enterprise had been legal. The big cat, known as Cecil to his many fans, was famous in Zimbabwe and had been the subject of detailed research by University students probably trying to ascertain the effects on this lion of being given a cute human name and treated like a homo sapien instead of a wild animal.  I was reminded of my own hunting escapades with a bow and arrow when I was considerably younger and the neighbour's tabby was the target. My arrows were capped with a soft red rubber stopper that made them look like a small toilet plunger and were only capable of inflicting a firm bump rather than prolonged suffering. I would however lay in wait for the opportune moment, take aim and rejoice when a direct hit was achieved sending said moggie leaping back through its flap into the safety of the kitchen beyond. He wouldn't be seen again for a few days after the indignity but he soon developed a healthy respect for the territorial boundaries and bore no scars to evidence the experience. Before the cat lovers of the Village descend on our drive, armed with placards, this was over sixty years ago and I haven't got a bow and arrow anymore. Getting back to Cecil the subject of the dentist's endeavours, the suffering that was caused to the animal is indefensible and illegal poaching cannot be condoned but legal big game hunting is big business and contributes substantially to conservation all over the globe not just in the kingdom of one Bob Mugabe. Now there is a bloke who knows about inflicting suffering and not just with a bow and arrow or by pulling teeth and rearranging peoples jaws, that fellow is believed to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of humans and his domain have issued a warrant to arrest a dentist for killing a big pussy cat. The protests registered regarding the death of an ageing lion seem to be out of proportion to the deaths of one Zimbabwean never mind 20,000 of them and increasing. Bob is now over 90 years old and seems to spend a lot of time recovering from his last expensive party to celebrate something irrelevant while his countryman continue to die from other than natural causes. Why does killing a lion place a person's livelihood and reputation in jeopardy when murder of humans seems to continue unnoticed by those protesters? The culling of game, big or small, that has passed its productive life or is needed to control numbers will always be necessary and if profit can be made which generates funds for conservation then long may it continue. If wealthy humans want to spend their cash on collecting stuffed trophies or pictures of themselves cuddling up to dead beasts, providing that conduct is carried out legally then let them get on with it. By the way, before the village protesters rewrite their placards and picket our entrance gates, I don't shoot big game and have no intention of doing so, there may be a few people's teeth I wouldn't mind extracting one at a time, but that is a different story. Zimbabwe has far more serious issues to address when eventually Bob goes to meet the devil, because he is unlikely to be going anywhere else and will be leaving behind him civil mayhem which has the potential to cost many more human lives.

I cut my finger this morning as the result of a misdirected bread knife and by the time I managed to get the packaging off the plasters the kitchen represented an abattoir after a busy session, why is packaging these days getting so impregnable?. I have to attack plastic containers of all shapes and sizes with  potentially lethal weapons on a daily basis to carry out the most mundane tasks from changing a light bulb to wrapping the left over's in cling film. I would not be surprised if manufacturers and supermarkets have policy meetings to contrive the most consumer unfriendly containers to put stuff in and to cause as much inconvenience as they can, gone are the days of thin card boxes which were simple to rip off to get to the reason for the purchase. Stick everything in packaging that makes it look pretty on the shelves but impossible to get out when the unsuspecting consumer gets home. Wine now arrives, not in an easily opened cardboard box, but in thick plastic sleeves that retain their bulk once one has figured out how to remove the bottle and requires a trip to the tip to dispose of them to avoid filling up the recycling bin. The risk of further damage to my fingers is aggravated should I try to make a sandwich , the bread remains relatively easy, but the proposed fillings are sealed in all sorts of impregnable containers reducing me to hacking away at them with scissors or any sharp implement that comes to hand. Should I take the easy option and buy a sandwich from Waitrose or Tesco it requires the brain capacity of a Mensa member to figure out how to get at the cheese and onion treat. Maybe it is just me, but I have always been regarded as moderately intelligent, so how do those less gifted  persons cope with the mounting challenges to intellectual ability dispensed at the shops. I find it helps sometimes to swear, don't copy this at home children, the packaging doesn't give in any easier but it makes one feel better and restores ones manhood. The next time I have to open a bag of coffee beans or a new tooth brush I will be tempted to enlist the services of the fire brigade or that chap who can escape from anything.

Well, good triumphed over evil at the world athletics championship and the disreputable cheat lost to the whiter than white hero with Usain Bolt getting the gold's while Gatlin went home with the silvers. He might yet be stripped of those in six or seven years time when Seb Coe gets round to analysing his urine, Gatlin's not his own of course. These drug cheats have really blemished the reputation of athletics but our Jess, Mo and Greg are having none of it, long may the Brits remain above it all. I wonder whether performance enhancing drugs might be a way of improving my packaging opening skills, worth a try. I saw another president interviewed yesterday, Blatter that is, protesting how squeaky clean he is and untainted by the FIFA modus operandi of envelopes and readies. Well if he is to be believed then he must be pretty stupid if he didn't realise what was going on around him. The circumstances point to a lengthy consultation with his team of P.R. consultants and a decision to portray him as dim and honest rather than bright and corrupt, it has to be one or the other and this is the chap who is still in charge of world football. The results of numerous investigations and enquiries will eventually reveal which description fits and a new candidate for president will have picked up the reins. Whichever one it turns out to be his reputation is completely in tatters and no matter how many consultants he enlists it will remain so and the whole issue including the Russia and Qatar world cups will end in tears. Where are all the protesters dealing with the human rights issues in those two places and how many more people died this month in constructing the Qatar world cup stadiums?

Dave, meanwhile, has been making himself busy handing out peerages plus other honours to the corrupt and the ordinary. Fiddle your expenses and get elevated to the Upper House as a reward, setting a fine example to the rest of us to try to get our moat cleaned out at someone else's expense. Apparently paying the money back now brings absolution to those in a position of trust exposed as cheats, well news for you Dave, it doesn't, it might mitigate the sentence but it takes years to repair the damaged integrity. What a good place to put people with bruised integrity, our highest legislative assembly. The ordinary get decorated now for doing their jobs, that means there are innumerable candidates all over the country who should be hearing from him soon, watch your mailbox.

[foulhook-blog]

Grouse shooting season opens

Today is the glorious  twelfth, no doubt many of you will be wondering what could possibly be glorious about the 12th of August, though some of you will be aware that it is the first day of the grouse shooting season. I believe that relatively few of you will have any experience at all of taking part in grouse shooting whether it is walked up or the more traditional format where driven birds fly over guns stationed in a line of butts positioned across the heather moorland. Red grouse survive only in the United Kingdom where three quarters of the worlds heather moorland exists and they are completely wild birds which are not specifically bred for shooting or the food chain. Red grouse are between the size of a pigeon and a mallard duck and are capable of flying at speeds above 80 miles per hour and as low as 1 foot off the ground making them the ultimate sporting target for the game shooter. Grouse feed on young heather and eat up to 50 grams a day, requiring substantial assistance from landowners to survive as two out of three die within one year of hatching. There are approximately 450 grouse moors in the U.K. stretching from the Pennines to the highlands of Scotland and the current breeding stock of grouse is estimated at a quarter of a million pairs. The red grouse was first recorded in the U.K. in Anglo-Saxon times and with all the conservation work  that the shooting estates conduct they will be around for a similar period and more. Provided of course that the views of the RSPB and others do not achieve their aim of banning the sport and drive the red grouse to the risk of extinction.

The occasion of a grouse shoot is quintessentially British with places much sort after on the famous shoots and hard to come by even to those who can entertain the exceptionally high cost of the opportunity. Everyone attends correctly attired, the majority in their tweeds and many will be shooting double guns, accompanied by a loader whose job it is to keep the shotguns ready for action as Coveys of grouse speed passed. Each drive will have a line of butts into which the guns and their loaders are placed,  butts are a hole in the ground about four and a half feet deep screened by turf, stone or brick or a combination of materials, spaced across the moor about 20 to 30 meters apart. The guns are able to shoot from the butt either at birds approaching from the front or as they fly away behind . Each gun is provided with stakes or canes to place in the ground either side of the butt to prevent the gun being swung through the line eliminating the danger of a shot being taken which could endanger the occupants of the butts next in line. The beaters often drive the birds long distances across the moorland to ensure that they fly prolifically and fast over the butts and of course the line of beaters is walking towards the guns and unless the signal is given to shoot only behind the butt there would be a risk of a nasty accident as some of these birds are flying very low indeed. When that signal is given, before the beaters come in range, the guns will all cease to shoot in front and take the birds behind as they fly away.

Dogs play an important role on the grouse moor not only in the beating line directing the grouse towards the guns and putting them in the air but retrieving the shot grouse after the drive is over.

Walked up grouse shooting is completely different as this entails the use of dogs to put the birds in the air flying away from the line of walking guns. The dogs used will often include pointers which are trained to stop completely still when a single grouse or a covey is detected and indicate the birds position by pointing with its nose, the bird or birds will then be put up and fly away from the guns providing the target. I think it is apparent from this brief description how grouse shooting provides and contributes to the livelihood of many country folk and assists greatly in the conservation of the grouse itself, as well as providing the purpose for the vast amount of time effort and money spent in caring for the heather moorland environment, so peculiar to the U.K.. Grouse shooting in England is estimated to be worth £67 million and supports in the region of 1,500 jobs as well as a further £30 million to the Scottish economy.

Grouse moor management includes the practice of heather burning which is  vital as the burnt patches allow fresh shoots to grow which are ideal nutrition for grouse. Thriving heather also provides excellent cover for the birds which are a target for numerous predators including Foxes, Crows, Stoats and birds of prey resulting in the moorland keeper having to spend many hours controlling and deterring their presence. The grouse shooting season will run until 10th December by which time a substantial contribution to the rural economy will have been achieved. Grouse, as with other game birds, are gaining popularity with consumers for the dinner table and can be seen for sale on the supermarket shelves and on the restaurant menu. Conservation of grouse moorland and the red grouse is essential for the survival of the species as substantial investment in their future would be curtailed if the sport is prevented. The RSPB and supporters are  unlikely to find the money to ensure conservation work carried out by the shooting estates is continued or for that matter have access to the moorland to do the work if the funds were found. The management of grouse moors is essential for the survival of the species and without it there is a real risk that red grouse could be driven towards extinction rather than a line of butts financed by people with a real desire to see the species thrive.

[foulhook-blog]

Some thoughts on HS2 and superfast broadband

Do we really want to travel at much higher speeds on trains? Do any of us think we go fast enough when we hurtle along , often facing backwards and sometimes with our knees squashed against the seat in front. I think we go fast enough and saving twenty minutes or so on a journey which is going to take over two hours anyway seems to be insignificant really. What are we all going to do with an extra twenty minutes? most of us who are going to travel long distances start early so the time will be spent asleep having set the alarm twenty minutes later. Those of us who will have to travel an extra distance to get on a faster train will spend it getting to the new stations so the overall journey time will remain the same or even be longer. But what will those people who do save twenty minutes spend the time on? Let's hope it is going to be for the benefit of the taxpayers who will have paid vast sums of money to save it for them. What can they do in twenty minutes that can be so important?, spend more time with their families might be the answer and therefore prevent any further resignations to achieve that purpose. Time has a different value to us all as I often discover when my appointment is at 2 o'clock and at 2-20pm I am still sitting there waiting for the pre-arranged audience with the person whose time is more valuable than mine. When I am eventually granted an entrance why does the atmosphere always seem a little strained when I observe that I have been kept waiting  twenty minutes through no fault of mine. Maybe that is the answer twenty minutes of our time does have a value and we don't want it wasted by sitting on a train and if it is going to be wasted we will have a choice what to waste it on. The length of time a journey takes is probably not the real reason why we would spend a huge proportion of the Greek national debt on a faster train. The real reason has to be improving capacity to shift things around the Country including human beings so  the saving of twenty minutes is a red herring. Maybe we should be asking why we would want to travel around at high speed anyway in the remainder of the 21st century and beyond after the new system is completed. I can be in London talking on face time on my tablet device in the time it will take me to finish this sentence so how fast is that. Of course the link will fail just as quickly as it was secured due to the medieval broadband service we tolerate in the UK, well at least those of us who live in the rural community whose time appears to be much less valuable than those who reside in our cities.

We taxpayers should be rising up on mass and demanding that our government spend whatever it takes to install Superfast Broadband accessible to every resident in every corner of our realm. The completion of that proposal would mean that we wouldn't need to think about hurtling our real bodies around the country at high speeds when our image could be there in seconds and remain there for the duration of any meeting we wished to attend. The technology will get better and better our virtual image can not only attend meetings in the UK it can go anywhere in the world just as quickly and once again remain there for as long as is necessary without interruption. Now we would really be saving time ,when that happens ,as the whole journey would be reduced to the time spent for the purpose of it. We would therefore be saving hours and hours of our valuable time and pretty soon everyone would get used to the arrangement and no one would expect otherwise, reducing substantially the need for travel and the need for a projectile train. Of course there will always be reasons to use the train for example when ones physical presence is essential like bowing ones head to get the decoration one richly deserves but that expedition will be undertaken at leisure with ones family. We may use the train for holidays but they move fast enough for that now and probably the majority will be using them to get to the airport.

I have no idea what the installation of such a Superfast Broadband network would cost but fifty billion pounds sounds about right and that money is available as it would be saved from scraping the idea of firing humans around the place in a long metal tube probably controlled by a robot. I have to assume that a high speed train would not be controlled by a human with all the problems and frailties that we are all aware is part of our condition. Humans are capable of flying planes into towers, mountains and seas so they are certainly capable of driving high speed trains through signals and into places they are not supposed to be going. Trains should move at a more sedate pace anyway and we should be able to walk to the toilet without being thrown from side to side and into the lap of a perfect stranger. We should be able to enjoy a cup of coffee without fear of a scalded crotch or a good English breakfast instead of a hard small torpedo referred to optimistically as a pannini. The most important infrastructure this Country needs is Superfast Broadband which will ignite business, the economy and the Northern powerhouse, whatever that is, not a superfast train. The railroad was used to open up the wild west, computers have opened up the whole world, society is moving on and speed in certain situations is just not necessary.