Revealed: MSPs' dubious claims

As usual we find those pretend politicians at the Scottish Parliament are trying to dig their snouts even deeper into the trough of our money.

Greg Gibbs, campaign director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said he was astounded that MSPs were trying to get away with such frivolous and dubious claims.

He said:

"This is a classic case of MSPs not treating taxpayers' money as our money. As far as they see it, it is their money."

Also have a look here for even more stories.

Scotsman.com News - Scotland - Revealed: MSPs' dubious claims

Miliband - You are not worthy

Why did the BBC concentrate so much on Miliband's gaffe late on in Question Time. Miliband said

"I predict that when I come back on this programme in six months or a year’s time, people will be saying ‘wouldn’t it be great to have that Blair back because we can’t stand that Gordon Brown’."

Perhaps it is worthy of noting that the description of Miliband by Question Time included the following

Once described by Blair as the "Wayne Rooney of the Cabinet".

Having watched the first 20-30 mins of it on BBC1, I was cringing as all the panellists stormed into Miliband and his answers, he was the pathetic, fawning, autocratic, arrogant, sneering spinning and just plain lying puppet of this Government.

I then popped onto Political Betting to have a look at the take on what was happening and noticed the details of the BBC "News" of Miliband's gaffe. I thought I must have missed it during his cringing performance, maybe I had just shut it out amongst his vapid and crass comments, then I realised it hadn't been shown yet!

When I read the full details I thought of how true the statement would be, and for all the right reasons, GB will be an unworthy PM, ducking and diving from the hard issues of Government.

Paul Linford, a Labour blogger and former lobby journalist, commenting on the gaffe had the following to say.

Miliband tried to explain it away by saying he was merely making the point that people always complain about the sitting Prime Minister, but the Brownites will view the comment as, at best, inept and, at worst, indicative of the mindset in the "Blair Bunker."
I don't think Gordon will forget this, and it may well take him a fairly long time to forgive. I may have to revise my predictions as to the make up of Brown's future Cabinet.

A gaffe it was , badly phrased and badly thought out, by a typically inept NuLab front man but it was the earlier parts of the programme that showed for real that Miliband is not worthy of being in the cabinet or parliament, far less a contender for the leadership of a major political party in the UK.

Watch the full Question Time here.

Equality from Discrimination - But not Us of Course.

Dizzy via the Independent and an article by Dominic Lawson points out that after all the ho-ha going in Parliament about the Catholic Church and Abortion and how no-one could possibly be exempt from Discrimination that the following ARE exempt:-

This is the full text of the Equality Act 2006. Section (52) titled "Public Authorities" says the following

(1) It is unlawful for a public authority exercising a function to do any act which constitutes discrimination.

It then says,

(3) The prohibition in subsection (1) shall not apply to-

• (a) the House of Commons,
• (b) the House of Lords,
• (c) the authorities of either House of Parliament,
• (d) the Security Service,
• (e) the Secret Intelligence Service,
• (f) the Government Communications Headquarters, or
• (g) a part of the armed forces of the Crown which is, in accordance with a requirement of the Secretary of State, assisting the Government Communications Headquarters.

Dominic Lawson then goes on to say.

When I inquired about these exemptions I was told by a government official that, at least in respect of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, they were made "on grounds of national security". The official wasn't immediately able to explain why the Houses of Parliament were exempt. The point is, however, that if this law, as Falconer states, "applies to everybody" then "everybody" cannot mean "everybody except us and the spooks". It is also not clear, to me at least, why it is perfectly proper for national security to be used as a reason for special treatment, but outrageous for religious conscience to be put forward as an argument.

So there we are nobody is above the Law apart from Spooks and Westminster of course.

Perhaps this explains why Tony and his cronies don't feel they have done anything wrong in the "Cash for Honours" saga. Maybe they feel all laws only apply to "The Proles".

Remember

• WAR IS PEACE
• FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
• IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Microshaft Vista

"You should go to Vista."

"So you like Vista?"

"Not really, no. I run a Vista simulator."

"Virtual Server?" the Boss asks.

"Nah, I just turned on all the flashy crap in XP, changed the background image, took some memory out of my box and clocked down the CPU. Then broke Media player. Works like a charm."

Extract from BOFH

Psychic Museum closes due to Unforeseen Circumstances

On a lighter note

York Psychic Museum has shut due to unforeseen circumstances, the York Press reports. Astrologer Jonathan Cainer, who opened the museum in 2003, admitted that he'd been welcoming just 100 people a week through the doors, and had accordingly decided to temporarily hang up his crystal ball. Cainer reckons he'll be back in business by 2008, but cautioned: "If you are asking me for predictions when exactly it will open up again, then it is hard to say. Although I'm in the prediction business, I don't believe you can make predictions about things you are close to."

Psychic museum closes due to unforeseen circumstances

Convict takes Executive to court over 'embarrassing' telephone warning

Apparently a convicted criminal is taking the Executive to court over the message played before phone calls are accepted on outgoing calls.
The message is as follows

"This call originates from a Scottish prison. It will be logged and may be recorded and/or monitored. If you do not wish to accept this call, please hang up."

You have to feel sorry for the poor guy whose only crime, this time, involved holding a knife at the throat of a shop manageress and is serving a minor sentence of 21 years at the moment.

Not only is he being allowed to take this to court but You and I are paying for it.

After a lengthy battle to secure thousands of pounds in legal aid, Stewart Potter, 43, has taken a case to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, claiming the phone message "is an ... embarrassing reminder to his family" that he is calling from prison.

He has served previous sentences of four, six and eight years and was given a nine-year term in 2001 for armed robbery.

In 2002, he stood trial for another robbery, committed just before the nine-year sentence had been imposed.

In that case, he threatened the manageress of a Glasgow off- licence with a knife, then ordered her and a customer into a toilet. He fled with £292 but was arrested after police used CS gas spray to disarm him.

He was jailed for 12 years, to begin at the end of the nine-year sentence.

Convict takes Executive to court over 'embarrassing' telephone warning

Aviemore - Where politics is left out in the cold

As a long time visitor to Aviemore, my wife came from there, I thought this might interest herself. I love the area that Aviemore is in , but the village/town that it has become is not so great now for the residents. Much of the new money has been to provide expensive facilities purely for the guests with little regard for the growing number of residents. A good quote from the article is as follows.

There should be more stuff for the kids. They are being left on their own to get on with things and that is not good enough. There is a lot for tourists but nothing for the people who live here most of the time

Maybe it's just because it's growing so fast but to my mind the place has lost it's soul and character.

Where politics is left out in the cold

Council tax rise lowest so far - just as elections draw near

Amazing isn't it just as elections come up Council Taxes are going to up up by the least in the past 4 years. Am I being cynical? I think not.

Another article here takes up the same story.

The Scotsman - Council tax rise lowest so far - just as elections draw near

Smart?

What Is Intelligence, Anyway?
Isaac Asimov

What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn't mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP - kitchen police - as my highest duty.)

All my life I've been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I'm highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too. Actually, though, don't such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests - people with intellectual bents similar to mine?

For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.

Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I'd prove myself a moron, and I'd be a moron, too. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.

Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?"

Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, "Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them." Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" I asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you." "Why is that?" I asked. "Because you're so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."

And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.

Liverpool Stealers

New badge for

Liverpool Football Club

is now available after their takeover.

Free Parking in Aberdeen - Maybe?

We can only hope this does get to a strike!

Parking patrollers in Aberdeen are threatening to strike after talks between union officials and the council broke down.At a meeting last night, patrollers voiced their anger claiming Aberdeen City Council...

Knitted breasts help new mothers

What more can/dare I say.
BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Knitted breasts help new mothers

NAO attacks UK.gov £13.3bn savings claim

Joined up Government! Just about what you would expect from Labour.
Love the point where they say they can save 105 million but have already spent 106 million on Consultants!

For example, only four of ten central government departments had subtracted the cost of finding cost savings from the actual savings claimed. The Public and Commercial Services Union, which has fought job cuts across the public sector, noted that HM Revenue and Customs had found it could save £105 million with job cuts after it spent £106 million on consultants. The NAO urges government auditors and the like ought to challenge departments' claims more vehemently to avoid being fobbed off.

NAO attacks UK.gov £13.3bn savings claim | The Register

Dirty work at the Green Crossroads - Maybe?

An interesting blog article but can it be believed? On both sides of the Global Warming are big Money and Countries. One quote below says that some of the figures are well out.

Figures in the final draft of the UN’s fourth five-year report on climate change show that the previous report, in 2001, had overestimated the human influence on the climate since the Industrial Revolution by at least one-third. Also, the UN, in its 2007 report, has more than halved its high-end best estimate of the rise in sea level by 2100 from 3 feet to just 17 inches. It suggests that the rate of sea-level rise is up from 2mm/yr to 3mm/year – no more than one foot in a century. UN scientists faced several problems their computer models had not predicted. Globally, temperature is not rising at all, and sea level is not rising anything like as fast as had been forecast. Concentrations of methane in the air are actually falling…

Another view of the report is taken from some comments on the PB.Com website from Colm

While most of the article can be dismissed as selective quoting and spin (I’ll back that up in a longer post if necessary), the quote from the appendix about changing scientific content is disturbing. However, it is for the opposite reason that Monckton/Phillips contend.

The IPCC have decided to try to keep everyone on board, including governments with a vested interest in down-playing climate change (oil-rich nations and the USA). It’s harder to argue that any government has a strong vested interest in talking up climate change. By its nature it’s already a conservative report (in order to keep almost the entire scientific community on board) and this only increases that effect. The USA more or less has power of veto on statements it particularly dislikes.

Is it worth changing scientific content in this way (even if the changes are generally more of emphasis rather than factual) to be a truly global report? I can see the argument, but as a scientist, I would say definitely not. There’s no excuse for the spin Monckton/Phillips have put on it though.

So there it is Global Warming - As clear as Mud.



Melanie Phillips’s Diary » Dirty work at the green crossroads

Ruaridh says "hi I'm 10 now"

Ruaridh says "hi I'm 10 now"
Originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Ruaridh was ten today and celebrated by having the day off school as it snowed overnight. What better present for a ten year old!

Big shake-up for maternity care

Dr Crippen has a few modest words to say on the following article.

Living in a rural area any dumbing down of the current facilities is not what we would like. Getting to the nearest large Maternity Hospital today would have taken over an hour in a car and more in an ambulance with the snow/ice on the roads. Our second son , Malcolm, arrived about 30 minutes after my wife said its time to go. Luckily we lived only 5 minutes from the hospital.

BBC NEWS | Health | Big shake-up for maternity care

Young drivers 'still ignoring speed limits despite carnage'

I worry as my eldest gets closer to the age he can drive what will happen, will he be a safe driver or will he feel the "Need for Speed". At least when I was young the cars where slower (if not so safe).



The Scotsman - Young drivers 'still ignoring speed limits despite carnage'

Science lab demonstration to highlight danger of smoking banned in schools

Only we could manage to ban this and then to accept the ban. If this was anywhere else we would just ignore the ban when it was applied stupidly. Common sense dictates that this would be a good idea so why go along with it.
The Scotsman - Science lab demonstration to highlight danger of smoking banned in schools

Tartan Lobby Fodder?

Labour MPs vote more, but opponents say they are merely "tartan lobby fodder", used to shore up the government.

MPs' work rates leave lots of unanswered questions

The Scotsman - BNP to get £670,000 from taxpayers to fund campaign

Giving these scum any money is bad enough but when they are exploiting loopholes in the law it is a disgrace.
Lets do what we can to ensure they don't do this again by sending them homewards with the minimum of votes. Vote anybody but BNP, please.

The Scotsman - BNP to get £670,000 from taxpayers to fund campaign

Experts' plan to cut heart deaths

All well and good in this article but look at the following from NHSBLOGDOC.

Also have a look at The Scotsman and some of the comments.

Is this driven by a want for profit or is it a good thing. As he says Statins are big business. Very big business.

I saw five patients today who are on statins, and they all had questions about safety, and memory loss and the "new statin" that has turned out to be dangerous. I worry about this more and more. I ask myself, how much do I REALLY know about the efficacy and safety of these drugs? I am merely the victim of the latest reseach paper.

Pfizer’s next big drug for heart disease (torcetrapib which was slated to replace Lipitor) has bombed in trials, causing sufficient deaths that the trials have been ended early and development has been stopped. This is obviously dreadful news for Pfizer, and I assume that the stock will be well done on Monday. But that’s how the pharma business is supposed to work—big bets on new blockbusters may not pan out, but others will do so. (Matthew Holt)

Statins are big business. Very big business.

An academic colleague in the Southern Hemisphere sends me regular updates on the dangers of statins. He draws my attention to this:

Frank Cooper - author of "Cholesterol and the French Paradox".

France is a nation of 62,000,000 people who have been eating foods high in saturated fats and cholesterol for a long time, and yet they enjoy very low levels of heart disease. Frank will explain how the French eat 3 times as much fat and cholesterol as Americans yet have 1/3 the deaths from heart attacks. (Source)

Popular medicine, maybe. But can someone explain it to me? Then I can explain it to my patients.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Experts' plan to cut heart deaths

Can we have a reality check on the boundaries story?

The aptly named Colin Brown has a story in the unIndependent that purports to show how "unfair" the boundary changes, that are coming in, are on Labour. It mangles the facts to say that because Labour will lose some seats, it is unfair.

In reality the Boundary Commission have still not managed to sort this out properly despite having six years to do so. Also note that despite having had the recommendations for more than four months Labour has done nothing with them yet. The process to make the changes law could take over three months, so perhaps they are keeping them in abeyance, in case of a snap General Election caused by some of their recent scandals.

This is a typical Labour "spin" to try and gain sympathy and blame those nasty Tories.

New Labour "Whiter than White".

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Can we have a reality check on the boundaries story?

Jump Up and Down to Distract criminals, says minister

Beyond belief! What is this country coming to.
Tony McNumpty , Home office minister had the following to say.

Jeremy Vine: You see something happening in the street. Do you step in?

Tony McNulty: I think the general line must be to get in touch with the authorities straight and make sure that if things are as bad as you paint the police will be there as quickly as they can.

Jeremy: You see a young man looking aggressive, shouting at an old woman, what do you do? You retreat and ring the police?

Tony McNulty: I think you should in the first instance. It may well be the simply shouting at them, blowing your horn or whatever else deters them and they go away.

Jeremy: He's now hitting her and the police haven't come, what do you do then?

Tony McNulty: The same the same, you must always ...

Jeremy: Still wait?

Tony McNulty: Get back to the police, try some distractive activities whatever else.

Jeremy: What jump up and down?

Tony McNulty: But I would say you know sometimes that that may well work.

My idea is that if you see McNumpty you jump up and down on his head.

A few chosen thoughts from some Police Bloggers on this

a) PC Bloggs
b) Noddy and Mr Plod

Hat tip to Noddy

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | Distract criminals, says minister

Watergate taunts rile Blair as calls to quit grow

And more references to Nixon. What a damning legacy he will leave.

The Scotsman - UK - Watergate taunts rile Blair as calls to quit grow

Blair loses his grip on government and reality

More Tricky Dicky references as the Mad One gets closer and closer to an inelegant departure from Downing Street.

I must admit my feeling is that the meeting with the police last week was more a case of a warning to Mr Blair that they had the evidence of a cover-up and that he should just do the decent thing as soon as possible.

Hopefully this will be soon so that we can get some sort of functioning Government in place. We are quickly becoming a laughing stock.

Blair loses his grip on government and reality | Dt Leaders | Opinion | Telegraph

Aberdeenshire Council charged with fly-tipping.

So that wonderful council that empties my bins occasionally has been charged with fly tipping. Oh just so ironic!

Aberdeenshire Council has been charged with fly-tipping materials i

MEMO: Those who stuck with Tony made money

This is a link to the Political Betting blog which I like to poke about with but seldom comment on (though my Wife does).

I just loved the following comment on Tony Blair, maybe slightly over the top but with Britain becoming a laughing stock due to his antics probably justified.

Rubbish. Blair is a political magician, no doubt, but his failings far outweigh his merits. The main achievement of this Labour government has been economic stability and continual growth - for that they must be properly credited. But Brown is the one who should get the credit. Why? Because Blair, given half the chance, and convinced of his own messianic destiny, would have taken us into the euro - and consigned us to the high unemployment and low growth of the eurozone over the last decade.

Apart from that, Blair, as a pathological liar, has traduced and poisoned the British political system with his mendacity. He cannot open his mouth without telling a fib, his mother tongue is falsity, his speech is pure dissembling, his vocabulary is that of a used car salesman on coca leaves.

Because of his aversion to the truth, he is also responsible for infecting the British political bloodstream with Peter Mandelson and Alistair Campbell, two odious and manipulative bullies, a pair of the nastiest men ever to work in Westminster. With his own lies and his employment of other liars (like Mandelson and Campbell) Blair has reduced voter confidence in politics to catastrophically low levels.

Because Blair lied about Iraq, the biggest issue of the decade, it will be hard for any other government ever to win the people’s trust on an issue as grave as going to war. This is incalculably damaging for our country.

Furthermore, Blair is a dangerously vain and insecure man who hides his failings and self doubts with a carapace of charm - like all charlatans. All that matters to Blair is his own image. This is why he is so desperately clinging on to power, in the futile hopes that his legacy will not turn out to be, yes, the charred corpses in Iraq.

He will fail, of course. When they finally drive a stake through Blair’s career, people will remember him only for this, for Iraq, and the lies he told to take us there.

Blair is a bowel movement of a man. A voided bladder making pitiful noises.

Posted by SeanT. I leave you to find out who he is!

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » MEMO: Those who stuck with Tony made money

NHS 24:Choose your own adventure

I was going to blog on the story referred to in the attached piece about a lady who is going to sue NHS 24 up here in Aberdeenshire, but thought I would wait until the excellent Dr Crippen did a piece on it ( I was sure he would!). However he pointed to this article.

I know what I would do in an emergency, especially out here in the sticks, and it wouldn't be waiting around for a nurse to speak to me over the phone, if I was seriously worried. I have tried it and the wait whilst they refer to their protocol and more experienced people is very trying.


Pathologists Anonymous: Choose your own adventure

Tricky Dicky revisited

A while back I posted about Tricky Dicky Now it all looks to be coming closer to being true.

Again it is, apparently, the cover-up that is doing for the accused rather than the actual deeds. Pop along to some of the following to see the latest.

The Scotsman
The Independent
Iain Dale
Guido

Malnutrition in hospitals: an overview

It's a national scandal: Its not new its been heavily researched for more than 5 years.

* Six out of 10 older people are at risk of becoming malnourished, or their situation getting worse, in hospital.
* Up to 14% of older people aged over 65 years in the UK are malnourished.
* Four out of 10 older people admitted to hospital are malnourished on arrival.
* Patients over the age of 80 admitted to hospital have a five times higher prevalence of malnutrition than those under the age of 50.
* Up to 50% of older people in general hospitals have mental health needs.
* Patients who are malnourished stay in hospital for a longer time, require more medications, and are more likely to suffer from infections.
* The toll of malnutrition on health and health care costs is estimated to exceed £7.3 billion per year (much more than obesity). Over half of this cost is expended on people aged 65 years and above.

Malnutrition in hospitals: an overview

Blair Cowardice - Britain's Shame

As usual Mr Blair shows his contempt and utter cowardice by not attending the Commons for an Iraq Debate. In fact the last time he attended was to declare War.

This is Blair's utter contempt for this country and his utter cowardice.

My wife's words are as follows.

"Tony Blair has no honour left, and to avoid leading the debate while troops are there and in Afghanistan is DISGUSTING!
But then, what is worse is the fact that he can't even tell us what he is going to do because it is probably part of Gordon Brown's 100 day decree's from upon high.
Our soldiers are out there undermanned, under equipped and the treasury won't even cough up for decent armoured vehicles to keep them safe.
Demanding a withdrawal by a pre arranged date which the Libdems seem to have pulled out of the sky, smacks of opportunism and a lack of thought about the soldiers there or the people of Iraq. But still they would have thought about the headline!
So Labour in limbo for political gain and surprise surprise the Libdems doing the same!"

In case Mr Blair has forgotten or has something more important to do here is a list of those who have been heroes for Britain, but will never have the opportunity to debate on Iraq with anyone again.

British Deaths in Iraq


BBC NEWS | Politics | Blair urged to lead Iraq debate

Chairboys vs those Russians

Tonight sees the Carling Cup Semi-Final second leg for Wycombe vs Chelsea.

Wycombe are now managed by ex-Celtic and Scotland player Paul Lambert so a good Scottish connection here.


For a real bit of history follow the link below. I was one of the 12,000 who crammed into Loakes Park to see this game.

And of course who can forget the old geeza who used to appear near the end of the games selling the sporting paper. the cry of 'alf times!, 'alf times! was the more amazing as the guy would still have his rolly-up attached to his upper lip as he continued shouting his wares.

Chairboys on the Net - Wycombe Wanderers vs Middlesborough

Civil Service Staff commute is classed as work

What can you say.

Only a Civil Servant could dream this up and only after the oh so useful Scottish Parliament had decided a department should move (which Marginal is next on the list?).

But don't worry these rules will be changed after five years! I wonder what other little sweeteners they have managed to get as well.

I suggest a new relocation of the Scottish Parliament to the nearest bin. Unfortunately these are all full due to the crap that comes from this Lab/Lib waste of money.

Pop along to the website of the Department at Transport Scotland but don't go to the Traffic Scotland website when the weather is bad as it always stops working/responding just when it is needed.


BBC NEWS | Scotland | Staff commute is classed as work

Biased BBC at it again

I see the BBC (Biased Broadcasting Corporation) are at it again. Amazing that Mr Puttnam who is in line for another Labour Quango job as Chairman of the new BBC Trust has been so outspoken on this. I bet his possible future underlings won't want to get on his bad side.
The image at the side shows where they rate the story. Has anyone at the BBC looked at the Broadsheets today to see what the leading stories are?

Unbelievable!

Iain Dale's Diary: BBC Buries Cash for Peerages News

Honours police arrest Blair aide

I previously noted in my blog that the whole cash for honours affair was beginning to look like the Tricky Dicky affair. Well now with the arrest and bail of Miss Turner this is beginning to look more and more true. What price a tearful Blair appearing on our screens to announce his resignation in the not too distant future.

According to Political Betting it may not be too long now.

Also it is well to note that Guido reports that the Attorney General is also being investigated. A little reading between the lines on this seems to indicate that someone has been leaning on the man. Wonder who that might be?

BBC NEWS | Politics | Honours police arrest Blair aide

Wycombe Wanderers

Good to see Wycombe doing well in the English League Cup. Many years ago, during the 70's, I used to pop along to see them at Loakes Park. They had a number of good runs in the F.A. cup at that time.
Hopefully they can do better at Stamford Bridge, if only to piss my wee bro off!

The Sign says it all.

The sign says it all.
Originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Took this on the way home from Aberdeen. It's the kind of scene that makes you feel a bit more peaceful after driving back from Aberdeen. Everyone just sits and waits with no revving of engines or honking of horns.

P.S. We were stopped when this photo was taken!

WAR (what is it good for?) Pre release trailer

Pop along and have a look at this and buy it just to embarrass Mr Blair.

You can buy/listen to the track here.

The Good Wifes Guide

I actually have/had a copy of this book and did read some of it to my Wife many years ago (BK - Before Kids even). Her remarks on itthen were not printable. Needless to say her replies on the link here are again unprintable.

What can you say. You try to help and all you get is foul language!

Tarland Christmas Day

Tarland Christmas Day
Originally uploaded by fitaloon.

It was cold on Christmas day. Started out at -10c at 08:00 and managed up to -3/4c later in the day. A good day was had with plenty of presents and food.

Remember Tricky Dicky?

Perhaps some people might remember how Dick Nixon was brought to his knees and humbled back in the 70's. This article shows that its likely the same sort of thing has been going on within Downing Street. If this wasn't our Government it would almost be funny.
No 10 investigated for perversion of justice - Britain - Times Online

Amazing - Bliar's Government lies again

And yet again we see Blair's dishonest government lying again. This time again about soldiers pay. As usual the government has tried to weasel it's way out of it again by judicious choices of words. Again "new" money has turned out to be redistributed money.

When will they stop.

See the following stories. One thing to note is that the biased BBC reported on the initial story but have not noted the problems later on.

MPs misled over troop payments

Lame Blair ducks the debate on soldiers' pay

Browne apologises in troops pay row

Soldiers to get tax bill bonus

Read this and then go to Hospital

Have a read of this and then look forward to your next visit to Hospital.
In fact read the whole blog it is not only a wonderful look at the NHS now under Nu Labour, but also a great social commentary. Some of the articles will make you laugh, some make you cry and some will just make you think and examine your attitudes to people.

My favourite from his blog is

Schizophrenia

NHS Blog Doctor: Pissing into the tent

Tarland Primary School - Poems for Hiroshima child

Tarland Primary School Pupil poems for Hiroshima child

A brief story on Tarland Primary School which Ruaridh is currently attending and which Malcolm and Cameron both attended.

Malcolm might hear a former good friend of his (Of the female kind) if he listens to the replay!

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2006, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Halloween tonight and the weather here was a tad wild, Temperature just above freezing and winds and rain. So we had a bit of a party instead.

Wishbone Ash

Wishbone Ash, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

On Saturday Neil (My Brother) and I popped along to see Wishbone Ash. You have to be of a certain age to remember them as they have been playing for a bit over 35 years and were in their heyday back in the early 70's. However they managed to fill the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen and they are still going strong. Their sound is just wonderful, makes you appreciate what real music is all about rather than todays manufactured crap...

Giant elastic-powered aircraft fails to take off | The Register

Giant elastic-powered aircraft fails to take off | The Register

Only in Britain could this happen!

Pizza?

Pizza?, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

After being at Goalkeeper training all week, I took the boys and their cousin Ben to Pizzaland before going bowling at Aberdeen Beach.

Beach!

Beach!, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

It's holiday time so the weather has been truly awful, It seems to have rained for the last week. Boys are getting cabin fever even though they are getting out and about. Hopefully the weather will improve next week.

Howe of Cromar

Howe of Cromar, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Another one from a night of sunsets. Won't be many to come now as the nights draw in.

More photos at Diack Photos

Sunset Reflections

Sunset Reflections, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Another picture from last night but this one's from closer too home as in about 100 yards away on the road to Migvie. What a lovely evening it was.

More at Diack Photos

Slack Sunset

Slack Sunset, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Tonight was one of those nights when you only watch and wonder at our world. The natural beauty around us is so often forgotten.
Tonight I stopped twice on the way home to take photo's and then had a wander outside of our house to get some more. The light changed so quickly from this more muted but colourful night to a glorious orange later on.
More Photos at Diack Photos

18 Doughty Street

18 Doughty Street
Interested in Politics? Then why not have a look at this. It only started today but perhaps a more refreshing look at UK politics that Sky or the BBC/ITV. A promising start tonight.

Sunset

Sunset, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Another Picture from Loch Kinord on a beautiful Evening. Reminds me of one of the many reasons why I moved out of Aberdeen and into the country.

Loch Kinord

Loch Kinord, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Went for a walk this evening with Malcolm and Holly the dog. Weather was fine and we decided to go to Loch Kinord. Took a few photos as we wandered round. The trees are looking good as they take on their autumn colours. We had a pretty sunset and the dog is now sleeping in bed after a great run around.

More photos at Diack Photos

Noddy & Mr Plod: Tell it like it is

Noddy & Mr Plod: Tell it like it is

Pop across and have a look at this. This guy is certainly not a politician but he does know how to speak his mind and speaks a lot of sense.

Sunrise from Midmar

Sunrise from Midmar, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

OK I know another sunrise, but I just can't get enough of them at the moment. I stopped four times on the drive to work this morning to admire the view and take a few snaps.
Anyway this will just about the last I will see of them before I start driving in the dark for the next 3-4 months.
See more photos at Diack Photos

Winter's Coming

Winter's Coming, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Just a reminder what's coming soon!

Loch Kinord in the Evening

Loch Kinord in the Evening, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

This is an older photo of mine but one I really like. Just seems so calm and serene.

Sunshine Rainbow

Sunshine Rainbow, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Strange light over Lochnagar created this little rainbow on Thursday Morning. The light was very strange with a very red glow over all the hills.

See more at Diack Photos or click on the photo.

Dawn

Dawn, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Dawn's are fine when you are met with views like this at the end of your road. Makes the drive to work easy on the eyes and you appreciate it so much more. This one came from yesterday morning.

See more at Diack Photos

Age law 'threat to minimum wage'

What a wonderful government we have. Not satisfied with making a pigs ear of Iraq/Afghanistan they have now turned their attention to the UK. As usual, from them, an ill thought out and applied law. When will they learn.
BBC NEWS | Business | Age law 'threat to minimum wage'

Ballon and Trees

Ballon and Trees, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Spotted this balloon on Wednesday night on the way home and chased it across the countryside trying to get a some good photos.
See more at Diack Photos

Stone Dyke

Stone Dyke, originally uploaded by fitaloon.

Was in Banchory at the weekend and was taking photos for my Cousin in America and popped along to Scolty Hill. Well worth a visit for the views and changing scenery.