At Least He Tried?

Well, it’s over and of course there is much debate about the surprising result.  Before the campaign started Ed Miliband was oddly seen as both a wimp and a ruthless brother stabber (in the back or front depending on who you talk to).

Then during the last four or five weeks of the campaign something seemed to change – in terms of Mr Miliband’s public perception.  People seemed to like him.  Young women seemed to think he was attractive.  He came across quite well in the ‘debates.’ He actually seemed a lot more comfortable with himself and answered some very rude questions from Paxman quite well. 

However, when it came to the crunch they didn’t seem to like his policies.  But then again maybe it came down to perception.  Perhaps they didn’t like what they perceived to be his policies.  And on this occasion is wasn’t enough that he at least tried.

I'm back

Been away for a long time but I have decided to resume business.  I had stopped because of attacks by spammers but I seem to have solved that problem now.

Can' stop thinking of the loved ones on that Asian flight that went down.  At first I like many others thought it was another mystery but sadly this morning came news that bodies had been found.  My condolences to all concerned.

I will be back at the end of the week with a fuller post.

Chief Lymer

Ladies, leave the men alone

Ladies,  if you want to have relationships with men, it’s a good idea to get to know them, find out what makes them tick.

I’ve observed male/female interactions over the past eleven year here in Blighty and it has come to my attention that many British women don’t understand men.  Here are a few pointers I’ve learned from experience interacting with men and from just asking them questions:

1)    Most men don’t like shopping, unless it’s for cars or sports equipment.  Don’t make that poor man follow you around the ladies section of a department store holding your handbag and looking like an arse.  He DOES NOT WANT TO BE THERE.  Leave him the hell alone.

2)    Most men I know like to watch sports.  Let them get on with it.  If he’s earning a salary and sharing in paying the bills he has as much right to watch his own damn TV as you do – don’t tell him he can’t watch sports.  If clashes are an issue there are many options - decide when who will watch what; get Sky Plus and record stuff; watch stuff on the internet, there are enough iplayers; get a second TV.  In this day and age, TV watching clashes do not need to be an issue.

3)    Chances are your husband is not gay (you hope he isn’t but that’s a whole ‘nother issue).  This means that chances are he does not want to watch Sex in the City or any other soap for that matter, or romantic comedy. Don’t make him watch that mess.  Watch it alone or with your girlfriends.

4)    If you want to look good for your girlfriends, fine but don’t confuse your girlfriends’ ideas of beauty with your husband’s – chances are they are very different.  Understand the importance appearance has for many men.  If he likes a certain look, let him see you in that look as often as possible.  If he likes you in heels and you declare you ‘aint wearing them, understand he WILL be looking at someone in heels for pleasure and you’ve just told him it won’t be you.  There are consequences for that.

5)    If you don’t like sex, get to enthusiastically like it.  Same principle as above.  As faithful as he is, if you aren’t having regular sex with your husband he’s going to end up fantasizing and fantasies turn into actions.  Be smart about this.

6)    Learn to shut the hell up.  When you all come in from work, give him at least 20 minutes before you start asking him to do stuff.  Andy by asking I mean telling, you have to tell men to do stuff, it just doesn’t seem to occur to them to replace the toilet roll.  But you can’t make it obvious you’re telling them. You got to ask gently, sometimes up to 18 times in a row!  Go chew the towel to take the edge off your murderous rage.   The good news is after this approach they WILL change the toilet toll themselves – takes about 6 weeks on average of training.

7)    Tell your husband what you want for your birthday, anniversary Christmas, Valentines Day.  He may not remember but this doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.  Many men just aren’t able to think independently when it comes to these things.  Rope your female relatives and friends in if you’re not comfortable telling him EXACTLY what you want, and trust me, in order to get exactly what you want, ya need to TELL him, he ‘aint going to figure it out.

8)    Unless you want to pick up after him for the rest of your life, determine who does what around the house from the beginning.  And stick to it.  Get comfortable with things ‘not being done properly’ you OCD cow!  Unless of course you want to do ALL the housework, AND childcare – FOREVER!

9)    A woman CAN steal a man.  You know those women trying to, so make it clear  you’re on the job and don’t be afraid to speak plainly and terrifyingly to skanks and if necessary to physically remove the threat.

10) You CAN’T change a man. If he is a particular way, or he tells you who he is through his actions, believe him.  He’ll change if he wants to, not because you are so wonderful and understand, he may NEVER want to.

   

What exactly are we celebrating?

I watched the coverage of the jubilee celebrations and I found them incredibly sad. 

We in the UK live under a constitutional monarchy.  Do you know what that means?  Many probably don’t.  That means dear reader that the Queen or King is a CEREMONIAL head of state.  That means they have NO power, the government runs the country.  All the Queen is, is a ceremonial head, she lives in luxury at taxpayers’ expense opens various events goes to parties, smiles for the camera and is basically a tourist attraction.  That’s all there is to it – that’s all there EVER has been to it.  So let’s look at what is happening this weekend again.

We are ‘celebrating’ a woman who has largely done nothing for 60 years and will continue to do  basically nothing for the rest of her life until the mantle of doing jack passes to her son and from him to his son and so on and so forth.

In order to celebrate this nothingness, the country has spent millions, will lose millions from the extra public holiday and still has no collective understanding of what we are as a nation and how we can work together to make  fulfilling lives for us and be of assistance to others. 

Some people interviewed today spoke of a ‘wonderful atmosphere.’  By this they meant everyone had warm feelings towards everyone else, one lady stated that people on the train actually spoke to each other.  And they all attributed this to the Queen and the jubilee.

No some say our sense of identity and common feelings come from the Queen an events like the jubilee.  The trouble with that is what happens once the jubilee is over? I’ll tell you what, things go back to normal, and that’s not good.  We need a sense of community and common feeling that has to do with us and what we want to achieve and give, not to do with a ceremonial head of government.

I watched the documentary hosted by Prince Charles and he said that the greatest thing about his mama’s reign was the sense of continuity she brought.  Fair enough, she’s been a constant over the past 60 years when there has been a lot of change.  But seriously, what real value is that?  Aren’t our lives, their very meaning so much more than a sense of continuity provided by anyone, even a Queen?

We as a nation are hopelessly lost.  Dedicated to doing useless things, hamstrung by a self inflicted dedication to suppressing all forms of human emotion unless they are encouraged by inebriation, willfully under or uneducated, dedicated to the world of ‘celebrity’ instead of  the things that really matter to us.  Extremely unproductive in the workplace and with no real national identity; we aren’t even citizens, we are subjects to a Queen, who as I stated above, is a ceremonial head only.

We are living in austere times, and they will get worse.  The way we are now cannot continue if we are to survive in any semblance of the way we have been living in the past.

It’s time to see the Queen in a realistic light and not be carried away by nothingness.  If we decide we want a ceremonial head of state who is good for tourism, fine.  But don’t imbue here with any more significance in life than yours. 

Third World?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/columnists/mcintosh/2011/06/05/how-we-treat-old-people-makes-us-no-better-than-the-third-world-115875-23179310/.

This denigration of the so called third world needs to stop. Does the average first worlder have any clue, any REAL clue what takes place in so called 'third world' countries in general, but specifically in relation to vulnerable people? And if they don't is it relevant? And are all countries in these groups the same? No. This assumption that if you are of the first world you are intrinsically better and more civilized than those who come from the 3^rd world is a load of unmitigated bilge! Measure yourself not by some fantasy of undeserved inbred greatness in relation to everyone else but by how you treat others – especially the vulnerable. With that in mind how 'first world' is the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand?

And while I'm at it stop making stupid jokes about Caribbean education. I watched a sitcom the other day which made the oft repeated tiresome joke about if they flunked out of a US med school they'd have to go to med school in the Caribbean. Just cut the foolishness! What do people like him think you do in med school in the Caribbean – learn how to resuscitate a blinkin' coconut? To people still making these jokes I say get a damn grip and stop making arses of yourself. The joke is there's a strong possibility your GP and half the nurses at your hospital were trained in the Caribbean. A Caribbean education isn't so distasteful when you need their assistance is it?

Creativity and budgets for it need to return

There’s too much damn BAD reality TV on the air right now. I know that creating well crafted dramas and comedies costs money and takes skill but its skill and money we must find.

Because reality shows make the subjects money and put them back in the limelight so many stars and pseudo stars go for them. But they usually degenerate into a voyeuristic following of people’s misfortune.

However, there is hope. It seems that there is creative and thought provoking material out there and guess where it is? That’s right, on the net. So it’s TV that has to pick it up several notches.

My Thoughts on the Royal Wedding

Immigration - from the immigrants' mouths

Check these stories out for a front line explanation.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/immigration-the-bigger-picture-2269074.html

Doing things properly.

On too many occasions you hear of people suffering because other people haven’t used basic common sense when executing a task. How about we all commit to operating as human beings and not just do things by rote?

A Lethal Combination

It is happening – we have undereducated our people and the dumbest ones are the ones in charge of companies. Add to that a large degree of unproductiveness and voila – what do you get? The bottom falling out of our productivity and profitability. Our economy is in trouble and the only feasible and sustainable way out is through growth. How the hell are we going to grow when the things that will grow us are being cut right left and centre?

Do we Really Want a British Fox News?

So Murdoch has been given the go ahead to buy the world so to speak as it pertains to the UK media landscape. It is really hard to believe that this unelected government has been in power for only ten months. Even more amazing, even for me, is how swiftly they have laid waste to the country. How comes there is no mass protest in the UK? Because we've spent decades under-educating our people and encouraging them to be more concerned with voting for things like the X-Factor rather than the people in charge of the country who will make decision on our lives.

Nice.

Jessie J - a Pleasant Surprise

I heard an interview with this young star the other day on Channel 4 news and I was pleasantly surprised at how clear she was on what she had been, was doing and was going to do as an artist. I believe she said something along the lines of she sees herself as part entertainer, part therapist or something. Basically she was saying that there was more to her music than just being a star. It was refreshing. In addition to that her music is good. She also made the point that she doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed. That reminded me of another artist I respect – Eva Cassidy. I believe one of the reasons why she didn’t have a major record deal when she was alive was because she wanted to maintain her eclectic tastes and this didn’t fit neatly into the marketing rules of most record labels.

I’m not a huge fan of the video for ‘Do it Like a Dude’ but I do love the lyrics for Price Tag. Let’s hope she does well and that we’ll have more artists like her.

Hilarious prank call

You might have heard this before but this is priceless! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OgWcwgB50

Staying afloat and doing well

There is no good reason why people who are willing to work shouldn’t be able to support themselves and their families and live comfortably. But for some reason the way things are set up make this impossible for many and extremely difficult form the majority.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/record-levels-of-poverty-among-families-with-wages-2151711.html

The fitness instructor in this story made me think. There he is doing a full time job – probably with plenty of overtime but at the rate he is paid there is no way he’s ever, get me, EVER going to make enough to do more that struggle. Now they have two small kids. Childcare costs a fortune so his wife can’t work because her salary would cancel out the childcare. I suspect this couple are not well qualified and to become so would take aptitude, time and money which I suspect they have little of. So the best that can happen to them is for the wife to be able to work once the kids are older, which could be years, and for nothing to go amiss in the intervening years, such as job loss or illness.

Firstly, the minimum wage needs to be something people can really live on. Secondly a proper market rate needs to be established for a whole range of jobs – why is a fitness instructor being paid so little – it takes some knowledge and skill so surely he should be paid more than six quid an hour? Thirdly there needs to be a much more intelligent attitude towards childcare. In Jamaica where I used to live, many businesses had nurseries on site or ran one affiliated to them and perhaps a group of other companies. Parents paid a lower rate and the businesses benefited from employees who were secure in the knowledge their kids were properly being taken care of. I suspect our love for bureaucracy at the expense for the welfare of our kids prevents this from happening here. Paying for childcare should not cancel out a salary.

Lastly we need to encourage aspiration and laud intelligence and achievement instead of making fun of people who do well. Also people need to become entrepreneurial– create our own jobs. We cannot function well as a nation with low achievement and poor educational results that trap people into a life of low paid jobs. It’s a fact that the more qualified you are and the batter able to solve problems and form good relationships, the better job you can get. Until we get this, there will continue to be many working poor like the family mentioned above. Trust me on this, the difference between this family and ones I am familiar with are £800 per month earning power and £3,500 per month. Heck, on half of £3,500 a household could afford for the mother not to work. How do you get to earn that kind of cash and much more? With qualifications and problem solving abilities that businesses cannot do without. Those of us in positions where we can earn a lot are somewhat able to because of the dearth of qualified people. Take a profession I am familiar with – bid managers for instance, there are so few people that can do it well, the salaries offered are in the region of £40k and up plus bonuses and companies scramble to hire the few people available - for the most part. If there was a larger pool of qualified people the salaries might be lower (but I doubt it because of the nature of the work). Instead there are millions earning less than half of this. With prices and taxes in the UK the way they are and with further cuts things look bleak for the unskilled and low qualified. If you are in this position I advise you to do some heavy research – find out what professions you can get into (without a degree) that are in short supply and can earn you a wage upon which you and your family can be comfortable. These professions DO exist. And encourage your kids to do extremely well at school – you need them doing so well they can get scholarships people. It’s the only way out of this.

We are all human.

I am watching an episode of Dispatches in which Pakistani people are speaking about the loss of loved ones in various bombing incidents.

It is heartbreaking.

One man made a point that stuck with me – he said something to the effect that to many people throughout the world, when they hear of bombings and deaths in Pakistan, these deaths are just a number. He said that in the morning he dropped his wife off at work and in the evening he collected her body. How can you explain that he asked? How indeed.

Let’s try not to see these and other deaths simply as statistics. One death is the loss of a loved one for many people and creates a pain that will probably never fully go away. Let us be compassionate and remember these people. For those of us who have faith, let’s pray for those who mourn, regularly, that they may be comforted. Just imagine for a moment if your loved one had been killed. How would you feel? Like they were a statistic?

I think not.

'Allo 'Allo

I am watching a re-run of ‘Allo ‘Allo and I am reminded of how incredibly funny it is. One of my favourite moments is in the days of the original La Clair. Madame Edith was once again going to thrill the patrons with her singing, but the British airmen were hiding inside the piano. So La Clari decided to mime playing the instrument for Madame Edith while the airmen said ‘plink plonk, plinky plonk.’ Priceless!

Why the plastic surgery?

Why do some women insist on getting plastic surgery when it neither makes them look better nor younger? And not to mention the risk – I mean why put yourself under a general anaesthetic for a look? I can get aging and not being happy with how you look but I can’t get going through risky surgery , spending a fortune and then coming out and looking worse.

As for me – I hate hospitals and the thought of going under does not thrill me – elective plastic surgery? Hell no.

Madness in Trini Land

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said that her “nation would have to get something in return for helping Caribbean neighbours affected by Hurricane Tomas.”

I, like others (see this story in the Gleaner http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=23887) are gobsmacked.

Have you EVER heard the leader of a country state that they would need something back for helping their neighbours out in the aftermath of a natural disaster? As they say in Jamaica, anyting go so? It would seem it does.

Look, when natural disasters strike, people suffer. They need help, and if you have any compassion you will give it – without asking for something in return. It begs the question, what the hell kind of person is she? And also, not just that but she surely must have had an inkling of how her statement would be greeted yet she said it anyway. SO either she is not politically savvy or she is truly a heartless *****.

Anyway you look at it, this is very sad. The only good thing is that she seems to be very much alone in her opinion. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Respect for the President

Check this article out - from Canada. http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/america-hes-your-president-for-goodness-sake

The Death of Good Taste

The latest instalment of the X-Factor has sealed the death of good taste in the UK. It seems as though if you are an excellent singer, can keep in tune and in time then you are not considered of the greatest value by the judges. However, if they take a shine to you for whatever reason (never the reason of musical talent) then you are considered fantastic. Even after hearing a lacklustre, out of tune, out of time performance, these ridiculous people who know better laud their acts to the skies. They can’t possibly be fooling even themselves.

They need to remove the competition element between the judges because it is now in the realms of the ridiculous. Make it a straightforward, talent show for goodness sake before we become even more of a global laughing stock than we are when it comes to high quality anything.

And I think they should keep up the guest singer judges because to be honest (and I don’t want to be harsh) but neither Danni nor Cheryl Cole can sing well so it’s a bit rich hearing some of their comments. They need some successful, SINGERS not people famous for being famous more than anything on the panel in addition to the industry experts. And if someone is a successful singer they don’t have months to devote so judging a programme like this so you either need a successful person who has kind of retired from the biz (Anita Baker for example) or rotate guest judges.