Wednesday 18 April 2012

Random Thoughts...

Click to enlarge
****************************************
In an appeal to the party to fight hard outside its heartlands in the south of England, Cameron said the Tories are "the proud party of this one nation", able to speak for voters in every part of Britain. And he managed to keep a straight face throughout!
******************************
"I cannot recall a budget that has unravelled as completely and as spectacularly as Mr Osborne's latest effort. It is one thing to raise taxes, quite another to do so while attempting to disguise your budget as a tax-cutting affair. It tarnishes the entire enterprise with deceit."

Alex Massie, Spectator - http://bit.ly/J4QaEp

It appears that while the festivities for the Queen’s jubilee (this is a good article btw) will be in full swing south of the Border, Scots will not so readily be reaching for the bunting. Only three organisations have applied to hold a street party in the country's major cities during the weekend of the Diamond Jubilee. Apparently in England, Cameron has been encouraging people to make a big showing for the festivities, and remarkably at a time when the Health Service in England is throwing people out of hospital in their pyjamas in the middle of the night with no money for a taxi home for the want of funding, Cameron has actually made grant money available for festivities.  Funny old world under the Tories; weird sense of priorities, huh?
Oh yeah, and with weird priorities in mind, Ed Davey’s special advisor, Chris Nicholson, has called for the coalition to slash Winter Fuel Allowance, maternity pay and free bus passes. Why not? If the idea (per the last post) is to kill off all the sick people, why not get rid of old people too? Then they could reduce the top rate of tax for billionaires even further.

Talking of bus passes, I note that the bus companies are whining because of changes to the bus operators grant from the Scottish government. These bus companies would do well to remember that, if it were not for the older and disabled people to take advantage of their services, thanks to the generosity of the government, there would be hardly anyone on any bus apart from in rush hours. Quite apart from the social implications of this for the elderly, this would mean that the companies would only be able to run the barest of services for the rest of the day, greatly inconveniencing the few passengers that they would have, and hugely reducing their profits. They really can't have it all ways, although god knows that's what they appear to want.
Again talking of buses, what the hell is it with National Express drivers? I've probably mentioned this before but it does seem that a condition of employment for bus drivers in this company is that they must be sour faced, miserable, bad tempered, social skill lacking, asses! And while we're on the subject, does this company employ cleaners? If the answer is in the affirmative, do they provide them with hot water, cloths, brushes and detergent? I ask because to describe the buses as clorty would be praise indeed. The buses run by Stagecoach, by comparison, are clean and the staff presentable. polite and cheery. If anyone from National Express management reads this I'd be glad of a hint as to why your service is so bloody awful, your buses are so bloody filthy and your staff so bloody disagreeable!  (PS, before I get slated, I know that there are a few notable exceptions.

6 comments:

  1. Totally agree about National Express bus drivers, last time I used one was while walking the Great Glen Way (I was cheating and cutting off a section.) Stuck my hand out for the bus, it stopped about a quarter of a mile past the bus stop, when I got their I got a 'row' for taking so long and for stopping the bus generally.

    I'm no expert on bus travel but I thought that was how it worked.

    On the Jubilympics; I hate being told what to get enthusiastic about, it tends to have the opposite effect, I think this is true of a lot of people these days who've been made cynical by the last labour government during its time in power, something the tories are just cementing in place.

    Indeed, on the afore-mentioned 'events', let me try and think of something I give less of a fuck about...

    No, I can't think of anything.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had the notion with buses, Pa, that you gave them money (quite a lot) and they provided a service in return... and of course, being in private hands, and with competition (!?!?!) I understood that the idea was that there would be a better service...

    Oh well...you can't always use logic can you?

    Like you I will not be told by the likes of Cameron or Big Business, or even Alex Salmond, what to get enthusiastic about.

    On the Jubilee: the woman has done the job for 60 years, yippee. That's my enthusiasm finished. if her family wants to celebrate it, let them pay for everything. They can afford it; we can't.

    And the Olympics? Hmmm. All I can say is I'm glad I don't live in London, and the people in Paris feel the same way. 6 weeks of mayhem so that Camermuppet can look big...

    But I can't see motorists and van drivers just allowing the VIPs to pass while they sit in crowded lanes in traffic jams; and I'm gagging to see what will happen the first time that someone turns up with a Burger King T shirt on, with their ticket in their grubby mitt. I'm dying to know how all the people will get in to the country via Heathrow, with its 2 immigration clerks, and how there is going to be enough water for them all do drink, wash in, etc.

    I anticipate at least some laughs during the summer as the disorganisation progresses.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was going to say I hope it works for them and that it was all this faux excitement in the build up that was annoying me but I've changed my mind.

    Not because I harbour any malice or wish for it/them to die on it/their arses but can you imagine the smugness, the mutual back-patting, the self-satisfied grins and guffaws of superiority and pride in what absolutely wonderful people they all are if it all works out.

    I feel queezy just thinking about it. It simply must fail horribly and resoundingly or we'll never hear the end of it.

    There will be atmospheric adverts on Moon TV in 2112 harking back to those halcyon days when London/England/Britain (not even sure to be honest) did a great job on the olympibilee of 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's the problem isn't it?

    I'd never wish any event ill (and this one has a pile of my money in it), but the trouble when something is held in Bringland and goes off well, is that we never ever ever hear the end of it.

    I mean most places just assume that it will be fine... and when it is it's ..well, just what everyone expected.

    But when it happens in Brengland, it's like... "Ewwww. we won, yeah everybody, we won...we were better than you... and Barack sent us a telegram. Yes BARACK...did I mention I'm on first name terms with HE WHO MUST BE OBEYED? And we won, and we are the best... They thought it was all over.... It's 1966 again."

    I still don't wish them ill, but I imagine that left in the hands of an incompetent idiot like Prince Sir Lord OBE EBE QBE ZBE COE, it's just bound to fall at the first hurdle.

    I expect that it will be the fault of someone else, however....

    ReplyDelete
  5. I also notice the rings are back. They're going up on the Mound in Edinburgh.

    Something else for late night revellers to piss up against an vomit over.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, I trust that Kensington Palace will hang a massive logo for OUR games the ones WE alone are paying for, wished on us by Labour, but at least having a legacy of encouragement to participate in sport all over our country, and very hopefully NOT having special lanes for those and such as those to travel in.

    ReplyDelete