MUNGUIN EN VANCANCES

All packed and ready to go.

Arrived and waiting for cocktails.

Picnic luncheon at the castle.

Inspecting the gardens.

Floral arrangements specially planted for Munguin's arrival.

With Dani and Zeta.

It's hard for a wee furry animal to keep cool,
but the fountains look good.

And there are some nice green places in the shade.

Quick meeting outside the USA Embassy with Ronnie. He was thrilled.

I wanted to them to get the parliament in but Abé had to get his head in the way.

Country residence at Lake Balaton.

A cruise on the Blue (Green??) Danube.

We visited a synagogue ... 

...and a church.

It was nice of them to put up barbers' poles to point me to the hairdresser.

So, we climbed to the top of a volcano (in the car)

We even took public transport... Me, Munguin, on the métro!! Imagine.

Our gracious host, Viki.

The view from Munguin's apartments.

The wasps were at least an inch long. No joke. Tris was scared stiff!

And finally to Lake Balaton again.
Sincere thanks to Viki, Dani, Abé, Zita, and all the other people who made the stay so marvellous. Seriously never turn down the opportunity to visit Hungary. It's one of the loveliest countries we've ever been to.

David Cameron was “sick to his stomach” when he discovered that horrid Europeans said that prisoners should have the right to vote. How does he feel about Lords Taylor or Hanningfield having the right to vote...in the House of Lords? Should we pass him a bucket?

Nice story for a change. We had new neighbours move in downstairs a few days ago, Danny and Barbara, and last night they arrived at the door with a plate of biscuits. It seems this is a Hungarian custom. Damned nice one. Maybe in the depths of winter they will turn up on the doorstep with goulash... Well, I can hope can’t I?

The coalition’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport has finally woken up to the fact that trains in the UK are not for the poor. In an appearance before their transport committee he said that some of the fares were eye wateringly expensive. We have the most expensive rail fares in Europe, and, despite having a largely private railway, we also have the biggest government subsidies in Europe. Bravo. Well, it was this government that put the fares up, and it was a Tory government that botched the sale of British Rail. The question is: what are they doing about it? The answer appears to be: nothing!

Inflation is up again. The RPI is 5.2%. The government’s preferred figure (I wonder why) is 4.5%. And the figure is false. Many items now come in smaller packets with the same price. I doubt that that is included in the calculations. People are getting poorer and poorer. This winter fuel poverty will be a massive problem causing record numbers of deaths among the poor and the vulnerable. But just in case you were getting worried, there is no likelihood that any of the Cabinet will be affected. So that’s alright.

Judge Stephen John asked a prostitute how she could value her services at £20,000 a week to “Toys R Us” director Paul Hopes. There’s one judge who doesn’t seem to understand the basics of the market. A product is worth what people are prepared to pay for it. Mr Hopes was prepared to pay that much because he had stolen the money from the company. Weird old world.