Zimbabwe

Stand by for a blood bath and congratulations to all the politicians who have indulged the despot Robert Mugabe. I am sure the likes of Jack Straw will have excuses for shaking his hand. Just by the by what on earth was that discredited politician, Peter Hain, doing on Newsnight? Is he the only expert on South Africa?

There is no doubt that Mugabe will never give up power voluntarily! To gain Zimbabwe the people will have to crush Mugabe outside of the ballot box because at his age he probably does not give a damn! This is an indictment on the other African States and is a reminder that we should not be wasting British money on them.

We all see the 'soft' BBC programmes idenitifying 'cute' schoolchildren from a variety of African nations and I respect the people who give their time voluntary to help these people BUT we, here in Britain, also have our elderly parents who desperately need financial assistance.

In my opinion we should concentrate on ourselves a little more and forget our colonial ancestry. Our colonial ancestry is long, long, gone so why do we give so much money to Africa?

40,000 missing bags at Terminal Five.

The sick joke of Terminal Five has been allowed to trundle on. It has shamed Britain so much but now it is becoming institutionalised. If you deposit your baggage at Heathrow Terminal Five then you are likely to lose it. Nowhere else in the world is such incompetence tolerated!

In this country you can prove absolute incompetence but as long as you 'apologise sincerely' then you will be forgiven. I am sick of Chief Executives and Politicians putting on their 'most sincere' face and apologising for their incompetence. I want to see resignations!

If you foul up to such an extent that the rest of the world is laughing at your country then you MUST fall on your sword. Are you listening Willie Walsh, BAA, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw, Jacqui Smith, you Millipedes (did I get that right?) and all the other ministers who have appeared at the despatch box and apologised.

Don't apologise just leave the job to someone else!

Adam Applegarth - Northern Rock

This former Chief Executive of the failed bank Northern Rock is apparently due a payment of £750,000 in reward for almost bringing the economy to a state of collapse. Who says? It is ridiculous! This bank has now been nationalised because of the actions of this one man so I am now reluctantly a shareholder. According to the press it has cost me a lot of money to buy into this incompetence. So should he get the money? I vote AGAINST but what about you guys who are also shareholders?

Don't bother to reply because in Brown's Britain we all know that crooks prosper and he is assured of this dishonest lump sum. Remember this at the next election.

The Red Arrows and this Government!

I have just received E-Mails from my daughter and an old military colleague asking me to sign a petition demanding that the Red Arrows be allowed to perform their demonstration at the Olympics. Apparently this government is proposing to ban them on the grounds that they are 'Too British' and could offend some of the competing countries!

I believe that the outrage will be catastrophic for this pathetic, weak-kneed bunch of prats who should be consigned to the waste basket of history. What I cannot understand is why the military brass are not going berzerk! I really hope that someone will rise from amidst the military ranks and tell them what people they actually represent.

They represent British people the majority of which, despite their efforts to change them, are still predominantly, white, hard working families with a sense of decency handed down by their ancestors who fought and died for this country.

We do not support the rampant rise of predatory homosexuals, tolerance of paedophiles, Muslim activists, illegal gypsy sites, dishonest politicians, anything vaguely promoting a European State, mass immigration, East European people traffickers, the NUT, filthy hospitals, absentee police, the destruction of our Armed Forces, ignoring the weak and elderly, benefits for young,indolent, single mothers or lazy young men or their unemployed parents and grandparents! Have I missed anything?

If the Red Arrows are barred from flying at the Olympics then we should boycott the Olympics and show the world that it is not us who are shaming our country it is our absurd politicians and their greedy,incompetent,morally bankrupt officials who support them.

Derby County

I take a deep breath as I report that my beloved football team that I have been supporting for almost sixty years have been relegated back to the Championship. Frankly it has been on the cards since before Christmas and my heart goes out to those fans young enough and enthusiastic enough to invest in season tickets and travel to away games.

The only positive aspect to emerge from what can only be described as a disastrous and humiliating season is that the club will emerge financially secure. We have new American owners who apparently have money to invest and the SKY TV 'parachute' payment to relegated clubs should ensure that we can invest in talented mercenaries.

I am not yet convinced that the manager is as good as his rhetoric but we have no option but to give him a chance to lead us back to the big time. Whatever happens we just have to write this season off. I will just say this. I have seen us bounce up and down for years. I have seen the heady days of Brian Clough when we were league champions and played Juventus in the European Club Semi Finals. I also watched us struggle in the old Division three (North)and remember the dreaded days when Tommy Docherty got rid of international stars and replaced them with nonentities.

Throughout it all the Derby fans have turned up week in and week out fiercely loyal to our home town club. I salute you all boys and girls and I'm sure that things can only get better!

A New Bowling Season

Yesterday evening I attended the pre-season meeting held by my lawn bowls club. It is at this time of year that we start to dream of the summer. People that you have not met all winter suddenly appear as if out of a cocoon and thoughts turn to long sunny days, pints of cold beer/lager, salads and meeting old friends from the opposition.

From the sidelines bowls appears to be quite a simple game but I have now been playing about seven years and I believe that only now am I beginning to get to grips with the game. No doubt the intricacies of the greens this year will once again prove me wrong. You see it isn't just each green that is different it is each rink on each green that differ and the really good players can read it almost immediately.

Last year we won our league and got promoted to the District Division One. This year we face the big boys. It could be an interesting year! I will keep you posted.

Terminal 5 Heathrow Airport

I am watching SKY News as I write this post and it sounds as if Terminal Five has broken down inside 24 hours. Are we really surprised? BA has been a disaster for some particular time but this seems to be unparallelled. Flights in and out cancelled, people queueing for hours, visitors redirected to Gatwick with no information on how to get there and then of course the inevitable lost baggage! Apparently a flight left yesterday with no baggage on it at all!! As my more famous brother would say - I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

Welcome to broken Britain folks and just be thankful that you don't have to live here like we do!

UPDATE
It is much,much worse that even my brother could envisage! It is a total disaster and a national disgrace. The government must now step in but then what would they do?
We all know how decisive the PM is. What concerns me is that we are meant to host the Olympics in 2012. I am not sure that we are capable of holding such an event. I really hope that I am wrong.

Capello's England - same old ,same old

I am an ardent football fan. I passionately want England to do well and so when they appointed Fabio Capello I dreamed of a new approach from that adopted during the Ericsson/MaClaren eras. I am sick of watching the dreary chess match approach to football. We have players of flair and skill and yet match after match goes by and nothing happens.

Now I realise that France are a top quality team even though Scotland beat them but last night we went almost the whole game without really threatening their goal. It was so boring but not until Downing came on did we have a player prepared to run forward with the ball at his feet (the exception was one effort from Gareth Barry).

This celebrity cult which pervades the England squad has to be culled. Now Beckham has got his 100th cap that should be it - he is washed up as a top filght player and has been for some time. His delivery is still great but that is not enough. The same goes for Michael Owen.

There is a collection of young, ambitious, players knocking on the door and it is time they got a chance. I know that Gerard and Rooney play well for their clubs but they have lost their way internationally and results prove it. Where was the pace last night, where was the ambition, the drive and the creation. I lost count of the number of times that we moved forward, hesitated, lost momentum and then passed the ball all the way back to James because nobody could think what to do with it.

Get rid of them Fabio and start working with the kids! Walcott, Bentley, Ashton, Milner,Huddleston, Richards etc etc. Let's get someone in an England shirt who wants to play for the country. Get Joe Cole off that left wing and given him the conductor's baton, select wingers who want to attack the full backs and wrap Heskey in cotton wool until the England games and then find him a partner (Dean Ashton?). I know it is all a matter of opinion but something has to change.

Order! Order!

I cannot credit that our current Speaker is prepared to go to court to prevent Freedom of Information campaigners from discovering the extent of his alleged pilfery. Surely this means that he is covering something up and if he isn't then what is the problem?

Personally I have always found it rather bemusing that a working class sheetmetal worker should inherit one of the most historically significant parliamentary positions. I know that sounds pathetically snobbish but surely someone in that position has to possess a sense of propriety based on education, leadership qualities and experience. I always get the feeling when watching Speaker Martin that he is socialist through and through and therefore would find it impossible to give the opposition an even break which is his job.

On top of that if he has been spending tax payers money unwisely (or worse) he could be in for a very rocky time because now that the press have got a whiff of blood they won't stop until they have got him. In the meantime as this matter now goes to court it is, as ever, the taxpayer who picks up the bill.
UPDATE
Just after I wrote this I popped onto Iain Dale's Diary to learn that the Speaker is now bending parliamentary rules to gag MP's from discussing the subject. It is warming up folks!

MP's Expenses

Ah Ha at long last the establishment is getting involved in the 'Snouts in the Trough' saga. 'Newsnight' addressed it tonight and I suspect there are many MPs are squirming in embarrassment at the thought that their greed could now be exposed. I revisited the MPs Spreadsheet provided by Guido Fawkes (by the way thanks for the mention Guido) and concentrated on Air Fairs.

Now I did say in my original blog that it was an inexact science but one has to say that Rosie Winterton from Doncaster racking up £13906 on air fares in one year does seem excessive even though she is a Minister of State for the Dept of Transport.

I also mentioned Phil Woollas from Oldham even though he is the Minister for (Wait for it) Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and so I should possibly excuse his PPS Nia Griffith (Llanelli) who racked up £12557 in Air fares. They obviously like to take to the skies on a regular basis.

The one I cannot understand becaue he is not a Minister of any state or even on the government front bench is Rob Wilson (Con) from Reading who clocked up an astonishing £13702 in air fares. Am I being unfair or can anyone explain this?

Inflation and the Pensioner

On 15 January I blogged that my local MP's expense allowance was increasing by about 10% per annum whereby the PM had told Andrew Marr on live Sunday television that the inflation rate was just 2per cent. Today the soaring cost of living has been announced and it is very much in line with what my wife tells me week after week!

Butter up 37%, Eggs 34%, Bread 28% Flour 22%, Milk 17%, Gas and Fuel 10% and Petrol 8%. In addition Council Tax bills are also rocketing so where does Gordon Brown get his 2% from? Once again he is refusing to face the truth and once again the people who suffer most from his failures are the vulnerable pensioners.

How the elderly on a basic pension manage I do not know. I eagerly await the next inflation rate announcement just to see what they think they can get away with this time. One thing we do know is that it won't be accurate!

What is REALLY important?

It never ceases to amaze me how our politicians can come up with dippy idea after dippy idea and yet always fail to address the problems that really concern the electorate. In many areas of the country law and order has broken down completely, the prisons are full, the police fail to respond and the streets are packed with illegal immigrants so what do we get? How about banning plastic bags and hiding fags from the kids so they won't want to smoke!

Don't get me wrong my generation know only too well the perils of smoking and the plastic bag phenomena should have been curbed years ago but they are hardly priorities when we have so many other problems. Last week a smirking Jack Straw was told by a prisoner that the prisons were better than holiday camps and since then not one single idea to reverse the trend. Indeed his only idea to buck the trend is to ask the judges not to hand out custodial sentences. Consequently figures revealed yesterday confirm that two murders a week are carried out by criminals freed on bail! This is mass murder and the Justice Minister is responsible. He is charged with ensuring that our legal system safeguards the public and yet he routinely fails to act which means that he doesn't care and that is dereliction of duty.

In any other walk of life he would be at the very least be sacked but have you seen the NoLab front bench these days? So many have had to resign through improper conduct that there is probably nobody left who Gordon Brown would trust to keep his/her trap shut.

I would sleep a little better if any of the opposition would address the problem but they remain depressingly reticent. Someone one day will have to bite the bullet and address the problem which causes so many young people to commit crime. There are families now where three generations have never had a job. This, despite all the lame brained attempts to help them along the way. It doesn't work! Holiday camp prisons don't work! Soft sentences don't work! Tagging doesn't work! Bail for violent criminals doesn't work! For years the hanging and flogging brigade have been denigrated by our wet politicians but I tell you something - that would work!

Snouts in the Trough

I think that we are all aware that the majority of MPs have been abusing their generous expense allowance. Recently the Guido Fawkes BLOG offered an opportunity to download details of these expenses which I did. I was amazed at the audacity of some of these people so I decided to experiment. When I was a government official our expenses claims were scrutinised rigorously for discrepancies. We could only claim 'official' mileages and each journey had to be authorised.

By using Autoroute I noted the mileage from London to the constituencies of each MP who seemed to be claiming the most. I know that this is an inexact science but it was a bit of fun so I divided the amount claimed by the mileage to the constituency. This gave me the cost of one journey so I then allowed them 50 return trips to their constituencies per year. That way I could discover just who was costing us the most.

Obviously the most expensive MPs generally lived in the wilds of northern Scotland and bearing in mind that they already have their own parliament in Edinburgh it does seem to be an expensive indulgence. One name did appear in the top ten however, who did not represent a constituency north of Glasgow. Phil Woollas (Lab) (218 miles from London)was claiming as if he represented a Highland constituency. Over £10000 for railfare, almost £6000 for car travel and over £7000 for air travel all this to get to Oldham for heaven's sake! His trips according to my little calculation worked out at £1.07 per mile. He stands out like a sore thumb at the top of the heap and I didn't expect to find anyone worse but hang on a mo.

Over at Doncaster (181 miles) I came across Rosie Winterton (Lab) who worked out at £1.28 per mile. She claimed almost a grand more than Charlie Kennedy and he represents Skye! There were other rather expensive MPs like Angela Browning a Tory from (Tiverton and Honiton), John Grogan Lab (Selby) and Alan Meale (Mansfield) but they paled into insignificance when I tumbled across Robert Wilson Con from Reading East (41 miles)who claimed £16900 and became the first MP to cost us over £4 a mile!

Surely he had to be the limit but my goodness no he wasn't because down at Croydon(11 miles)resides Richard Ottaway (Con) and it cost the public purse £13270 to transport him to and fro from Croydon which works out at £6.03 per mile. Now just possibly he travels every day but most of us pay for that ourselves. I have never been able to claim my fares to get to and from work on a daily basis.

I can already hear you thinking that nobody could get worse than that but then I nearly fell off my chair! The MP from Hampstead (5 miles) claimed travel expenses of...wait for it...£12266 which works out at £24.53 per mile!! So I award the title of SOW OF THE YEAR to Glenda Jackson (Lab). Nice one Glenda!

It would not be fair to ignore some of the better snouts like David Taylor Con (NW Leics)£1.45, Malcolm Moss Con (NE Cambs) £2.18, Mike O'Brien Lab (N Warwicks) £1.47and Paul Clarke Lab (Gillingham) the PPS to Ed Balls who clocked up a whopping £4.10 per mile!

I think that the auditors should be looking at this but then if they are not going to refer Derek Conway to the police then what is the point of any checks at all!!

Brits Abroad

I have just spent a week in Tenerife in constant warmth with day time temperatures varying between 22 and 25 degrees. My wife and I have opted for this March holiday for the last few years because we can always guarantee the temperatures in the Canary Islands at this time of year.

What struck me this year however, was the sheer number of Brits who actually live on Tenerife. They are everywhere, running taxis, cafes, restaurants, hiring out apartments and generally living a very nice life in the sun.

Satellite television brings the English lifestyle into their homes and the English papers arrive regularly each day delivered to English style supermarkets which stock all the English products interspersed with Spanish and German food as well.

The English language is common everywhere and so here we have a superbly relaxed life style lacking nothing of English news and yet a million miles away from the misery heaped on so many by Gordon Brown and his cohorts.

The streets are shiningly clean, graffiti is non existant, the police motor cycle patrols are highly visible even along the proms and the collection of rubbish puts the emphasis on the householder. It is the latter which is so simple. Stragetically placed in each area, usually on a street corner are the 'Basura' (Rubbish) bins. They are numerous and appear to be emptied every night. They are all under cover so that rubbish does not smell or blow around and there are also convenient bottle banks. I cannot believe the fuss that the local councils in this country make about recycling.

It is the social atmosphere which is so refreshing because real English people can enjoy a real English lifestyle without any of the Marxist politically correct crap which we endure on a daily basis.

I arrived back to a drop of 18 degrees and a post bag which included an annual Council Tax bill for almost £1400. The councils lecture everyone on recycling and then produce bag fulls of socialist propaganda attempting to explain how they can waste so much money on so little! I don't mind the Fire Service contribution but a non existent Police Service is costing me way too much. The rest is a scandal when one compares the reduction in services which we have all suffered in the last decade.

A message to Australian Muslims!

I have been sent an E-Mail which has such a significant impact that I intend to copy it onto my BLOG. It is apparently a speech delivered by John Howard the Prime Minister of Australia in response to some the Muslims in his country who want to live under Sharia Law. He also supported his spy agencies monitoring mosques in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. Since NONE of our politicians seem to value this country in the way that Mr Howard values his it is worth the publicity.

" Immigrants not Australians must adapt. Take it or leave it. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the attacks on Bali we have experienced a surge of patriotism by the majority of Australians.

Our culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak mainly ENGLISH not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian or any other language. Those of you who wish to be part of our society must learn the language.

Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push but a fact because Christian men and Christian principles founded this nation and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of schools. If God offends you then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home because God is a part of our culture.

We will accept your beliefs and we will not question why. All that we ask is that you accept ours and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.

This is our country, our land, our lifestyle and we will allow you the opportunity to enjoy all this BUT once you are done complaining, whining and griping about our flag, our pledge, our Christian beliefs and our way of life I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other great Australian freedom. THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country you accepted."

No bloody wonder that the Aussies have a lifestyle to be envied. I cannot envisage any of our political leaders daring to be so blunt (except the BNP of course) but I think we should omit the word 'Australian' replace it with 'British' and post this speech on every major billboard in the country!

Enoch Powell

I have just watched a programme on BBC 2 about the prophesies of Enoch Powell which showed footage of the protests against mass immigration more than twenty years ago. This is very significant to all the white males of my age because we lived through these times and have seen our country change beyond all recognition.

The England of those days was a safe place where children could run free all day long. The elderly would never be attacked because they were someone's mother or father and they would be avenged. Education was constant, recognised and approved.
We all knew our place in society but the overriding principle of our society was the upholding of law and order.

Fast forward to today and look what we have got. Our country is in decay. We don't even trust the police even when we see any. Education for our children is a joke. We have parents desperately buying houses in certain areas in the hope that this will qualify their children to attend a decent school!

Nobody wants to be admitted to hospital because it courts death from horrendous super bugs. The executives who run these hell holes pick up huge salaries and even more in bonuses but are never held culpable when people are murdered in their disease ridden hospitals.

But back to Enoch Powell...he warned against mass immigration possibly in terms that were not prudent but all the same he had a point. The character of our country has changed beyond recognition. The honour and integrity which bound together an indigenous white population together has been usurped by a totally alien concept of behaviour.

Now before I am accused of racist tendencies which frankly I would openly admit to I do believe that mass immigration has been such a disaster for our country. We will never recover from it. I was always taught at school that we English were unconquered since William the First in 1066. There are now so many aliens in our country that they have totally changed the face of England and far too much money is spent on them. The white indigenous population feel that they are being ignored to such an extent that all the talent is bailing out.

This is a country in serious decline and we all know it. We have a desperately bad Prime Minister and a desperately bad Cabinet. Even the opposition is poor, I mean look at that prat Clegg...oh don't get me going! Enoch Powell was absolutely right but unfortunately he used the wrong words.

European Football

Tonight Chelsea joined Man Utd and Arsenal in the quarter finals of the European Cup (as I call it). Next Tuesday Liverpool have a great chance of becoming our fourth team into those quarter finals. As it stands the opposition is Schalke(from Germany), Barcelona and Fenerbahce(from Turkey). Now with the exception of Barcelona I reckon that this competitiion is at the mercy of the English clubs but which one?

I must admit that I have a great admiration for the Gunners. They play the type of football that people like me want to watch. I love the artistry of Fabregas, Xleb and Flamini. What a pity that they are all foreigners but on Tuesday night a new English forward made his mark. Theo Walcott is now beginning to look the real deal. This young man could be a major contributor in the next World Cup. What a shame that he plays in the same position as David Bentley. We now have two world class players playing in the same position. Will we now see why Capello is being paid so much money by the FA or will we see the same old lack of imagination.

We have always had the players but we cannot find the managers to harness the talent. Will Fabio Capello prove any different?

Lord Mayor of London

I know nothing about politics in our capital city but it is quite obvious that the position of Lord Mayor of London is a most prestigious position. So we have a competition between Ken Livingston, Boris Johnson and (gawd help us) Brian Paddick to see who will be the hat waving Lord Mayor.

Now don't get me wrong, but this position seems to be very important to Londoners so why haven't we got proper candidates? 'Red' Ken is a professional politician who is distrusted even by NoLab but they, for some reason, welcomed him back into their party even though he is distrusted by almost everyone on the political scene. His most trusted Lieutenant has just resigned, a guy called Lee Jasper, who resigned after allegatiions of financial impropriety! Surely not a NOLab supporter with his hands in the till?

Boris Johnson is a real live joke! He could not do anything useful in life so he has become a politician. So this is the best that the Tories could come up with? I'm sorry but he is an insult to the electorate and to his party.

That leaves us with the LibDems and they present us with Brian Paddick. He is only known as the gay top copper! He wrote an article in the Mail on Sunday last weekend which only went to prove why the Police Force is as ineffectual as it is. The man is a total liability.

I feel sorry for Londoners but then there are very few real Londoners left. The whole of our capital city is populated by foreigners or fat cats so they deserve what they get! Personally I don't give a damn!

Grandchildren!

This afternoon I spent a little time with my second granddaughter while her parents fulfilled an appointment at my first grandaughters's school. Number one grandaughter is a star! She is talented in so many directions that sometimes she is scary. It is difficult to visualise what her future might be because she already seems to know that she is a bit special.

She is a showgirl. She likes to perform and she is learning the guitar. She attracts a lot of attention but today I got to know grandaughter number two. We sat down and played Playmobil where we have to use our imagination and for an hour we had great fun. I am obviously a Grandad proud of my little ones. In this day and age it is sometimes all about mummies, grandmas, sisters and aunties.

We grandads however still have our parts to play. I don't see too many mummies or grandmas dropping their children (off the settee) into shark infested waters and then rescuing them just as the shark is about to strike! Kids love it! Imagination is a wonderful world and sometimes we grandads have that silly, stupid, insight into the kids world that the practical females do not comprehend. We do have our place folks even if the politicians have written us off as useless males!