TWO YEARS ON...THINGS DIDN'T GET BETTER

Times Square

Lexington

Bloomingdales

The 21 Club NY

Inside Trump Tower

Yes it really has been 2 whole years and a little more since I posted a blog,that really is very bad and inconsistent,but retirement has beeen very busy.
A brief synopsis the General Election in 2010 gave us a coalition government,even with a PM as dreadful as Gordon Brown,David Cameron could not give the Conservative Party a clear majority consequently the LibDems united with the Tories.
They had to, markets were twitchy the U.K. pretty much broke,and to salvage anything from the mess left by the outgoing labour  government,stability was required and they gave it.Initially people appeared to like the idea of 2 opposition parties uniting for the good of the country,it all sounds very admirable and worthy I know,but politicians do like the electorate to think they are like that(no laughing please) but after 12 months or so things became more than a little strained between them.However they still continue to hold it together,but we have gone into recession again,and realistically they can't have been surprised ,anyone who has a sense of history must know that the economic crisis of 2008 was a mirror image of the depression in the 1930's,both cause and effect, there is no quick fix to the damage greedy bankers and politicians have done,and also the culture of greed from some members of joe public,those who must have everything instantly,so they maxed out their credit cards,and took every loan available,re-mortgaged until there was no equity,consequently everything imploded.
I have to stress this is a global problem Europe is in a far worse place than the U.K.,but it is the ordinary working men and women who are suffering,severe cuts and rising inflation,no pay increases a very toxic recipe.
Last Summer 2011 we had riots on the streets of London,Birmingham ,Manchester and it spread,anarchy had arrived on our streets,a sad and sorry day.
We have another ongoig inquiry chaired by Lord Justice Leveson ,The Prime Minister announced a two-part inquiry investigating the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal, on 13 July 2011.That's a very brief description but it involves possible corruption,from media,police and politicians,U.K looks more like a Banana Republic with every revelation that is exposed.
There are positive things in this sceptred Isle of ours though,in the Summer we host the 2012 Olympics in London,and our queen has her Diamond Jubilee,yes 60 glorious years what a wonderful job that woman has done,so much to look forward to.

Central Park NY

Me Central Park

I am still loving retirement have had a photograph published,really chuffed with that and totally unexpected,so in to gym,pilates, aerobics and pumpimg iron.love geneaology and enjoying doing it for close family and friends ,I love history and some of the things that I discover are amazing,humbling,horrifying every emotion that is the human race...The theatre of course I love and enjoy,and I've not long come back from New York,I love that city ,and the New Yorkers are terrific people ,but I do realise I am very fortunate and blessed,and appreciate every moment,so I live it.... after all this is not a rehearsal folks we just get the one shot at it.

CALA SAN VINCENTE..OCTOBER 2009

On a lighter note a lovely holiday spot my daughter and I discovered ,on the Baleriac Island of Majorca in the North,Cala San Vincente,we stayed at the Don Pedro and had a wonderful holiday.

CADBURYS...BRITISH OWNED FROM 1820-2010

Another very profitable British company taken over by a foreign competitor,Kraft,on 02/02/2010,and the government let it happen.

A GENERAL ELECTION LOOMS...BUT WHO TO VOTE FOR??

It's certainly been a while since I came back to this blog....very remiss of me and it really is something I should regularly have come back to,simply because of the times we are living in,it's strange and unsettling ,nothing like recessions we have encountered and weathered,in the past ,this is deeper, and you sense dark and destructive,add to that sheer frustration and helplessness,all down to the mood of the country with due cause of course,and our very important MPs(they tell us they're VIPs) who ignore us at every opportunity..And how embarrassing the PM doing an interview with Piers Morgan,that's the domain of airheads like Katie Price and her ilk,I couldn't watch it...Gordon Brown has many failings ,but his dourness,and perceived abruptness were him,such a pity he had to sell himself for a few votes.
My last blog stated the worse recession in 30 years ,let's clarify things this is the worst economic disaster since the 1930's....It is global but the present government did nothing to save in good times,in fact they've plundered the state purse,politicians have used and abused the trust of the electorate...No it's not only the expenses ,we've paid for their mortgages and lifestyles,my own MP spent £1,500 on wallpaper...that was just for 1 room,persian rugs,paintings,kitchens,food,and of course the mortgage for her 2nd home,but hers was nothing compared to those that have been flipping homes,phantom mortgages,cleaning of moats,duck houses all paid for by the gullible electorate.
Then of course there are the lies, and there are an abundance, from politicians of all persuasions..We were promised,categorically, by the present labour government,that we would have a vote on Europe,but they decided without permission from the electorate that they'd go ahead with it anyway,so that was it no vote ,no consultation,tough luck we know better than you..That's the attitude of our politicians,we the masses do not matter,and for a labour government they have certainly betrayed the working classes in the worst possible way,they've perpetuated the underclass,thrown benefits at them,taken away their aspirations,ghettoised them in tower blocks,and sink estates up and down the country.Education,vision,and responsibilty is the thing that lifts people out of where they are,and that is something that hasn't been encouraged which is shameful,why do young teenage girls see it as aspirational to become pregnant ,get a council flat and depend on benefits?Before some PC person screams "that's an urban myth",think again this is learned behaviour,this is the reality.We're left with a perpetuating cycle,and lifestyle,of benefits culture,sink estates and gang warfare,every MP should hang their heads in shame,all are culpable for the generations that are lost forever,you may not serve in the present government but you've all stood by and watched,and said absolutely nothing,how shameful is that?
Tony Blair was called to give evidence at the Iraq Enquiry,chaired by Sir John Chilcot...Blair is unrepentant even though WMDs were not imminent,he lied to the house and took our country to war,because he thought it was right,that man will have to look to his God and his conscience for what he has done,although someday I hope he is tried for war crimes,he is totally unrepentant for all those lives lost.
Nothing is done to safeguard our manufacturing ,I live a few hundred yards from Bournville Village Green ,and of course Cadbury's ,an extremely profitable company but it's been allowed to be taken over by Kraft,in a very aggressive manner,the hedge fund managers call the shots and government lets them,what happens to British jobs?And now Corus up North they have mothballed the steel works,they've precious little up there, and even less now,1500 jobs gone there,and that's just for starters,but it doesn't seem to matter ,anywhere out of London is ignored and dismissed.
There's an election looming,May 6th apparently,I look at the two main parties,first Labour,they've bankrupt the country,and used social engineering with Blair's deliberate immigration scheme,that we've only recently heard of,but it hasn't worked,instead we have a country that is full to overflowing,and a heavily dependant benefit population,and a legacy of broken promises...Now the Conservative's, David Cameron, the leader, but I still see no substance,only spin,I see a Blair clone,and that I couldn't stomach,the LibDems no offence but not a hope in hell,fence sitters ironically one politician I do trust is Vince Cable MP a lib dem.Unfortunately I don't see a potential leader from any party who has a vision for my country,who can inspire hope and a better future,we lurch from one disaster to the next.
This time round I have no idea,definitely not labour,it will probably be UKIP who gets my vote,I have to vote, women lost their lives, and sufferd imprisonment and indignity to ensure that women had the vote and a say.If politicians understand why I have to vote, then maybe they would understand the sight of women wearing burkhas makes me feel uncomfortable and ill at ease,it takes my gender back nearly a century,and that can't be healthy in a civilised society.
Yes I'm at a loss this time round but come the general election I shall be at the ballot box,correction if it's May 6th I shall be in Italy so postal vote for me.

BUDGET DAY...... BACK TO THE 70'S!!!

Dear me what can I say ,today was budget day,in which Alistair Darling, outlined proposals for the worst deficit in the U.K. since the war,below are a few
UK debt to hit 79% of GDP before falling back in 2015
Britain's economy to shrink by 3.5% this year
IMF disagrees growth will return in 2010

Government to borrow £703bn in next five years

Top tax rate raised to 50% for earners above £150,000

Yes it makes scary reading but that's only the tip of the iceberg,and you can't blame Alistair for this ,the blame lays squarely with our PM Gordon Brown, who was chancellor for a decade..Labour have done it again they've managed to bankrupt the country,and they've gone back to the 70's rhetoric ,of taxing the highest,yes that really encourages entrepeneurs to stay n the U.K.
We're not going forward, this is a retrograde step backwards to more than 3 decades ago.
Message for PM Brown,do the decent thing ,go to the queen,dissolve parliament,and allow the electorate to vote for what they want....As an unelected PM,for once show some integrity.
The national debt will double to 1.4 trillion pounds...yes that's right... and every child born now will owe £22,000,what a legacy to leave.

SLEAZE,LIES,CORRUPTION..YES IT'S POLITICS!!

For nigh on a week now the public have at last seen what a dark and malicious side there is to Gordon Brown's idea of politics,he and the thugs that surround him have at last been found out.They've bullied their way to the top, especially Brown,who I'm sure justifies every heinous act he's done by telling himself he was meant to be Prime Minister.Like all cowards and bullies though he doesn't actually do anything,he gets his hired help to do his bidding.
Anyone who knows even a little about politics understands it's a rough old game,but there are lines no one should ever cross and the labour mps and advisors involved ,have committed the cardinal sin of crossing that line,creating malicious ,evil, E mails all fabrication, of a heinous nature, targetted toward not only tory politicians,but their wives,they have really plummetted new depths at the bottom of their tawdry Downing Street sewer...Yes folks that's where these E mails were created and sent from no.10 Downing Street,at the tax payers expense...the men in question Damien McBride,Browns personal adviser and resident thug until "resigning",Tom"two dinners" Watson denying any knowledge,to the left of the PM in the above photo,usually has Damien McBride sitting next to him ,and Ed Balls the same("not me guv") both cabinet ministers,who sit within a few feet of each other on a daily basis ,as does our PM Gordon Brown,but they know nothing *cough*...Then we have the odious Derek Draper,big pal of Peter Mandleson,and Charlie Whelan who though dismissed some years ago is still copied into the said E mails,still part of Gordon Brown's elite clique.
I can't imagine what sort of mind fabricates such toxic,sordid, material,more alarming they are running this country,all flawed and morally bankrupt individuals.
Then to top it off our incompetent Home Secretary Jacqui Smith once again embroiled in a cover up when she and others had an opposition MP arrested at the house of commons no less,last November,and charged,in the name of national security.There was of course no case to answer,the MP,Damien Green, has today been cleared ,and it was stated no threat to national security,it was in fact in the public interest that the details be revealed,Ms Smith trying to cover up her own incompetence..She has of course been screwing the taxpayer for thousands in expenses,for her home in Redditch, and everything in it,cable TV, even the husbands porn,whatever floats your boat but not at my expense,I don't know about resigning she should have been sacked months ago!!!
What a shower this labour government are, and what a disgrace to all the men and women with integrity and principal, who have gone before them ,who strove to help the ordinary working people,unlike the breed that govern the country now, they should hang their heads in shame ,but they won't.
Economically our country is practically bankrupt ,yes there are global reasons but Brown when chancellor mismanaged our economy,putting nothing away for a rainy day and in good times even borrowing,the present government cannot be trusted.
I've walked the streets and knocked on doors in the past canvassing for labour,my father was a staunch labour man,so forgive me dad but David Cameron will be my choice for the 2010 election,he seems okay and I'd rather put my country in his hands,as I think hes a good chance of repairing a very broken and battered Britain

WOOLWORTHS R.I.P

Couldn't sign off without a special mention of Woolworths,it's been a familiar face on the High Street through the decades,enoy the images from the 1st Woolies in the U.K. until the groups final days.
Good luck to all the staff ,28,000,now that's an awful lot of people to lose their jobs,here's hoping some at least have managed to secure something in these unusual and unforgiving times.

Jenny