Will your partner be faithful?

I’m doing a Shakespeare module at Uni at the moment, and one of the key themes is imagined infidelity.
Poor Othello is duped into thinking his wife is a strumpet, and is driven nuts by the evil Iago. He commits a brutal act of misogynistic violence with tragic consequences.
In The Winter’s Tale Leontes develops delusional jealousy at the sight of his wife talking to his best mate, but I won’t spoil the ending if you have not finished reading it yet.
Sadly, these misguided gentlemen did not have the benefit of the Metro.

According to an article in the Metro (the free newspaper that helps to offset the pain of astronomical rail fares, and astronomical parking charges) a person is likely to stray if their ring finger is longer than their index finger. So, have a quick look if you have doubts about the potential loyalty of your partner.

If you are still unsure then why not do the psychological questionnaire on infidelity on the BBC web site, (and get the suspect partner to join in).

Poor Leontes and Othello did not have the benefit of all this modern technology, but I suspect they would have just used it to confirm their worst suspicions.


Here is the link to the adultery test:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/adultery/

Summary of Student Meeting

Last night we had a meeting for all students. I will not bore you with minor issues, but focus on the things that got people upset and annoyed.

Jane Nelson told us about the curriculum changes. The 6 x 20 credit modules look like a fait accompli – so I don’t think that we can do anything about this. Ditto - the plan to claw back £8m by making staff redundant. Note the slippery language: ‘2 Big Projects’ and ‘repositioning’.
Apparently our university has not had an increase in applications like other places, and in the student survey apparently said we wanted more consistency in modules, and the new 6 x 20 thing will give us this wonderful new learning experience.

The big question from the students was: ‘will we be paying more for less ?’

This was answered by Aaron Porter, the vice-president of the NUS. He is an excellent speaker.
Aaron has been involved in meetings with Peter Mandelson and David Lammy. There is a plan by government to increase tuition fees once the election is over (irrespective of which of the three main parties gets elected). Universities could have a mandate to charge what they like, and prestigious universities could charge astronomical amounts. Figures bandied around for average universities are £5 -10K a year - resulting in a system of higher education based on the ability to pay, which excludes talented people who can’t afford it.
The body looking into tuition fees is comprised of business people (who must live on another planet). There is a token student rep, with no power on the committee. Aaron was told by Mandelson that he would have to resign from the NUS if he wanted to be on this committee.
Write to your MP about tuition fees – bet you don’t get a straightforward answer though.

There is also a protest meeting about tuition fees arranged for 3rd December outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office at Birmingham University.

Just to end these jolly tidings – staff at the useless SLC were paid £2 million in bonuses for cocking up people’s loans.

We live in a mad world!

Who’s been on the fiddle?

The Higher Education Funding Council for England has called for the mass resignation of governors at a university accused of misusing public funds.
The University in question is the London Metropolitan University. The university falsely claimed for thousands of students, and has to repay £36m. This will result in innocent staff losing their jobs in an attempt to claw back the cash.
London Met takes students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and has a 16.6% drop out rate for first years, putting it eighth from the bottom in league tables.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/university-accused--of-16336m-student-scam-1825909.html

Congratulations Herman

I knew you would win.

In response to your fellow Belgians slagging us off this week, I thought I would do the same.
Sadly I have nothing derogatory to say about Belgium, having spent many happy hours there as a child.

I think you have:

Great beer – nothing nicer than a tin of chilled Stella
Your chips with mayonnaise are to die for
Your smoked prawns ditto
As for your chocolate – yummmmmmmmmmmmm
You also created one of my favourite childhood heroes – Tintin
And no, we are not offended that you think we are a load of ignorant drunks.

Ha Ha Tony’s got a rival

Poor old Tony - and I must say he is looking a wee bit stressed these days – No wonder - he has a rival for the hottest job in Europe.
Yes Herman Van Rompuy – no I had not heard of him either until this week. Apparently he is the Belgian Prime Minister (yes, those folk who were slagging off the British in yesterday’s blog posting).
Mr. Rompuy is a closet poet, and a shrewd economist. He sounds like a steady sort of chap for the job. It will all be over soon. The powers that be in Europe will be deciding tonight.
I think it will be ….

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/05/tony-blair-herman-von-rompuy

What our EU mates really think about us

Apparently the Belgians egged on by the French have been slagging us off. According to them we have:
- the worst food in the world
- Britain is inhabited by drunks who actually like warm beer
- our tabloids are obsessed with scandal
- our climate is atrocious
- we drive on the wrong side of the road
- we think Britain is the centre of the universe
- we think English is the only language.


This all seems a bit harsh. We don’t all fall into this stereotypical pattern.

Never mind, they do think that we have nice gardens and they have not forgotten that we rushed to their aid in the war.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/6597009/10-reasons-to-dislike-the-British-by-the-Belgians.html

Jack the Ripper – the victims

In 1888 five prostitutes were murdered in Whitechapel over an eleven week period. In JtR films the victims are usually played by beautiful young actresses in glamorous Victorian gowns.
On the tour Lesley pointed out that four of the prostitutes were in their forties and only the last victim was in her twenties. Most prostitutes at that time would have been in their 40s to 60s. They would have been filthy, riddled with sexually transmitted diseases, edentulous, pock marked, and most of them were homeless alcoholics – so far from the image portrayed in the media. They were poor and desperate. They would have charged 4d. for the full works, but would have settled for less. A single bed for the night in a doss house cost 4d. Most homeless people however, would pay 1d. to lean over a canvass hammock with several others in a doss house room.
Prostitutes often congregated around the area of St. Botolph’s church where they met their customers. They were easy targets for JtR.
(1) Mary Ann Nichols: died aged 43 on 31.8.1888. She had been married at 13 to a Fleet Street printer. She left her husband in 1888. On the night she died she had been in the area of the docks looking for doss money. She had a new bonnet which she had been showing off. Her mutilated body was found in Buck’s Row. Her throat had been slit
(2) Annie Chapman: aged 47 with three children. She was last seen alive 8th September 1888. Her body was found in a garden. Her throat had been slit and she had been disembowelled. Her ovaries, spleen and uterus had been taken away. People reported seeing her with a man who had dark hair and a moustache, 5’6” tall, aged 30 – 40, with a black frock coat. Someone thought he wore a deerstalker hat.
The police sent officers dressed as women to pose as prostitutes I the area, but they refused to shave off their moustaches and beards, so not surprisingly none of them got picked up by the ripper.
(3) Elizabeth Stride: she was tall – 5’6” and Swedish. ‘Long Lizzie’ was last seen alive on 30.9.1888. Her throat had been slit but she escaped the mutilation suffered by the other victims. It is thought the ripper was disturbed because he murdered again the same night.
(4) Catherine Eddowes: she was 46, and from Wolverhampton. She had been arrested that night for impersonating a fire engine. After being turned out of the police station she met her death in Mitre Square. A bloodstained apron was found on a stairway leading to 108-119 Wentworth Model dwellings, Goulston Street. A message was written in chalk on the wall above the apron ‘The Juwes are the men That Will not be Blamed for nothing’. Catherine’s throat had been slashed, she had been disembowelled and mutilated, and one of her kidneys had been taken away. V shaped marks had been cut into her face; parts of her nose and ear had been sliced off.
(5) Mary Jane Kelly: aged 25. This murder took place in the victim’s house. The ripper completely mutilated her over a period of hours. Her throat had been cut, and pieces of her body had been removed and placed ritualistically around her. A witness reported seeing a dark haired aristocratic sounding man in the vicinity.

http://www.walksoflondon.co.uk/28/jack-the-ripper-photos.shtml

Jack the Ripper - The Suspects

‘Jack the Ripper’ continues to fascinate people because he was never captured. His acts were shocking and horrific, generating an atmosphere of terror on the streets of London.
Today there is a multi million pound industry in ‘Jack the Ripper’ because of the mystery that surrounds his barbaric deeds, and all we can do is continue to speculate about who he/ she /it was.

Many people have been put forward as possible suspects. The ones Lesley talked about on the walk were:

Aaron Kosminski – he was a Polish Jew. At the time people were suspicious of Jews and ‘foreigners’ anyway, and may have preferred to blame someone fitting this profile. Kosminski was a local butcher and a back street abortionist. He had a major problem – he hated women, and was known to be violent to them. He ended up in an asylum for the insane, but escaped during August 1888 and was captured in November 1888, shortly after Mary Kelly was murdered.
Is this a coincidence?
Kosminski had paranoid schizophrenia, but he did not fit the physical description of the ‘ripper’ suspect.

Montague Druitt – He fits the physical description of the ‘ripper’.
Blood stained clothes were found in his rooms, and he had written a note saying he was ‘going the same way as his mother’. She committed suicide. So, there was a history of mental instability in his family. His cousin was a Dr. Druitt, and Montague lodged with him for a time, giving him access to surgical knives, and anatomical text books etc.

Francis Tumblety – he was a visiting ‘quack’ from the states, and was in London at the time of the murders. He was a liar and a fantasist who also hated prostitutes. He kept female sex organs preserved in jars. He moved to France and then back to the states where he died nineteen years later.

The Duke of Clarence was also a suspect.


We cannot use modern forensic testing on the victims as most of them were buried in mass graves.

My preferred suspect is Kosminski, but we will never know who did it - will we?

http://www.essortment.com/all/jacktherippe_rdrb.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper_suspects

Jack the Ripper Walk – London 8.11.2009

Staff, with students and their friends and families from our university went on a ‘Jack the Ripper’ tour in London yesterday.
I thought you might like to know about ‘Jack’ and his evil doings, so I will do a summary of the tour in daily instalments.
Our tour guide was Lesley, and she joined us outside Tower Hill tube station. We followed her to the ruins of the medieval wall that divided the paupers of the east end from the rich of the financial district. At the time of the ripper the east end was heaving with homeless people. There was high unemployment, and people were starving. The life expectancy of a man was 30 years and 55% of children died before the age of five. Women turned to prostitution to survive. Today there are 14 million people in London, and 5,000 – 6,000 prostitutes. In 1888 the population of London was 1 million, and there were 40,000 – 60,000 prostitutes, and one in seven houses were brothels. There were high rates of alcoholism, and many people drank ‘gin’ a grain based, 120% proof drink that killed 2/3 of its consumers. The east end was a site for ‘sex tourism’. It is possible the ripper was an outsider, but in 1888 the area where the murders occurred was a warren of alley ways dating from medieval times, and the ripper may have had local knowledge enabling him to slip away unnoticed…’like the London fog, he evaporated into the night’.
So you have an area of abject poverty, with lots of prostitutes and alcoholics.
The police force was unprepared for the ripper. The city police and the Metropolitan police were divided, and did not cooperate fully. Serial killers were not really known then.
Prostitutes charged up to a maximum of 4d. for a ‘knee trembler’. Many were 40+ years old and homeless alcoholics – filthy, and diseased.
The murders took place between 31st August and 8th November 1888.
The tour took us to the actual sites of two of the murders, and we stood on the spot in Mitre Square where Catherine Eddowes was murdered. We were taken to the area near St Botolph’s church where the prostitutes and customers congregated.
We walked along claustrophobic alleyways and finished the tour at ‘The Ten Bells' pub.

http://www.jack-the-ripper-walks.com/?gclid=CNbF6s6k_Z0CFUQA4wodRA22pA

Ideas for next year’s Halloween

If you are the sort of person who likes to celebrate Halloween then you might consider copying the Halloween fun at Boulder in Colorado.
They really celebrate in style there by running round the streets naked with nothing but a pumpkin on the head. It adds a whole new dimension to the concept of meeting strangers at Masked balls.
The miserable police however decided to stop the entertainment this year and 100 officers were stationed around the town ready to pounce on anybody in an undressed state and do them for indecent exposure.
Disgruntled pumpkin people complained on their website about the violation of their rights.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6482411/Nude-pumpkin-run-cancelled-in-Boulder-after-police-threat.html

Let us write your speeches Mr. Prime Minister

Dear Gordon,
I read in the Guardian today that you paid $40,000 out of your own pocket for some speeches by ‘West Wing Writers’.
Why go to the states for your speeches when you have a goldmine of writing talent here in the West Midlands.
Let me introduce you to ‘Wolverhampton Writers’. We could knock up as many speeches as you need.
There is the incredibly intelligent Dr. Vole. He knows everything about politics, and can extend a metaphor further than anybody else I know.
If you need something to mock the opposition parties, then Mr. Ewarwoowar is your man. He is a perceptive people-person renowned for his brilliant satires of the Shropshire Star.
It is comedy you want, look no further than Britain’s foremost comic genius Dr. Paul McDonald. He will have them rolling off their seats wetting themselves with his double entendres and slapstick.
We also have lots of creative writing students who would be happy to do it for nothing for a bit of writing practice.
So, what are you waiting for, contact Wolverhampton Writers today.

Cheers,
Sue xxx

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/04/gordon-brown-speeches-west-wing-writers
http://plashingvole.blogspot.com/
http://theriseandriseoftimlovejoy.blogspot.com/

The new face at Tesco?

My favourite person just can’t keep out of the limelight.
No – honestly just ignore the rumours- I don’t keep writing about Tony Bliar because I fancy him, I write about him because he annoys me.
Now he’s trying to get a well paid job promoting Tesco in the Middle East. Is there no end to this man’s global meddling?
There is a word in Arabic for people like our Tony – ‘eghtina’ which means using your public status to rake in loads of money.
One expects capitalist types to be on the look out for a bit of profit, but historically Labour Prime Ministers have had more affinity with their voters and tended to be mindful of the less fortunate. How times have changed.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/debate/article-1224562/PETER-MCKAY-Why-Tony-Blairs-eyes-money.html

How do you fancy earning 80K?

There is a really prestigious and well paid job going if you fancy it.
I hear on the grapevine that Uncle Gordon is looking for a Downing Street spin-doctor - no sorry a media PR person.
A lot of high profile people have apparently shunned this tempting offer for various reasons.
Simon Lewis, Gordon’s current director of communications wishes to take a more backseat role after taking up a post as director of communications three months ago.
Poor old Gordon has not had much luck so far with his media representatives, and has got through five at least since moving to number 10 - Remember Damian McBride and his e-mails.

It would be brilliant if whoever gets this job could be given a magic truth telling drug – it would be fascinating to hear the absolute truth for once about politicians and policies – not a load of spin.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1224408/Brown-snubbed-times-hunt-80k-spin-doctor.html

What do you have for your lunch?

What do you like to have for lunch my lovely readers?

When I am at Uni I have peanut butter sandwiches. They are quick to make, especially when I have to leave the house by 7.25am to get to a 9am lecture. Peanut butter sandwiches are easy to transport, very very yummy and easy to scoff discreetly during lectures, when the lecturer is not looking. When I am not at Uni I have more time to make exciting sandwiches.

If you are lucky enough to have time for lunch would you fancy this?

White truffle carpaccio, veal Milanese, truffle tagliolini with extra parmesan cheese, accompanied by a few glasses of Chateau Petrus, Cristal rosé champagne, tawny port and a dash of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
This is what oligarch Roman Abramovich and guests had for their lunch at Nello’s restaurant in New York. The whole lot, together with service charges, only cost £28,793.

Would you fancy that for your lunch?

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1224357/Mystery-Roman-Abramovichs-corking-lunch-29k.html#ixzz0Vb30Tebs

Plight of the honeybee

Einstein said that if the honeybee became extinct, so would mankind. Bees are vital to all our lives.
It is frightening that over the past few years there has been an inexplicable decline in the honeybee population. Bees are a barometer of the health of the environment, and their decline is telling us that we have serious problems and time is running out.
No one seems to know exactly why they are dying. Is it a virus, is it something in the environment – no one has the answer.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has agreed to fund research at Warwick University.
I hope they find out what the problem is, because if Einstein is right (and I am afraid I have to agree with him) then we could be heading for trouble.

http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2009/091001_1million_award_honeybee_decline.html

Talking in lectures

It seems the norm for students to take phone calls and to chat to their friends during lectures.
What do you all think about this?
Should we be allowed to do this, after all we have a right to free speech don’t we.

Or do you find it extremely irritating and disrespectful. Is the background noise in lectures disrupting your learning experience?
Can you hear what the lecturer is saying above the din of conversation about who did what to whom at the Hog’s Head the night before - Yes, we would all like to know the latest salacious gossip too, and would appreciate it if you spoke a bit louder so that we could all be party to it.

Should the culprits be made to stand at the front and take over the lecture – then the lecturers could sit at the front and heckle them, to make them see what it feels like to give a lecture with a lot of background noise.

What is the general consensus on this one – should chatting be allowed or is it wrong?

Now is the winter of our discontent

It looks as if we will be in for an interesting winter. I’m not talking about the weather, but the rumblings of rebellion that are stirring in the masses.
The postmen are planning mass walk-outs, and run the risk of playing into the government's hands regarding privatisation. Bin workers up north are striking, and so are fire-fighters in Warwickshire.

At a university in the West Midlands there are rumblings of a different kind. Students are being gagged for wanting to express an opinion about 250 staff redundancies. This is not acceptable. What has democracy been reduced to if people can’t complain about things?

So, if any passing readers (especially journalists) are appalled by this, feel free to comment here and elsewhere.

Have you seen this?

Stephen Gately RIP

17th March 1976 - 10th October 2009

Stephen was adored by millions of fans across the globe. Louis Walsh said that he was his ‘very, very best friend’.
People were horrified however by the article penned by Jan Moir in yesterday’s Daily Wail. The article, entitled ‘A strange, lonely and troubling death’, was a homophobic diatribe against Gately, insinuating that his life-style choice was the cause of his death. She also managed to link Gately’s death to Kevin Mc Gee’s suicide (ex husband of Matt Lucas), implying there was something sinister about it as well.
Well, people unfortunately do die suddenly from natural causes at all ages.
People do sadly commit suicide over failed love affairs.
Gately was gay – so what Jan Moir.
A lot of people liked him.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death--.html

Beards

Apparently the latest fashion trend for men is to flaunt a large fuzzy beard.
Lots of celebs are jumping on the beardy bandwagon, and even David Beckham is following the fashion trend rather than instigating it.

Do men think beards make them more sexy and appealing to women?
Is it a way to advertise ones masculinity?
According to a survey by Lynx (the spray stuff that is supposed to make women throw themselves at your feet) there is a division of opinion on the subject of beards.
63% of men polled reckoned that beards made them look more manly, and attractive.
Whereas 92% of women said they preferred clean shaven men.
95% of women did not want to be kissed by a beardy bloke.

So what is going on here?
Are men staging a manly rebellion against women by growing breads?
What do you think about beards – do you love them or hate them?


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220782/Why-men-love-beards-women-hate-them.html

Grow your own

In Scotland it has been suggested that some of the golf courses should be turned into allotments. This sounds like an excellent idea to me.

In the Times this week, Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that we should all get back to nature and start growing our own crops on allotments. I think he has a point. We seem to have become an overworked, consumer driven society. I think a lot of us have lost touch with simple things like the pleasure of producing something.
There is nothing nicer than freshly picked organic produce…yum. The earth has a natural seasonality, which has been lost with the globalization of the food industry.

I’m sure some of you will disagree and not want an allotment. You may not like fruit and vegetables, or the thought of getting dirt under the fingernails does not appeal.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6872027.ece

Idiots

The latest form of mindless stupid behaviour seems to be to flash laser lights at planes coming in to land on runways. Aeroplane and helicopter pilots have reported being temporarily blinded by these laser lights.
This dangerous form of anti-social behaviour began a few years ago, but the number of reported cases has started to rise exponentially. There have already been >400 reported incidents this year. It is only a matter of time before there is a serious mishap.
The laser lights are easily purchased on the internet.
I’m terrified of flying at the best of times, but a twerp armed with a laser adds another, totally unnecessary, element of fear to the process.

National Identity Fraud Prevention Week

This week is National Identity Fraud Prevention Week

Did you know that 79% of businesses make no effort to protect your personal information?
In the UK 4.3 million people have already become the victims of ID thieves, and there has been a steep rise since the recession.
The link below will give you information on ID fraud.
What can you do to protect yourself?
Here is a list of the ways ID thieves get your personal information:
1. They raid bins for bank statements, utility bills etc – so shred your stuff before you stick it in the bin
2. Remember to get your mail forwarded if you move house
3. Tell random unsolicited callers wanting personal information to piss off.
4. If you use Facebook, be careful about how much personal information you disclose.
5. Phishing – delete any weird looking e-mails claiming to be from your bank requesting urgent personal information.
6. Thefts of purses and wallets.
7. Card skimming.

Have a nice week!

http://www.stop-idfraud.co.uk/

Nobel Peace Prize

I was delighted to read yesterday that Barak Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He stated that the prize should be shared ‘with everyone who strives for justice and dignity’. The Nobel Prizes have been awarded since 1901.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (21.10.1833 – 10.12.1896), was a Swedish engineer, chemist and business man. He bequeathed his vast fortune in 1895 to set up the Nobel foundation to award prizes for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. The first awards were granted in 1901. Nobel invented dynamite. He never married, but he had three close relationships. The most enduring was with Sophie Hess, a Viennese flower seller.





http://nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/6284763/Barack-Obama-surprised-and-humbled-by-Nobel-Peace-Prize.html

Election fever??

The political parties are all getting ready for the next General Election.

Are you excited about this?
Can you be bothered to vote?
Do the three main parties all look fairly similar?

YouGov figures out today suggest that the Conservatives are currently the most popular party: Con 40% Lab 31% LibDem 18% and the rest 11%

Vince Cable is the person most preferred for Chancellor, but only by a small percentage: Cable 19%, Osborne 17%, Darling 16%

Over the past year or so the Conservatives have enjoyed a rise in popularity. Is their lead in the ratings war due to their policies or has Labour failed to live up to its promise. Are people disenchanted with Gordon Brown?
60%of people polled rated David Cameron as too posh to understand the problems of real people. Do you agree with them?

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/

Booker prize winner 2009

This year’s Booker prize has been won by Hilary Mantel for her book Wolf Hall, a Tudor tale of intrigue focusing on the life of Thomas Cromwell.
Looking at the reviews of Wolf Hall today it looks like a book I would love to read, but critics have described it as a ‘hard’ book to read. Unfortunately I will probably have to wait until I have finished my degree before I tackle it.
Last year’s Booker winner White Tiger was excellent, and I would strongly recommend it if you haven’t had time to read it yet.
The 2007 winner was The Gathering by Anne Enright - a very well written book, but it left me feeling emotionally drained at the end.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/06/booker-prize-hilary-mantel-wolf-hall

Porridge

Does anyone else think that good TV comedy programmes are a thing of the past?
Today David Attenborough lamented the passing of ‘Porridge’, saying that it ‘entertained and educated, gave you insight into psychology and current affairs, and was the greatest programme we've ever seen’.
Does anyone agree with him?
David Attenborough believes that as the number of channels increases, dwindling audiences will lead to a diluting of quality which bodes ill for the future.
Do people feel that the days of good programmes are numbered?
Or do programmes like the IT Crowd and Peep Show surpass Porridge for comic brilliance?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6263273/Porridge-is-best-programme-ever.html

On the make

Apologies to all you TB fans out there, but I couldn’t resist this one.
I can’t forgive him for plodding into Iraq, and I hate people who profess to be socialists, but live like Royalty.
Well, if TB gets the Presidency then he will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Salary: £270,000 per annum
Housing allowance: £40,500 pa
Removal fees: £45,000
Residence allowance: £40,500
Incredibly generous ‘household’ and school fees allowances
Entertainment allowance: £15,663 pa, as well as numerous payments and pensions when he leaves.
I’m hopeless at maths, but that looks like an awful lot of money.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1218031/Alarm-bells-ring-Brussels-Cherie-Antoinette-Irelands-Yes-vote-paves-way-Tony-Blair-EU-President.html

President Ahmadinejad

I couldn’t believe it today when I read that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hails from Jewish roots. As you all probably know President Ahmadinejad of Iran has repeatedly threatened Israel, and denied the Holocaust.
During the 2008 elections he held up his identity card. A close-up of the document revealed that his family had been previously known as Sabourjian – a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver.

An internet blogger, Mehdi Khazali, called for an investigation of Mr. Ahmadinejad's roots but was arrested this summer.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6256173/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-revealed-to-have-Jewish-past.html

Resurgam

The bookies bets in Ireland are on a ‘yes’ vote in today’s referendum on the Lisbon treaty. But we will need to wait till tomorrow to find out if they are right. A consequence of a ‘yes’ vote is that we might see the return of a prominent public figure, yes Tony Bliar. He is a hot favourite for the position of president of the EU, and even Frau Merkel might be amenable to his appointment, although she would rather the job went to someone from a country that has embraced the Euro.
A yes vote will cause problems for the Tories, as they have promised a referendum if they get in at the next election.
This is a tense time.
Will Ireland vote yes?
Will Europe want TB as its president?
Will Tony accept?

Will Irish ayes be smiling?
Watch this space…

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6857807.ece

How to be a success with women

According to a recent poll, chat-up lines are supposed to impress most women, but the remarks need to be funny and succinct.
Women love confident men with a good sense of humour, and a witty chat-up line can be a good way to demonstrate this quality, and get a woman’s attention.

The five most successful chat up lines are:

‘Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?’
‘I’ve had a really bad day and it always makes me feel better to see a pretty girl smile. So, would you smile for me?’
‘Apart from being beautiful, what do you do for a living?’
‘Shall we talk, or continue flirting from a distance?’
‘I seem to have lost my number, can I have yours instead?’

Chat-up lines to avoid (apparently) are:

Smash an ice cube than announce ‘Now I’ve broken the ice, let’s talk’
‘I guess you can kiss heaven goodbye, it has got to be a sin to look that good’
‘Were you arrested earlier? It’s got to be illegal to look that good’
‘I’ve lost that loving feeling. Will you help me find it?’
‘Do you have a map, because I keep getting lost in your eyes?’

What do you think?
Would you approach some unsuspecting female with one of the above?
Would you be impressed if some random bloke uttered one of the above examples?
Has anyone actually used any of these, or said them to you?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/28/cheesy-does-it-115875-21705892/

Anglo-Saxon Gold

The discovery of a hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure in a field in Staffordshire caused great excitement last week. The treasure probably dates from the late seventh century, when Mercia was extending its boundaries. The beauty and intricacy of the treasure casts doubts on our perception of Anglo-Saxon culture, as the ‘dark ages’.
The hoard was discovered by Terry Herbert using a metal detector in a field near Burntwood.
The treasure is currently on show at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery until the 13th of October.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/24/anglo-saxon-treasure-hoard-gold-staffordshire-metal-detector

Follow-up to the snouts in trough saga

Some months ago the world at Westminster was thrown into turmoil when the Daily Telegraph began the slow leak of information regarding the abuse of the expenses and allowances system by some MPs.
Well, today the Telegraph revealed that the mole was linked to moonlighting service personnel who were incensed by what they found whilst temping in The Stationery Office. Apparently they were having to work during leave periods to pay for their own body armour etc, and were not amused.
They have done the world a favour by bringing this information to light, but it is not surprising that a book on the subject is due to be published today!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6228694/MPs-expenses-how-fury-over-plight-of-our-soldiers-blew-lid-on-claims.html

Sydney turns red overnight

No, this is not a political posting, but a dire warning for all of us.
Australia is currently experiencing freak weather conditions. Residents of Sydney woke up to find their city enveloped in clouds of red and orange dust. The harbour bridge was obscured by an eerie glow, making it look like something out of an alien space invasion film. Flights were grounded and travelling by road was hazardous.
In Adelaide heavy rain caused flooding. Melbourne was hit by a couple of earth tremors. Hail stones the size of cricket balls fell on New South Wales and Queensland is suffering from bush fires.
It was also reported today that China and the USA are finally waking up to the problem of global warming, and have pledged to do something about it.
Well, they had better hurry up about it. The weather conditions in Australia are a warning that time is running out
Society needs to be less reliant on excessive consumerism, and more focused on saving the planet.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/23/australia-dust-storm-sydney

Who do you think is a good role model?

It is hardly surprising news that many children do not respect their parents and have little regard for adults in general. In a poll by the Children’s Society David Beckham and Cheryl Cole were rated as good role models. In the world of politics one third saw David Cameron as a good role model and only a fifth rated Gordon Brown.
Poor old Homer Simpson was seen as the ultimate bad role model. This seems a bit harsh. Homer is a devoted family man. He may drink a few Duff beers with the lads, but he is not out scoring drugs or chasing other women, and he holds down a job. I think it is unfair that poor Homer has been given this accolade. I can think of far worse examples than him.
Who do you think is a good role model for young people and who is a really bad one?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23744575-details/David+Beckham+and+Cheryl+Cole+

Bring back pyjamas

According to a survey this week ,sales of Pyjamas are increasing astronomically, and top designers are featuring pyjamas in their couture collections. Sales of women’s pyjamas have trebled in the last decade (could this be something to do with Bridget Jones’s Diary?).
Pyjamas were appropriated by ex-pats in India in the seventeenth-century. They became popular in England in the nineteenth-century, replacing the Wee Willie Winkie nightshirts that were ubiquitous. The fifties was probably the golden age of pyjama wearing, with a sharp decline from the seventies onwards when duvets became popular and more houses had central heating.
Thanks to the credit crunch and extortionate fuel bills, pyjamas are making a dramatic come back as people strive to keep warm. There may even be a resurgence of the ‘pyjama and bottle’ parties that were all the rage in the roaring twenties.

There is something deliciously decadent don’t you think about slobbing around the house in pyjamas – now at least it is the latest a fashion craze, and not a lazy student thing!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1214947/As-pyjama-sales-soar-closet-fan-celebrates-return-unfashionable-item-mans-wardrobe.html

More bad news for students

The Confederation of British Industry announced today that the problems caused by greedy bankers should be passed down the line to students. They advised that the government could save £1.4 billion by screwing students. They want tuition fees raised, grants limited, and student loan repayments brought in line with mainstream interest rates. They suggest that tuition fees should be £5,000+
These increases could help to stave of the proposed cutbacks in higher education, but are they fair?
In my opinion, for what it is worth, in a civilized society top quality education and health care should be free for everybody.

Politicians should go back to the drawing board and have a hard look at the real reasons why the world is in a mess.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8263672.stm
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE58K00I20090921

Happy Birthday to me

Today is my birthday.

Unfortunately thanks to Mr. Bin Laden my birthday is no longer a happy occasion.
11.9.2001 was a terrible day when the world seemed to change for ever, and thousands of innocent people lost their lives.
I feel at a loss to understand why Al-Qaeda et al hate their fellow humans so much, and feel compelled to destroy them.
What alternative model of society is Al-Qaeda trying to promote? Judging by their actions it seems to be a violent and destructive ideology that does not respect the lives of others. Only the sick, psychopathic, and deluded could find such a way of life appealing.
If any of you understand what their aim is please feel free to enlighten me, because I am struggling to understand what the issues are.

All I want for my birthday is for people to live in peace. I wish all the bloodshed and corruption in the world would stop, and that everyone could focus on real issues like poverty and global warming.

Thank you.

Who’s hot and who’s not?

Who do you think deserves the title of hottest looking person around, and who makes you want to rush for the nearest exit?

I love costume dramas. I recently watched Desperate Romantics and the sight of Aidan Turner, who played Dante Gabriel Rossetti, sent my pulse racing. He definitely gets my vote for best looking man.

I ended up with three joint contenders for the accolade of least appealing though.
Michael Winner - because he seems arrogant and self-satisfied
Alistair Darling - because he has the charm and looks of a dodgy car salesman
And last but not least Gordon Brown who has less appeal and charisma than a bowl of gruel.

Who do you rate or hate???

What will happen today?

Today is the 9th day of the ninth month and the year is 2009 → 999
Doom mongers have been predicting that today could be the end of the world or at the very least something nasty could happen.
Some fans of numerology and Nostrodamus are anxiously waiting for us all to be sucked into a black hole caused by the Hadron Collider in Switzerland, or something more sinister.
Others think that 999 might herald a terrorist attack, mimicking the 9/11 attack in America (emergency call numbers)
Can anyone predict the future? , or are these predictions just a load of nonsense.
Well, we will soon find out.
I was going to post this at nine minutes past nine, but I’m going out now.

Have a nice day !!!!!!!!!


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1212107/World-end-today---Well-9-9-09--doom-mongers-predicting-disaster.html

Whodunnit?

A dreadful crime has been committed in the allotments of the peaceful sea-side town of Torquay.
The police are trying to track down the villain or villains responsible for several ABH attacks on prizewinning fruit and veg.
Mr. Mason found that his pumpkins had been stabbed with a spike and Mr. Pastewski’s flowers were poisoned with weed killer.
This terrible spate of vegetable nobbling appears to be motivated by spite. The victims are people who were hoping to enter their home-grown produce in the Torquay Allotment Association Show.
The traumatized gardeners are planning to set up a ‘vegilante’ group to patrol the allotments.

It takes a lot of time, effort, and love to grow things, so I hope the miscreant will be caught and forced to eat a bucket of sprouts!

http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Jealous-rival-blamed-allotment-attacks/article-1307444-detail/article.html

Dirty Students

Most of you are looking forward to going back to university, but be warned - some of our fellow students may be harbouring some filthy habits.
The Beckmann cleaning company did a student survey and found that many male students only wash their knickers once a fortnight, and their socks once every four days.
The girls were guilty too - many only wash their bras every couple of months.
The smell of unwashed clothes is masked by generous squirts of aftershave or deodorant.

Shockingly, two thirds of male freshers arrive at university not knowing how to use a washing machine.
Is it the credit crunch and poverty that is driving students to shun washing?
Or are students literally 'the great unwashed' as people suspect?

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090830/tuk-students-slip-back-to-squalid-era-6323e80.html

Mercury poisoning, Shakespeare and Victorian crime novels

This villain could have graced the pages of a Victorian novel as a sly poisoner.
Sixty-nine year old William Dowling tired to woo back his estranged wife by poisoning her!
Poor unsuspecting Mrs. Dowling used to visit him weekly for a cup of tea. Mr Dowling served it to her in a bone china cup, but the tea had hidden extras.
Dowling, a retired electrician had a secret stash of mercury in his cellar, and was slipping it into her tea cup in the hope that she would become unwell and he could nurse her back to health. (No wonder she had left him in the first place – what a psycho)
Mrs Dowling became suspicious when she noticed small silvery ball-bearing like bits in the bottom of the cup. She also began to feel unwell.
Thankfully Mrs Dowling was seen at her local hospital, correctly diagnosed, and advised to report him to the police.
Prosecuting barrister Mark Lamberty kept alluding to Shakespeare in the trial (why he did this I do not know, unless he was trying to elevate the tone of the proceedings)

See if any of you can spot where the two quotes he used came from,

‘This even-handed justice

Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice

To our own lips…

‘No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest—

Answers on a post card, or in the comments section below, and have a great week-end!

Does it pay to be nice?

Apparently being nice at work may not be such a good idea. Drs Nicoletti and Nandi at Essex University undertook a research project on three thousand working males between the ages of 24 – 64. The team classified the men into different personality types by using personality traits such as openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. What the study found was that men with extravert personalities who were ‘open to new experiences’ earned 6% more than their ‘nicer’ more introverted colleagues.
Does this suggest that men should stop being nice at work?
I suspect most people would prefer to be happy at work and have pleasant, agreeable colleagues.
I wonder if employers are more inclined to give pay rises to loud, opinionated or aggressive men because they would make a fuss and complain if they didn’t.
Nice men might be less inclined to complain and employers could exploit them, knowing they would be unlikely to cause trouble.

http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=IPED23%20Aug%202009%2020%3A24%3A21%3A430

Who do you think you are?

Well, according to research done by Dr. Jason Rentfrow at Cambridge University, your taste in music says a lot about your personality.
Our personalities influence the types of music we like to listen to and those we avoid.
So be careful about letting a new love interest look at your iPod collection, because this is what your taste in music says about you.

People who like classic/folk and jazz are creative and imaginative, with good verbal ability.
(Though the classical music lovers are perceived as less attractive and a bit boring)

Pop music fans are sociable extroverts who are warm, chatty and dependable, but less intelligent.

Rock fans are natural rebels who are artistic, imaginative but emotionally unstable.

Rap fans are more hostile than the rest, but are energetic, self-respecting and athletic

Electronica fans are a bit neurotic.

(Having confessed to liking Pendulum on my blog a few weeks ago I think I’ll keep quiet about my taste in music after this!)

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2009082101
http://web.mac.com/jrentfrow/iWeb/Dr.%20Peter%20Jason%20Rentfrow/Music%20%26%20Personality.html

The Oxfam bestsellers list

I read an interesting fact today. Dan Brown’s books are the ones most likely to end up being donated to charity. It seems that this best selling author’s works are only worth a one-off read. Unlike well written works of literary fiction that people keep, and read time and time again.
Dan Brown has been incredibly successful with his page turning plots, buts his books are otherwise lacking in depth and complexity, so it is not surprising that they get recycled.

Does anybody in blogland like Dan Brown and rate him as a writer, or is he more of a literary entertainer?
Should creative writing students be trying to emulate his style, or should they aim to follow the advice in The Art of Fiction by John Gardner?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/21/dan-brown-oxfam-most-donated-books

A new form of Darwinian low life - or the origin of specious?

Prison officers were angry this week when ex-prison officer John Darwin flouted rule 39 by smuggling his memoires out of Everthorpe prison. The fifty-nine year old conman faked his own death in a ‘canoeing accident’ in 2002, which lead to £150,000 being wasted by the emergency services in searching for him. He conned £250,000 out of an insurance company and ‘disappeared’ to Panama. The most dreadful aspect of this case was the way Darwin and his wife Anne (an ex-convent school girl) callously conned their grieving sons into thinking he was dead.
Now this rogue is hoping to make £1 million from the book of his escapades.
Darwin was able to smuggle his manuscript out of jail by using a bogus legal firm set up by a fellow conman he met in Durham Jail.
Darwin would have known that under rule 39 prison officers are not allowed to open correspondence between prisoners and their legal advisers, unless there are ‘special circumstances’.
Rule 39 needs to be reviewed if people like Darwin can blatantly abuse the system for profit, and other suspect activities.
It is left to be seen which publication agrees to pay the £1m this slippery individual is demanding for his ‘memoires’.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6799663.ece
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/aug/17/canoe-man-john-darwin-memoir
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2591154/Canoe-Mans-1m-jail-plot-to-sell-his-story.html

Girls behaving badly

According to the Daily Star, arch self-publicist Ms Jordan is frightened that the Russian Mafia are planning to kidnap her in Marbella when she arrives there to promote her latest range equestrian clothes. She has been in the news headlines most days with her sexploits since her ‘split’ with Mr. PA.
Apparently KP has been bragging that she is nearly a billionaire, and she is listed as twelfth in the Sunday Times young person’s rich list. The gangsters are said to be plotting to whisk her away to the Med on a yacht
How do people know the details of the gangsters’ alleged plot?
I think that this must be another of KP’s publicity stunts.
She is without doubt one of the shrewdest business women on the planet, and rapidly becoming one of the wealthiest.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/94267/JORDAN-KIDNAP-TERROR/

Girls behaving badly

Kerry Katona has lost her £250,000 a year contract with Iceland foods. The dopey mother of two was secretly filmed snorting coke with a £20 note, whilst her two daughters aged six and seven were in the house.
I never understood why the Iceland supermarket chain chose a boozy drug sorter with a dodgy taste in partners for its ‘mum’s gone to Iceland’ adverts. She is the antithesis of what a sensible loving mother, devoted to her family should be like – unless lots of children have mothers just like her, and she is actually – God forbid – a realistic representation of modern parenting – Yikes!!!!!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2593033/Kerry-Katonas-gone-from-Iceland.html

Oh La La

French men love parading about in their Speedos - in fact in a lot of swimming pools in France they are mandatory. In England however, the topic of male swimwear is causing controversy. Speedos were banned at Alton Towers this week, on the grounds that they are not suitable for a ‘family friendly’ venue - and anybody caught wearing them could be subjected to a bikini waxing.
I find it weird that they are compulsory in France yet regarded with shock and horror in Staffordshire.

Is this just a publicity stunt on the part of Alton Towers?
Are Speedos really so shocking and offensive?
Is the British male a modest creature, preferring to hide in large trunks and Bermuda shorts?
Do French men have better bodies, ou sont-ils les poseurs?

What do you think?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/10/alton-towers-speedo-ban

Loan Sharks

Here is another scum bag for the ‘being bad’ wall of shame. ‘Johnny Boy Kieley’ a loan shark, terrorized his victims over a six year period in the Manchester area. He would lend money, and then demand extortionate interest, of more than 2000%, with menaces. He targeted hard-up people, and struggling families living on Manchester’s housing estates.
Kieley set up his ‘business’ in 2003 and used threats and blackmail to extort ridiculous interest payments from his ‘customers’. If that failed, he resorted to violence by proxy from his gang of hired thugs.
This beast made over £3 million from ripping off the poor, lording over his victims in his black range rover with ‘BOY’ personalized number plates.

If you are the victim of a loan shark report them to the trading standards office – these scumbags should not be allowed to get away with this appalling behaviour.