Good Lord

The Health and Social Care Bill finally begins to wend it's way through the House of Lords with Lansley already being called 'seriously demented' if he thinks people in the NHS support his bill.

Conservative Party Conference

Lord help us but they are gathering in Manchester as I type to celebrate their great and wonderful leadership of this country over the past 12 months.  Manchester Piccadilly must look like one of the final scenes from Ghostbusters where Sigourney Weaver has turned into Zool and there are swirling thunderheads around the top of her apartment block.  Either that or it's raining and it is Manchester...


The only way I think I can survive this orgy of self-congratulation is to just not watch TV for a week or buy a newspaper.  Maybe it's time to concentrate on making jewellery for Christmas presents.

AV, Schmavey - who cares?

Do you remember when the Tories were in the run up to a General Election and the leader (Hague?  Major?) was busy trying to convince everyone that the topic du jour was whether or not the pound would be saved or would we join The Evil Empire aka the European Exchange Mechanism and start using dastardly foreign funny money?  Whichever Chief Clown it was in charge of the Tories at that point, they wanted to convince us all that the people in pubs and clubs up and down the land were holding earnest discussions about this issue.


No, they weren't.


No-one I know gave a flying one.  They could not have been less interested unless they were dead.  And that's pretty much where I think we are in the UK at the moment with the AV referendum.


I am interested in changing the voting system but what the Lib Dems have been banging on about for years - proportional representation - is not even on the menu.  It's more of the same or a system which I don't believe is much of an improvement at all.


I still haven't got my free government booklet, either.  I was hoping that would enrage me so much with it's undoubtedly patronising air that I would be stirred in to making up my mind one way or another.  But no, I have been left to my own devices.


Guess it will be 'No' then.  Unless I vote 'Yes'.

I'm not doing it because David Cameron told me to

This Big Society malarkey.  Lovely idea and all that but some of us have been at this for quite a long time.  Thirty years of it in my case.  Volunteer work, committee work, practical help for people in my neighbourhood.  Working with other volunteers to make things happen.  Think globally, act locally.  All without the aid of David Cameron.  Amazing, eh?


Now, of course, Cameron's gone and ruined it all.  The moment the phrase "Big Society" left his lips, I felt my mojo for doing things for nothing drain out through the soles of my feet.  Now I feel like a Dave evangelist every time I discuss the planning of the craft fair or contemplate mentoring a young, unemployed person or wonder how we can get ourselves organised to keep open the local library.


I'm going to keep a list of 'Tainted Things' to remind me of the appropriation by the Tories of all the good things us civilians have been up to for the past millenia or so.