Month: January 2011

When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.
Rodney Dangerfield

Goodnight everyone, sleep well.

when a Peer can nominate a property as his main home by spending just one night a month in it. This is the ruling apparently of a Mr Pownall, who is in charge of policing Peer’s expenses claims. I suspect Lord Taylor’s fraudulent activities is but a very small tip of a very large ermine-clad iceberg. Does Mr Pownall understand what to be in charge of policing expenses’ claims means? I do wonder…

Matt cartoons witty political cartoons and satirical sketches – Telegraph.

Matt’s take on the fellow forced to resign at Sky for his “prehistoric banter”. I don’t think I would buy the DT if it wasn’t for the smile and sometimes outbursts of early morning laughter Matt brings to our breakfast table…

Bill Wyman

Don’t think there will be much of a contest this week. The winner is; Mary Bousted, General Secretary, Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

Pupils’ behaviour in school has a huge impact on their learning, that of other pupils and on their teachers.

Well, I’ll go to our house! Does it really?

A quick scan of the article gives a good view of one of the reasons that many of our schools are in such a mess.

My post about the stealthy advance of Islam in Australia is not about “xenophobia” – or even “xemophobia” to use your spelling.   Australia welcomes its immigrants, but it does not expect to give them special dispensations that the rest of the country does not receive; it expects them to integrate.   I have therefore removed your comment from that post, but here it is again, and you are welcome to debate it here, if that’s your desire.

Chris and everyone, that is absolutley true – “some of the reasons why they might wish to emigrate are likely to be found in the country in which they wish to be immigrants”. Some people come here expecting the much-vaunted liberal attitudes to race and religion and are soon disillusioned. In fact Denmark, “the happiest country in the world”, suffers from as much xemophobia as the next.

Before you start, let me remind you that –

• Islam is not a race.
• The burqa is not a requirement of Islam.

Australians are neither xenophobic, nor racist.   Our way of expressing ourselves may sometimes give foreigners the impression that we are, but it’s no more than a linguistic misinterpretation – by the foreigner.   There you go, a special post for you to expand upon your accusation.

Boadicea needed her signature witnessed on a UK document, and I needed a ‘proof of identity’ copy of my drivers licence notarised, so we toddled off to the local court house to see the volunteer JP.

We have a different system in Australia – well, we do for many things, of course – if documents are to be formalised, it’s a JP who does the deed.   He/She is a notary public, authorised to do such things.   You find them in shopping malls usually, or if you’re at work one of your mates will probably be a JP, or failing that someone in HR is sure to be.   It’s all free, but it’s also very legal – they have a little stamp, and everything.   Nothing, but nothing is legal in Australia unless a JP has seen it, signed it and stamped it.

They are almost invariably very nice people – after all, they’re giving their 3 or 4 hours attendance free – and today’s chap was no exception. Continue reading “A Day of Disillusionment”

People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind.
William Butler Yeats

Goodnight everyone, sleep well.