Nice try but no Kruger Rand

Some of you may remember my post of March 2nd in which I promised Sepp Blatter a Kruger Rand if our ‘rapid bus network’ was completed by Christmas. It was supposed to be ready for the World Cup!

My exact words were;-

We were promised a ‘rapid bus/rail network’ , ha ha ha ha, :) if the lanes are ready by Christmas I will personally send Uncle Sepp a Christmas card and a Kruger Rand!

Here’s Kempston Road (a vital main thoroughfare) this morning.

Disaster area

Continue reading “Nice try but no Kruger Rand”

Becoming a criminal

I was struck by the last sentence in this article.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/8219280/Online-viewers-prosecuted-for-not-paying-TV-licence.html

“Watching TV without a valid licence is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000.”

Given the invasive nature of TV licence inspectors and the ruthlessness with which they pursue their objectives, I imagine that quite a few, otherwise harmless citizens, find themselves with criminal records. In the event, albeit unlikely, that I were to be successfully prosecuted for not owning a television licence and thus categorized as a criminal, I think that I would be more, rather than less, inclined to commit further crimes. There is an old saying, ‘one may as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb’ and I think this is a perfect example of how the pettiness of self-serving law-makers  has the unintended but predictable result of creating more law-breakers. Having a criminal record creates all sorts of difficulties in a persons life including inhibiting one’s ability to travel,  denying one job opportunities, prohibiting one from becoming a company director and so forth. I do not want a criminal record, but were I to have one, it would no longer serve as a deterrent. Tax evasion, amongst a host of other crimes, would suddenly become a real consideration. By branding me a criminal, you turn me into one. That is of course if one assumes I have no moral inhibitions.

Untitled

This is one of the hardest blogs I’ve had to write and I was in two minds before writing this because I feared my plain little words would not do the subject justice. New Year is a time for reflection and events from the past have caught up with us. Some anniversaries can be hard to take. The past week I’ve spoken to friends and family and some people I know from the other “tradition” and it does put things in perspective.

In a few days time it will be the fortieth anniversary of the Ibrox disaster and there will be a minutes silence at the ground before the Old Firm match on January 2nd 2011. A memorial service will be held at Ibrox Stadium the following day.

On the 2nd of January 1971 sixty-six Rangers fans lost their lives. Continue reading “Untitled”

ZULU

I watched the film on Channel 4 today for the umpteenth time. I have to admit to paying more attention to detail this time as I visited the site of the battle in September this year. Here are some pictures that I took:-

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I know several other site members have made a visit. I don’t know what you thought, but unless you had seen the film (has any one not) it is very hard to get a real picture the battle. In the film, the whole area looks bigger than it really is.