Tag: ranting or raving
Have you ever been annoying?
Well be careful then, you might be about to become a criminal. Sadly, I’m not exaggerating. You see, in a drive to simplify our somewhat overburdened legislation, the government is currently considering a new Bill, the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill which could make being annoying a criminal act. They are looking at replacing…
Why 111 doesn't add up.
We were fortunate, here in Suffolk, to be part of the pilot for the new national 111 non emergency health service. I saw fortunate meaning that completely ironically. The last time Tigerboy was poorly, with a chest infection, I called NHSDirect and was taken through a questionnaire, then told I needed to see a doctor,…
Badgers, banknotes and benefits.
Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos Everywhere you turn these days it seems there’s a new petition, new hashtag, new cause. I’m not quite sure what this says about us, that we’re basically begging for people to listen to us, to change their behaviour, to recognise that we’re there. Perhaps it’s related to the British queueing…
Female faces – banknotes and Doctor Who.
So, there’s this little campaign started by The Women’s Room on to make sure we retain a female presence on banknotes. Elizabeth Fry is about to be removed, and I think the idea is that she’s going to be replaced with Winston Churchill. Which means the sole remaining female presence is the Queen, and she’s…
The Mazda DPF fault that wasn't.
Regular readers may recall my painful experience earlier this year with a DPF failure on our Mazda 6. What I don’t think I’ve blogged, though I know I tweeted, is that the saga didn’t end there. We had a second breakdown, almost identical to the first – gradual loss of power from the engine, followed…
The elephant in the (spare bed)room.
On Monday, the bedroom tax takes effect. Not heard of it? You’re not alone. I suspect the majority of the country hasn’t heard of it. If you’re not up to date, perhaps you’ve come across it as something else, maybe the spare room subsidy. The idea is that people in social housing who receive housing…
If I were a writer
I would be able to move hearts and souls with my words. I would pen works of grandeur, stories to twist the imagination and stretch the mind, poems to bring people to the brink of tears, caress their cares away with laughter, banish boredom with excitement. But I’m just a blogger, and a witterer on…
I'll give you something to cry about.
This morning I brought Smallest to the swimming pool for her weekly swimming lesson. It runs alongside a women’s only swimming session, populated mainly by women of a certain age. This leads to an interesting mix in the changing room, and this morning we just couldn’t seem to get out of the way of an…
Tax, benefits, morality and #spartacusreport
I’ve been arguing with the HMRC website this afternoon. It’s coming up to the deadline for SA returns, and even though I’m fairly sure I don’t owe anything, I have to submit on time or I get a £100 fine. All of this led me to have a bit of a rant on twitter. But…
