Cufflinks Unlink...

Wiki: A cufflink (also cuff link or cuff-link) is a decorative fastener worn by men or women to fasten the two sides of the cuff on a dress shirt or blouse.

I went to a Labour Leadership Questions and Answers meeting with Ed Miliband MP this morning.  Ed was very engaging, spoke very well on every topic put to him and probably won most of the audience over. He started with a short speech about his values and why he wants to lead the Labour Party. Then he took off his suit jacket....

He was wearing a dress shirt, fastened with cufflinks..  you may not see anything wrong with this.. he looked smart and had made an effort to impress.  What I saw, to my sadness, was a posh  boy who can never truly engage with the people Labour are supposed to represent.

Labour people are traditionally the lower and middle working classes, many of their voters do not own cufflinks or if they do, they would ve been given as a desperate Fathers Day present from children who have no idea how few chances Daddy will ever get to wear them.

I want a Leader who I can connect with, who I would want as a friend, a neighbour - someone I would enjoy a drink with but who can also command respect and trust.  I have found him. That man is Ed Balls. Passionate, fiery, watching him in action in the House of Commons brings to mind the British Bulldog. A quick search of Google images will show you all you need to know about Ed, he is a man of the people.. our people..Labour people.  If anyone can re-unite our Party and take back Parliament, "he the man"..

Our Labour Party needs to change, we all need to accept that and make the right choice for Leader. Until our Leadership can truly engage with us and re-light the Labour torch, there is little or no chance of us ever moving out of the Shadows..

              

My Top Tips for a Beautiful Summer Lawn.. by B.Johnson

Come into my garden, gaze upon my lawn, isnt it a beaut? Want to know my secrets?

First off, I dont believe in grubs and bugs living in my garden so I evict them all. Nasty little creatures, yes I know they are good for the grass roots, they aereate boggy ground and raise the goodness levels but still, I dont like looking at them ok?

  



You need to be tough to have a great looking lawn like mine, make sure your blade is sharp and your aim is true. No room for sentimentality here, you must ignore all protests and be ruthless.

For a really lush finish, remember higher class grass is always the best, trim all the rough bits off and water regularly, use a high powered jet if absolutely necessary.  Finally, secure the lawn with a high fence to prevent futher damage and the return of undesirables.

There.. beautiful isnt it?

Democracy Village and it's protesters who had been camping and demonstrating in Parliament Square since the 1st of May were removed in the early hours of this morning, 20th July 2010. Presumably to avoid publicity, the baliffs and police arrived at 1am. 

Boris Johnson, upon hearing the news of the failure of the protestors appeal, uttered the immortal words: "I think it's wonderful that as a city we can protest. "But it is nauseating what they are doing to the lawn."

Horoscope for Cancer..

Things are not looking good for Cancer this week, dark clouds are looming on the horizon. What would have been a long 2 week wait for you may now stretch into maybe months. The tall men in grey suits are all around and will be knocking on your door. I wish there were something positive to say other than, roll on 2015 when the UK will return Labour to power and try to restore our public services and the sun will shine on Cancer again.




Lest we forget.. Labour broadcast this election message on the 27th April, sadly its dire warnings were ignored and the Coalition did exactly what it said on the tin in regard to Child Trust funds and Tax Credits for middle earners....

Today in PMQs David Cameron repeatedly refused to deny or confirm the scrapping of the two week waiting list for suspected Cancer patients to see a specialist.

Huge outrage particularly from Tory bloggers such as Iain Dale ensued following the broadcast with accusations of Labour scaremongering etc..

This post is dedicated to my dear old Dad, much loved and missed, lost to cancer 12 years ago today. Always were, always will be, the wind beneath my wings xx

Gove Interviews an Armed Robber.. true fact..

From 6.30... enjoy ; )

Govelling...

Michael Gove was called to the Chamber this evening to apologise for misleading and misinforming the House during his Schools Project Cuts statement on Monday. At least 25 schools were affected, the information still appears to be incorrect despite being published now for the fourth time.

Kerry McCarthy blogged on this at the time.. "Useless Information"  and then followed it up with "(more) Useless Information "


During the apology in this film, calls were made for Gove to resign. Things got even more heated over the following ten minutes or so with Tom Watson bellowing " you miserable little pipsqueak of a man" at Gove. He was subsequently asked to withdraw his comments by Speaker John Bercow.

Impact of DLA & AA on the disabled.. DWP report in summary (Growd-Up post)

If you arent interested in sensible, boring, Growd-Up blogging, look away now... : )

The DWP commissioned this report  into the impact of Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance on the recipients and their familys / carers.  First published in 2010. As it is a very long document, I have summarised it.  Please bear in mind that these benefits have been targeted by our beloved Coallition to face cuts despite the fact they would have read the report....

The study was carried out with the help of professionals, advisors, claimants and their carers.

The consensus of the Advisors is that DLA and AA has a major positive impact upon the lives of the claimants .Benefits include allowing greater independance, improving quality of life, enhancing physical and mental health and meeting some of the extra costs of living with a disability.

DLA and AA recipients describe how they use the money to improve their life by, for example paying for housework, gardening , buying medical equipment and care (no, not all given for free!), transport and home maintainance.

The findings showed that most of the personal care and support given to the claimants is unpaid and provided by spouses, older children and other relatives.

Other benefits of DLA and AA are that it enables claimants a "passport" to claiming other supports eg. Blue Badge Scheme. It enables more people to retain their independence by living at home, enables paid and voluntary work and very importantly, acknowleges the claimants medical condition.

For child recipients, the allowances were found to be used to improve the child's future by spending on Speech and Language therapies, physiotherapy and stimulation.. all with a view to future developement.

DLA & AA were introduced under a Conservative government in 1992, as non-means tested benefits to contribute to meeting the extra costs of living with a disability.  The number of people receiving DLA in May of 2009 was 3,070,610 of whom 366,540 were children under the age of 18 and 792,380 were over the age of 65. The number of AA recipients was 1,585,790.

An Age Concern paper written in 2008 shows that just 24% of the benefit was spent on personal care, the rest being used to enable the recipient to stay in their own home with a degree of dignity and comfort.

A different way of thinking about DLA and AA benefits is preventative.. The findings showed preventative roles in avoiding moves into residential and nursing care, avoiding deterioration in health and making fewer demands on formal health and social care services.

Feeling Rather Flat..

Cant seem to summon up the spirit to blog or tweet today. Disgust at our Coalitions demolition of the Schools Project is mostly to blame. Coupled with the new 66% rule to instigate a vote of no confidence, I feel a sense of unease spreading throughout our country and a genuine fear of the future.

I will return when feeling less morose : (